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!

Step 2: Making a Head Mold

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!

This step is brought to you by petroleum jelly. Petroleum Jelly; Over 101 uses and all of them icky.

If you try to do this, or plan on making any mold of your body, please, please, ONLY use plaster of paris (strips/plaster bandages), or alginate and plaster of paris strips/plaster bandages. Somewhere out there someone is thinking they can substitute plaster of paris strips with another form of plaster. Pouring plaster onto yourself is very dangerous. The curing temperature can become very hot, if something goes wrong you can’t rip away the strips/bandages, it’s harder to control, etc etc, you get the idea. If you’re thinking ‘oh, but I’ve seen someone do it that way’ hopefully they were using alginate and you were mistaking it for plaster. And if you’re saying ‘but I’ve gone and made one with just plaster before, nyeh,’ well, great, good for you kiddo.

Step 3: Making an Armature (Using the Head Mold)

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!

Ultra Cal 30 for the win.

For my head, I used about 6.53 kilograms of Ultra Cal, so for water we used 2.5 liters.

Step 4: Sculpting a Headpiece

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!

A short comic page, because I really don’t know how to explain sculpting...you just need to get your hands dirty and try! A good thing to keep in mind is proportions. Be prepared to start over if it's just not working. And maybe consider doing some 'sculpting warm-ups' (i.e. just sculpt something else, for fun, right before you start).

If you think you can't sculpt, you can't. But if you think you could sculpt, that you can learn sculpt, that you understand that everything in life needs practice and patience, and that you can sculpt (just maybe not at the level you want to be at initially)...then you can. I don't care how old you are, you can do it. I can only remember "sculpting" two things in my life before this - a coiled pot at art camp (not really sculpting...), and this ugly, horrible, cracked merged-bodies-possibly-a-vase-thing in high school. So...just give it a shot! And work at it!

Step 5: Making a Mold of a Sculpted Headpiece

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!

My molds are far from being smooth or pretty, but they do the trick! I've seen other people pour a layer of Ultra Cal 30 over their sculpt, sprinkle in burlap, add another layer of UC, add more burlap, etc, but my slow method of painting pieces of UC with cheesecloth and layering them on worked best for me.

Step 6: Making (and Painting) the Latex Headpiece

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!

Sorry...this step involves me crying and complaining a lot :'(

Step 7: Wearing It!

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!

And there you have it! You very own Asari latex headpiece!!!

This tutorial was about making a headpiece - not about putting it on. However for this Instructables I decided to write a few steps on how I went about using liquid latex to help hide the headpiece seam line (so no comic about this part). If you have any questions about this part, ask away (or hey, search Instructables; I bet someone has done a tutorial on this).

You'll need:
hair pins (optional)
wig cap
liquid latex
hair dryer (optional)
makeup

1. Pin up long hair
2. Put on wig cap
3. Put on latex headpiece
4. Paint on a thin layer of latex (going from beyond the edge of your headpiece and down to your skin)
5. Wait for latex to dry (you can use a hair dryer on a low setting to help speed this step up
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you get a seamless transition from your headpiece to your skin! I think my edges came out pretty good; what most people think is a noticeable seam line is actually further up the headpiece, where I had to cut away latex from the mask itself (since it was so thick! Rookie mistake!). The part where the latex meets the skin was not too shabby.
7. Cover the seam (and your face) with makeup! Make sure the makeup you use can cover latex, but be aware that different types react different to latex (some eat away at it and break it down)

Step 8: Final Notes (Not Really a Step!)

After Halloween, I ended up making a few more, to try to get ones with even thinner edges (accomplished with practice with a makeup wedge and stippling latex on). I was able to reuse my Ultra Cal 30 mold, and since I had a ton of latex, I churned out three more headpieces and still had a lot of 407 latex left. Since I bought large quantities of stuff (i.e. Ultra Cal, latex, plasticine) I was able to use everything I had previously bought for other costumes: Frank from Donnie Darko, Terminator, Princess Leia, Tatterhood - non-comic tutorials for all coming one day!

2008 has come and gone, and now a big(ish) community of Mass Effect costumers/cosplayers has developed, and people everywhere, from instructables.com, cosplay.org, deviantart.com, facebook.com, and even 'real life' ;) are making ME gear. So go make yourself an Asari headpiece and join the ranks. Or if you have another Mass Effect costume in mind, seek out those sites and check out other fans' work/tutorials, and ask questions!