Couple of questions from a novice prop maker. I'm pretty handy with tools and paint, but so far most of my props are cobbled together from found objects, not fabricated from scratch.
1) I have a very large amount of white bead/EPS foam that I want to incorporate into some props - the first of which is a huge ice chest that I scavenged from my day job, that I plan to turn into a Borderlands-style loot chest. Any tips on working with this foam? A couple thin layers of newspaper paper mache, sand it flat, then gesso, sand some more, then add details/paint? Will I have trouble with the paper mache sticking to the foam, and should do a thin layer of gesso directly onto the foam first?
2) When people refer to paper clay, do you usually mean the pre-packed "
Creative Paperclay" product, or do you mean a homemade modeling substance made from pulped paper/TP mixed with a hardener and clay? If the latter, got any reliable recipes? I've seen a handful of different recipes on the net.
I just picked up some gesso, Apoxie Sculpt, and some sculpting tools, and might get started on some things this weekend. The chest and a helmet (expanding foam, insulation foam, or maybe white foam) will likely be my first projects. I need to pick up a hot-wire cutter too, I think.