Tutorials

Making a Milliput Jawset

First off I would like to apologise for the lack of photos here. I would have more, but I wrote this after creating the moulds. I'll try and get more later, but for now you can at least see what the finished product looks like.

(Note: This tutorial doesn't cover making the tongue, as I cast that in latex, but it's easy enough to figure out. I'll probably make a tutorial someday about casting latex parts such as tongues and noses in the future, though)

Of course you can always sculpt the jawset directly in Milliput (or the epoxy putty of your choice, Milliput just happens to be my favourite), but I do it this way for two reasons - first off, I'm more familiar with sculpting polymer clay such as Sculpey, and secondly, it's useful to be able to create multiple copies of a jawset if it's for a species or group that you know is popular. The example in the pictures is a canine jawset, useful for a wolf, dog, or fox.

Okay, first off, you want to sculpt your jaws out of whatever sculpting stuff you like best. I like Sculpey, personally. You'll probably want to keep your original around in case the mould gets damaged or lost, though, so be careful with it.

Since I was going for realistic, I worked from a wolf taxidermy jawset I had lying around (I'd been commissioned to make a head, and the commissioner had given it to me). Photos should help, too - try skullsunlimited.com or animalyawns.com Once you have your top and bottom jaws done, you want to make a mould. You'll need a flat surface that won't be in use too often. Latex takes FOREVER to dry, so make sure it's not somewhere where your pets/kids/parents/housemates/whatevers aren't going to be poking it. Something like a sheet of glass or plastic is a good idea, so you can move it about if you need to.

Latex should be easy to find in art/craft stores, but you might have to do a bit of hunting. It seems to be one of those things that not everywhere carries, but thankfully it isn't too horribly hard to get hold of.

Now for the casting. I use Milliput epoxy, which is a two part putty that you can find in art and craft shops. Please note, this stuff can be dangerous if you have sensitive skin, so be sure to wear gloves if you're worried about that. Anyway, it comes in two sticks, which you mix together. It responds to water like natural clay and dries in air. Once it's dry, it's rock solid and waterproof, but also fairly light. The downside is that it's expensive, but well worth it to me. You should be able to get at least one jawset out of a box with some left over for random stuff like claws - one box is about five pounds or so. Go for the Superfine White if you can find it - it's about a pound more, but much smoother and easier to mix from what I've seen.

Anyway, mix it up. It's best to mix tiny bits at a time, since there's nothing quite as frustrating as thinking you mixed it properly and finding out that you didn't and you're left with this stiff, unworkable but not hard enough stuff that you'll have to throw out. Also, it's best to add a bit of water to smooth it out, especially when you're pressing it into the finer details of the mould. Fill both moulds and leave it to dry overnight, then pull the jaws out of the mould, and there you have it.

After that you can paint them however you like. It also helps to varnish them with gloss varnish to make them look wet and shiny and to protect the paint. I use the spray stuff, but make sure you use it outside if you do.

Once you're done, then you can hotglue them into your head and you're done. (well, almost, but like I said, you'll want a tounge... I'll cover that some other time) As I said somewhere before, these things are a lot lighter than taxidermy jaws, but they still look great, and they're virtually indestructable, as proved by that one time I trod on one. And the big upside to me is that you can make as many as you like.

Enjoy!