1990s VHS • How to Make Masks the Death Studios 60 FPS

About

How to Make Masks the Death Studios Way is a two-hour instructional video presented by Jeff Cowan of Death Studios, covering the full process of creating latex Halloween and costume masks from sculptural concept through finished painted product. Cowan opens by showing his first mask, Antity, made approximately ten years prior, as an honest example of a beginner's result, and frames the program as an apprenticeship in craft where quality improves with each piece made.

Materials and tools are introduced in detail: a sculpture stand built from two-by-fours and a swivel boat seat, Chavant Roma Plastilena No. 2 clay from Sculpture House warmed in a microwave for workability, thin line tools from Sculpture House alongside homemade wire loop tools, orange shellac as a sealer over the plaster life cast, ultracal for mold work, and glass eyes for eye shells. Two mask types are distinguished: smaller form-fitting masks with cut-out eyes, and larger full-face masks with painted eyes and hidden view slits concealed in the forehead, nose, or other features. The program walks through a live sculpting session building a gargoyle-demon character free-form on a life cast, with instruction on building symmetrically, checking clay depth with a pin tool, and targeting one inch of thickness for production masks to account for latex shrinkage of 10 to 15 percent.

Mold-making in ultracal plaster, latex pouring in multiple coats, drying technique using an old hair dryer on a cool setting to prevent shrinkage, demolding, packing the finished mask with plastic bags to preserve shape during curing, and seam removal with a Dremel tool are all demonstrated. Painting techniques using PAX paint and airbrushing complete the main instructional content, which runs to approximately 1 hour 43 minutes. The final portion of the tape contains no recoverable audio.

Human-made No record of this work says a model made it. What this means.

Archive

Internet Archive, in The VHS Vault

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Credit

The Vista Group®

Language

English

Subtitles

English (automatic)

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed