Tutorial: Making Latex Texture Stamps

This tutorial will demonstrate how to make a simple texture stamp out of rubber latex. In this case, I'm making a stamp from the lovely skin textures of two fruits, an orange and an avocado. You can pull textures from pretty much any non-porous surface.

Inspiration came from Evan Campbell's Skin Texture Tutorial (Warning - his tutorial is a bit gruesome - incredibly lifelike, though!)

An orange     An avocado

Find a non-porous object or material (something that water would not soak into) with an interesting texture. Here I have chosen the skins of an orange for its skinlike, pitted appearance and an avocado for its deep, folded, scaly look.

Wet, uncured latex on the surface of an orange     Wet, uncured latex on the surface of the avocado

Make sure your object won't roll around. You can put some clay or a base underneath to keep it steady. Pour a small amount of rubber latex onto the object, about 1.5" in diameter. Make sure you don't spread the latex too thin. You want it at least 2 mm deep.

Dried latex on the surface of an orange     Dried latex on the surface of the avocado

The latex has a distinctly different appearance once it has dried. Make sure it appears dry throughout and doesn't show any traces of whiteness underneath.

Peeling dry latex off of the orange     Peeling the latex off of the avocado

Peel the latex off of your object. It should pull off of a non-porous object easily.

Finished latex texture stamp in front of orange     Finished texture stamp in front of the avocado

The resulting texture stamp can now be used to create interesting, lifelike textures in soft clays.

I've pulled texture stamps from all kinds of objects, from fruits like these, to sandpaper, rocks, and even the pattern on the floor of our shower. Keep your eyes open for interesting textures, and feel free to experiment!

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Categories: Costuming, Tutorials, Materials, and Tools, Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks
Tags: avocado, fruit, orange, rubber latex, sculpting, skin, texture stamp, tools, tutorial
Live Date: 4/14/2013 | Last Modified: 9/29/2022