Dip Moulding - Make Your Own Monster

Dip moulding is a technique that explains itself. You dip a shape in a fluid (in this case latex) and when it dries, you have the shape in that material. It is often used for making molds. We will use it to make a little squeezable monster. In this instructable we will explain how these little monsters are made!

WHAT YOU NEED

- latex

- little cup

- clay

- little stick

- scissors

- hair dryer / heat blower

- plastic to cover the table

OPTIONAL

- paint (spray, fluid or pigment)

- black marker

- modeling tools for clay

All the materials you need are easy to find and not expensive.

You can find them in a hobby store or art store.

Enjoy!

The first step is to make your own monster. You can create every shape you want! It is best to use clay for this. Let it dry before you dip it in the latex. After your monster is finished, put it on a little stick. This makes it easy to hold when you are dipping the monster in the latex.

TIP: if you use the hair dryer or heat blower it will dry in just 5 minutes.

The next step is to pour some of the latex in a cup. Make sure that the cup is big enough to fit your monster. If you have more latex than needed, you can poor it back into the bottle.

The dipping process is very easy. Just submerge your monster of clay in the latex. Let it drip for a moment, and when it doesn't drip anymore you can let it dry. Again, you can use the hair dryer or heat blower to speed up the process.

Repeat this dipping for 3 or 4 times.

TIP: make sure that you don't put to much heat on the latex, otherwise it will start to burn and crack.

TIP: if you want to add color to your monster, you can add color pigment to the latex.

Once your monster has dried completely, you can carefully remove the latex from the clay. First you have to remove the stick from the clay. Then you can cut the edge of the latex shape. To get the clay out, it is best to pull the latex inside out. Sharp edges will break of your clay, but if you turn the latex inside out, you can get all the parts out.

If all the clay is out, you can rinse the latex shape with water to make it clean.

When the monster is all dry, you can decorate it. You can add eyes and teeth or anything else you can think of. It is best to use a permanent marker for the black parts. If you didn't add paint pigment to the latex, you can also paint the monster after you're done. This however isn't a very sustainable solution.

Let you imagination flow and have fun!