Introduction: Lucha Libre Masks for Your Thumb

My friend and I recently ran an art lesson with a class of grade two kids, where we designed and made mini Lucha Libre maks for their thumbs out of the ends of rubber gloves.
It's dead easy, only takes a couple of minutes, and adds an awesome new dimension to thumb wrestling.

Step 1: What You Need

Not much. It's a cheap activity, and a good way to make use of (parts of) old washing up gloves.

1. Washing up gloves. Make sure you use the ones that are "fabric" inside, rather than "pearly". The fabric ones are much easier to draw on.

2. Scissors.

3. Markers. Thin-tipped, permanent markers are best, but the kids just used the water-based Texta-brand ones they had in the classroom, and these worked fine. The more colours you have, the more potential for awesome masks.

4. An old Altoids or tobacco tin to put your masks in.

5. A printer, to print out the instructions.

6. An idea for a wrestler. This could be a mini version of a real Luchadore, or your own creation.

Step 2: Choose Your Mask Size

The mask is going to be the tip of one of the fingers from a rubber glove. Choose which one fits your thumb best, and cut the tip off, so that it is about 3 inches long (roughly 1 - 1.5 inches).

You will also want to chop the other finger tips off as well, to make more masks so you can challenge your friends, and they can pick the mask that fits them.

Turn your masks inside out. You are going to do your design on the fabric side, with the rubber on the inside.

Step 3: The Face

Your rubber glove will have grip on one side of it. make sure the face is on the other, smoother side, so that the bumps don't interfere with your design.

Pull the mask down tightly over your thumb. Draw your eye, nose and mouth holes first, and then give your wrestler a fierce expression. I use a black Fine Line marker for this.

Step 4: The Design

Now it's time to create your character.

I start with black outlines , and colour in. This one is going to have a simple red starburst on a blue background.

Be careful not to smudge - it takes a while for the pen to dry.

Step 5: Name Your Luchadore

Once you're done, give him an appropriate name, and then translate it into Spanish using an online translation tool.

I named this guy The Red Crash - El Desplome Rojo (which translates back as "the red collapse"!)

You now have a world-beating luchador pulgar (fighter thumb).

Make a bunch more, using every finger from a pair of gloves, and keep them in an old tobacco tin, along with these instructions which I wrote, translated into Spanish, then translated back into English again so that they now make very little sense.

Lucha Pulgar is the perfect distraction for long trips, long waits at the train station, long lunches, long afternoons at work - pretty much anytime you have some time to kill.

�Luchas felices del pulgar!

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