Recipe 15 : How to Paint Latex Mask

You spent hours painting your favorite monster mask. You put it on your face... the paint is coming off! Have you ever had this moment? I have. I was very new to this world. I used regular paint from an art store. It is not fun when I saw paint smudged all over the place. I learned that regular paint or makeup does not sit well on latex. Do not worry. In this recipe, I will show you how to solve this issue.

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Recipe 15 features how to paint latex. If you missed the article on cooking a foam latex piece, please check the recipe 13.

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Materials you need...

• Foam Latex Prosthetic

• Pros Aide

• Acrylic Paint (Liquitex is preferred.)

• Airbrush

• Airbrush Compressor

• Alcohol Based Airbrush Ink

• Chip Brush

• 99% Alcohol

• Alcohol Based Makeup Palette

• Gloves

• Makeup Sponges

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

Material links are here.

https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/1770158

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Lesson Video

1. Mixing PAX

   1. PAX is a mixture of Pros-Aide and acrylic paint. Since acrylic paint does not sit well on latex, you will need to mix it with Pros-Aide. Pros-Aide is a medical glue and very flexible. We use it to glue prosthetics on human skin normally. The ratio is 50:50. That's it! I recommend Liquitex acrylic paint for this. If you cannot afford it, regular acrylic paint is fine. Liquitex has more pigment in it, so it looks good when it is mixed with Pros-Aide.

   2. Thanks to the Reddit community, there is a list of formulas for PAX color. Here is the link for the colors from Dick Smith.

      

      
   
   

2. Painting PAX

   1. You will need gloves and makeup sponges for this. Since PAX is colored glue, you do not want sticky hands while you are painting.

   2. First, I ripped a sponge and removed straight lines. Since PAX has very strong pigment in it, it can create harsh edges. By making random textures on the sponge, this issue will be solved.

      

      Ripping a sponge

   3. I start with mauve color. Mauve is the inner skin color. This will create the warmth inside. When the strong light hits the regular skin color, this red inner tone will appear.

      

      Mauve is an inner color.

   4. The next one is Shibui. This is a skin tone.

      

      Shibui Color

   5. The third color is green. I diluted this with water. Since I stippled it gently, it shows more textures of the original sculpture.

      

      Diluted green color

   6. When I paint these PAX paints, I keep the edges unpainted. Due to the mixture of PAX, it tends to get sticky. I do not want curled edges when I apply this prosthetic.

3. Alcohol Base Color

   1. I use alcohol-based color for spattering. I trim a chip brush at an angle. 99% alcohol will thin out the colors. Then, flick the tip of chip brush with my finger.

   2. The colors I used were olive skin tone, brown, and black. This spattering technique will make the skin color more organic.

      

      I use my finger to flick the chip brush for spattering.

      

      

      

4. Airbrush

   1. For airbrush painting, I use a Paasche H airbrush and EBA color.

   2. I started with a darker brown tone for shadow and contour with this.

   3. Next, I used Lividity color for mottle painting and veins. You can also watch the airbrush technique video here.

      

      Lividity is a clogged dead blood color.

5. This is a basic prosthetic painting. I normally do this "pre-painting" before applying it on my actor. This process will cut the application time. Then, I will work on painting the edges and details. Less makeup time and more filming time. Win-win situation here!

   

   Painted prosthetic is waiting for being applied on a skin.

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