Mask Making and Inspiration

In the first stages of making our mask, we soaked the hessian in a mixture of tea and coffee. This was done to give an earthy, old and dirty look to the texture of the material. We dried the mask with a hairdryer, in order to speed up the process.

Next the hessian sack was placed on someones head, in order to mark and cut out eye and mouth holes. Once this process was done, a charcoal black oil pastel crayon was used to roughly outline the eyes and mouth. This provided definition and darkness to the mask; therefore creating a sense of disguise and hidden identity. The iconic emblem of a reversed cross was drawn onto the upper centre of the the material. This gave the mask its own uniqueness and identity.

After that, cotton was used for stitching around the mouth. We used white cotton and then painted over it in coffee. Once again this gave a look of uncleanliness and a vintage feel. 

Definition was added by using a glue gun. This was used to ensure the stitching was in place. It also highlighted the element that this mask was handmade, not manufactured and was unique to our killer.

This is a final image of the hessian mask. All the elements have been finished - the cross motif, rimmed eye and mouth holes with black, stitching around the mouth and cheek and the stained coffee, vintage feel. As you can see, the mask does have an old, uncared  for appearance. This connotes to the connotations of it representing an old and religious style of mask.

Inspiration

There were 2 main sources which were an inspiration for the design of our mask. One was the mask worn by the singer Tyler the Creator. The reversed cross emblem was an iconic and memorable motif in which fitted with our story line and concept. We liked that it was unique and different from an original cross design. The simplicity of the mask was also something which we were keen to re-create.

The second source of inspiration was the mask worn by 'The Scarecrow' in the film Batman Begins. We liked the material of hessian used, as it gave the feel of an old and vintage mask. The stitching showed that the garment was hand made and unique to the wearer. The roughness of the design looked simple and the effect was easy to achieve.

We decided to combine both masks to create a unique and memorable design. Something iconic and symbolic to our film, which fitted with the codes and conventions of a medieval, religious slasher. 

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