How to Build a Deadmau5 Head!

Alright, so I thought I'd give it a shot and make an instructable for those who are stubborn as me and would rather make a Deadmau5 head rather than buy a terribad one from ebay although if you would rather buy from me that is fine too :) . I've made about 8 of these so far and have slowly come to perfect my design and assembly process and become more consistent when making these as well as going the most affordable route without sacrificing quality. I tried to take as many pictures as I could to help make it easier to understand and visualize the assembly process.
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Here is a list of materials you will need for building your very own Mau5 head as well as some estimated prices:

1 13" Hamster Ball ($30 at your local Petsmart or Petco)
1 5" Hamster Ball ($5 ^same place)
3 sheets of white foam core ($6 Hobby Lobby)
1 Hardhat ($10 at Lowes)
2 3mm Foam sheets ($2 at Hobby Lobby)
1 Can of Loctite spray adhesive High Performance ($8 at Lowes)
1 Roll of Ductape ($4-5 any color at any store)
1 bag of zip ties, although you will only use 7 ($3 Lowes)
4 long screw rods (not sure on pricing here I got mine from spare hardware from IKEA) although you can purchase a long rod
from Lowes and cut that into 4 sections about 5-7 inches each)
1 Bag of plastic washers (I also got these from IKEA spare parts, but any washer will work, you will need several to create
space between the hardhat and the Hamster ball)
5 Wing nuts (Not sure on pricing for these, but you can purchase them at any hardware store, make sure they match the size of
your rods.
1 Round head bolt matching the thread size of the other hardware
1 Bottle of Gorilla Glue ($5-$10 depending on the size of the bottle, both quick dry and regular work well)
1 Yard of your main color stretch fabric, In my case I'm using red ($15 at Joann's)
1/2 Yard of secondary color, I'm using white for the eyes and mouth ($8 Joann's)
1 Wire basket ($2.50 from IKEA)

Optional: El Wire from Coolneon.com
Assembly Tools:

Dremel with cutting attachment (I realize mine is broken, just using it as reference) and drill bit (preferably the bit shown in picture)
Glue Gun
Scissors
Utility knife
Screwdriver with Phillips bit
sharpie
pliers
needle and thread

Step 1 Drawing out the mouth

I chose to use the hamster ball because I feel it is more durable and easier to work with than the pure Acrylic one. Also it makes it TONS easier to wrap the fabric with a VERY clean look without any sewing involved. I will reference the pictures in the order that they appear as I go through these mini steps describing the assembly process.

1 - Looking at the first picture, I aligned the top cap EXACTLY as shown, with the handles facing straight and center with the space between the screws holding the hamster ball together. Now apply hot glue to this from the inside to ensure it stays in place as shown in the second picture.

2 - I then applied duct tape to the spaces between the hamster ball so that it keeps it's integrity once I begin to cut into it and over the gaps for the screws. Make sure to allow space to remove the screws as shown in the fourth picture.

3 - Getting a bit ahead, I cut two 1 inch strips of the foam to use as a measure to draw out the mouth. As shown in picture 5 The front center of the Mau5 head is marked. The bottom lip starts 1 inch from the bottom front (remove and discard the bottom cap for the hamster ball)

4 - Mark the sides where the corners of the mouth will be as shown in picture 6. The mark will be made just before the 3rd screw from the front center of the Mau5 head on either side as seen in picture 10. I then used the strips of foam as shown to create a guide to draw out the bottom of the mouth.

5 - As shown in pictures 7 and 8, begin to draw out the line for the bottom of the mouth.

6 - Now measure 1 inch from the equator of head upward and run the strip of foam as shown to draw out the line for the top of the mouth as shown in picture 9.

Comments

[Deadmau592]

this is amazing, i really, really want one of these, ive wanted one since i first saw he wore this, i might save up and buy one from you since you seem to know what you are doing and they all turned up great

[Darkmantis]

Thanks! I appreciate it. It was a little trial and error to get it just right. I wanted to create a clean design with minimal seams. I'll have the heads up on my Etsy store as long as someone is looking to purchase one, but if you feel crafty enough to make it yourself feel free to ask any questions and I'll try my best to help :)

[Deadmau592]

I do wanna try it, but usually when it comes to making things like this or things I really want i tend t mess up becuase ilI rush, and I'd wanna make a bunch.

[sethro34]

How much does it cost to make it and how long? Why is it so much?

[Darkmantis]

Materials run a little over $100, at the moment it would probably take me a little over 2 weeks if I had to make one, considering my extremely busy schedule as of late. I feel the price is fair for the quality of the mau5 head that the buyer receives.

[sethro34]

Do you sell them? If so how much?

[Darkmantis]

www.etsy.com/shop/Darkmantis

[Dcdewey]

I'm making a head and it looks great! Everything is good looking so far, I just need to add the eyes. I want to put Led lights inside, any tips?

[Darkmantis]

Hmm, I haven't really done anything with LED's. If anything I would maybe try mounting them on the head right under where the eyes would be. Although, if you already wrapped the fabric that could be tricky not to rip into it trying to drill holes.

[deadloki]

hey man how much did this cost you with out the lights. like all of the stuff you use

[Darkmantis]

Materials will probably run you about $100 bucks depending on where you get the materials. I added estimated prices to the items I got and where I found them if you need more info on that.

[Klash120]

Very informative & crap-ton of picture = win! :D Very nice! Question about the EL wire, what kind of gauge/size you went with? Seems thicker than what I'm used to.

[Darkmantis]

Thanks! I use the 5mm high bright from Coolneon.com I wanted to run with the thickest so that it would stand out more. Although it doesn't quite bend as much as the standard one, I run the wire in the head, then out immediately next to that to get around that problem. I'll be putting up An El wire Instructable soon.