Makeup Exploration
Implants of technology pieces
First I collected some pieces, including circuit board parts from a mobile phone, a processor and LED Driver Circuit Boards.
However if i wanted to include these within the silicone I must sculpt around them and place the parts back in when casting after the moulds have been made. So that they would not get ruined with clay, I put the pieces into a vaccum form to create replicas that could be used in the sculpts instead.
Circuit Board
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I sculpted around the vaccum form replica, so that it blended down to the sides smoothly and also i included some veins around it to help with the idea that it had been implanted and adapted into the skin.
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In this flat piece, i chose not to include a flashing as felt that the piece would be strong enough without any support and also that it was a simple shape so would be easier to apply to the skin.
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Next a silicone mould was made and once set.
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When applying the cap plastic layers i left the middle section clear, as there would not be any silicone in this area.
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I added the circuit board piece into the mould and then poured in the 70% deadned, flesh coloured, silicone. I found that the circuit board kept floating around in the silicone. This meant when it was set it was not straight and even on the bottom of the piece. which could effect when applying.
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Then i applied 3 more layers of cap plastic and removed with talcom powder.
The image on the left shows the outcome, the silicone had gone under the circuit board piece and entrapped it. Luckily i had vaselined all over, otherwise the silicone could have stuck to the mould as I did not cap plastic the centre area.
I liked the appearance as it made it appear as if it was under the skin but felt that it was too uneven and did not show much of the circuit board detail to be effective so decided to remove the silicone covering it.
Here shows the outcome of the uncovered piece, i felt that it looked as if it was part of the skin and the veiws showed up and blended well into their surroundings. However i feel that the slopes down the sides were too steep and this could make the piece look obvious that it is a piece stuck on rather than to blend in with the skin.
Application
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The piece was quite hard and large, which restricted to the area of wear it could be applied. It could not fit across any curves in the body so I decided to position it on the lower back as it was flatter here.
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The piece was applied with Pros-aide and the edges dissolved with Cap plastic. The piece was not a correct colour match and the models skin was slightly paler.
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I then painted and flicked skin illustrator paint over the top to help it blend into the skin
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I then decided to paint in the veins, quite a visible colour (vein colour from skin illustrator palette) to make the colour of the circuit flow better into the surround skin.
Overall I liked the front view of the circuit board being implanted into the skin and thought that as the veins were an obvious colour, it gave the impression of how the body was straining against the pieces inhibitant. However from the side the piece protuded too much and there was an obvious step down the real skin, which made it look fake and an obvious prothetic piece. It was not that practical as the piece was too large and rigid inside the silicone so it did not fit well to the curves of the body - again not blending in and also the corners startin breaking through creating rips. By sculpting onto a life cast would have allowed me to have seen this issue before and maybe found a more suitable place. Perhaps a thinner circuit board could be used instead, from a computer rather than a mobile phone. Apart from these issues i liked the concept as if done more precisely feel that this small element to the body can create a whole story and appeal to an audience.
Processor
The vaccum form piece of the processor seemed to be less deep that the real piece, so i had to sculpt around the piece inside the plasticto make sure I got the right height.
From my experments before of circuit veins, I decided to combine these with the implants. Also I found that many circuit lines broad off from a processor, such as seen in the image on the right. Here they come off straight and some angle in different angles, also some of the smaller lines do not attach to the centre piece.
Circuit Processor. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/central-processor-circuit-board-processing-unit-31600093.jpg [Accessed 25 Feb. 2015].
I sculpted the circuit lines in reference to the image above. I decided that i would position the piece on the back of neck and allow the bottom lines to extend down the spine slightly. The top lines were shorter due to it being close t the nape hairline. I faded the lines out to the edges so that i would blend better into the skin, which meant that i did not need to include many circles on the ends of the lines.
I decided to not include the flashing again on this sculpt as I did not have any issues with the previous application.
A silicone mould was then created and once set the same processes, of vaseline and 4 layers cap plastic (apart from in the centre, where the processor will sit) was applied.
Then the processor was placed inside the mould and 70% sflesh coloured silicone was poured on the top and scraped smooth.
The processor did not move when the silicone was added, as it was a tighter fit and a smaller area. This meant that the piece came out alot smoother and precise. The edges were very thin and blended out smoothly from the centre.
The silicone and cap plastic covered tne edges and made it apear under the skin also felt that it was not as visible, so decided to cut around it (as shown on the right) but in a straight line as though it had been precisely inserted into the body. I prefered the over look as made the piece look more robotic.
Application
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It was adheared to the back of the neck using pros -aide, starting with the centre then stretching one section at a time onto the skin.
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Then the edges were dissolved using IPA.
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The silicone colour matched well to the models skin, which meant i did not need to try and blend it in with paint that often causes the edges to show.
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Then using green and black colours from the skin illustrator palette (to match the processors colour) the circuit veins were painted, fading out into the skin.
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Then blood was applied to the inside of the silicone crentre edges to give the idea that it had been freshly applied and also helped hind any uneven edges.
When the piece was still skin coloured and unpainted, i found that it produced the effect of being more doll like or of a humaniod robot. However as I was using the concept that the circuit lines were veins it was best suited to have them coloured to help produce this idea. I think that the green colour veins looked good on the back with the processor compared to if i had used blue (as previously experiemented with). I think the blood gave an extra aspect to the piece and would fit well within a scene if the piece had just been inserted into the skin. Overall I prefered this outcome to the circuit board implant as it was much more subtle but was still noticeable. It blended better into the surrounding skin in comparison to the previous circuit board implant.
Adhered and edges dissolved
Painting with skin colours
I then stippled some boody marvellous veial blood around the edges to make it look raw and new.
I then added wound filler by Kroyolan, inside the edges of the processor part.
Here shows the circuit veins painted a pale green using skin illustrator palette. I had a light application as wan't the lines to still apear as it they were under the skin.
Edges blended and skin colour alcohol activated paint was flicked on to piece and surrounding skin. It was a good colour match so not much was required.
Piece applied with Pros-Aide. Although there was thin edges, it was easy to apple and do not feel that flashing was required for this type of piece.
I think that this idea could be improved further and combined with other body modification ideas, in relation to technology, in order to create a whole character. However even just this one piece could show meaning and a story and is similar to my research of the makeup included in the Elysium film.