Rainbow Labubu Mask

Do you know a Labubu?

Have you heard anything about them?

What is a Labubu and what is it used for?

Well, a Labubu is a character from the toy series "The Monsters," created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. They are collectible vinyl figures shaped like little monsters, known for their pointy ears, big eyes, and distinctive smile. They have become very popular as fashion accessories, especially as keychains or bag charms, and are sold in surprise boxes containing a random figure from the collection.

Today we will make a decorative head, which will work both as decoration and as a mask for any party or occasion, and since Halloween is just around the corner, what better way to be in trend than with a mask of these striking characters

1. Eva Foam Sheets (all the colors of the rainbow).
2. Rainbow fur fabric.
3. Skin-coloured EVA foam sheet.
4. rainbow-colored glitter.
5. 4mm/6mm thick EVA foam in any color.
6. Hot Glue.
7. Contact cement.
8. X-acto.
9. Pencil.
10. Templates.
11. Marker.
12. Scissors.

Well, as I mentioned from the beginning, what I'll be making today is a Labubu mask that can be used as a decoration for your room, after using it, of course, at some conventions or parties of your choice.

But anyway, let's talk about Labubus again. There are hundreds of personalized Labubus, but usually the main ones, so to speak, come in pastel shades and a single color, so I decided to break the mold and add a little color to mine.

Well, as I mentioned from the beginning, what I'll be making today is a Labubu mask that can be used as a decoration for your room, after using it, of course, at some conventions or parties of your choice.

But anyway, let's talk about Labubus again. There are hundreds of personalized Labubus, but usually the main ones, so to speak, come in pastel shades and a single color, so I decided to break the mold and add a little color to mine.

And why not? All the colors of the rainbow.

For that I looked for a fur fabric that would fit my vision, and I was lucky to find the fabric you can see in the images.

After that I decided to complement the details I had in my imagination with glitter in rainbow colors and some EVA foam sheets of the same colors.

So, now that we have these key materials, let's get started with the project.

Well, to give shape to the labubu peculiar hemispherical head, we will use a template which I share with you in this step. The template is quite intuitive and easy to follow, and its assembly will follow the order of the rainbow. You can find a color guide on the same template to correctly assemble the sphere.

First cut out each piece and arrange them to avoid mistakes. It seems easy, but be careful with the green tones.

If it is easier for you, before cutting the pieces, add numbers to follow a numbered assembly.

Keep in mind that this twelve-color rainbow corresponds to half of the spherical dome of the head. So, when you transfer it onto the 6 mm caliber EVA foam, you'll have to repeat the process, turning the pieces over. So, be very careful.

You can see in this little animation how each piece should be used with its next part according to the color of the rainbow.

This animation is for demonstration purposes only, as are the assembly images, but you should keep them in mind for the next step.

You don't need to glue the template pieces together.

These are provided as a guide when transferring them to thick foam.

To give the mask more strength and durability, we'll make the base with a thicker layer of EVA foam, 5 mm in my case. I wanted to get this thickness in the respective colors on the project's assembly template to give the interior a colorful look, but I couldn't find very thin EVA foam in those colors at my local market.

If you can get it, I recommend it, but if not, use any color. In my case, I used black (since it was the only one available 😅), but consider it a metaphor: the dark interior represents difficult times or life's challenges, while rainbows symbolize hope, happiness, and beauty.

Take each part of the templates and transfer it onto the thick foam.

Cut out all the transferred pieces and use contact cement or glue.

let it dry and join them together, keeping in mind the rainbow order of the template.

Repeat this process 2 times, keeping in mind that a rainbow is the right side of the sphere and that when making the left side you will have to turn the templates to their opposite side when transferring them.

then glue the two parts of the resulting pieces: right and left, take into account the symmetry when gluing

For the Labubu's face, I drew the face based on several references from the web, as well as several details that add more uniqueness to the mask, and I digitized it so that it could be printed in letter size.

Cut out the digital guide of the Labubu face, use tape to adhere it to the sphere

Find the center piece of the sphere and go up 4cm from there and locate the printed image guide.

With a pencil, mark the guide edges of the eyes, mouth and face completely.

Now cut out the parts of the eye sockets previously outlined.

also with the edge of the smile.

What it will do is take out that small upper lip where the teeth will be attached.

Cut the ear molds and transfer them to the thick EVA foam as well.

Use sandpaper to smooth the bevels.

Reuse the leftover material from the eye sockets for the eyebrow area. Also for the nose (although I decided to add these details in color later).

If you want to give volume to your teeth, you can do so with very soft sandpaper.

Make 45-degree bevels and sand with sandpaper

Now demarcate the eyebrow area and apply glue to stick them on the sphere.

The labubu, despite being a super hairy character, also has an area of skin on his face, so take the skin-colored EVA foam and adjust it to the demarcated area of the face on the sphere, then apply glue and join them.

Despite being a super furry character, Labubu also has a patch of fur on his face. So, take the skin-colored EVA foam and adjust it to the marked area of the face on the sphere. Then, apply glue and join them together. Try to apply the glue with a brush to avoid lumps, and be very quick.

Now we will stick the skin on the head, so gently take the skin and start making soft movements with your fingers without exerting much pressure and adjust the skin over the details of the face.

Cut off any excess material from the eye sockets again and finish adjusting the skin.

Use the digital face template again, and use the eyes as a reference to mark the nose, where it will be located.

Stretch the skin so that it hides in the upper lip, and creates that characteristic protruding mouth of the character.

cut off excess skin from the sides

We're almost finished, so I prepared the colored EVA foam to make the teeth.

time for the dentures, in my case I took the colors of the rainbow and distributed them in order

Cut out the teeth from the digital face template and transfer them to the thin, rainbow-colored EVA foam.

Place them from the center of the mouth to the sides. (As a fun fact, labubus only have 9 teeth, not 10.)

Now we will make the pupils, so using the digital template, trace the circle on cardboard and cut it out carefully.

make two of the same

Now add glue to the cardboard and spread the colored glitter over it. Apply the rainbow colors in your favorite way to give the labubu a shiny look.

Let the glue dry for an hour so the glitter doesn't come off everywhere, then shake it to remove any excess.

Cut and glue a piece of skin tone eva foam to the ear molds for the inside.

Now we have our final pieces and we are ready to line our mask with fur.

So to cover the head we will use tape and cover the entire half of the head, we will make the symmetrical mold by turning it over to form the left and right parts.

After covering half of the head, carefully remove the tape and make small cuts in the areas with more curves. The ideal of this process is to get a flat template that then curves when assembled.

Glue the resulting piece onto a thick, flat piece of cardboard to create a functional template. Remember that this template only covers one side; when you turn it over, you will create the other side.

Turn the fabric and transfer the ear and head molds to the fabric, keep a certain distance between molds, and the ears being flat do not need a complex template.

The fabric with hair is difficult to cut, so be careful as each cut can waste fur.

Try to cut with small scissors or comb the fur in advance towards the desired side and avoid improper fur cuts.

Cut all the resulting divisions, it may seem the smallest, but the shape of the fabric fur will be affected

First, we'll cover the ears. We'll apply small grooves with hot glue and press them down so they stick.

Then, with your fingers, apply pressure to the area where the fabric is supposed to cover.

repeat until the base material is completely covered

Now let's cover the head. We'll start from the front. Use the hot glue gun and glue flap by flap, once again applying pressure so that it is completely adhered.

Now place some translucent material in the eye area that allows you to see, in my case a white fabric that lets you see out but not in.

Use cold glue to glue it from the inside, then glue the rainbow pupils that we already had made on top, and add details of sparkles or whatever comes to your mind. Finally, each labubu is different.

In the end, you will have a vibrant, colorful, trendy mask that will make you stand out anywhere.

Thanks for watch <3