How to Make An Asari Latex Headpiece.

For Halloween 2008, I went as Dr. Liara T’Soni from Mass Effect. I decided to make a mini comic about how the costume (well, the latex headpiece) was made, so others can see how its done, and hopefully save themselves some grief if they try to make a latex headpiece/mask of their own in the future. That said, I’m not a professional, I probably did things ‘the wrong way’ but it worked for me!

This project is old, made when I had no clue about making headpieces or comics, so bare with me! I've hosted this tutorial on my site (and finally got around to joining Instructables and bringing it here) so clunky and badly drawn as it is, with its inclusion of personal ramblings and bad font choice, I do know that it has helped others in making an Asari headpiece.

The headpiece took I think about 2 months, off and on - that included getting all the supplies, which ended up being the longest part. You could do it within a couple of days if you don't have supply issues (and are experienced!) I would allow, minimum, two weeks for this project if you are/were a noob like me. If you're one of those special effects pros who might complain I'm too generous in the time I give for stuff to dry, this isn't Face Off here. It's "Firsttimedoinganythinglikethisletsseeifwecanpullthis Off"

Intro
Step 1: "Mini" materials list
Step 2: Making a Head Mold
Step 3: Making an Armature (Using the Head Mold)
Step 4: Sculpting a Headpiece
Step 5: Making a Mold of a Sculpted Headpiece
Step 6: Making (and painting) the Latex Headpiece
Step 7: Wearing it!
(Step 8: Final Notes)

Click on the pictures (on the little 'i' in the top left corner) to get to a bigger image, so you can read the full instructions within the comic! The comics need to be big, sorry;  I found the text hard to read when I scaled the pages down so I tried to make them as small as possible without sacrificing readability.



If you have any questions, or are unclear about anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask!

*Bonus! This Instrucables has a few differences from the one on my site - including a never-before-seen makeup-test image that I decided to start this project off with!*

Step 1: "Mini" Materials List

In the first panel of every comic page, I list the materials needed, some which you might not need if you skip some steps (like making a mold of your head) or go about a different way (like making a different type of stand for your armature). Here's all the materials I used for absolutely everything, but I recommend reading each page to see whether or not you're doing that step/need those materials. The " * " items are ones you need. A lot of the materials can be harmful to your health, so work in a well-ventilated area and wear the proper safety equipment. 

- * 50 pound bag of Ultra Cal 30 (for molds, casts. you'll have lots of leftover ultra cal; perfect for other projects!)
- bald cap (head mold)
- spirit gum (head mold)
- plaster of paris strips/gauze (head mold)
- scissors
- marker
- * water
- * vaseline
- * plasticine/Oil-based non-hardening clay
- drill and mixer bit (for head/armature)
- hammer
- duct tape
- rubbing alcohol
- cotton balls
- foam and/or paper
- file and sandpaper
- 2 big buckets
- two small containers
- masonry anchors
- string
- small piece of plywood
- two 2x4s
- six screws
- chair
- sculpting tools
- wire and aluminum foil
- * cheesecloth
- * 407 latex
- latex paints
- acetone
- old paintbrush (or mixing stick)
- silicone brush
- makeup wedges
- wax or parchment paper
- art brushes
- makeup
- makeup brushes
- * safety gloves
- * safety goggles
- * dust mask
- * a well-ventilated area to work in
- a buddy to help at times!

Comments

[Garrus]

You look very similar to Liara, one of the few people that isn't annoyed by my calibrations.

[Edart]

You are an artist very creative and innovating!
Eres una artista muy creativa e inovadora!

[shawnp5150]

Holy cow. Just saw this for the first time. I AM an FX guy, and I have to say this is really well done. No apologies from you ever again.

Really, it doesn't matter "how" it's done. The end result is the only thing. Half the time people refine or invent techniques anyway. There's a lot of snobbery about. Ignore it. It's BS.

[susanchen2011]

so cool .

[Dream Dragon]

Incredibly detailed work, beautifully done. Thanks for sharing your project.

[The Cartographer]

Hot ;)

[Biggsy]

That is pretty damn awesome welldone!

High five for you!