Specialist Practice

Casting Ears

Ears are interesting bits of anatomy, and you need to take great care to a convincing appliance create it is an earlobe extension to simulate piercings, ear tips for a fantasy character or alien, or a full ear prosthetic that needs to sell an audience up close. If you cast a head and shoulders bust, casting ears separately from the head and shoulders lifecast can provide you with ears to complete the head or with base ears from which to create character ears. Let's begin by cutting the bottom off a large deli container about 4 inches (11.5 cm) in diameter and 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep. Be careful cutting off the bottom of the container! 1. Cut a slit in a piece of clear plastic sheet (such as from a large lawn bag) about 10 inches by 10 inches (25 cm by 25 cm) and fit it over your subject's ear. You will need a piece for each ear. Use spirit gum of Pros-Aides to glue the plastic at the edges around the ear for a clean casting. You might need to trim the plas- tic a bit first so there won't be any wrinkles. Use tape if you need to keep the outside edges of the plastic lying flat. 2. Make a thin line of nose and scar wax or use tape and place it along the larger edge of the plastic con- tainer to help prevent alginate from running out 
 

Prepare model by protecting hair and face with plastic or cling film.

Your model may wear ear plugs for personal comfort, though this is not neccessary.

Using a container such as a cup, tape this down to the plastic to secure it, reducing risk of leaking

For my bases, I will try to angle the ears as i dont need the lobe, this will then dismiss any undercut issues.