Step by Step of making Headdress/Mask

Step by Step of Making Headdress/Mask

Once I got my finalized idea I began making my headdress. 

Health and Safety

Be careful when using superglue (wear gloves)

Pins and needles must be used with caution

Make sure everything is dry before using veil on model unless it's for a fitting

(can use tissue to protect the model) 

Caution should be taken when using scissors

The room should be ventilated as fumes from glue and paint can be given off

The weight of the headdress has to be safe for the model to have on their head. 

I fusing a nail it must be flushed so it doesn't go into the model head

Materials 

Buckram 

Pins

Polystyrene Head

PVA Glue

Water

Tissue paper

Black Lace Veil 

Black Acrylic Paint 

Sandpaper

Plain Headband

Nail

Superglue 

Skull

Cotton and Thread

Masking Tape

Roses in different colours

Diamantes

Step One - 

I used Buckram to make a base for the headdress. Buckram is a fabric which has glue on it so when wet it can be molded into shape and set one it dries. I wet the piece of material and then proceeded to pin it onto a polystyrene head so it dries in the shape fit for pinning onto a head. 

Step 1 - Buckram pinned on a polystyrene head

Step Two - 

Whilst waiting for that to dry I used a mask as a base for my papier mache. I sketched out the triangular shape I wanted on the forehead of the mask and then covered it in Vaseline so the papier mache won't stick to the mask underneath when it comes to removal. I then began building up layers of papier mache careful to stay within the lines I had drawn to make the edges neat. 

Step 2 - Papier Mache layers on a mask base

Step Three - 

Once the papier mache is dry I then sanded it and painted it with black acrylic paint. The black mask piece was then super glued to the buckram underneath so it was secure. 

Outline of how the papier mache piece would sit on the head. 

Step Four - 

It was now time for the lace to be sewn on. I used a piece of masking tape over the seam of the buckram and mask piece to join the lace veil onto both the buckram and the mask. I cut the fabric and used it length ways over the head and sewed it in pleats along the buckram and tape. This proved difficult as I pinned it all in place and had to remove all the pins as I couldn't get the needle back through the buckram. I ended up taking the head dress off the polystyrene head and holding it with my hands. As this was so fiddly it made the paper mache piece come away from the buckram at the edges so I had to super glue this on again. The veil was also shorter on one side so I added another layer (with which I was going to anyway) and evened it out on the other side. This worked quite nicely. 

Step 4 - Veil sewn onto head piece

Step Five - 

I then took a plain fabric head band, often used for bridal head bands and painted it black with acrylic paint as this is fast drying. I put a hole in this when dry and used a nail to create something I could secure the skull to. As the skull was originally a gear stick decoration it had hole at the bottom. I filled this with superglue and put this on to of the nail. The end of the nail should be facing the opposite direction than the head so it doesn't ham the model and also dries into the super glued gap in the skull for extra security. Once it's dry I had a skull on a headband. 

Step 5 - Glued and Screwed Skull on Headband

Step Six - 

I decided to use diamantes to make a pattern on the mask bit of the headdress so I began doing that as it takes quite a bit of time to place them all on individually. I sketched out a pattern and used superglue and tweezers to put the diamantes in place. I found that as the glue was clear as soon as it touched the pencil marks of my design it erased them so I just went along carefully to ensure the diamantes where in the right pattern and place. I got a superglue with a brush so I could see exactly where I had put the glue, I found this very helpful. 

I used mainly silver and black gems on the head but added red and one blue one for decoration. Blue isn't really in my colour theme for the headdress but it had the shape I wanted and the only colours I had in that shape was blue or light lilac and I felt blue fits better with white and red. I left a gap where the headband should be glued on. 

Step 6 - Gems glued onto the headpiece

Step Seven - 

I then fitted the headband onto the head with super glue. I used other glues but they didn't seem to secure it enough. I actually fitted the the head piece onto my model and glued the head band onto it whilst on my models head. I wanted to get the placement right as the polystyrene head doesn't have ears and that's something I had to consider when gluing this in place. I also used the head band to cover the masking tape and seam of the lace veil. I then took the roses and super glued those to the headband next to the skull as I wanted to make sure the placement was even. I clipped away the veil and put tissues under the band to ensure the glue didn't stick to anything other than what it need to. Diamantes had to be added just under the roses and skull to ensure there wasn't any gaps on the mask part of the headdress.

My headdress/mask was now complete:

Completed Headdress

Evaluation 

What Went Well:

I am so happy with my final outcome. I feel like all the planning and research has paid off in the end and I got exactly what I wanted. Although I faced challenges I found this headdress/mask wasn't ridiculously hard to make, If anything its more time consuming because of the sewing, diamantes and waiting for everything to dry.  

I think the final headdress fits the theme well and really reflects the traditional elements of the Day of the Dead likes skulls and roses etc. As I originally just designed a headdress I'm glad I managed to adapt it into a mask without completely changing the look I wanted. I'm also proud that I managed to make most of this at home without needed a massive amount of support as this makes me more confident that I can do projects independently.

What I Could Improve On:

One thing I struggled with was ordering the materials. I ordered them in advance which helped me out a great deal as when some arrived they were not useful to me. The skull I originally bought was huge and I got the measurements wrong for what I needed so I had to search and order again. The same thing happened with the crosses so I didn't end up using them for this project as they were far too big. This taught me that I had to size up what I wanted for my headpiece and then order everything in that size. The roses I bought don't all mach too as the black ones seem lower quality and less rose-like than the others. They still work with my design but are not a good as I had hoped. Ordering online can be a bit of a problem.

I felt like I should have done more in terms of the papier mache part of the mask as it is more of a headdress than a mask. I designed the headdress and forgot it was a mask that I had to make. After coming up with my design for the headdress I didn't wanna change my idea completely. I would've done a mask separately but I was ill for a month with glandular fever and when I returned I realized how close the deadline was, I didn't feel I would be able to create everything in time. I really wanted to paint the face too and have the makeup visible so I think my final design allowed this. I found this project really fun as I could get more creative with all aspects as they were my ideas. I also liked researching stuff for my idea as I was able to try and source something relevant to my chosen theme. I think this is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) unit of the year and I'm glad it was one of my final ones as it really helped me reflect on what I have learnt previously in terms of how to research properly and log down ideas.