This was honestly a fun and quick project. The only part that I really needed to be cautious about was the mixing of the alginate for the mold and the plaster to fill the mold. The right consistency was really important.

First Set of fingers:

I followed the instructions from the TA’s to make my first mold.

It came out well but with a good amount of bubbles. I applied a clear coat. Then, I found this bottle in the paint box called unicorn spit. At first, I wanted to make it look like I painted my fingers but I didn’t have a small enough brush. So, I applied two layers of this gel coating over the entire cast. Afterwards, I spray painted another clear coat on top to protect the gel from flaking off and to add a different kind of texture to the fingers.

More Fingers:

I realized the assignment called for two of the casts. I then tried to mix my own plaster for the existing alginate mold I made. The alginate got very moldy over a few days by the way. My plaster mix was too watery. It started breaking and cracking when I tried to take it out, it just wasn’t working out.

Ultimately, I threw away the mold. A few days later, I came back to remake the mold of my fingers and more plaster. I worked with Vanessa. A second person present was helpful.

I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to make a mold of my fingers that would look similar to the first.

I think they came out well. For the post processing of the second set of my fingers, I applied the silver filler primer.

My hope was that it would help the little impurities and bubbles, I don’t really think it made a difference. I then followed up with my two coats of purple and clear coat. [ I had hoped it was a sparkly, glittery purple but it’s ok.]

Altogether, this project was simple, fun, and straightforward.

Cost Considerations

Alginate: 50 g; Water: 200 g

$13.39 for 1 pound

Plaster/Water ratio – 2:1 by volume $8.99/bag

Unicorn Spit – $9.13/4 oz bottle