I recently finished a Batman mask made out of only craft foam, and decided to make a little tutorial to share, explaining how to make your own your mask from scratch, using stuff from any hardware store near you.
On the first part of the tutorial, we'll focus on making the patterns for the mask, so go and get the following:
-Plastic food wrap.
-Duct tape.
-Sharpie marker.
-Scissors.
-Hobby knife.
The first step is to grab a roll of food wrap and cover the area you're making a pattern of. Since we're working on the head, be extra careful to leave the mouth and nose uncovered. Aluminium paper, or even plastic bags, works fine, too, but this time, food wrap is better because it's transparent, allowing to see.
Next, cover the area with duct tape,
and proceed to draw the lines where you'll cut, but also add smaller perpendicular lines to act as reference markers.
Since the design of the mask is symetric, we'll just make patterns for one side of the head, that can be flipped over to make the other half, so carefully cut open the plastic from the side we're not using, and proceed to cut the pieces for the pattern. And don't forget to cut small notches on the marker lines.
Almost done. Now trace over the patterns onto some paper, and cut again, and don't forget the notches.
Now's all that's left is to enlarge the patterns. Why, you ask? Because, unlike tape and paper, the foam we'll be using is thicker, and that thickness will go to the insde of the prop, making it too tight to fit. So, if we're working with 6mm craft foam, just go to your closest copies store and ask for a copy of each piece enlarged by 10% (or 15% if you plan on wearing clothes under it).
And there you have it, a cheap and simple method that cam be used ro not only make masks, but basically any armor piece you want, in the exact size you need.
If you have any doubt, or get stuck on any of the steps, please leave a comment and I'll answer ASAP, or me on Facebook (/KamenKosplay).
I'll be ing part 2 on sunday or early monday, so, until then, thanks for reading, and happy crafting.
Comments (1)
That’s one of the best foam cowls I’ve seen! Well done!