Maimie the Clown Costume

Evil clowns have been spotted in the Portland Metro area today. Kids are being lured into the woods by what seems to be several people dressed as clowns. Children are stating that, “the clowns are offering them money to follow them into the woods.” This is the fourth sighting nationwide within the last 48 hours. Local police are asking parents to take the time to teach their children about strangers and how to avoid dangerous situations. “Several of these sightings have been documented across the US, causing a national frenzy,” spokesman Chris Lane said today during a press conference. Pictures of the Portland Clowns have been released. WARNING: The photos below may be unsettling.

The entire mask was sculpted and molded from scratch and I went through several trial and errors. Firstly, my silicone cured before I could pour my measured amount in, causing a partially made mask. Due to products being so expensive and my time being limited I had to use what I had left. I rigged the mold and re-poured the silicone I had left to create a good enough base for the mask. This left me with miserable seams and holes, so a lot of handmade silicone patch work was needed. Once I managed to create a complete half skull mask I moved to painting. I wanted this character to look like a clown makeup was applied over the skull, and was simultaneously old and worn. This application would go along with my concept of a disturbingly attractive character that draws in children.

During this process I had my first experience with painting on silicone. Of course, due to the nature of the beast, and it being my first time, I came across another huge obstacle: getting the proper ratio of silicone solvent and paint mixture. After five different paint applications I finally got one to stick. Thankfully this layer provided the most evil and mystical appearance yet, and conveyed the emotion I was going for. Before I go any further I need to take a few steps back and stress that this silicone mask has a special aspect to it. During the entire process of silicone build-up and painting I added Cryptolyte and blacklight activated Silc-Pig. I wanted to make sure that this mask would be blacklight activated bringing something new to the table. This was tricky but ended up being a success and definitely made this mask unique.

After I completed the painting stage, the application of hair was next. I attached jumbo braided hair on both the inside and outside of the crown line, creating an illusion of a full head from behind. I then mixed several hair colors, creating multiple neon highlights to go with the playful mood. Once the hair was complete, the final touch on the mask was the attachment of a craft store pom-pom on the nose bone. After this, I moved on to the costume design. I wanted this character to look a specific way and give off a certain vibe, and that was a clown that is both evil yet playful. I liked the way that my first tutu turned out during Halloween in 2013, and a tutu definitely fits with the feeling that I wanted this character to portray. I went to the craft store, got several colors of tulle, a yard of specialty elastic waffle ribbon, and made my enormous rainbow tutu. The pom-pom nose on the mask went so well with the emotion of my character that I wanted to incorporate more of them within the costume design. I found giant sparkle pom-poms for the tops of my feet. I fashioned them with thin red elastic so when I wore my shoes it looked like the pom-poms were attached to my shoes without actually being so. I am still relatively new to sewing, so instead of going completely mad with creating a garment from scratch, I altered a dress and pair of leggings for the rest of the costume. This helped with the time limit I had, as well as the budget I was on. I wanted black and white stripes to create a visual resting point within the character’s overall look. With all of the neon colors and pom-poms there needed to be some space that would highlight my mask and makeup application without taking away from it. Finding the perfect dress and pair of leggings at a cheap price took a while but I successfully managed to create the aesthetic that I had planned and pictured in my head all along.

Finally, I accessorized the costume. I attached black pom-poms to the top, bought suspenders, and added little details with buttons. White lace gloves were also incorporated. I cut off the finger tips and added, you guessed it, more pom-poms! I felt satisfied with the completed outfit, including its color palette and how it worked with the mask, as well as the hair application that had ability to be interchanged— I could wear it up or down. This entire character came out better then I had initially imagined. And adding to its visual success, is the fact that this is the first time that I have created a complete character concept 100 percent from scratch.

Maimie was a ghoulish delight, but there was something missing. She absolutely needed a weapon, and it had to be something gruesome but also one that a child would be familiar with. I wanted to render a weapon as realistically as I could. Something that would scare someone if they saw it walking down the street. With all of this in mind, I decided to create an axe. This was done with a combination of materials, including: thick poster board, Worbla, 1970’s sticky vinyl lining (which I found at the Goodwill, conveniently in wood print), a lot of electrical tape, paint, foiling effect that was achieved using nail foils, eyelash glue, and of course drying blood. There it was, my life-like, lightweight prop axe.

After I completed the painting stage, the application of hair was next. I attached jumbo braided hair on both the inside and outside of the crown line, creating an illusion of a full head from behind. I then mixed several hair colors, creating multiple neon highlights to go with the playful mood. Once the hair was complete, the final touch on the mask was the attachment of a craft store pom-pom on the nose bone.

Evil clowns have been spotted in the Portland Metro area today. Kids are being lured into the woods by what seems to be several people dressed as clowns. Children are stating that, “the clowns are offering them money to follow them into the woods.” This is the fourth sighting nationwide within the last 48 hours. Local police are asking parents to take the time to teach their children about strangers and how to avoid dangerous situations. “Several of these sightings have been documented across the US, causing a national frenzy,” spokesman Chris Lane said today during a press conference. Pictures of the Portland Clowns have been released. WARNING: The photos below may be unsettling.