A Brand New Face
In 2024 I was not able to commit a full three months to Halloween, so instead of making a whole new costume I decided to make a whole new mask.
While I’m framing this as a sort of compromise, the fact is that I was keen to learn how to carve a mask out of foam and then cover it with fleece, which is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. But it’s a skill that I anticipate needing soon, and you gotta start somewhere.
My goal was to create a mask that is as dramatically large as the original Shannon mask, but light enough that I would feel confident in putting the whole costume on a mannequin without tipping it over.
I usually make a fair attempt at planning ahead, but then I jump in with both feet. The best way to learn how to carve a mask out of foam, and then cover it with fleece, is to carve a mask out of foam and then cover it with fleece. It was a pretty cool process, and the results are at least passable. For my first big foam undertaking, it’s not too bad!
The new mask is several inches taller than the first one, while being about three pounds lighter. And even though it doesn’t offer the best opportunity to see where you are going, the chance to be gigantic and beautiful seems like a fair tradeoff.
