Skin Graft Application | clairegolbymue

Silicone Lizard (painted with skin illustrator)

- I applied the piece with Pros-Aide, glueing it to the piece, holding it to the area of application, then drying both surfaces before applying and securing the piece

- I then blended out the edges and removed the grounding

- I coloured around the edge of the piece with skin illustrator in reddish tones to make the surrounding skin look inflamed from the surgery.

- I didn't really consider how long it had been 'post surgery' but upon reflecting and reviewing the piece, I think it could be maybe a week.

- I'm really happy with this piece;

the edges came out almost

perfect and I think the piece

looks realistic and ready for

film/TV, which was my contextural

aim for these pieces.

This page is the application and images of my skin graft flat pieces.

Gelatine Fish (painted with skin illustrator)

- Because running gelating in the flatpiece moulds was quite difficult, the piece did not have good edges; certainly not blendable. The best option was to trim them off as close to the piece as possible and then just apply it that way (I applied it the same way as the lizard)

- From my research into skin grafts, I saw the use of staples a lot on patients, so I incorporated them into this piece. I curved the ends of the staples inwards, so that they'd look like they were stapled into the skin more. I applied spirit gum to the points of the staples and used tweezers to apply them.

- They slotted into the holes I had sculpted into the piece quite well, but obviously there wasn't an area for them to slot into on my model's skin. I bent them to try and make them look as close to the skin as possible which made the look more realistic, but I couldn't achieve the effect of them puuling on the skin, holiding the graft and skin together. I think this is something I should have maybe sculpted into the piece initially. Wax would probably work, but would be very time consuming and completely inappropriate for film/TV context. I was thinking maybe cabopatch might work, if I dotted it on the skin and then pushed the staple into it. I will try this for the other fish skin graft when I use string for 'stitches'.

- I wanted this skin graft to look really recent - like he'd just been operated on. So I applied skin illustrator to make the surrounding skin look inflamed and sore, and then some darker blood. I also applied ots to the holes around the staples to make the fish skin look more organic.

- I also applied KY Jelly to try and make the fish skin look fresh and shiny. It wasn't the gloss coat that I wanted to achieve, as the thick nature of the product made it drip, making it look more like sweat.

- Because of the loose nature of the staples (not having much security) I don't think this piece would be appropriate for film/TV, as it wouldn't have duration, and the actor wouldn't be able to move without distorting the piece. However, I do think it looks like it could be in a film/TV (as I think it looks quite realistic), its just from a practical point of view that it wouldn't work.

My model had already been patch tested for Pros-Aide and spirit gum, as he's modelling for previous projects.

Gelatine Lizard (painted with PAX paint)

- Firstly, I laid the piece down to the area I wanted to apply it to and marked an outline. I then applied collodian over these lines (stretching the skin to try and create a stronger result). I did this because applying the piece first and then trying to use the collodian wouldn't have worked as effectively, as the piece could;ve distorted or hindered the collodians results.

- I then painted the collodian a purple, fresh

- Because I had to trim the edges of this piece away (because running the gelatine in the flatpiece mould caused difficulty smoothing it out), there were no edges to blend away after I applied the appliance with pros-aide.

- I realy wanted the piece to look more badly scarred. I think maybe making some small keyloid style scares with some tissure and latex might've given a better effect and would've also stayed on well for filming hours. The collodian can be slightly flakey, but maybe sealing it would remedy that.

- I really love the PAX paint for reptile skin, it gives the perfect amount of shine and opaqueness.

Silicone Fish (painted with aquacolours)

- Unfortunately the prosthetic had pulled away from most of the cap plastic edges for this appliance, so I couldn't really blend the edges.

- I applied this piece exactly the same as the previous pieces, with pros-aide

- I then painted in irritated red marks and bloody patches around the piece and in the small holes I had sculpted, as I wanted this piece to be fresh and slightly gruesome.

- I was adding stitches for the attatchments for this piece, so I cut up small pieces of string. I then attatched them by putting pros-aide in the sculpted hole and dabbing a spot of bondo on the skin to act as the point were the stitch would've been sewn into the skin.

- I think most of the stitches look like they're quite tight, but I think a more realistic effect could have been achieved if i'd have sculpted in little holes around the piece. This looks ok, but it wouldn't be suitable for film, and I also think sculpting it beforehand would mean that one a set it would take less time to apply and stay on better.

- I added blood to make the surgery look really recent, and also glycerin to the fish scales, which I think worked slightly better than the KY Jelly, as it didn't blob up as much, it was more of an evenly spread layer.

- Although i'd sealed the aquacolours, I think the colours still got distorted when I applied the glycerin. I think maybe just using aquacolours on prosthetics isn't a good idea. The PAX paint and skin illustrator both worked really well.