Fangs

[Will Vincent]

I'm going into production on a vampire film in about two weeks. I've taken on the task of making the fangs, which will be made from dental acrylic.

This weekend, I'm doing a test set fit to my teeth. I made the cast of my upper teeth today, and using photoshop made a couple different mockups...

Here is the original casting:

Fang Mockup:

Fang Variation:

I'm looking forward to getting to the acrylic part. This is the first mold I've ever taken, and first casting I've ever poured. Aside from the one small hole caused by an air bubble (on the tooth between the middle teeth and left fang) I think it came out alright.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and which variation you like. I will of course be making the variation the director prefers, but I'm curious what other people think too. I do think they might be a little too long as shown here, 2/3 - 3/4 their current length would probably be better. Subtle is generally better.

 

[Loud Orange Cat]

I'm jealous, I wish I could start production on my vampire movie.

Personally, I like the middle picture. Adding extra sharpened teeth other than the canines makes the movie seem schlocky.

 

[Will Vincent]

That's kind of the direction I'm leaning too.. (plus it's a little less work to make them. ha!)

But, our vampire isn't going to be a typical looking vampire.. the director has some unique vision he's after. I'll be making the face prosthetic(s) too.. will post photos throughout the process and of the completed design.

 

[John@Bophe]

I like that they're subtle -- rather than the extra-long walrus fangs. I could go either way with the mock-ups, but I do somewhat like the second option because it is a little bit different than the norm. Again, as long as the lengths are kept on the subtle side -- I wouldn't mind the extra set of pointers in there.

BTW -- did anyone notice the Google add at the top of the page for this post is about dentures? (at least it is for me!)

 

[Will Vincent]

Ad sense at its finest.

 

[Loud Orange Cat]

...will post photos throughout the process...

Yay! Post away when you have pics.

 

[knightly]

do you see the google ad that is giving free sample of acrylic teeth?

 

[Will Vincent]

yup.

 

[Will Vincent]

More photos...

Getting ready to paint on the alcote separator, which keeps the acrylic from sticking to the plaster:

The guide that came with my supplies says to sculpt the teeth from clay, then pull another mold with alginate, fill the void in the mold with acrylic and reseat the plaster cast of the teeth (without the clay) to form the acrylic teeth. However, I used to have a video (which sadly I've lost) that the guy was demoing putting the acrylic directly onto the cast. Since it will be filed down and shaped a bit later, the exact shape/size isn't critical. This is the method I've used for my first test set...

You'll notice the tooth on the right in the pics is smaller than the one on the left. It's the one I did first, and by the time I got to the second one the acrylic was a bit more firm.. The tooth on the right is fairly close to the size and shape I'm going for, the other will need a bit of filing and shaping.

This worked alright so far.. acrylic has a working time of several minutes where it's solid but still pliable.

To fully set up it takes a couple hours, so I'm going to let it sit overnight and doing the filing and shaping in the morning. More pics will follow.

 

[Will Vincent]

By the time I finished my previous post, the acrylic had hardened enough to handle gently..

As I said, they need some shaping, and clearly will need some coloring (damn my non-white teeth. ) BUT.. They're a perfect fit.

Of course, putting them on before they've fully cured (as I did in this photo) is really not the best idea.. I had them in for all of 2 minutes or so, and my teeth/gums are a little numb.. while curing the chemicals from the monomer are expelled from the acrylic... They're not, technically speaking, really good for you.

 

[Will Vincent]

Well, I spent about 20 minutes filing these down today, and I'm pretty happy with the results. As this is a test pair, I don't plan on doing any further work with this set, but the method clearly works and I'm happy about that. I should be taking the mold of the actors teeth this week, and his head probably next weekend, so I'll continue posting pics along the way.

The color still isn't a perfect match here, but I'm told if I soak them in coffee or drink coffee while wearing them they will darken up a bit. Then they just need a coat of clear nail polish (which has to sit for a full 24 hours+ before wearing..) That I probably will do, just because it's easy but otherwise I don't plan to do any additional filing or whatnot. Even though they're not quite right yet, they are mighty close.