Updated mask with painted accents.
One of the projects on this year's haunt list was to come up with a new character for my yard haunt on Halloween night. My previous, while still great, had been used the last four years and was in need of a refresh.
So with a limited budget and timeframe, I quickly looked around to see what was available.
I was fortunate to score a great deal on the dark sand color variant of the Exhumed mask from Night Creature Collectibles. The old school reaper feel and the killer sculpt on the skull face caught my attention and I pounced on it!
I was really happy with the mask when it showed up. I'm a sucker for a good skull face, and I love those sparse, gnarly teeth hanging out of the blackened, decayed mouth. Add to that the attached hood and it was the perfect piece to build a new character around.
And while I love the mask overall, I kept looking at it thinking that I could add just a bit of detail to really accentuate the overall look of it. So I grabbed a few acrylic paints and went to work, focusing on that decayed mouth and those wonderful teeth. I added overall contrast and a bit of shadowing to the entire face, giving it just a bit more grotesqueness to it.
I didn't want (or need) to overdo it, so I kept the accents to a minimum and called it quits. Done. A really great mask made a tiny bit better with just a bit more detail. I'm currently working on a heavily tattered, monotone and multi-layered cloak to go with it and this detailed mask is going to be a strong focal point to the entire character. I can't wait to show it all off!
The original.
A big shout out to James Dunn at Night Creature Collectibles for the hookup! Check out more of his killer work here!
