sILICONE MASK MAKING

mAKING BAPHOMET

In April 2017 I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with 3 great SFX artists:

First and foremost, Ali Gordon, owner, creator and all-round braaaaains behind "Ill-Willed Workshops" and "Somedevil SFX Europe".

Secondly, the incredible Tate Steinseck from the hit SFX TV show "Face Off".

And Last but by no means least the legendary Steve Johnson.

I cannot begin to list off their resumées so I have included links to their websites below.

Ali Gordon: Facebook

Tate Steinseck: Facebook, IMDB, Twitter, Illwilled Workshop,

Steve Johnson: Stevejohnsonfx.com, Stan Winston School,IMDB

So along with 17 other amazing SFX artists of all levels, we began our 10 day intensive workshop with 3 of the biggest practical jokers, misfits and geniuses the SFX world has ever had the (dis)pleasure of knowing.

finished mask picture to follow

The Sculpt

And on the first day, Ali said: "Let there be a Life-casting class."

Th next 4 days were sculpting and the Goat's head went through a number of changes. Day 2 saw the form taking shape. Day 3 really solidified the "goatish" shape and overall look of the piece. Day 4 was refining & designing the details and the back of the piece. Day 5 was texturing and neatening out all the edges, making it more symmetrical and filling in the gaps. I learned a lot along on this journey. It was hard to envision what the final piece would need (eye holes, breathing holes & the seam up the back) and how the sculpt needed to be made considering the what rest of the process involved, including casting and pulling it out of plaster.

One thing was for sure. I was the only person in the class making a Goat.

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Day 1

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Day 2

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Day 3

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Back of the goat

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Day 4

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Day 4 still

Day 5

Day 5 still

Turns out Steve Johnson's not a bad Photographer

Onwards...

The rest of the process was dusty, sticky, straining, greasy, fun and nail-biting. Needless to say with the help and expertise of 3 of the industry's finest the entire class came away with some pretty awesome pieces.

Day 6 was time to recover and take stock of one's life goals. We'd learned a lot from these guys, not just how to conceptualize, sculpt and heaps of tips & tricks to make things easier, but the days were punctuated by stories 'on the road'. We heard about 'difficult' directors and actors. We heard about locations and shoots where they'd learned and experienced some of the greatest highs & lows of their careers.

Was this really what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives?

Onwards...

Day 7 and The Plague struck. The werewolf disease had taken it's next victim and left all but one of the class flattened. Steve, Tate and Ali were all horse and phlegm-filled, and now I was too. It was a struggle finishing the sculpt but on we slogged and began to cast. Day 8 and the hero of this story was laid low. I could only imagine what wonderful hi-jinks and tomfoolery were happening in the class as fever and apathy kept me in bed. Day 9 saw the return of the Dicelady but someone had held down the mute button. I was only able to communicate through a variety of clicks, whistles and claps. Tate informed me that I was much more entertaining this way. Ha ha...

The casting continued and so did the cleaning of the mold. At the close of day Tate, Ali and I pulled from my mold what seemed like an awful lot of effort for an anti-climactic result. Seeing as I had gone into the workshop with a day and a half prep, it was fairly cool. If I were to do it again, and knowing what I do now, I would have done it differently. I probably would have still done a goaty god, but certain aspects of the design could do with tweaking.

Day 10, the final hours were drawing close. Painting was a drudge. I did it all by hand. The fumes of the isopropyl alcohol got to me after 4.5 hrs and I needed a couple hours to "sleep it off''". I only left when I had completed the look I was aiming for, sealed it and sung at least 5 Disney choons. Sure there are things I'd change but for my first silicone mask, I'm proud, satisfied and excited to see what I'll make next.