my arms in the making

1st step for hands

First I start with the hands.

I got the idea for this hand-armature from "animation-supplies".

animaion supplies instruction

It's an instruction to build hands with 1mm aluminium wire. I bought the wire at a bonsai-shop...

twisted wire

brass forearm

Later I twist the wire to make them last longer (I hope). I built a brass forearm to have a stable piece. So the arm is only bending at its joints. (elbow and wrist). I just stuck the wirearm into a brasstube and (epoxy-) glued it.

the whole arm

To fix the hand/forearm to the body armature, I just clamp the brasstube in between my balljoint piece of the upper arm. It has the same size as the balls and fits well.

dragon skin with pigments

When I got everything in the right place I make the first skin of silicone in the mould. I'm using smooth-on's Dragon Skin FX-Pro silicone with SilTone Pigments. (This color is "light skin"). For the first skin I put a drop of Thi-Vex in the mix. It makes the silicon more like rubber and it sticks more to the walls of the mould.

first skin on one arm

First skin means you put a thin layer of silicone on your mould and let it dry. I do so, because later on no wire will stick trough your characters skin! because now the skin is like sealed from the inside.

the fill

then I put my armature back in the mould and fix it with some (non sulphur) clay. It is important that it stays in place. Mix silicone again and cast it in. I always try to get rid of the airbubbles with a toothpick.

closing the mould

Then I close the mould and put it upside down so the silicone floats into the fingertips and not out of the arm!

the arm

open it...

And finally: the arm

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