Making an Awesome Bith/Cantina Band Mask

This is my second attempt at making Bith masks. My first attempt ended up too small, and some of the details were a bit off. This time I am using WED clay to sculpt the masks instead of monster clay, which I used last time.

Step 1: Sculpting

I sculpted the mask using WED clay, using a basic set of sculpting tools and some dental carving tools.

For the eyes I used halves of 60mm clear plastic opening Christmas ball ornaments.

Step 2: Molding

To mold the mask, I started by drilling holes in the eyes and sticking long bolts into them, this will make sense later. Next I coated the mask in two thin layers of crystal clear. After that, using WED clay, I built a wall going down the center of the mask. Then, I used loop sculpting tools to carve several round indentations into the clay, to act as keys to keep the finished mold aligned. Then I mixed up a batch of Ultra-cal 30 and brushed it into all of the detail of the front of the dead. Once that was dry, I mixed another batch of Ultra-cal 30 and brushed it onto the face, then I soaked several trips of burlap in the Ultra-cal and put then

Step 3: Casting

Casting was the simplest step. I just poured/brushed a fairly thick layer of latex into the mold. Then once it was dry, I did the same thing again.

Step 4: Painting

I started by creating a base for the paint, by mixing latex and water. Then I mixed the base with acrylic airbrush paints to make a flexible latex paint. I then used an airbrush to spray the paint onto the mask. (I only used two or three colors).

Step 5: Final Masks

In the end, I am much happier with these masks than I am with my previous cantina band masks.