Introduction: Silent Hill Bubblehead Nurse Mask
This is my second step-by-step tutorial on making a mask but I believe this one is much simpler than the Corvo one. This was for my redux Halloween costume this year but decided to add the mask portion for this Instructables. I hope you all enjoy and, possibly, make this mask one day!
(NOTE: This is only a full face mask, not an over-the-head mask. Hat, dress, and shoes not included in tutorial... Neither is the knife.)
(NOTE: This is only a full face mask, not an over-the-head mask. Hat, dress, and shoes not included in tutorial... Neither is the knife.)
Step 1: Gathering Items
For this tutorial you will need to obtain the following items:
A foam head (I got mine at a wig store)
Saran wrap
Plaster bandages (at a craft store such as Alard's or possibly Michael's)
Activa Fast Mache (Or any other brand of papier mache)
hot glue
pins
Acrylic paints
Inks (red, orange, and yellow), food dye works just as well
Various eyeshadows
Paintbrushes (not the makeup brushes shown)
Newspaper or plastic tablecloth (so you keep a clean workstation)
A foam head (I got mine at a wig store)
Saran wrap
Plaster bandages (at a craft store such as Alard's or possibly Michael's)
Activa Fast Mache (Or any other brand of papier mache)
hot glue
pins
Acrylic paints
Inks (red, orange, and yellow), food dye works just as well
Various eyeshadows
Paintbrushes (not the makeup brushes shown)
Newspaper or plastic tablecloth (so you keep a clean workstation)
Step 2: Prepping the Head
To begin, start by gluing down the styrofoam head to a stable base, such as a block of wood or other object so it does not wobble when you are wrapping it. Then begin by wrapping your styrofoam head in the plastic wrap, making sure to wrap it as tightly as possible and getting the entire head and neck area. This will ensure that you will be able to cover your entire face with the mask when it is prepared. The added use of pins and hot glue will help hold down any loose pieces that stick out too much.
(EDIT: Not shown in the image, I added some cloth over the front of the head and face to round it out and then wrapped that up in extra cling wrap to add more volume to the head so it will have more of the 'bubblehead' look)
(EDIT: Not shown in the image, I added some cloth over the front of the head and face to round it out and then wrapped that up in extra cling wrap to add more volume to the head so it will have more of the 'bubblehead' look)
Step 3: Plaster and Water
For this next step, make sure that your work area is covered with the plastic table cloth. Things WILL get very messy here!
I set out a bowl of warm water (not hot, not cool) and began cutting the plaster bandages into 6-7 inch strips. Don't be afraid to cut a lot of strips, you will be using a lot to cover the head. Start with an 'X' across the front of the face and then begin laying down a starting layer of the bandages. Let it dry and continue to repeat the process until the entire front of the face is wrapped. (NOTE again: I made the mistake of wrapping the entire head without properly measuring my head. I was unable to cut it properly so it would go over my head so I was forced to cut off the back part and discard it.)
I set out a bowl of warm water (not hot, not cool) and began cutting the plaster bandages into 6-7 inch strips. Don't be afraid to cut a lot of strips, you will be using a lot to cover the head. Start with an 'X' across the front of the face and then begin laying down a starting layer of the bandages. Let it dry and continue to repeat the process until the entire front of the face is wrapped. (NOTE again: I made the mistake of wrapping the entire head without properly measuring my head. I was unable to cut it properly so it would go over my head so I was forced to cut off the back part and discard it.)
Step 4: Drying Time
Take your half finished head out into the sun to dry, turning it ever half hour. I had to keep an eye on mine so it stayed in the sun. Let it dry for at least a couple hours. (I left mine out for most of the day since I knew it would not be picked up or taken by anyone)
Step 5: Mache, Dry Again, Then Sculpt
After the mask has fully dried, I went in and mixed up a batch of the Activa Fast Mache (about 1/4 the bag and some water until it resembled a very thick, sticky paste) and started slapping it onto the entire mask. This was to give the mask more depth so I could remove the rest of the paste I did not need before it dried. I did this so as to carve out the areas such as the 'eye' and 'mouth' in order to be able to remove part of the eye so I could see through it. (You can see how thick the layer of the mache is compared to the area I removed where the plaster bandages are showing)
Again, let this dry for at LEAST a day, making sure it is fully in the sun. so it dries evenly.
(NOTE: Looking back, I probably would have done this part in layers; laying a thin layer of the mache over the mask, letting it dry, then another layer, letting that dry, and so on until you achieve the thickness you desire)
Again, let this dry for at LEAST a day, making sure it is fully in the sun. so it dries evenly.
(NOTE: Looking back, I probably would have done this part in layers; laying a thin layer of the mache over the mask, letting it dry, then another layer, letting that dry, and so on until you achieve the thickness you desire)
Step 6: The Eye Has It
Use a small dremel head to carve out a section of the 'eye' area so you will be able to see out of it. A good idea to make sure that the edges of the mask and eye are not sharp is to cover each bit with a small amount of leftover Fast Mache. This will allow you to wear the mask without getting grazed by a painful edge. Again, let it dry for a bit, and then get ready for the fun part: PAINTING!
Step 7: Painting
Once everything is fully dried and shaped to your liking, get painting that thing!
I made a mixture of cream-colored acrylic paint and some grey to go over the entire mask. But you may use whatever colors you would like. I let that dry and then gave the whole mask a dusting of Ben Nye's Neutral Set powder so there were no shiny parts of the paint. You may use any kind of powder, though I'm not sure how baby powder would work.
I used black acrylic paint to fill in the eye and other indentations on the mask and let it dry before going over the eye with some purple, black, red, and even blue eyeshadow for added richness. For the rusty areas, I just made on a mixture of red, orange, and yellow drawing ink and dabbed it on with a paper towel. I also used some blue paint for the veins and blended them out a little with some blue eyeshadow. I went back in with the same ink mixture and just let it drip down parts of the mask that I thought would look good. (NOTE: Make sure you either do this outside or have a paper towel or other piece of scraps underneath the mask so that the ink does not stain your work area. Also wear gloves; I did not and ended up with ink all over my fingers.)
To cover up the exposed eye, I simply hot glued a bit of cut up fish-netting onto the back of the area. Since this mask was hand made, I also drilled two holes on the sides and double-knotted a bit of a thin elastic band so it would hold easily and securely when worn.
I made a mixture of cream-colored acrylic paint and some grey to go over the entire mask. But you may use whatever colors you would like. I let that dry and then gave the whole mask a dusting of Ben Nye's Neutral Set powder so there were no shiny parts of the paint. You may use any kind of powder, though I'm not sure how baby powder would work.
I used black acrylic paint to fill in the eye and other indentations on the mask and let it dry before going over the eye with some purple, black, red, and even blue eyeshadow for added richness. For the rusty areas, I just made on a mixture of red, orange, and yellow drawing ink and dabbed it on with a paper towel. I also used some blue paint for the veins and blended them out a little with some blue eyeshadow. I went back in with the same ink mixture and just let it drip down parts of the mask that I thought would look good. (NOTE: Make sure you either do this outside or have a paper towel or other piece of scraps underneath the mask so that the ink does not stain your work area. Also wear gloves; I did not and ended up with ink all over my fingers.)
To cover up the exposed eye, I simply hot glued a bit of cut up fish-netting onto the back of the area. Since this mask was hand made, I also drilled two holes on the sides and double-knotted a bit of a thin elastic band so it would hold easily and securely when worn.
Step 8: Finished!
Now that you've made your mask, throw on your best Bubblehead nurse outfit, hat, and shoes, grab yourself a weapon, and start scaring! I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial and I hope to make more Instructables in the future for more Halloween madness!