How to Make a Steampunk Mask
by billcitrus in Craft > Costumes & Cosplay
6613 Views, 23 Favorites, 0 Comments
How to Make a Steampunk Mask
Hi guys! Bill citrus here, I made a mask that took me about two days to make. For this project, I needed a lot of hot glue,for the texture, and a lot of paint. Speaking of paint, the stuff I used was: Plastidip spray on rubber, black spray paint,and gold and silver Rub 'N Buff. Which you will see further in this Instructable.
Sketching
First I drew what I wanted the mask to look like on paper, then, when I was happy with what I had, I drew it on the mask.
Adding Depth
This part is optional, and you can do it differently, but I think it looks really cool! I roughly drew the same shapes on some craft foam. If you're not very good at drawing , then you can trace the shapes on to wax paper, then cut them out, and use that as a pattern for the foam. Once you've done that you can glue the shapes on your mask. I just bought a $2 blank white mask.
Screws
I wanted to have screws on the eye brows and mouth, so I took some scraps of EVA foam, you an use a few layers of craft foam glued together instead, and pressed a marker cap into the foam. Then, with some scissors, cut out the circle.With the blunt square edge of the scissors I pressed the circle firmly and rubbed it, Making a notch. I then glued them on the mask.
The Hot Glue Designs
Trace your pencil markings with hot glue, this will add depth to your markings and will be highlighted with Rub 'n Buff later. I learned that if you use a high-temp glue gun, I have a multi-temp, you can make fake rivets by making a small blob first, then wrap the stringy bit around the blob. It will look like a little tornado at first, but it should slump into a perfect rivet.
Painting
First I gave the mask a coat of brown,then painted black around the edge of the foam bits. This gave it a more robotic look. The brown was too bright though.... so I sprayed a light coating of black over the hole thing, then let it dry.
Rub 'N Buff Time!
Go outside and squeeze the tubes of Rub 'N Buff to mix the paint up inside. then find a rubber glove,RUBBER GLOVE MANDATORY! RUB 'N BUFF IS TOXIC AND YOU DON'T WANT TO GET IT ON YOUR SKIN! Squeeze some paint out on a piece of news paper. get a little bit on your finger and rub with a circular motion. Rub a little of on the news paper just so you have a little bit of paint on your gloved finger, then apply it to your mask. I noticed if I put a little bit of silver on top of the gold I got sort of a light brass color. I used silver for the hot glue texture around the outside of the face.
The Wires
for the wires on top of the head I used floral wire and some kind of Halloween wreath cord. I crimped the edges of the floral wire on to the cord to hold it in place. I did this on both sides of the wire.
Glue the Wires on
This one is pretty self explanatory. :)
Screen in the Eyes
I cut out two pieces of window screen and glued them to the mask. Then took some black fabric that I could see through and glued that over top of the screen. I later painted the screen black.
Comfort Is Important!
I had a scrap of corrugated foam and cut a piece for the forehead. Then glued it in place.
And You're Done!
Enjoy your mask! I think this was one of my best most fun projects! Please post a picture if you make a mask of your own using this Instructable! Have fun!
Bill Citrus