Strangeface; Experiencing the Workplace

Working with Russell in the Strangeface workshop has been a very interesting time. I have learnt from all steps of creating a Strangeface mask, and in the process was presented with the fantastic opportunity to make my own from scratch. To best present my experiences in being in the workshop, I will go through each step of the process section by section.

Sculpting
Russell has a great deal of knowledge and years of experience in sculpting effectively. He sculpts all of his masks using basic white studio clay, intended for firing, but instead vacuum forms over it before it dries out and cracks. He has taught me a lot about sculpting theory, such as the importance of lines in a sculpt, and how e.g. parallel lines are uninteresting to the eye, where as a line which curves slightly or intercepts with another line will catch the viewer. Russell starts all his mask sculpts by making a maquette, and I gave this a go. It was difficult trying to capture what I wanted from the character within the 20-minute quick 'sketch' timeframe, so the maquette ended up being a very rough guide.

The character I want to present is a naive schoolgirl who happens to have a third eye, which she is somewhat ashamed of. When I started the full size sculpt over the top of a vacuum formed life cast of a face, I got a much better idea of where I would go with her expression. The Strangeface masks are designed to show different expressions dependent on not only the actor's movements and sounds, but also the angle the mask is viewed from. They are sculpted in a way that leaves them widely open to the interpretation of the viewer, and forever in a state of trying to decide which expression the mask is pulling. This is a part of a human's instinctual drive to empathise and understand other things it reads as being a face, hence why some of Strangeface's masks are rather abstract and quite far removed from being a human - but still read as one.

Here is the sculpt after a few hours of work on it. I find the process exciting but also a little intimidating. Whilst I have done some sculpting, I feel hugely inexperienced - especially being shadowed by Russell's 1000+ sculpts - but the learning curve is challenging. I want the mask to read as different expressions especially from each side - one side being a little apprehensive, a little sorry for herself, and the other being a shy, possibly even a little bit coy or even cocky smirk. I was worried about the sculpt looking a little bit older than I wanted at this stage, and was recommended to smooth her out more - the smoother a sculpt is, the younger it looks, making younger sculpts actually harder than folded, detailed, older characters.

Here is the sculpt after it has been smoothed out, neatened up and finalised for the vacuum former. I have taken out the pupils as they are no longer needed as a point of reference. I am relatively satisfied with the sculpt, but the dissatisfaction is really down to my lack of experience in sculpting, not because of something that can be immediately fixed.

Once the sculpt is finished, a drill with a piece of wire is used to burn holes in the plastic form under the head. This sucks the plastic into the small details and crevices such as in the corners of the mouth and eyes. Russell then sprays his sculpts with WD-40 as a mould release, which also helps with any last-minute smoothing.

Vacuum Forming

For the single mask commissions, Russell will complete a sculpt then just take two vacuum forms of it - one for the mask, and one as proof, which can be filled with plaster and fixed up to make more copies of if anything happens to the original. Vacuum forming is a simple process, when the plastic has been fixed into place in the metal bracket, a heater is slid over the top. The sculpt sits on a moving platform underneath the plastic.

When the plastic is supple enough and droops under the heater, the sculpt is lifted up via a lever to press into the plastic, and the vacuum is turned on. This sucks all of the air out between the plastic layer and the sculpt, so it takes on its form well. A soft cloth can be used to push the plastic further into the crevices.

The Mask in the vacuum former. The plastic we used was a clear BPA, the same used
for making water bottles. It has good strength and flexibility.

Once the shape has been formed, some brute force is required to get the mask off of the sculpt. This is worse in masks with a lot of details and especially those with undercuts, which may require the sculpt to be destroyed in order to get the mask off. Once it has been removed, it is cleaned with rubbing alcohol to remove any clay and WD-40 residue, and a buffing cloth keys the surface lightly to allow the primer and paint to grip it.

Painting

A layer of yellow primer is sprayed onto the mask as a base for the acrylic. It is a better colour than black to cover. Flesh tone acrylic is then sponged over the top in two layers, to form a base coat with a 'stippled' texture. Russell painted my mask because I have very little experience in using an airbrush, so he could paint it to reveal it's best potential. He uses no black - a few shades of red make up the blushing and warm tones, and a muted dark green is used for the shadow. Even the 'black' parts, like around the eyes and in the nostrils, are done with a very dark blue. This prevents the flatness that can occur with using solid colours.

On quizzing Russell on how he developed his style, he explains that it's taken him ten years to get to where he is. I find this reassuring because I don't feel like I solidly have my own style; there is plenty of time to develop it. He also mentioned that because his style has had to become commercially reliable, he feels it has become stale to him. I can see this happening often in a business that is run off of a created object, especially when each new product is sculpted from scratch.

The completed mask, in need of a wig. I am really happy with the paint job that Russell did, it definitely helps to define the emotions I was trying to capture. I have ordered her a wig to complete the look and will be updating this post with pictures of the mask being worn when it arrives.