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So, for Halloween I'm going as this guy. Any clever idea to do the mask in an affordable way without it looking cheesy as hell?

I wonder if any of the forums cosplayers will see this thread? I bet they'd have some good ideas. At any rate, I'd suggest papier mache. You could apply directly to your face, or use aluminum foil as a mold to build on. Or a combination of both. Extra layers if you want to try and sculpt in some details. Sandpaper, prime, and paint. Maybe get some cheap readers from CVS or wherever.

-edit-

But don't sandpaper so much you start getting the newspaper fuzzy, that's kind of a pain. Best to try and keep the surface fairly smooth while applying layers, and keep sanding to a minimum.

BananaHands said:

Any clever idea to do the mask in an affordable way without it looking cheesy as hell?

Click to expand...

The mask doesn't look all that great in the first place (on purpose), so I don't think you need to worry about it looking cheesy. I do like drifter's paper mache suggestion.

Man that's a great costume idea! Wish I had an answer for you!

I'm working on one myself - I got lucky and found a cheap plastic mask I've cut up. I'd say looking for a Phantom of the Opera mask is a good start, as that covers the right amount of face.

Press two separate pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil to your (lotion-covered) face to get two molds, fill with generous dollop of aquarium sealer and press both halves together (without touching), then fill gaps, sand, and paint?

I'm just guessin' off the top of my head, haven't really done this sort of thing. Kati's the costumer, but I don't think she has any experience with makeup and/or appliances.

--Patrick

Go to his house, subdue him, put him in a medical induced coma...

cut off face, tape over yours.. problem solved! Get it back before the night is over and the medical induced coma wears off..and before the police find you!
...

oh...that's highly illegal... ok...

ok then the other thing I can think of is use playdoh and a xerox color copy of his face. It'll work!

i am also being richard harrow for halloween. I'm using a clear mask, cut in half with half a pingpong ball blocking one of the eye holes. looks pretty spot on.

That is awesome. Anything Richard Harrow related is awesome.

I'm going as a female Richard Harrow.
I'm going to use one of those clear masks, too. That'll allow me to trace my eyebrow, lip, eye, etc before filling in the skin color. I'm considering leaving the eye open, but we'll see. Hopefully this works - I don't have much time left!

Remember to post pictures when you're done. I want to see these!
Added at: 10:17
And let me know if you even CAN post pictures as guests/unregistered. I can always allow it, but I'd be leaving myself open for a lot of awful stuff...

Man... this is such a cool idea... but he's got that damn mustache and I already tried to go as Ron Swanson and my wife threatened to kill me if I shaved down to a stache.

hey can anybody provide pics of what their masks now look like?

i'm trying to make a mask today. i like the ideas of clear masks and also the more work-intensive ideas of play-doh or paper maiche.

i feel a little confused understanding how you made any of those work. maybe some more detail and some pics would help. i'd appreciate it. thanks in advance for any responses.

BananaHands did this one:

Anonymous said:

Go to his house, subdue him, put him in a medical induced coma...

cut off face, tape over yours.. problem solved! Get it back before the night is over and the medical induced coma wears off..and before the police find you!
...

oh...that's highly illegal... ok...

ok then the other thing I can think of is use playdoh and a xerox color copy of his face. It'll work!

Click to expand...

will playdoh permanently harden, though?

According to eHow...yes.

Dave said:

BananaHands did this one:

Click to expand...

haha wow fast response! thanks. that looks good. do you know which method he used?

I do not know. BananaHands? How about it?

Typing it up now. Gimme a sec.
Added at: 21:27
Alright! So, you can either make a mask or buy a paper mache mask I found at Target. It's only two dollars and works great.


So, cut that sucker in half. With the other half, us the forehead to cut out an eyeball. I made it this size:


Cut out another little slit for the eyelid. It'll give the eye some layers and it'll look nicer than just painting it on. So, let's look at where our mask is now...



Paint the mask and the eyelid. I used a coral acrylic paint and used a sponge brush. I bought a 99 cent brush kit (comes with a sponge brush, several detail brushes and a sponge), the acrylic paint and three dimensional fabric paint (eye color and pupil) at Michael's. Ended up being around six dollars. Put on a few coats so it becomes smooth. I used the fabric paint to make the eye stand out a bit. So, let's check this mask out now.



For the mustache and eyebrow, I just bought a cheap 25 cent fake mustache and cut it in half. To make it look textured and not furry, I covered the top with black paint. Attach it and viola! Richard Harrow mask! It's not the best quality, but considering it only took about ten dollars to make, it was well worth it. I also added blush on the cheek to give it some color.

Thanks, Mr. Hands!
Added at: 15:45
Also, you took the picture in a mirror, which is why it looks like it's the wrong side. I wondered about that!

Oh man, I should probably fix that so it doesn't get confusing.

Hey,

I made a similar mask (different painting, but the exact same base mask, haha). How are you planning on attaching it to your face? I have some elastic, but it looks dumb. I have glasses too, but I haven't been able to attach teh two well.

Superglue?

Lol. I used some to reinforce the eye (used the same method as Mr. Hands) and I tried to bind it in two places with the glasses, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped.

BananaHands said:

Oh man, I should probably fix that so it doesn't get confusing.

Click to expand...

thanks for the walk-through. i went and bought most of this exact stuff after reading your instructions. gonna start to put it together now.

Adam said:

Hey,

I made a similar mask (different painting, but the exact same base mask, haha). How are you planning on attaching it to your face? I have some elastic, but it looks dumb. I have glasses too, but I haven't been able to attach the two well.

Click to expand...

Double-sided tape?

There's various skin safe glues in the stage industry. Hell, you can experiment with http://www.jbox.com/product/NET055

Check out this guy from Reddit!

Here's mine!

Nice!

I think it's the ceiling fan hat that really pulls it all together.

--Patrick