Basic Monster High Shoe-Casting Tutorial

[DGRequiem]

My most recent attempt at casting had all 5 molds that I had prepared come out, so I put together a mold-making tutorial on my website.

It's a tutorial designed for people who haven't done much casting and are mainly focused on doing shoes.  So the supplies used are entry-level, and nothing too difficult for techniques. 

Let me know if anything in the tutorial doesn't make sense, ok?  Thanks!

[shockponie]

Oh man! I just read through this. Awesome tutorial. Your mold looks great! I can't wait to see part 2. I would never have tried this on my own, but you make it look possible, so I think I'll give it a shot some time! Thank you for sharing!

[Galactica]

Great tutorial!  I have tried casting before and given up in frustration- but your tutorial is really nice!

Some questions-  what are you using for your sprue and vent?  Is that a toothpick there? Or some kind of tube of something?

How did you get the latex under the shoe? It doesn't look like you removed the shoe- but is there latex here inside the imprint?
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Just a little confused as to some of the steps (yes, I am an idiot and it has been many many years since I tried the casting experiment, so thank you for your patience) 

[Maniah]

Most everything makes sense to me, except for the same part Galactica is referencing I think.. You mention doing the cast in multiple fills.. But I don't quite understand how this warrants two fills.. I see you put clay int he toe of the shoe, then removed it.. But my brain cannot wrap around the significance of that.. I cant quite grasp it.. Maybe if I were following along step by step.. But for this tutorial, that step just really confuses me.

[DGRequiem]

The sprue is sculpted with clay, and the vents are toothpicks, yes. 

What do you mean by 'under' ?  When you pour the rubber over the shoe the first time, it covers everything that is not covered by clay.  Then you flip it over, remove the clay, and pour the rubber again to cover everything that the clay used to cover.  You never have to get the rubber under anything, it's all 'over' when you pour it. 

One half of the mold you pictured is the first pour, the other half is the second pour.  When you open it up, that's what you see.  When you close it, it turns into an enclosed block with only a couple of holes at the top to pour into the mold/air vents.

[Maniah]

And suddenly my confusion is gone. The image just clicked for me and I feel silly.

[Aeryala]

That tutorial is super helpful, thanks for making it!

I noticed that in the blog post you mention that you have a hard time with the two halves of the mold sticking together - I've seen it recommended to use a mixture of dish soap and alcohol as a release agent; you may have better luck with that than with the corn starch.  I was going to recommend Vaseline, but apparently that will degrade the latex. 

Also, what kit did you use from Smooth-On?  I'm only seeing silicone casting kits on their site.

[Galactica]

The sprue is sculpted with clay, and the vents are toothpicks, yes. 

What do you mean by 'under' ?  When you pour the rubber over the shoe the first time, it covers everything that is not covered by clay.  Then you flip it over, remove the clay, and pour the rubber again to cover everything that the clay used to cover.  You never have to get the rubber under anything, it's all 'over' when you pour it. 

One half of the mold you pictured is the first pour, the other half is the second pour.  When you open it up, that's what you see.  When you close it, it turns into an enclosed block with only a couple of holes at the top to pour into the mold/air vents.

Okay- so I think I get it after looking at another tutorial-  http://www.b9robotresource.com/molding2.htm
I wasn't trying to be problematic, just hadn't remembered even remotely all of the steps- and I think the first time I tried doing this many years ago- I was again following a tutorial online put together by someone who hadn't explained some of the more obvious steps- which of course I missed...  also once I did figure it out, I think I had problems with bubbles... honestly I gave up after the first try which was lame, but I am inspired by your post to try it again since I already have the stuff waiting around in my basement...

[Salli]

Thanks for doing this! I so need to make a ton of Nefera shoe soles
 

[Aeryala]

Okay- so I think I get it after looking at another tutorial-  http://www.b9robotresource.com/molding2.htm

Thank you for posting that link..  I've been thinking about how to get rid of bubbles in molds w/o having a pressure pot, and that guy mentions that he turns on a machine that vibrates the table he works on, to shake the bubbles to the surface.  Brilliant! 

[Galactica]

Okay- so I think I get it after looking at another tutorial-  http://www.b9robotresource.com/molding2.htm

Thank you for posting that link..  I've been thinking about how to get rid of bubbles in molds w/o having a pressure pot, and that guy mentions that he turns on a machine that vibrates the table he works on, to shake the bubbles to the surface.  Brilliant!

I liked that idea too-

I am wondering how many of you mold makers use a vacuum to remove the air bubbles though? (Also referenced)   OP?

[Katgyrl]

This is interesting! I have never looked into mold making before but have thought about it since I'd love to make my own shoes. I appreciate the idea of posting about how to make a mold that doesn't cost a billion dollars.

I'm a little confused about the clay in the toe as well, when exactly do you take it out? Just before pouring the second half of the mold is what I see, but then the little toe piece looks like it's on both sides of the mold, or am I seeing that wrong? And does that mean the part that makes the toe hole is on the second half of the mold? I would love to see more about the casting process also!

[Zapper]

Bookmarked ^^

[DGRequiem]

Galactica-  no probs, you're not the only one who had the question so it must have been unclear.  I was just having a hard time figuring out what was meant but 'under'... like, under the sole of the shoe?

I don't have a vacuum.  A cheap one is not so cheap.  However, if I were to do more molding I would probably get one just because the bubbles ALWAYS cause a problem, especially inside enclosed shoes.  I've tried the vibrating thing... maybe the rubber I use is too thick, because it does't always fix it.

Katgyrl-  The extra clay in the toe was removed when the rest of the clay was removed.  If you look at the shadow of the right side mold in the pic, it pokes out a bit where they clay was in the original picture.   

It's very hard to explain molding because photos are 2-D, and it requires a lot of 3-D thinking and terminology that doesn't really exist   I can totally visualize the mold parts and the shoe in my head but describing it is a lot harder!

[Maniah]

 The clay in the toe in the first half is what forms the top of the sandal strap. Removing the clay in the second step is what forms the bottom of the sandal strap so that when the mold halves go together, they create the strap together but not separately.

At least, that is how my brain is interpreting it.

If it was done any differently, the mold wouldn't be reusable and you would have to cut the sandal out.

Am I getting it right DG? If not, then clearly I was wrong about it clicking for me lol