Polytek mold rubbers and casting plastics have been used extensively in the reproduction of figurative sculpture. Original pieces are most often sculpted/carved from clay, wax or wood and then a flexible mold material is usually poured, brushed or sprayed onto this original to capture all detail and to allow flexible demolding from undercuts and negative draft.
The mold material selection and mold making method can vary quite a bit for sculpture applications depending on a number of factors, including the material, size and shape of the original sculpture as well as the intended casting material.
In the tutorial below, John Cannon of The Whimsical Gardens brought his clay sculpture to our facility to make a mold of the figure and then reproduce it in plastic on a rotational casting machine.
This article details the steps that we took throughout the mold making and casting process:
Step 1: Select a Mold Making Method & Mold Rubber
Step 2: Construct Mold Box & Prepare Sculpture
Step 3: Measure, Mix & Pour Silicone Mold Rubber
Step 4: Demold
Step 5: Cut the Mold
Step 6: Rotational Casting
Tutorial: https://www.polytek.com/tutorial/mold-making-tutorial-silicone-mold-clay-sculpture
