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Jack Frost Costume (Mask, Clothing, And Weaponry)
Hello everyone, my name is Conner Beets and I am an 18 year old special FX artist for the haunted attractions industry. I specialize in creating latex masks, costumes, props, and refurbishing fake weaponry. I hope to have an Etsy shop up and running this summer called C.T.H. Productions (Conner The Haunter Productions) that will be selling my creations for the haunt industry!!! For my entry into the Stan Winston School's Creature Making Contest, I have combined every one of my skills into one character I call Jack Frost. I will cover how I made the mask for the character, made the costume, and made a foam pick ax look insanely realistic. So come along with me if you dare and face the chill of this icy character straight from my imagination!!!
Part #1: Making The Mask
Part #1: Making The Mask
I wanted to film a time-lapse video of my sculpting process but due to some complications with my camera i couldn't film. I sculpted this character in WED clay on my Half Ed armature from Monster Makers. This was also my first mask that has LED eye slots built into it so, the eyes do look a little strange without them. Overall, I knocked this guy out in about 6 hours and I wish I would have had more time to work on him but, do to time constraints, (I'm a senior in High School and I got lots of stuff to get done) I had a limited amount of time to sculpt this character. Nevertheless, I don't think he looks bad at all and the sculpt is very versatile in terms of what kind of monster it can be.
After molding the sculpt in Ultracal 30 (The absolute greatest plaster ever), I cast it in high quality mask making latex. After pulling the cast from the mold, I attached the LED's to the mask using Weldwood Contact Cement. After attaching the LED's, I attached the mask to a Rothco head sock via contact cement and built up the back of the mask with shop towels and latex. After the latex dried, I painted the mask using Mabry Monsters Nightshades paint, Stiltbeast Studios Paint, and some black alcohol based ink. I started with basing the mask in white and then performing a blue wash with some blue paint. After the paint dried, I did a black ink wash on the mask to give him a more dramatic appearance. After the mask was painted, I used LEXEL caulk from Lowes to make some awesome icicles that hang on the face of the creature and used some fake snow to make them look icy. I borrowed this technique from my good friend and mentor Allen Hopps at Stiltbeast Studios. After I finished with the caulk, I attached some icicles made of Loctite foam to the back of the head with contact cement and painted them with white and blue latex paints. After I finished with the icicles, I sealed the mask with a glossy clear coating.
Part #2: Making The Costume
For Jack's costume, I ordered a navy fur coat, some navy snow pants, and a white button up shirt off of Amazon. After the clothes came in, I began distressing them using various techniques i have learned over my years in haunting. First, I used a belt sander to rip random small holes in the costume that created a really gnarly tattering effect. After using the sander, I began to add color to the costume using the holy grail of all haunt materials.... SPRAY PAINT. First, I turned the costume inside out and sprayed some black around all of the openings of the clothing. I did this because when I turned the costume back to its outside state, the black subtly bleeds through and creates an awesome effect. Then, I brushed some Great Stuff foam around the neck and sleeves to create an awesome chunky effect. I then used hints of brown, blue, white, and several other colors to really make this costume appear worn and icy. Next, I used Snow-tex and some fake snow to create a snow effect on the costume. Finally I used some Frightprops flexible blood paint on the costume and then sealed it using a glossy clear coating.
Part of the concept I had of this character was a scarf made of human skin around Jack's neck. I consulted with Allen Hopps on how he would go about making something like this. The technique he told me to use was absolutely genius!!!! I bought a glass pane from Lowes and I sketched out a scarf onto it with a Sharpie. Next, I started brushing layers of flesh tone latex inside of the outline. After I got the thickness I desired, I brushed layers of red latex over the flesh toned latex. After the red had dried, I powdered the scarf and peeled it off the glass. I then did a dry brush effect on the back using some "Rue Blood" from Stiltbeast Studios to create a realistic blood effect. This awesome technique that Allen taught me created an insanely realistic human skin effect that looks absolutely fantastic. I then tore the latex skin, cleaned it up, and then painted it to create the illusion of ripped skin being used as a scarf.
Part #3: Weapon
Since I designed this character to be a slasher type villain, he needed an awesome weapon that reflected his character. I decided on a pick ax because of the icy nature of the character. I bought a foam pick ax from Frightprops (pictured above) that I distressed and made it look way more realistic with brown, gray, and chrome spray paints. I then brushed some Great Stuff foam on the pick ax to give it a chunky texture. Then, I used some "Rue-Blood" from Stiltbeast Studios to gore the pick ax up. After I finished the paint, I used some Snow-Tex and some fake snow to give the pick ax an icy look. After i finished up the snow, I sealed the pick ax with a glossy clear coat. I put an image of the ax before I refurbished it and then put a picture of the ax after I had finished my work on it.
Part #3: The Finished Product
Me and My Awesome Mom shot Jack in my mask shop and since we are not the absolute best photographers, these are not the highest quality photos and the lighting kinda adds a blur to the finished pictures. Nevertheless, I think they turned out pretty good.
I would like to say thanks to Allen Hopps, Jim Brown, and my other good friends/mentors that have assisted me in my SFX journey. I also would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. I hope everyone likes this guy and please let me know what you think about him!!! Also, I posted a separate entry on how I made the snowman made of guts that appears in the finished photos.
After molding the sculpt in Ultracal 30 (The absolute greatest plaster ever), I cast it in high quality mask making latex. After pulling the cast from the mold, I attached the LED's to the mask using Weldwood Contact Cement. After attaching the LED's, I attached the mask to a Rothco head sock via contact cement and built up the back of the mask with shop towels and latex. After the latex dried, I painted the mask using Mabry Monsters Nightshades paint, Stiltbeast Studios Paint, and some black alcohol based ink. I started with basing the mask in white and then performing a blue wash with some blue paint. After the paint dried, I did a black ink wash on the mask to give him a more dramatic appearance. After the mask was painted, I used LEXEL caulk from Lowes to make some awesome icicles that hang on the face of the creature and used some fake snow to make them look icy. I borrowed this technique from my good friend and mentor Allen Hopps at Stiltbeast Studios. After I finished with the caulk, I attached some icicles made of Loctite foam to the back of the head with contact cement and painted them with white and blue latex paints. After I finished with the icicles, I sealed the mask with a glossy clear coating.
Part #2: Making The Costume
For Jack's costume, I ordered a navy fur coat, some navy snow pants, and a white button up shirt off of Amazon. After the clothes came in, I began distressing them using various techniques i have learned over my years in haunting. First, I used a belt sander to rip random small holes in the costume that created a really gnarly tattering effect. After using the sander, I began to add color to the costume using the holy grail of all haunt materials.... SPRAY PAINT. First, I turned the costume inside out and sprayed some black around all of the openings of the clothing. I did this because when I turned the costume back to its outside state, the black subtly bleeds through and creates an awesome effect. Then, I brushed some Great Stuff foam around the neck and sleeves to create an awesome chunky effect. I then used hints of brown, blue, white, and several other colors to really make this costume appear worn and icy. Next, I used Snow-tex and some fake snow to create a snow effect on the costume. Finally I used some Frightprops flexible blood paint on the costume and then sealed it using a glossy clear coating.
Part of the concept I had of this character was a scarf made of human skin around Jack's neck. I consulted with Allen Hopps on how he would go about making something like this. The technique he told me to use was absolutely genius!!!! I bought a glass pane from Lowes and I sketched out a scarf onto it with a Sharpie. Next, I started brushing layers of flesh tone latex inside of the outline. After I got the thickness I desired, I brushed layers of red latex over the flesh toned latex. After the red had dried, I powdered the scarf and peeled it off the glass. I then did a dry brush effect on the back using some "Rue Blood" from Stiltbeast Studios to create a realistic blood effect. This awesome technique that Allen taught me created an insanely realistic human skin effect that looks absolutely fantastic. I then tore the latex skin, cleaned it up, and then painted it to create the illusion of ripped skin being used as a scarf.
Part #3: Weapon
Since I designed this character to be a slasher type villain, he needed an awesome weapon that reflected his character. I decided on a pick ax because of the icy nature of the character. I bought a foam pick ax from Frightprops (pictured above) that I distressed and made it look way more realistic with brown, gray, and chrome spray paints. I then brushed some Great Stuff foam on the pick ax to give it a chunky texture. Then, I used some "Rue-Blood" from Stiltbeast Studios to gore the pick ax up. After I finished the paint, I used some Snow-Tex and some fake snow to give the pick ax an icy look. After i finished up the snow, I sealed the pick ax with a glossy clear coat. I put an image of the ax before I refurbished it and then put a picture of the ax after I had finished my work on it.
Part #3: The Finished Product
Me and My Awesome Mom shot Jack in my mask shop and since we are not the absolute best photographers, these are not the highest quality photos and the lighting kinda adds a blur to the finished pictures. Nevertheless, I think they turned out pretty good.
I would like to say thanks to Allen Hopps, Jim Brown, and my other good friends/mentors that have assisted me in my SFX journey. I also would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. I hope everyone likes this guy and please let me know what you think about him!!! Also, I posted a separate entry on how I made the snowman made of guts that appears in the finished photos.
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