Introduction: How to Make a DC Young Justice: "Cheshire Cat" Mask
In the DC Young Justice storyline, the cheshire cat is the daughter of Sportsmaster, the sister of Artemis, and the love interest of Red Arrow. The girl is a trained assassin and is always happy to take on the next mission.
For Wondercon 2016, my friend asked me to help her by finishing the Cheshire Cat mask. How could deny such a request! Challenge accepted. So let's get started shall we?
Materials
- mascarade mask
-craft foam
-worbla
-exacto knives
-drawing paper
-woodglue
-hot glue
-sandpaper
-heat gun
-acrylic paint
-elastic
-black see-through mesh
-insulation foam
Step 1: Base
1) take your craft foam and glue it to the edge of the bottom of the mask. (pic 1)
2) you will need two long strips first so you can get the proportions correct. One goes from the front of your face to the back, and the other goes horizontally from left to right by your eyes. (pic 1)
3) From here, you are making a crown. The steps are pretty self explanatory. you just insert triangle-shaped wedges of foam in between the spaces till the whole thing is a solid piece.
4) once that is done, add your first later of craft foam. First, take a measurement of how big you want the piece to be. Then cut that rectangle out of paper and fold the rectangle in half.
5) then you will draw half the shape onto the folded piece of paper, cut it out, and then unfold it so you have a symmetrical pattern (pic 2). Cut that piece out of craft foam and begin to glue it on the mask. (pic 2)
6) In my rendition, there was too much excess craft foam (light blue), so i cut a seam down the center of it because i knew there was one more layer that would go on top which would cover the cut. (pic 3)
7) i added the yellow triangle piece to create the next layer. Once that is done, you can cut off the back half of the crown. The point of the crown was to get everything sized correctly. i have also adjusted the eye shapes in this step (pic 4)
Step 2: Details
1). now you will add details to the mask. always start with a paper template. i made the cheeks and the jaw line first. Cheeks - (color light blue + blue)
2) then i added the another layer of black foam on the cheeks
3) then i added the little triangles (yellow and light blue) on the cheeks themselves.
4) then i added the teeth out of craft foam. If everything worked out symmetrically, you can just cut a pair 4 teeth. hot glue those in place.
Step 3: Worbla
1) Take your sheet of worbla and warm it up. Place on the mask and use whatever tool you want to get the grooves you need. Keep going until the whole thing is covered and gets all the grooves and edges you want it to. (pic 1)
2) when you are ready, poke out the eyes of the mask (pic 2)
Step 4: Ears
The ears are kinda the shape of little horns to me. i i don't have the pics of this step, but i'll show you the gist of the process.
1) take your pink insulation foam and use your exacto knife to get the basic shape of what you want.
2) once you get the rough shape pretty much how you want it, take your sandpaper and smooth off all the rough edges and angles. Remember, you are trying to have it look somewhat like a horn. Pic 2 is not from this project, but showing you how smooth you can get it if you just have patience.
3)Once you have your horns, cover those with Worbla as well and attach it to the mask. Worbla sticks to itself so no need for hot glue.
Step 5: Prepping, Painting, and Finishing!
1) Worbla has a rough texture to it so if you want to get it smooth, you can take wood glue and paint over the entire mask until you are satisfied. Let it dry in between coats.
2) use your acrylic paint and paint the designated colors (pic 1 + 2)
3) once completed, you can use a clear coat or even modge lodge to help protect your paint job.
4) Hot glue in your black see-through mesh on the underside of the mask for your eyes.
5) Hot glue in your elastic strap to the back.
That should be it. Now off you go to live a life of crime and assassination. Enjoy!!
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