How to Carve Foam Rubber
Foam rubber is one of the easiest materials to work with and the perfect starting place for beginners wishing to experiment with sculpting. Foam rubber is soft enough to cut without difficulty, yet firm enough to maintain its shape. Foam rubber holds paint well too, making it an ideal sculpting material. Learning to work with foam rubber takes little more than a few practice attempts. With minimal tools, you can create a foam rubber sculpture that you can display proudly.
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Things You'll Need
- Foam block
- Pencil
- Razor knife (box cutter)
- Sharp foam-rubber cutting knife
Instructions
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Place a block of foam rubber on a level surface. Use a standard number two pencil or a thin marker to draw an image of the design you want to cut from the foam rubber. The outline of your sculpture is a good guide while you're cutting.
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Carve away large portions of the foam with a kitchen knife or a knife made for cutting foam. The sharper the knife, the easier it will be to cut. Cutting with a dull knife will rip the foam rubber and leave you with ragged edges. Cut large portions away until you have the foam rubber block down to a rough outline of your design.
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Carve small portions of foam rubber with a razor knife, sometimes called a box cutter. If areas of the foam are rough, you can heat the razor knife and run it along the foam rubber to smooth it out. Cut detail work with a series of small cuts, squeezing the foam rubber together and removing bits of it until you have cut away everything but the details.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider using an electric carving knife if you are working with exceptionally large blocks of foam rubber. Be certain the knife is very sharp so that it doesn't destroy the foam rubber.
