This was a very intenstive, yet fun Halloween project I did.  After watching several video tutorials on You Tube on how to make a latex mask, I decided it would be fun to give it a try. 

Equipment needed- Air dry modeling clay, foam mannequin head, wooden skewers, liquid latex, dense foam scraps, super glue, toothpicks, black sharpie pen, acrylic paints, protective sealant spray, duct tape, Vaseline 

• Tape on foam pieces to give the head some shape.

• Cover and shape the mannequin head with modeling clay.

• Add wooden skewers to form the framework of the extended mouth.

• Once the head is sculpted, cover it with Vaseline, this will make it easier when you try to peel the latex mask off the clay head.

• Paint on layers of liquid latex allowing each to dry before applying the next. I used a blow dryer to speed this process up. It took me about 20 coats to get the thickness I wanted. The liquid latex I used was found in the Halloween section at WalMart. Next time I will order mask making latex, which I think is thicker than what I used.

• Once the desired thickness is achieved, carefully peel the latex off the mannequin head. You should know have a mask!

• I made the teeth out of clay. Once dry (I used blow dryer to speed the process) I cut small holes in the mask where the teeth were inserted and super glued into place.

• Now you can paint the mask. I used spray primer before I painted it, which did cause some cracking of the paint, so I would not recommend pre coating it with primer unless you can find the kind that is good for putting on flexible surfaces.  I painted on the base coat colors and then did some highlighting and used some paint washes and highlight on the inside of the mouth.

• I used the black sharpie pen to pattern the head and then inserted and super glued tooth picks in the head to simulate the spikes.  I used snips to cut down the tooth picks flush on the inside of the mask so I wouldn't get poked when wearing it.

• I coated the mask with a protective coating. Please make sure you know what you are spraying on the mask, as some protective coatings are sensitive to open flame. I would not recommend being near open flames when wearing the mask!

• I did not add the dread locks to this mask because I was on a time crunch. You can find some great tips for adding them on Youtube.