A Hand Painted Mask

This hand-painted mask uses a craft mask as the base.   They are available in many shapes at craft stores and online retailers - use whatever shape you like.  If you choose one that is shiny plastic, paint it with a base coat of Gesso before the first step.  First, draw your design directly on the mask using pencil.  I went for organic curlicues and arabesques.  In other words, I made it up.  Don't worry if you change your mind as you go - the pencil will not show in the final piece. Next, trace your design in dimensional paint - the kind used on tshirts.  The color doesn't matter, as it won't show through.  I happened to have black, so that's what I used.  You can also do this with a hot glue gun, but I find it's a bit more difficult to control and you get less precision.  Here I added a second coat of dimensional paint after the first dried to give my design more height.  Next, remove the elastic from your mask.  Paint the entire mask in your chosen base color.  Be sure to get all the nooks and crannies.  I chose artist's acrylic in Dioxazine Purple for greater coverage.  If needed, apply a second coat with your base color.  Next, paint around the edges of the raised design in silver.  Here I took advantage of the lighter craft paint so that some purple would show through.  A brush with a narrow tip gives more control here, but any brush you have on hand can work - it just may give a slightly different look.  If your paint is too think, water it down a bit.  Apply a second coat of silver, if desired.  Next, apply Rub n Buff (a wax metallic paste) to the surface of the design.  Dab a small amount on your fingertip and lightly rub across the raised surface.  I used Antique Gold.  An acrylic paint and a small paintbrush may also be used.  Lastly, seal with a clear acrylic spray sealer, available at craft and home improvement stores (not pictured.)