Experimenting with Hair Punching
This was my first time ever hair punching. I have seen it many of times during demonstrations and dvds, books etc.
I decided for 3rd year it was essential to show that I have started experimenting with different materials and to enhance some of my practical skills.
Firstly I did have the intention of making my own hair punching tools, but having a research into where I could purchase them from came to mind. I wanted to have my own hair punching tools for future prosthetic projects.
Luckily I had them bought from Sweden for a Birthday present, and I wasn't expecting them to be delivered so quickly, which was a lovely surprise.
I didn't expect the hair punching tools to be that small, but they were incredibly sharp and came in various sizes for different hair types.
It also came with a lovely DVD which gave a demonstration of how to use the tools.
The small box the hair punching tools tools came in from Makeup-fx.com. I didn't come across any other website that sold the tools themselves, so I had them as a birthday present.
Inside the hair punching box, 2 of each colour ( except the brown ) , and each punch needle had a different end.
Yellow 43 - Ultra Fine for the finest fiber
Red 40 - Very fine for mohair or wool
Blue 38 - Fine for thin human hair
White 36 - Normal for human hair
Brown 19 - Very heavy for hidden areas
I used some left over silicone from a mold that I made previously, and I thought it would be a great way to experiment using it instead of wasting the silicone. I used extension hair ( fine ) to be hair punched into the silicone, and used the blue hair punching tool to piece it in.
Here was the first few strands I had managed to hair punch at the start, I really enjoyed the intensity of ensuring it went in all the way.
A flash was used on this image to show up the thorough detail of where the hair had been applied. I had also added a few more hairs into the silicone to start building up more of a surface area.
I got a bit carried away at this point as I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I started thickening it up to make it appear like a scalp, making sure the hair was closely hair punched together, with little gaps in between each strand of hair.
The hair slid in incredibly easy when hair punched, I was loving the tools and how well they glided into the silicone.
This image shows the amount of hair added into the silicone in a space of 5 minutes.
A finished experimental piece that will be handed in at the end to show how I have thought about the direction of the hair, and how it has been applied.
I then decided to then experiment on a bigger surface area, and some more left over silicone that was used when creating my horn molds. I tried various methods, and different tools to see what the difference was. I experimented with fine strands of hair where it appeared spaced out - to extremely packed hairs that had very little spacing between each strand.
This was the finished outcome , which again will be added into my experimental box at the end of the project to show the various techniques I demonstrated, and to also show how much fun I had with it that I got slightly carried away.
What did you like/dislike?
How could you improve?
I thoroughtly enjoyed using these sculpting tools, and if anything, I went a bit overboard, and wanted to hair punch everything. I used the majority of the hair I had to practice with, as I hadn't experienced using hair punching tools before. I found it to be quite relaxing, and I loved every minute of using it.
The technique to punch hair in was very educational, and the dvd helped a lot.
I think the only part of it which I didn't dislike was, I went in a bit too far for the first few attempts, and the needle came out of the silicone on the other side and stabbed me several times, which drew blood. So despite having battle wounds whilst using the tools, I still enjoyed it a lot, and it's most definite something I would love to work with in the future.
I would improve by using different fibres, like wool, yak hair and possible fake fur of some sort. I found it quite easy to push the human hair through the silicone, so it would be a good opportunity to experience using something thicker.