Francesco is a professional prosthetics sculptor and has sculpted prosthetics for some of the worlds largest productions such as Star Wars, The Mummy and many other block busters whilst working at the legendary KM Effects, owned and run by Kristyan Mallet. After having the pleasure of hosting Francesco's live sculpting and life casting demonstrations at the 2018 Prosthetics event, we asked him if he would be kind enough to gift us with some of his invaluable sculpting tips and hints. Francesco completed the sculpt into a screen ready makeup in under 5 hours, whilst also speaking to a plethora of intrigued guests. As many of us never get to see the sculpting process (Or that sculpting process takes us 3 weeks ) we were surprised at how quickly the sculpt developed, how quickly the design was cemented and how quickly the textures were integrated.Make sure to watch the time lapse of Franceso's live sculpting at The Prosthetics Event at the bottom of the page! How did you start your career?I started my career in 2008 in a workshop in Italy, but in the beginning most of my knowledge about sculpting came from years and years of playing with clay at home with my Dad. I practiced sculpting at home a lot with him. I decided that I wanted to get into the industry when I watched the special content of Lord Of The Rings and I was in awe!I became more skilled in prosthetics from working for Kristyan Mallett at KM EFFECTs. I worked for him from 2013 – 2018 more or less, working for Mark Coulier and David White intermittently too. Did you always know you wanted to work in Makeup Effects?No actually, when I was 14 I wanted to be a comedian, a lawyer, a therapist, an architect..! Once I decided to work in the movie industry I focussed on getting better and honing my skills.When did you start sculpting?I started sculpting with pottery clay when I was around 5 or 6. My dad taught sculpting in my school for a few years when I was 8. We always did something creative together, and if it wasn't for his passion about art, I wouldn't be here writing this.Did you have a natural flare for sculpting?I think I can confidently say that initially my drawing and sculpting skills were at the same level, but that I always found it easier to express what I had in my mind with a sculpt rather than a drawing.Before beginning a sculpture, what are the aspects that you normally consider?The brief is key. It all depends what I must sculpt and who it’s for. I’ve found it’s very important when you work for someone else to leave behind too much pride and attachment for your sculpt. It’s someone else design, choice, project, and we can try to some of our influence and style - especially if it’s a creature, but ultimately sculptors are executioners that need to follow a design. You’ll be expected to change the sculpt until they’re happy with it.Do you find it easier sculpting your own personal projects or do you prefer to be given a design to follow?Personal projects definitely give you more freedom, a chance to create and sculpt something that you wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to. On the other hand, it’s sometimes complicated to decide what you want to do. It can be a big dilemma because when you have a plaster cast in front of you and you just want to sculpt something the first big question is: what am I going to sculpt now? When you work on a movie the easier part is following the design because you don't have to decide anything BUT the "pressure" comes from the fact that what you are sculpting has to be what the supervisor and production wants, and often you find yourself changing the sculpt quiet few times. When sculpting a makeup for a film how much input does production have into the final design?It's a mix of opinions. Often the producer has the final word. Designing a character is always a long process, a continuous back and forward between makeup designer, prosthetic designer, concept designer, producer, art director etc. It often takes weeks, sometimes months, to arrive to a final design. Sometimes, after you get the sculpt done, the prosthetics are processed, and the scenes are shot – something doesn’t work out and it gets cut out from the movie or digitally replaced. Can you break down the basic sculpting process for us? From applying the clay to the finished sculpt?I’m asked this question a lot and my answer is always the same. As a self-taught sculptor I don't have an official process that I follow, so there isn't any step 1-2-3... Whether it’s a personal project or a design for a movie, the most important thing is to find good references. No drawings or other people sculpts because as good as they can be, they are still an interpretation of reality, and you’re more likely to recreate someone else’s interpretation than to create something new. Doing a quick sketch of the design sometimes helps you to visualise what you want to do faster, as a guideline on what direction to take. Once the ideas are clearer the sculpting process starts. I like to start sculpting the bone structure because it’s the first thing that changes the features of the actor/model. Once we are happy with the bone structure, placing the meatier parts of the makeup could be the second more helpful step, and then finally we fill the gaps. As soon as we’re happy with the look of the blocked out sculpt the next step is refining shapes and getting into more details. The last step is texturing it, which could take a day or more. It’s not usually necessary to do a perfect job at this stage because when we will float off the sculpt from the plaster cast to the fiberglass cast, there will be some touch ups to do anyway.What is your favourite clay to sculpt with? Does that depend on what you are sculpting?Monster clay is my favourite above all for prosthetics, maquettes, and props. The way it reacts to solvents and fire, the level of fine details I can produce on it is incredible. You can microwave it and have a quick soft pack of clay to sculpt with immediately and block out a make up sculpt in few hours. When I sculpt big things like a full bodysuit or a life size animal, I always prefer using water based clay because it’s cheaper, faster and when you get a good thickness of it on the sculpt it’s possible to let it dry almost completely and scratch very fine details at the end of the sculpting process. The only thing about water-based clay is to ensure that you get a very good armature before starting to sculpt to support the weight of it.Is there anything that you find useful whilst sculpting that isn't traditionally a sculpting tool?I've seen people use everything from a dog brush to a thimble. Dog brushes and thimbles are very good to create a quick generic skin texture. Most sculpting tools are made of guitar strings, fishing wire, band saw blades, nails, pins, acupuncture needles. When I worked on Detective Pikachu I used pebbles and rocks I found outside the workshop to create textures on a couple of creature skins. Sculpting tools don't always answer our requirement so often it’s up to us be ingenious, try new things, and find creative solutions.What are your favourite sculpting tools, are these tools you have made yourself ?My favourites are the tools I make myself. When I sculpt for workshops, I need to be fast and get everything done on or before the deadline to cost less and be better. It’s important to be faster and better every day because in this way you make yourself more useful. So, every so often I think about how to speed up processes like sculpting pores or goose bumps and I make my tools to make the process faster and "less alienating" because sculpting pores can be a very long process. Is there any guidance or advise you could offer up any wanting to work in Makeup Effects?The first two things I have in mind are quotes from movies "Never give up, never surrender" (Galaxy Quest), "Do or do not, there is no try" (Star Wars). Passion, dedication, and sacrifice are the key elements to succeed in this industry. There are many people in the industry and every year many more graduate from schools, courses and Uni so to get on top of the list you need to get better and faster every day. Challenging yourself is a great way to improve your skills, be critical about your work, never be happy fully about your work but reward yourself when you accomplish goals. Practice every day in your spare time. I still sculpt in my spare time and lunch breaks with personal projects. You will never stop learning, and be open to criticism and be open to suggestions from others because a fresh eye on your work helps to see what you can't see any more after 8 hours looking at the same thing nonstop (that’s why I find it helpful to sometimes watch Netflix on my laptop when I work so it helps me have a fresh eye while working).I hope that my words will help future sculptors, I know how hard and frustrating it can be but never let anything or anyone put you down and keep at it!