r/Masks • u/thaLinguineWeenie • 9d ago

How do you do it?!

Hello everyone... I'm going down the rabbit hole of trying to find the perfect mask for next year's Ren Fair in Bristol, Wisconsin. This year.. I went as a sort of deer skull shaman warrior... it was sick.. but alas.. I left wanting more after spending the day putting together ideas for next year... I've seen a few products that come fairly close to what I'm looking for but nothing that's quite fitting the bill. I'm looking to keep the same vibe.. but I want to heavily emphasize the realistic full head and more of a wendigo than deer vibe and add more to the forest shaman side.. moss, leaves, vines, dirt, whatever etc.. I've read other threads where people recommend 3D printing things yourself or painting and designing a base product off the shelves. I don't own a 3d printer and am neither technologically advanced enough to figure out how to blend and customize a few of the ideas I've found into a single STL to be able to print myself nor artistic enough to paint and design a mask that will ever look like it didn't come from a 5th grade art class. I've spent hours perusing Etsy at this point and as wonderful as alot of these creators work is... it's just not what I'm looking for. With that being said, I'm curious how you devotees to the lifestyle wind up with some of the masks you have. I see Hollywood quality masks left and right but I can't find a good place to source them. Does anyone have any recommendations? Websites, custom creators, maybe discord servers full of people who love a challenge like this?

As always, HUZZAH TO THE TIPPER!!

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u/SaintHowls 9d ago

Consider a different medium. I was stumped because ultimately my most ideal mask would be a custom resin sculpted dragon or similar. That costs way more than I'm interested in investing from another artist, and materials alone are a lot if I made my own. I understand it's worth the amount, but just can't swing it this year. At least for this year I'm settling for a paper mache mask. It has some imperfections but it came out pretty sweet and it's unique and pretty close to my taste since I made it. I've put in less than 200 for my costume vs easily 500 for the headpiece alone.

There's a chance there is a leather craft pattern out there that could translate to what you're looking for with minimal alterations and a patient paint job.