Making Masks for Halloween... or Anytime!

I've been collecting and making masks since I was a child. I don't know what it is about being able to put on another face for a little while, but I love how it changes you and how people react to you.

Here are some instructions for how to get started with making your own masks. My number one piece of advice is never try and make a mask at the last minute before going to a costume party or event. To make a really good mask can often take more than one try.

Some of the simplest masks can be made from paper. Here are a few ideas that work especially well as craft projects for kids.

Paper bag - Using a large size grocery bag, you can make a mask just by drawing on it. Before you work out the entire face, open the bag and put it on over your head. Feel on the outside of the bag until you are touching over where your eyes are, and use a pencil or marker to make a mark those locations. Then you can take the bag off and finishe drawing the face. For little kids, it might work better to have them see out of the mouth of the face, or the nostrils.

Paper plates - These offer a quick and sturdy mask base, and are easily decorated with markers or crayons. To get fancy, you can glue or staple on hair made of craft paper or yarn. If your masks seems to flimsy, glue a few paper plates together.

In lots of crafts and costume shops, you can find single color half or full face masks. These are great to use as a base for making your own mask. When you buy one to use, try and make sure it fits you as well as it can at the bridge of the nose. This is what lets a mask sit well on your face, so that it won't shift suddenly, leaving you with no way to see out.

Before you start, try on the mask blank and do any trimming of the face holes so that you can see or breathe more easily. Make sure if you want to paint your mask that the paint will stick to the material the mask is made of. The same applies for any glue you want to use. If you use inappropriate glue or paint, parts of your mask may fall off or peel away without any warning.

I took a class on leather mask-making from a Seattle mask artist last year. The trick to making a leather mask is that you need a form to stretch the leather over and shape it. Otherwise, you use an untanned hide, about 2oz weight. You make a general pattern and cut out your leather. Then you soak it in water until it is totally wet, about 5-10 minutes. After you wring out the excess water, you lay the leather over your form and go to work shaping it.

The wet leather is pliable and needs to be rubbed, pinched, molded and shaped until it starts to dry out and can hold the desired shape on its own. You can use wooden dowels with rounded ends or your fingers to rub the leather agaisnt the form. Clothespins can help to hold folds and ridges while the leather dries but watch out they don't leave pinch marks on your mask.

The mask will dry enough after a few hours to hold the shapes and then it can be left to dry completely. It can be then painted with leather dye and paints. To finish your mask you can buff it with shoe polish or seal it with acrylic sealer to make it totally waterproof. Be careful if you don't seal it, as if the mask gets wet, it will lose it's shape.

if you wan to produce a Hollywood-quality mask, you might want to learn how to mold masks from latex. This involves making a plaster cast of your face, then making a negative mold of that positive.

Once that is done, latex rubber is poured or painted inside the mold and allowed to dry. The finished mask can then be painted with special paint that will stick to rubber. Masks made this way can either be face masks or full head masks.

This method is neither quick nor economical for the beginner and often requires taking classes or advanced study. If you are already a somewhat experience mask-maker, you might wan tot do this, but it's going to take a few tries before you get a good finished product.