If you’re ready to get crafty this Halloween, but you don’t quite feel like you have the prowess to proceed without a guide, consider making a papercraft mask from an easy to follow template.
These animal masks made by Steve and Marianne Wintercroft are a perfect example. You just download a template, print it out, and follow the pattern as you cut out the shapes in heavy cardstock. Then just paste it together and you’ve got your own polygonal, minimalist mask for your upcoming costume party. Leave it white, use colored cardstock, or decorate and paint the finished mask to your heart’s content.
These masks are great not only because they’re easy to make and accessible from anywhere that you can print out the template, they’re also one of the greenest choices for Halloween. No energy is wasted on manufacturing or shipping since all you need is a downloadable file.
While I could see these masks being great for lots of different types of festivals or parties, Steve was inspired to make the first one specifically for Halloween. He says,
A couple of years ago, I received an invite to a friend’s Halloween party but struggling for costume ideas and short of time, I raided the recycling bin and gathered together a pile of packaging cardboard. Then sat down with some parcel tape, a pair of scissors and plenty of hot tea. An hour or so later and after some trial and error I had made myself an animal mask. The mask was well received so I decided to redesign it and make the templates available and accessible to everyone. The goal was to create a set of masks that could be built by anyone, using local materials, removing the need for mass manufacturing or shipping and with the minimum environmental impact.
Update: If you don’t see any designs that tickle your fancy, or you just want to make one completely from scratch, Make: reader Sean F. Kennedy shared this Instructables project that shows you how to do just that. Thanks, Sean!
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