0_o You like what?!

>_<...

2004-10-02T07:17:00.000-05:00

Gah, it sure has been a long time since I've posted anything here but there hasn't been much to post. Not too many people probably check here anymore but I still would like to keep them updated. I've been working on art and you can see it on various Yahoo groups. I have also done a good portion of work on my new Pony sculpture. Hopefully I can get some pics uploaded soon and show the progress off.

Art, art, art, art, art...

2004-08-29T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yay! If no one has really taken notice yet I have put up two new pics that I have done recently. I like them both but I am a little more fond of the bunnysuit picture, don't ask me why, it just looks better to me. Anyhow, I am working on more art as of right now and I have been trying to split my time for both my mask project and this as well. It isn't easy but hopefully I can have both coexisting quite nicely soon enough.

@_@...

2004-08-12T23:32:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates but things in my little mask making world have not gone very well. The third mask attempt has failed but you know me, I get right back on the horse(no pun intended, seriously). I ordered a new armature, a proper one, and 20 pounds of clay. I have all I need to get started again and I can get back to work in no time. I'm going to see about making some kigurumi masks as well. One thing I discovered over the course of my attempts is that there is a lot of downtime at points. What better way to spend that downtime than by making more masks? :)

All the better to hear you with...

2004-07-31T14:25:00.000-05:00

I originally planned to make the ears seperate pieces of the mask so they wouldn't interfere with any wigs that would be worn with it. They would have been attached to a headband and worn over the wig to simulate them coming through. After I stood back and looked at the clay work without ears, I decided I wasn't going to let it go without them. The head just completely lacked something and now it has it. I can now truly call it finished.

2004-07-31T14:20:00.001-05:00

I think it looks much cuter, don't you?

2004-07-31T14:20:00.000-05:00

The ears really complete the mask.

Hahaha yarghh!... I mean... I'm finally done!...

2004-07-27T14:44:00.000-05:00

As you can see below I posted a few shots for everyone to enjoy. Please tell me what you all think.

2004-07-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

Front

2004-07-27T14:41:00.001-05:00

Right side

2004-07-27T14:41:00.000-05:00

Left side

Taking shape...

2004-07-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

Wow, I guess I wasn't paying much attention to the time. I've been working on the clay model for the mask I am currently making and it is really starting to come along very well. Now that I have been able to get things in motion, I'll tell more about the mask itself. This mask was an idea suggested by a friend that I rather liked so I decided to go with it. The idea was to have a cute horsey girl mask. I know this isn't interesting to all female mask fans since it is of a furry nature but I still want to make it because I think it will turn out very nicely and it's a good challenge for a first project. So far I have managed to define the jaw bones and the muzzle. I think it looks very good right now but I believe it looks a little too realistic and not cartoony enough. I'll try and remember to snag my digital camera tomorrow so I can upload some screens of the clay work so far. Oh, I also want to mention as a slight side note that when I sanded the plaster armature down, the clay had nothing to hold on to. I ended up using a wire brush to rough it up a bit but I'm still glad I sanded it though. There were some uneven spots that were taken care of when I sanded them down.

Adapt, overcome, improvise... some more

2004-07-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

I started out the day ready to saw my paper mache armature in half so I could cast it and make a plaster mold. It turns out that the paper mache was too soft to be cut in half, but that didn't stop me. I had a back up plan and I put it into effect. Using some plaster I began to coat the armature with it. I've already put on about 4 coats of plaster and the armature has become very hard and much easier to work on. I'll put on about 2 more coats before I sand the rough parts off and clean it up for the clay work. I will probably be able to get started on that tomorrow and from there it's just a matter of getting my design molded out and then casted.

Adapt, overcome, improvise...

2004-07-16T00:30:00.000-05:00

I apologize for my last brief entry in the blog. I was a little excited to have the drive back that I needed to continue on with my project and that was the result. Anyhow, now that things have settled a bit I can tell everyone what is going on. As I mentioned before I do not have a camera with me right now so taking pictures of my work is out of the question for the moment >_<. So far I have had to overcome a few obstacles, which seems to be the norm for my endeavors, but nothing will stop me from working on this mask. I had a styrofoam head that was used as a wig stand that I used for my armature. My first problem was that this wig stand was far smaller than the average human head, not to mention it had some exaggerated features such as a large forehead and big cheek bones. Being the Gung Ho type, I like to try things and mess up then redo them again. I began to model the clay onto the armature and I was having some serious problems making the proportions match the ones of an adult human male. I actually ran out of clay and I still didn't have the proportions I needed, so I pulled off all the clay and sat around for a bit. I tried to think of ways I could still use the products that I had since I didn't exactly feel like buying a new armature and then waiting for it to arrive. I happened across the remainder of a bag of paper mache and I had an idea. Paper mache can be useful in a lot of situations and this was one of them. I mixed up the remainder and I started to build up the armature to the dimensions I needed. Right now I have exactly what I need to continue my work. I don't want the paper mache to suck the moisture out of the clay so I plan on sawing it in half and then casting it with ultra cal 30. Once I do this I will fill the two halves with plaster and I will have an armature I can begin to sculpt the clay on. Hopefully I can get back to work on it by the weekend. Right now I am still doing a little developmental work with the design I want to make so I'll wait to tell everyone what to expect.

It begins...

2004-07-10T01:46:00.000-05:00

I've finally decided that I can't wait for the alginate and I have decided to make a mask using general proportions of the human head. I've been doing a lot of clay work on it and so far I am really liking the way it is turning out. I'll update everybody as I get further on down the line. Sadly, I can't take any pictures since I don't have the digital camera with me. Maybe on the next mask...

Will draw for food...

2004-06-29T03:34:00.000-05:00

I never wanted it to come to this, but things are getting real tight in the wallet area. I've come to the decision that I will start taking commissions on mask art or furry art or whatever. I'm going to have to limit it to single images instead of series since time constraints would keep other folks from getting art from me. I don't have set prices since they will be arranged on a basis of what someone wants. The more complex the idea, the more the piece will cost. If you are curious or just want to run an idea by me, you can get me at my yahoo email or on yahoo messenger as theman251art. I'll quote you a price and we can go from there.

Perhaps I should rethink my strategy...

2004-06-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

I decided that before I put ultra cal 30 on my melon to make a head cast, I should try it again on a piece of flesh that had hair this time. One of my big concerns was that my eyebrows or my sideburns may get caught in the plaster and be ripped off. I'm sure glad I tested it on my arm instead of my face. I applied vaseline to the area where I was going to apply the ultra cal 30 and began to spread it on like I would for a clay sculpture. I did everthing as I would for a normal cast making process. When I went to remove the hardened ultra cal 30 I found that even with the vaseline coating it had attached itself to my arm hair and pulled it out. Luckily my arms aren't like chia pets and the pain was minimal. This has shown me the importance of not cutting corners in a project like this. I will be ordering some alginate in the next few weeks and I will try again. This wait will put a hinderance on my mask making lest I can find a mannequin head at a resale shop somewhere.

Booya! Score another one for The Man...

2004-06-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

I tried a little experiment today and it worked out quite nicely. If someone knows why I shouldn't do this please let me know. I mixed up some ultra cal 30, the hard plaster used to make casts of the clay molds I make, and I made a cast of my left hand. So far it has worked and the cast didn't hurt me in any way. I'm still a little reluctant to try this with my head since I don't have anyone to help. If I can get a friend over it won't be a problem and I can have a plaster cast of my head so I can make a mold for the clay in no time. This will definitely help out when I go to make my masks. I've been using my down time to work on my non-masking furry art and it is coming along nicely. I need plenty of practice so don't be surprised if you see some furry art, masking or non-masking, pop up with my signature on it in the near future.

Muhuhuhahahaha...

2004-06-20T23:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, well, anyhow. I got the vast majority of the stuff I needed on saturday for my mask making project. I'll have a friend make a little website explaining what I used and how much it cost me to give those who want to try mask making some ideas. I'd like to provide some more insight into it as some of the websites out there really helped and I want to add in my experience with it. This first mask, because of the way it was made, is more of just a me getting used to the process mask. It's too small to actually be worn and I don't think I would even want to since I think it is a little ugly. I don't doubt, however, that I what I learned during this first process will really help out as I get further along.

This is the mask before I cut off the excess latex around the edges. Don't ask me why some of it turned out white.

Yay!... Or is it?

2004-06-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

My mask supplies arrived the other day and everything appears to be in order. Sadly, I neglected to order some latex pigment. This is not a real big problem since it will be better for me to use latex makeup instead but it would have made things a little easier. That aside, my quest continues to collect all that is necessary to make a mask. Tomorrow, I'll head out to the craft stores around the area and see if I can pick up some other essentials. My biggest problem right now is that I don't have a cast of my face and getting one by myself may be a bit tricky. I've decided to just get a mannequin head of sorts and just use that to continue on with my project. If I can't get ahold of a mannequin head or a wig stand shaped like a human head, I'll be forced to just get some foam balls that are about the size of my melon. This may make it a little trickier but I am not giving up easily. Once I have this business cleared up I can begin sculpting the face of the mask. That'll be a pain but I actually look forward to it. It may not be a bad idea for me to also see if I can locate a China Doll wig at a local supplier.

China doll mask...

2004-06-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

This is a little concept drawing for the first mask I want to do. It was a quick and dirty little sketch but it works.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy....

2004-06-10T16:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally placed my order for my masking supplies. They should be here by next Friday. I don't know if I can start on it right away but I'm really anxious to do so. I'm going to be kicking my butt into overdrive to get some preliminary design work done on my masks which will definitely aid me once I begin. I've decided to do a test mask before I get down to the more complicated stuff. It'll basically be just a generic female mask but it will still serve a purpose seeing as it will get me used to the whole process.

Stretchy is fun!

2004-06-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

I'm a little surprised that I didn't think of it earlier. After getting my own mask and seeing how much it stretched, I realized that unless I put a zipper on the back of my masks (which I had planned on doing) the material I use will need to be fairly strong and have some elasticity to it. I thought about using foam latex but after seeing how easily it can be torn, I've decided against it. Normal mask latex, also known as slush latex, stretches but not nearly as much as I want. This really narrows down the amount of options I have. Now I know that all of you must be saying "But TM, why don't you just use slush latex and put zippers in the back like you planned?" Zippers are fine and dandy but there is something to be said for the super stretchy pull over the head mask. If I asked anyone of you which you preffered, I bet 9 out of 10 times you would say the stretchy over the head mask. There is just something about them that, to me at least, makes them much cooler than a zipper mask. This of course creates a problem, what the heck type of latex material is stretchy enough to work for this? Since, like any good female mask enthusiast ^_^, I subscribe to Kerry's mask mailing list. A while back Kerry mentioned a place which sold a rubber like material that would stretch to 400% of it's original size before breaking. The material was supposedly like an extremely stretchy silicone, if I remember correctly, and it could be used for many different things including medical prosthetics. Sadly, I have long since lost this link. If anyone happens to have this link or know what I am talking about, do me favor and drop me a line here on the blog.

You've got mask....

2004-06-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

Yay! My Olly mask from Makupartist came today. Took about 3 weeks time to come, so considering the fact it had to come from the Czech Republic, I think that isn't too bad. It is a really nice mask...but as with all the masks from Makupartist, there is a chance it will tear. I found this to be true as soon as I tried to put it on. I must have man handled it a bit too much and a chunk of the neck came off. This then led to a tear which went almost all the way to the top of the head. Needless to say, I'm pretty bummed about it. It's my own fault but I would have liked to at least get to try it on once. At least now it gives me a nice little project to work on. I'll not only need to repair the tear on the mask but also add a zipper so it doesn't occur again. I was looking forward to playing with my new mask but now I just have to sit around looking at the big tear up the left side :(.

Barbecue kicks ass...

2004-05-31T00:55:00.000-05:00

I love Memorial Day since it not only means a barbecue, but also because it reminds us about those who have served and died for their country and that is something we should never forget. Naturally, I won't be getting anything done since my home will be packed with family and friends and I need to clean and cook food before they come. The more free time I have, the less of it that seems to be actually usable for anything, go figure. I hope everyone who has a day off enjoys it, and I hope that all who work get sent home early :). Carry on...

Giggity giggity gig...

2004-05-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

I was just sitting here passing through a link that a friend sent to me, and even though I've been to the site before, I was still pretty impressed with the art on there. I really like it when I get a chance to go over some of my favorite art done by others because it usually gives me some inspiration to not be such a slacker when it comes to my own :P. I really like the stuff I have done (don't I have to?) but there are some flaws that I would like to correct as I continue to progress. Nothing bad, just a desire to always make my stuff better than my previous work. This type of thinking happens to be quite prevalent in everything (well most everything) that I do. In short, that long rambling of mine is just a way to say that I will be working on something new trying to improve myself. I never like to set a date when my stuff will be done but I hope it will be soon. As always, I am anxious to show off what I come up with, so sit back relax and maybe, just maybe, The Man will have something new for you.

That was quite a brain fart...

2004-05-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to mention this blog to the all powerful Closetmonster -_-. Luckily, he happened to be a bit more on the ball than I was and added it to his list of goodies anyhow. I salute you, Mr. Closetmonster ^_^ b.

Is that all there is?

2004-05-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

I happened into the costume shop across from where I work today. I was on a mission to find me some mask latex. The very nice girl that was working showed me to the section that housed the mask applications and prosthetics. Unfortunately, the only jar of latex they happened to carry was all of 4oz. Call me crazy, but I think I'm going to need more than a few ounces for the work I plan on doing :). That being said, the trip was not a total defeat however. The girl offered to order me some but I declined. I'm still a little unsure if I will go with just standard mask latex or foam latex. She seemed very interested in what I was doing (I just said making masks) and recommended that if I had any success in my endeavors, that I should come back and speak with the owners. She mentioned that they may be interested in purchasing anything I come up with. I don't really plan on making masks to sell, but there is always a chance I will cave in and start making them for others on a regular basis.

Mask maker, mask maker, make me a mask...

2004-05-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

I've been doing some pricing online for mask making supplies and every place I've been to is about 20-30 bucks for a bottle of latex. These seem like pretty good prices but I'm all about convenience even if I have to pay a few dollars more. After work tomorrow...(Looks at watch)..er..today, I'll head over to the costume shop across the way and see if they have any mask making supplies on hand. It will definitely make things go a lot quicker not to mention, if I need more of anything, much easier.

Tick tock, tick tock...

2004-05-26T16:02:00.000-05:00

I ordered an Olly mask from Makupartist a few weeks ago and I'm sitting here waiting for it to arrive (isn't my life exhilirating? :P). This is my first real mask and I'm hoping it may give me some inspiration or at least something fun to play with :). I hope it arrives soon so I can begin to have some fun with it.

Fire bad!... I mean...work..bad!

2004-05-24T20:16:00.000-05:00

Like most people, I love money. It can be traded for goods and services, and naturally I like to have lots of it for these reasons. The problem is selling computers to unhappy, mean people is not a fun way to do it >_<. I'm able to look past it all though. When I work alot, I get paid a lot. It makes the fun things I do that much easier. This is key since I will be trying my hand at mask making(as stated in my last post). I mentioned that I wanted to make a few masks for myself. The one I really want to try my hand at is Felicia from Darkstalkers. I know it seems a little overzealous for a first mask but if I am going to make one, I might as well make one that will look damn hot :). Anyhow, this will definitely not be an easy task and will require lots of patience as well as practice. Things will be slow but the results will be well worth it. I need to make some money before I can buy the necessary supplies though. I'll be working a lot this week and I sadly won't have much if any time for new artwork (not like I was pumping it out daily anyhow). I may be able to do some here and there but not enough to show off. Next week things look a bit better and I get paid next week too so it's all gravy. I just hope I can find a huge blue wig to put on with my mask when I finish it ^_^.

So I says to Mable, I says...

2004-05-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'm rather glad that I started this blog since I feel it may give some folks a little bit more insight as to what I waste my life with(I'm also too lazy to maintain a website). I'm a rather normal fellow, save for some of my interests. I primarily spend my time working on art that involves female masking. It's a rather small niche interest but hey, I like it ^_^. I also recently have been getting more into the furry scene. It's a really great community from what I have seen so far, and I really want to try out fursuiting someday. I'm hoping that I can go to Further Confusion in January but certain unchangeable factors may prevent that. I have met alot of great people so far and the list keeps growing. I thought for a long time that there weren't many, if any, others who had the same interests as I. I was definitely wrong. Things seem to get more and more interesting as the days pass. Another interest that I have had for quite some time is in Kigurumi. Kigurumi is great stuff, and even though I haven't tried it, it is another thing on my list of stuff to do before I die ^_^. Since my current job pays almost nothing and I still live at home with my folks, most of the things on my to do list are going to stay on that list until things pick up for me. However, there is one thing that I will be able to start doing, and that is making my own masks. I'm going to have access to an area where I intend to start making not only latex masks but maybe my own fursuit, if I ever get that far. For now I just want to keep things simple. There are a few masks that I would just love to make but will take some practice to get right. In the meantime I just keep trying to work on my art and make some kind of impact on those who I meet.

Post number one!

2004-05-23T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is a little idea box where you can see all of the whacky crap that passes through my melon. I have a lot of interesting...uhm...interests, which I will be talking about here. I hope to get started really soon.
The Man