How to Make a Steampunk Mask

Hi guys! Bill citrus here, I made a mask that took me about two days to make. For this project, I needed a lot of hot glue,for the texture, and a lot of paint. Speaking of paint, the stuff I used was: Plastidip spray on rubber, black spray paint,and gold and silver Rub 'N Buff. Which you will see further in this Instructable.

Step 1: Sketching

First I drew what I wanted the mask to look like on paper, then, when I was happy with what I had, I drew it on the mask.

Step 2: Adding Depth

This part is optional, and you can do it differently, but I think it looks really cool! I roughly drew the same shapes on some craft foam. If you're not very good at drawing , then you can trace the shapes on to wax paper, then cut them out, and use that as a pattern for the foam. Once you've done that you can glue the shapes on your mask. I just bought a $2 blank white mask.

Step 3: Screws

I wanted to have screws on the eye brows and mouth, so I took some scraps of EVA foam, you an use a few layers of craft foam glued together instead, and pressed a marker cap into the foam. Then, with some scissors, cut out the circle.With the blunt square edge of the scissors I pressed the circle firmly and rubbed it, Making a notch. I then glued them on the mask.

Step 4: The Hot Glue Designs

Trace your pencil markings with hot glue, this will add depth to your markings and will be highlighted with Rub 'n Buff later. I learned that if you use a high-temp glue gun, I have a multi-temp, you can make fake rivets by making a small blob first, then wrap the stringy bit around the blob. It will look like a little tornado at first, but it should slump into a perfect rivet.

Step 5: Painting

First I gave the mask a coat of brown,then painted black around the edge of the foam bits. This gave it a more robotic look. The brown was too bright though.... so I sprayed a light coating of black over the hole thing, then let it dry.

Step 6: Rub 'N Buff Time!

Go outside and squeeze the tubes of Rub 'N Buff to mix the paint up inside. then find a rubber glove,RUBBER GLOVE MANDATORY! RUB 'N BUFF IS TOXIC AND YOU DON'T WANT TO GET IT ON YOUR SKIN! Squeeze some paint out on a piece of news paper. get a little bit on your finger and rub with a circular motion. Rub a little of on the news paper just so you have a little bit of paint on your gloved finger, then apply it to your mask. I noticed if I put a little bit of silver on top of the gold I got sort of a light brass color. I used silver for the hot glue texture around the outside of the face.

Step 7: The Wires

for the wires on top of the head I used floral wire and some kind of Halloween wreath cord. I crimped the edges of the floral wire on to the cord to hold it in place. I did this on both sides of the wire.

Step 8: Glue the Wires on

This one is pretty self explanatory. :)

Step 9: Screen in the Eyes

I cut out two pieces of window screen and glued them to the mask. Then took some black fabric that I could see through and glued that over top of the screen. I later painted the screen black.

Step 10: Comfort Is Important!

I had a scrap of corrugated foam and cut a piece for the forehead. Then glued it in place.

Step 11: And You're Done!

Enjoy your mask! I think this was one of my best most fun projects! Please post a picture if you make a mask of your own using this Instructable! Have fun!

Bill Citrus