Leather Masks

Forming of furniture leather by using plaster shape-forms. PVA glue (for wood), Chrome Tannage Leather (for furniture), primer paint with alcohol, air brush, horsehair and your fantasy can create on plaster shape form (pig) so nice faces LOL.

A couple of years ago, a man sitting at the table asked me to make a vampire mask, for one of the role-playing games .... I have since made them every year, because urban fairs here use scary masks everywhere and they seem to love them, if not their interested for sure. No one is indifferent, even if people are not interested in a purse or a corset, children are sure to pull their parents into wearing masks and taking photos with them. And then beg them to buy it.I am very sorry for the quality of the photos, but I can't take better pictures of the process. It was a digression, now the process of the Halloween creativity:First it is necessary to make the gypsum face form, which can be used to make a mask.You will need bandages, plaster, food wrap and a buddy, who will agree to close up the plaster. To get your buddy access to the fresh air put 2 tubes in their nose. When putting plaster is completed then remove the tubes. In the picture tubes are already removed, but the holes are not visible :).

After the plaster form has hardened (20-30 minutes approximately), whichever layer is smeared, the face can be removed from the cast. The next day, you can pour in the plaster cast, and finally the next day you will be get the long-awaited face form. It is important to level horizontally form with plaster as accurate as it is possible to get the face form flat on a horizontal surface. Just before pouring it is necessary to pave the mold with plastic food wrap, to get well separated from the form and gypsum has not flowed out of the holes for the nose.

Than mix glue with water (70 percent of glue and 30 percent of water) pour some of this mix on the inner side of a piece of leather, which will be used for molding. To be a continued...

Than cover our shape form with good soaked leather. Leather is covered by food plastic wrap. Now we are starting process of leather forming. Wrinkles what we are forming give the mask more strength because mask is getting more stiffening ribs. So more wrinkles are increasing chances that raw mask will keep appropriate form after removing from plaster shape form (pig)

By using hammer stapler we need to attach mask то the working table and leave for 10 hours to dry.

After that remove staples and unstick a bit raw mask from shape form and cut the waste out

if you have your own stamp (brand) right now you can pretty careful press it on mask. Than leave mask for 24 hours until full drying.

One more time put another one layer of glue on a back of mask to get it more strong and leave it for more 24 hours.

When masks are fully dry we are getting really nice faces

The worst thing for me starts after the masks have dried out about two times. - It's cutting slits. As a very impressionable person I get nervous when make eye sockets. I have this strong feeling that I'm not alone in the room anymore. Even when only one eye of the mask is opened, I begin to understand I have made something that sees, and because the mask expression is not friendly at all the лук of this "babies" feels such intensive..... so it's atmosphere of horror in general. So I mark the places of cuts by pencil.

Then I start to cut the nose first so mask can take a breath and then I make eyes. Hey! Take a look - it is already living! then I turn the cutter of mouth in the teeth using nippers .... mouth with teeth looks way less terrible, but even funny to me.

Take a dipper look on ayes - mask is alive!

Than by using side cutting pliers I make cut outs in mask mouth what look like a real teeth. With teeth mask is not so scary, now it looks funny! And I did not get any bites in a process

I bend extra skin from the nose and eyes, glue them well and expand holes to a right sizes Now masks are ready for painting :)))

For painting I use airbrush. To sprinkle alcohol in mask nose you can use cheapest one as I have.

Primer paint with alcohol. I use from Poland - Kaps. But you can use any alcohol primer paint what can absorb in leather. I don't use water base paint - don't know how I can use it. Than do a mouth make-up - we need to paint teeth with white finish paint (if mask is not white as on a picture)

After that use black finish paint to make teeth more contrast (especially if mask is white and teeth are not visible because same color of mask)

Use cotton ball with alcohol to remove some paint from teeth to adjust color of teeth with main color of mask (it supposed to be not so white, we are not dentists).

We've got some buddies in yamy warm chocolate colors!

Than make a holes with pegging-awl where hairs will start to grow. (we marked it with pencil before)After that form locks. We need to take amount of hairs (threads, leather strips etc.) what will fit our holes. Make on one end of lock knot and wrap it with painting tape. Painting tape is not so sticky so you will not destroy hairs, but at the same time it sticks to the leather or hairs pretty good.

Thin locks I insert with hook from from within outside.Than glue hears inside of mask to the forehead, just like that:

Than glue hears inside of mask to the forehead, just like that:

Now hears have a good connection with the skull and can't drop out

After that cut out all remnants and inside stick it up with leather patch.

Mark holes with puncher and lace mask up around buy use thick thread, leave loop on top to get ability to hang mask up. This option to lace mask up around is optimal for not really rigid masks because than you can tight it up (in chin area) according shape of your face. To get right shape for more hard and dense masks in some areas I use sewing machine - it is quicker but no loop on top for hanging and no wrinkles on chin.

For more thick hire locks, holes supposed to be accordingly bigger.

In those holes hair locks can be screw up from outside, just make paint paper more thinner to the

Than stick up pieces with paint paper to the forehead, glue it up with leather patch and mark holes for lacing.

Inner portion of mask we can paint with special paint for corners, but I don't really like effect of it and after painting two masks as I described I preferred to do not spoil others. Sanding mask from inner side is not really comfortable, paint on not prepared surface is laying down not smoothly and paint overlaying on faces parts is really bad. In my opinion painting of inner side of mask is not necessary. Mask without it is more cozy . Than it is up to you what we will do next - sawing or lacing up.

To do not get vertical deformation of mask from inside sew with thread forehead and nose.

And we are getting pretty cool and colorful characters what can make from their's owner a Star of Party or Role-Playing Game!