Masks and other Art

[Buster's Uncle]

Not helping Johnny was me putting the old horns on and knocking out another devil halfmask...

[Buster's Uncle]

One last test of the devil appliances on the Captain...

[Buster's Uncle]

So, here's the shell I previously made for the Mars Face again:



-See, my research, mostly looking at the original Viking shot, indicates I have some latitude; it's just not detailed.  But for the shape I see and imagine to work -an oval dune/bank surrounding a fairly shallow face sitting atop a fairly narrow/flat ledge- in 3D, the face needs a pretty short/sloping brow...



So I cut two places on the temple on each side to tuck-n-tape to reshape the forehead.  I shooped lighter in a cursory way to emphasize where the surgery was.





And then I mache-d a bit over the cuts to help the tape underneath hold it together.  This is a base shell, one that won't fit over the Mylochka base for support now, and I'd be foolish to rely on the outside dune edge too much.





I flattened the corners of the cuts some in this step, but if they come out showing above the plateau, I can get that then.


-And here, an approximation of what I'm working towards...

My subconscious/back of my head is still working on how to build the dune-wall plateau... 

[Buster's Uncle]

-It hit me, when I woke up entirely too early; plaster.

A light 1:1 mix, I think.  It should be strong enough under all the coating I'll do before it's finished.

[Buster's Uncle]

[Buster's Uncle]

-I thiiink I ought to add some before I start sanding and taking away - ledges a bit higher on the face and more level, dunes wider down the side and under. 

-Obviously, I'm going for the Face we imagine, not strictly accurate to even the earliest images...

[Buster's Uncle]

This is closer:

Careful sanding ought to get the rest...

[E_T]

Neet

[Buster's Uncle]

This is taking forever to dry:

-And my hindbrain, having run a lot if simulations of the smoothing, is insisting that I need to add a little to the slopes - the space helmet look needs a convex curve, not concave…


While I'm waiting for plaster to dry, I'm thinking about useful employment for the Johnny mold; turn it into a shell of something else, and its utility as a mold is still there...


Also under strong consideration, finally get to work on the mask of Dixie, Buster's dog.

And because I enjoy working with plaster so much, I'm thinking of doing a full mold of my own face -w/ beard- which I'll probably have to construct after casting...

[Buster's Uncle]

About 3/4 done:

I need to broaden/define the lower lip a little to help the smile, and bunch the cheeks a bit for same.

Easy and fun.  -I hope the horns won't be a demasking problem.

[Buster's Uncle]

Nice palette cleanser after working with plaster.

Similar cheeks on the Captain have proved congenial to mache, and shells are easier to de-mask, so I expect to like working with this one.  -Now, to enclose in a little mache, and set aside to dry...

[Buster's Uncle]

-I just made my third batch of paste since I began this round, BTW.

[Unorthodox]

Nice palette cleanser after working with plaster.

Similar cheeks on the Captain have proved congenial to mache, and shells are easier to de-mask, so I expect to like working with this one.  -Now, to enclose in a little mache, and set aside to dry...

Really digging this one. 

[Buster's Uncle]

So am I.

It's a pity that Johnny's such a small face; this should make for fine looking masks, but really too small for adults to wear.

One layer of mache doesn't take long at all to dry; I took this last shot two hours ago, then had to break off to grill chicken racku  before I posted.  I'll probably be dabbing latex on after I come in from sunset cat spoiling...

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, I thought it best to turn it and give it another hour...