Skullmask finished

Click to enlarge.

The mask was made with the same materials as the staff, but the mask was finished with melted brown and clear shoe polish.
The staff has an articulated jaw, activated by a small trigger made of plastic.

The costume was a success!
I went out with it during the day on Halloween, to meet with colleague and recent customer Alexander Winfield to show him our in-progress puppet short film elements. Spontaneous responses from people on the street were encouraging, if a bit reserved.
There weren't many costumed people, it didn't feel like Halloween.

I'd have to wait for the cover of night to reach full effect. I went to a friend's family's home to help them scare the children while handing out candies. Fun! A lot of great reactions from people, and many compliments.

Then I went to a Halloween Party/fundraiser for a small Theatre company, which was supposed to be a big bash. Around 10 people were there when I showed up. It maybe tripled while I was there. I knew nobody there, but I made quite an effect when I showed up. I was the only costume which really hid the person's identity. I danced a bit. At least I learned something interesting: when music is going to be played, the giant mask should have ear holes, to allow for better sound distribution inside. As it is, the acoustics inside my mask act as a massive bass booster, and I had a hard time hearing the singers on top of the instruments. So I removed the mask, which was a relief, it gets hot in there when dancing!

Then the colleague who had told me about it showed up after about an hour. Had a few introductions, talked a bit, I proved my masks strenght (paper mache doubters present) by throwing it on the floor a few times, but we left early, the fun was not there.

Then I went to my friend Dan's party, which was amazing. Inspired by who knows what, I made a very dramatic entrance from the dark backyard, with my hood hiding my mask completely. I asked "who is the victim", someone pointed to someone, I checked my hourglass, pointed, and I removed my hood. The sounds they made were very thrilling. Everything I had hoped for in this costume. I had inspiring conversations all night. I hope to meet some of them again. I haven't had that much fun at Halloween since I was a child! Thanks Dan!

I'm going out again tonight, in the same costume, to finally see the show starring my macabre puppets. I can't wait to see them come alive without my direct intervention or a mirror!

Ball & Socket & Elastic Joint

Hi all.
Today I thought of a simple way of holding a puppet head in a body, while making it removable at all times (interchangeable heads on this project).

With my colleague Daniel, we ended up with a very strong and tight ball and socket movement.

The system is very simple. A spherical hole in the wooden body, for the ball joint of the neck, which could be metal, wood, or plastic. We had a metal ball bearing that had been tapped to add threads inside, to fit the bolt that makes the neck). Two holes are drilled very close together, on both sides (left and right) of the center of the neck. The holes are drilled from outside (tarting at an angle, away from the shoulder articulations) and reach within the neck hole.
Elastic cords are run through each set of holes, making two straight lines crossing the neck opening. They are tided outside with knots, tightly.
Now here's the only tricky part (not a challenge at all): how to insert the neck ball in there.
All you need is two straight stiff rods of some sort. I use big nails or whatever piece of straight rod that's lying around. Lift one elastic out of the hole with one rod, and hold in place. Do the same with the other elastic. Slide the ball in there, release the elastics.

The hold is very strong, it won't let go until you want it to. Tension on the ball bearing from the elastics pushing it on the wood makes a very tight joint, without any parasitic movements.
Pull very hard to release the head again. We added a metal ring, made from a pipe we cut, to re-enforce the neck, but I don't think it's really necessary (but it looks neat!).

I love this system so much, I can't wait to make another puppet for myself and give it this neck system!

Giant Skull Mask 2

This is the sequel to Giant Skull Mask WIP.

The skull mask is close to be completed.

The first two pictures show texture of the paper mache Bark before the sealing (diluted Weldbond, two coats inside, one outside) and application of the Monster Bone finish, which has softened it and made the whole mask come together.

The yellowish paint job on the last picture is the first step of it. Much more staining and aging will be required. As a solution to reduce friction and noise that was happening from the stiff wire, I used a braided black cord to hinge the lower jaw to the skull. The compromise that comes with this choice is that I see the black knots outside the jaw, which I made as clean as possible, by trimming close and gluing with a drop of hot glue. The more I look at them, the less I worry about it. After all, a skeleton creature, without tendons or muscles, must need something to hold the lower jaw in place!

I was lucky to find a bicycle helmet that fits my head perfectly. It fits inside the skull mask, and brings my eyes level with those of the mask. The helmet's straps allow total stability and ease of movement. The mask, made of paper mache, is so lightweight that I don't need extra support like heavier masks would need, such as a harness from the shoulders.

The biggest remaining step is to build a foam chin piece that will activate the jaw without the need for a strap. It has to be low profile enough to allow for enough depth in the open jaw to appear like an endless hole of darkness, once the black veil is installed in the jaw to hide my face.

The costume is a simple black robe with long falling sleeves. I made a separate hood that fits the giant mask's size. This separate hood prevents the need to cut into the robe, which will allow me to re-use the robe for future costumes. I was looking for a natural fiber look, without paying the high price of linen, which would definitely have been my first choice. I was glad to find this 100% polyester textile which had a "linen" look to it, at a very affordable price. The weave is not too tight, allowing enough breathing while still being sufficiently opaque.

Macabre Puppet Show - in Montreal

All Hail You Mighty Lords Of Nowhere!
Written and performed by Alexander Winfield.
Click on poster to enlarge.

A new Puppet Show about two demons and the end of the world.

Performs In Montreal, on November 1st, Café Volver, at 8pm.
Puppets by yours truly (see the Macabre Puppets).

Giant Skull mask WIP

Full head mask,
in progress,
hopefully with articulated jaw when completed, if time allows.

Re-useable skull form is newspaper and tape (masking tape and clear packing tape for rigidifying and smoothing). That form was built directly over a loose copy of my head, made with Duct Tape filled with newspaper.

Mask itself is (for now) paper mache strips (coffee filters and outdoors carpenter's glue, diluted just a bit with water). Note the wrinkles, caused by crumpling in one direction and applying directionnally. Those wrinkles provide strenght as well as looking good, if well applied. the effect can be softened by adding a layer or two of thin soft paper in the usual flat method.
When finished, the mask openings and jaw pivot points will be lined with wire and more paper, for strenght. Padding inside will be done with a soft foam, lined with a non-porous foam (Fun Foam, also called Foamie) to prevent sweat absorption by the mask, and provide comfort.
The eyes, nose and jaw openings will have fine see-through black mesh to hide the wearer.

The dream is to also build a pair of giant skeleton hands, but I'm not really counting on it for this Halloween, too many projects at once.

Peepers puppet on Nose

This is a test of the Peepers puppet on my nose.
I was wearing a piece of nylon sock over my eyes, so that they wouldn't show and distract away from the new facial configuration.

It's fun for a short, one-minute gag, but it slips away from the nose tip quite fast. It stays longer if put on upside down, but it looks less convincing, and hides the nostrils.

Sorry for the extra footage, my ever-wacko webcam seems to suddenly add invisible data from previous reccordings, which are only revealed when converted into Flash format! I Can't seen to be able to edit it out!!! Consider it "behind the scenes", because you can see me put on the "costume". By the way, it's only sweat I'm wiping from the outside of my nose.
Mom raised me well, after all.
LOL.



Peepers are an original product of Puppeteer Hobey Ford.
Get them online at: http://www.peeperspuppet.com/
No affiliations, I'm just a happy customer!

Medieval Creations

Tunic, Pants, bag and Hood patterned to size and made from scratch, hand dyed to alter color and age.
Tunic's upper body's pattern based on a contemporary hemp shirt (buttonned) I had at home (brand: Green Babylon).

Knife and sheath both made from scratch.
Leather Belt cut to size and assembled from parts.
Simple pouch (black and brown) made by L’Antre à Gobeline
Brown vest with rough hood made from old linen shirt.
Leather shoes, purse and smallest pouch patterned and made from scratch.

Removable dark brown hood based on pattern by Cynthia Virtue, posted online:
http://www.virtue.to/articles/hoodlum.html

This costume ©Créaturiste, September 2008


Details:
I made this costume to attend the medieval-themed wedding of two dear childhood friends.
The Minotaur wall plaque is an original creation and is the Groom's gift, while the Door Knocker (copied from the movie Labyrinth) is the Bride's.
Both gifts were very well received!

I'm sorry to report to those who knew I was making the doorknocker, that I failed to make it strong enough to be used as an actual doorknocker for the exterior door. Mainly due to lack of time to develop a better friction-free system to hold the ring. After all, it's made of paper mache, and no matter how incredibly strong it can be made to be, it won't withstand constant use unless precautions are taken.

The Wedding:
I showed up at the subway station, waiting for a friend to pick me up, fully costumed, with a large walking staff (not pictured above). I,m used to look different nowadays, but I did received some odd glances.

The wedding was happening in a remote country Inn which was all our own for the day and night.
I was the only one there in costume, until right before the ceremony. I'm used to being the odd one, and the old pals saw I hadn't changed much... Most people's reason for the delay was that their costumes were too warm. I'm glad I made mine in layers of relatively light fabrics. Although I wouldn't want to run for very long in this attire, it's quite comfortable for a beginning of Autumn season. I want to wear my tunic more often, perhaps I will remove the "skirt-like" bottom and turn it into an everyday attire. I do have some neat dark lue fabric, to eventually make something like that, but looking more clean.

I was the only one there with a costume designed to look worn and modest.
I can understand the appeal of the much more colorful and fantastic designs of the Nobles and Clergy of medieval times. But I've always been much more attracted by costumes "of the people", such as seen on the crowds and secondary characters in "period movies" like Robin Hood prince of Thieves, King Arthur, and LadyHawke.

Most costumes at the wedding were very well done, some were quite magnificent. The King and Queen's costumes were brilliantly designed and made by the Bride. I was impressed with the inventiveness of those who made their own costumes and/or props. Some were good with fabrics, some with leather. There were even two chain mail tunics, which were both fantastic.

The event was a success!
We all got the excellent surprise of having the famous medieval band Skarazula play at the feast and evening. Lots of us were fans already. No one knew it was to be them, except the wedding organizer. What a treat when we saw them come in! I highly recommend their lively music, featuring a wide array of traditional instruments. They brought high energy from all over the world. They made us clap and dance, showed us two dances in a really fun and efficient way, really a fun time to be had! I just wish we could have had them for much longer!
www.skarazula.com

If I ever get married, the medieval theme might be something to consider, it was a great time!
But first, must find soulmate...

Lady of the alive inner-child, with like-minded love of the arts, Where Art Thou?