Wow!!! What amazing work! I look forward to seeing this painted! Please share more of your haunt. 
Haha! Shadowbat, I assure you it is my first! However, I've had it on my bucket list since about 5th grade!
You are correct, I took inspiration from many sources for this mask. I mainly studied close-up photos of reptile skins, eyes, toes, and their unusual features like nodules, bumps and just plain oddness. Alligators, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, even Turtles, you name it. I have a much greater appreciation for how varied, and even beautiful, reptiles can be. Their textures up-close are surprisingly surreal.
On top of that I definitely drew some inspiration from some of my childhood favorites. For example, "The Gorn" from Star Trek, "Sleestaks" from Land of the Lost, "Draks" from Enemy Mine, etc. I had to be careful though, I definitely wanted more realism then these creations had. I love them, but they are pretty cheezy.
I also pulled from many of the other reptile based masks out there. In fact, I really struggled with the nose. I eventually stole the nose right off of the CFX Viper mask. I love that mask. I'd also love to try my hand at creating a silicone-based mask, they are just so freakin' cool the way they move.
Also! I went to the "Haunt Convention" in Ohio (for the first time) this year and I happened to bump into Ed Edmunds from "Making Monsters" - a favorite show of mine, along with "Face off" and "Halloween Wars"! He was kind enough to chat with me and look at pictures of my sculpture. To my surprise he had some nice things to say. It stunned me. I had let the project sit with no progress for awhile and his positive words inspired me to get going again.
And if none of that worked, I just made some stuff up.![]()
pacman, you're right, now that I've been through the process I feel more confident in being able to do it again. I've sketched out an idea for both an insect creature and an alien. I'm excited to get started on one of them, but I have so much to do for our haunt that it'll have to wait until after Halloween! I am, however, working on a stitched burlap mask with my daughter. It's looking creepy. I'll post some pix when she finishes it.Thanks for taking the time to answer me questions , CheeseWeasel , with the amount of work you put in obviously now you must be psyched to continue on with your work , have you already got something in mind or because this went so well has it kind of taken you by surprise how great your first attempt was ? The paintwork looks excellent , i wondered what is the major difference between the two types of paints as such , you said if it was a really detailed job you would use rubber inks , why so , what is the difference in the latex paint and the rubber inks ? i wondered as i tried latex paint once before with a prop is it the consistency of the paint ? i have always wanted to try and see how to make a mask but i really didn't appreciate quite how much work is involved , but with the results you have i am sure the inspiration is pumping now , please keep us updated on the voodoo swamp creature , i am so looking forward to the finished creature .
Hi Bobby,
I like your mask. It's a very good first time effort.
As for your question, You can get rubber inks from www.unionprocess.com under stamping inks. They are solvent based and is thinned by naphtha which is very toxic and recommend using in a well ventilated area and wearing a filter mask. One of the problems with Rubber inks as I've explained in my video is sometimes it does turn green. Mostly caused by having the mask exposed to the sun or indirect sunlight for prolonged period of time. so it can be risky to use.
I would recommend using createx's tim gore bloodline paints. http://www.tcpglobal.com/CRE-5083-00.html?gclid=CLnvpYaOoMECFROTfgodSy8Ahg#.VDbHufldV8E
I use them for all my masks and it's flexible enough to not rub off, especially if you seal it with some liquitex gloss or matte medium after. You can mix both the get the right amount of sheen or matte effect. It also sprays through an iwata very easily.
https://www.google.com/search?q=liq...2Fliquitex-gloss-and-matte-mediums%2F;600;524
Hope that helps.