We know you're probably all wondering how these costumes came into being, so we're gonna set you up with a little behind the scenes look at the making of the masks- (arguably the most important part of getting the cosplay right!)
First, to get the perfect fit, we made life casts of our three guys. You know, the ones playing Mordin, Wrex, and Garrus. ;)
The process starts by gooping up their heads in alginate-
(Serious meditation required...)
which gives us an exact copy of their face, and through some wizardry... turns into a life-size duplicate of their head in Ultra-Cal 30.
(Tony- aka Mordin- scrutinizes his new stone head)
Everyone learned that having an exact copy of yourself is both awesome and creepy- probably because it's a little like looking at a statue of you while you're sleeping, which might somehow be considered a little stalker-ish. But... now we have something to build off of! These stone heads get passed on to the sculptor, Zo, to work the real magic.
After hours spent researching and a ton of screenshots in game to get just the right angles, he has the monumental task of recreating these well-known faces perfectly.
We think he nailed it. Check out these photos of the finished Mordin sculpt:
Awesome amount of detail. Hard to believe there's a head snuggled safely inside all that clay somewhere... Way to put all that talent to work!
Once Zo is happy with his finished product, he has to prepare himself for the next step- letting go. It's a very stressful leap of faith where the head gets coated with another layer of Ultra-Cal 30 to create a negative mold and the clay sculpture is destroyed. The negative is then filled with silicone latex that basically replaces the clay, making the image of Mordin's face on the outside and the model's face on the inside...
Ta da!
(Ah, Zo can breathe easy now, the mold worked!)
Finally, the mask will return to Zo's workshop for a superior paint job using Psycho Paint with makeup sponges and an airbrush. There will probably be more experimentation with other methods in later projects to really find the perfect mix though. And at last, it's ready for application as the final product!
(Hmm, had to be me... Someone else would have gotten it wrong.)
The other guys went through the same process, so every mask is a perfect fit. Even with the requisite limitations on their sight and hearing from being inside a casing of latex, all three are able to move the mouths of their masks to speak and all have channels carved out to make sure they can breathe and see. One observant con-goer even noticed that the characters seem to breathe as the man under the mask inhales!
So that's today's brief behind-the-scenes look at the making of the faces of our Mass Effect cosplay! Check back soon to see more about how everything came together and what our future plans will look like!
See you again soon :)
-Conjurer's Closet
