I learnt some dos and don'ts in the process and it was time consuming and uncomfortable, but the result was very much in line with what I had intended and hoped for.
Applying the stippled latex and drying it with a hairdryer whilst keeping my skin stretched was a drawn out challenge with only one pair of hands and verged on physical pain at times, there were parts of the job that were rushed or skipped over for the test run, perhaps most noticeably skipping the blending in of the top edges of the hairpiece and working quickly on the paint/make up job, but these and other minor points are things I'll have more time for when I'm filming Lance Squeeze, and I'm sure the process will be quicker to repeat than as something entirely new.
One excellent source of guidance for the latex ageing process that I took a few useful pointers from was Bill Barto's article here. there's a more detailed description of the specific techniques and materials I used myself at the end of the post...
...in the meantime, without further rambling, let me introduce you to a friend of mine (pics are clickable for larger versions)...
Test shot of myself with slightly coloured latex stippled on and dried to age and scar and the initial colour applied (actually watercolours), along with the cloudy contact lens:
Next, I added some small latex pieces to my head for the textured, uneven, scabby look that I'll probably have a less pronounced but real version of myself one day. I don't actually mind - on a side note, I was lucky enough to meet the animator Ray Harryhausen a while ago at a book signing, and doubly lucky that they were preparing to pack up as the shop was empty by then, so I had him to myself for 10 minutes of chat about animation and stuff - it was a privilege as he's an inspiration and was a lovely bloke, really warm and down to earth. He also had a wonderfully flaky 'old man head', the image of which stuck in my mind (not verging on pustulating like Squeezes, mind you). So anyway, I take a comfort from the fact that if I reach old age and mine ends up being a bit, erm, textured, one of the stop-motion animation giants has been down the same road before me...
...and the finished look. It was a strange, interesting, exciting and disconcerting feeling looking in the mirror and seeing Lancelot Squeeze staring back at me, almost like finally getting to meet someone you've heard a lot about. It somehow made it easier to feel the character in ways that I hadn't before and I spent a good deal of time prancing around, pulling faces at myself and improvising snatches of dialogue:
Lastly, a few specifics about the processes involved.
I used Trylon liquid latex for the wrinked skin and head scabs, added to which was a small amount of latex colourant (also from Trylon) that had been mixed to a fleshy tone. I think for future reference, I added slightly too much colour, and, as latex dries yellowy, I could have added less yellow in making the flesh tone and the tint of the dried latex would have balanced this. Next time, I'll also do a test on the level of colour by adding a minimal amount of colourant to begin, then drying/setting a small amount of the latex/colourant mixture to check the finish when the latex has dried, adding more colourant and testing again until I achieve the desired balance of colour and translucence/semi-transparency.
The stippling process for the skin would be a LOT easier with a helper - basically I stretched my skin as much as possible with one hand, also aided by twisting and stretching my head in different directions, stippled some of the latex mixture on with a small piece of sponge (just enough to cover the skin) and dried it with a hairdryer, keeping the skin as stretched as possible through the process. I actually ended up having the hairdryer running and propped on the side of a table, with my neck contorted and my hands holding my skin taut until the latex had dried.
I powdered the latex with a very light, cautious dusting of talc after this to avoid the thin latex sticking to itself (light and cautious so as not to 'whiten' the finish). there are better, purpose made alternatives to talc, but these are expensive, I don't have any more money to spend nor do I know if there's a better make-do alternative.
Another important consideration with the latex is any hair - head hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and facial hair - if you get latex in any hair, it's horrible to get out and you'll probably lose some of the hair in question in the process. I'd bought some 'scar wax', which I didn't end up using to make scars, but which worked fine to cover my eyebrows and, unlike latex, came out easily afterwards by scrubbing (with no eyebrow loss). You can also buy purpose made 'eyebrow plastic' that works in similar way but probably washes more easily. I was also very careful when stippling close to my eyelashes.
For the head pieces, I used some very small, scrunched up pieces of latex and 'painted' these into place with a brush and more latex. Although there was no potential for wrinkles as the head skin doesn't 'move' like skin on the face, I'd also stippled latex onto my head to help these to take, to add a bit of roughness/texture and for continuity from the face and the same finish for areas that were painted.
The scar that runs up the character's left cheek and across the cloudy eye was a sort of accident - I think I'd start a second layer of stippling on the left cheek and the first layer wasn't properly dry or powdered and so came away, worth remembering next time, but this setback actually worked quite well as the scar in the end.
I made sure when stippling the neck that this went below the collar line.
The addition of surface colour was done with water colours and a mixture of brushes. Most noticeably to the scar, the head scabs, liver spots on the head, the area around the eyes and a pleasing alcoholic reddening of the nose. I'm sure this finish could lack durability, but I didn't have nor could I afford face paints and they were good to work with as they don't have a time limited workability like, say, thinned acrylics (without retardants). I didn't expect flaking/cracking/crumbling to be an issue as they were applied sparingly and watered down, and this proved to be a fair assumption.
The eyebrows and moustache were applied with spirit gum - I'd left the areas beneath them free of latex. I also left the area for the headpiece 'bare', but applied this with Copydex glue (which is latex based) and this did a decent job. This wasn't apt for the eyebrows moustache as they're made from hair attached to fine netting, and it seemed likely that latex clogging up the fine netting would shorten their life and that latex remnants might be visible for future uses. The hair was tweaked and the 'combover' strands put in place with some old waxy hair gel type stuff.
talking of which, I was a bit disappointed with the eyebrows and plan to give them some further trimming and shaping. I wish in retrospect that I'd just made some of my own with the fake hair I used for the hairpiece, as they were quite expensive, too.
I was pleased with the look of the contact lens - no technique to that, just pop it in and you're good to go.
And the teeth - it sounds pretty foolish, but these were actually attached to my own teeth (after drying inside my mouth) with superglue. Much as this sounds like a trip to A&E in the making, it's something I'd actually done years ago after making some fake fangs (also from false nails) that worked very well the first time round (and which I'd done after having seen someone else do it with no problems). It's not something I could recommend, but it worked fine for me. If you are thinking of ever trying it, just be careful not to stick your fingers or lips together...
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