I hope we all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This week I will be taking you through the steps of how to make a body case. After I rearranged the woman figures out of clay it was time to make a life-size form.

Material

The supplies you will need is tape, scissors, newspaper, plastic wrap, a trusted friend for the model and one just to help you wrap the model.

Step 1: Wrap the Model

Wrap desired body part firmly and generously with plastic wrap. Make sure part is completely covered. Do not wrap so tightly that you cut off your circulation. The easiest way to wrap the model is to do it one piece at a time, and later fix the separate pieces together. I started with the left arm, from the wrist to the upper bicep. I then did the right arm, the torso, and the pelvic. I had a friend help me with areas I could not reach and to go faster.

Step 2: Tape the Model

Wrap covered body part firmly and generously with packing tape. Make sure part is completely covered. Do not wrap so tightly that you cut off your circulation. The more layers of tape you use, the sturdier the mold will be. Press tape firmly against body part to maintain recognizable form.

Step 3 :Remove the Mold

Use tape cutter to carefully cut a slit through the mold so you can free your wrapped body part. Carefully remove body part from mold.

Step 4: Re-Tape the Mold

Use small sections of tape to fix corresponding sides of the cut back together.

Step 5: Reinforced

Stuff the repaired mold piece with reinforcing material. This will increase the durability of the mold and deter collapsing. Newspaper is cheapest, but you can also use bubble wrap, tissue paper, packing peanuts, or expanding foam sealant.

I did the head separately out of clay which was a separate process and I will talk about it in next weeks blog.

Until next time!