Masks are awesome and come in many shapes and forms, but adding special features will take them to the next level! Here I’ll show you how I approach creating an advanced mask with moving parts, such as my werewolf head, with no motors required.
For any mask, I start with a 3D scan of my head, and lots of reference photos of the animal, and I think about my line of vision, how I’ll see out of the mask — see-through eyes, or hidden mesh peepholes, or in this case, looking out the mouth.
Then adding moving features to a mask is, for me, a process of reverse-engineering:
- I sketch which part is going to move, in what direction, and where the start and end positions of the part are going to be.
- Then I think about how a rotation point or push/pull system could be used to move this part in the desired position.
- These points of rotation or push/pull systems will then be connected to my favorite method of controlling the movement: by moving my jaw.
For my wolf mask’s snarling lip, I ended up connecting a moving nose piece to the moving jaw, as it lined up well and works well with the expression of a wolf. The wolf mask eventually evolved with moving ears too, using a push-pull system with a thin steel wire cable to draw them back and an elastic band to pull them back into position (above). The cable is an idea from bicycle brake cables, which are incredibly versatile — you can position and line up such systems at a lot of different angles, with different ways of control. This allowed me to rotate the ears differently to the movement of the jaw.
By positioning the pivot points closer or further away, you can adjust how far the motion will move the final part. I had to 3D print and adjust the werewolf design a few times, changing the angles and mounting points of the various parts to make sure that it worked well. So the first mask just had a bunch of holes drilled everywhere to figure out the best angles. Sometimes I just use popsicle sticks and paint stir sticks with a few rivets to have an idea of where the movement will lead me!
All of these features will need to be integrated in the final look of your mask, so an idea on how to cover up your mechanisms is crucial to the final result. However, I think just the raw frame looks pretty awesome too!
For the final mask, which I sell as a DIY kit, I added motorized blinking eyelids. I ended up using CreatureCast (a neoprene-based rubber alternative to liquid latex) to create covers for the eyelid mechanism, and faux fur with plenty of allowance to create the rest of the skin without obstructing the movement. Remember to test your mask in both closed and open positions for all mechanisms, while applying the final covers!
For a more in-depth look at the function of the mask, check out the videos on my YouTube channel. Another interesting articulated mask is my Savathûn mask, which utilizes a similar wire-pull system to create a very different look!
This article appeared in Make: Volume 86.
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