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Step 7Apply the gelatine
Be extremely careful when using molten gelatine! It is possible to cause serious (real) burns to skin if you apply hot, molten gelatine.
Melt the gelatine and add a little water to the mixture to help lower the melting temperature. Heat up the gelatine again now mixed with the water, and allow it to cool sufficiently before applying to your model.
Try a small sample on the back of your own hand to test the gelatine for heat and usability. If it cools too much, it may need a little reheating.
Start to build up gelatine on the area where you want your burn to be, going over your flattened hair and covering your silk tabs. Create smooth and rough areas, stretching and stringing the gelatine as it cools to create a variety of textures.
Blend some areas into the skin by dragging the gelatine firmly onto the face. In other areas, create ridges and hard edges where the texture suddenly stops. This variety of textures on the surface will help create a natural, random look.
Keep building slowly, taking your time to ensure that the gelatine is always at a safe temperature
Melt the gelatine and add a little water to the mixture to help lower the melting temperature. Heat up the gelatine again now mixed with the water, and allow it to cool sufficiently before applying to your model.
Try a small sample on the back of your own hand to test the gelatine for heat and usability. If it cools too much, it may need a little reheating.
Start to build up gelatine on the area where you want your burn to be, going over your flattened hair and covering your silk tabs. Create smooth and rough areas, stretching and stringing the gelatine as it cools to create a variety of textures.
Blend some areas into the skin by dragging the gelatine firmly onto the face. In other areas, create ridges and hard edges where the texture suddenly stops. This variety of textures on the surface will help create a natural, random look.
Keep building slowly, taking your time to ensure that the gelatine is always at a safe temperature
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Knox gelatine or similar is not really strong enough to do this kind of work. It melts very easily and would fall off and split easily if you used that kind of food gelatine.
You can buy premade blocks or mix it up yourself with glycerine, sorbitol and zinc oxide powder to raise the melting temperature. Melt it all in a microwave and mix it up, ensuring everything is well mixed and pour it into ice cube trays to cool. Then, you can pull chunks out and melt them as you need them.
Unless you are going to do this a lot, it may be cheaper to simply buy some premade blocks or something such as 'Gelefex' which is a precoloured gelatine makeup.
Here is some great information which goes into more depth:
http://www.halloweenfear.com/GelatineProsthetics1.html
-Stuart
It will stick to skin and solidify while remaining flexible as it cools. It will inevitably lift and peel at the edges and areas of most movement eventually.
To maintain this, you can either use more gelatine or an adhesive such as Pros Aide. Spirit gum is not great, and tends to be less flexible than both the skin and gelatine.
Saline (sweat, tears and snot) will break down the gelatine, so prep the skin with astringent and clean off any makeup and natural skin oils prior to application to help the gelatine stick.
You can also use an antiperspirant to help reduce sweat getting the the gelatine...it all depends on how long the makeup is going to be on, the environment you are in and how sweaty the person will get (are they jumping around outside in a Texan July, for example?).
The context in which you are doing all this will naturally dictate how much time and cost you can justify for it.
-Stuart