I'm working on an "environment mask" prop for a web series I'm making with some friends.
I'm trying to avoid something that looks exactly like the exopacks from Avatar, but that general concept is pretty close to what I want.
I picked up a busted Survivair full-face respirator with the intention of reproducing the parts cheaply so I could have several sets that would look okay on-screen.
My first question is about sculpting an alternate lens. The procedure I'm thinking of would go something like this:
1. disassemble the mask to get the lens apart from all the other stuff attached to it
2. cover up the holes in the lens and make a plaster negative of the lens, only the inside of it
3. Sculpt the plaster negative into a friendlier, rounder shape (closer to what we saw in avatar)
4. Use the sculpted negative as a vacuforming buck to pull copies of the lens in acrylic
Some of the steps may take some practice, but I think it'll end up being cheaper than spending $100+ on respirator masks.
The second picture I'm attaching is the rubber "skirt" that seals the mask against the face. I think I can omit this and just use the rim assembly (3rd picture) and it should still look pretty good onscreen. I can get the replacement parts for that rim assembly for like 15 bucks from the manufacturer, which is more in my budget range.
Questions or comments? Maybe alternative (better) ways of doing this?
The lens:
The skirt:
The rim:
I'm trying to avoid something that looks exactly like the exopacks from Avatar, but that general concept is pretty close to what I want.
I picked up a busted Survivair full-face respirator with the intention of reproducing the parts cheaply so I could have several sets that would look okay on-screen.
My first question is about sculpting an alternate lens. The procedure I'm thinking of would go something like this:
1. disassemble the mask to get the lens apart from all the other stuff attached to it
2. cover up the holes in the lens and make a plaster negative of the lens, only the inside of it
3. Sculpt the plaster negative into a friendlier, rounder shape (closer to what we saw in avatar)
4. Use the sculpted negative as a vacuforming buck to pull copies of the lens in acrylic
Some of the steps may take some practice, but I think it'll end up being cheaper than spending $100+ on respirator masks.
The second picture I'm attaching is the rubber "skirt" that seals the mask against the face. I think I can omit this and just use the rim assembly (3rd picture) and it should still look pretty good onscreen. I can get the replacement parts for that rim assembly for like 15 bucks from the manufacturer, which is more in my budget range.
Questions or comments? Maybe alternative (better) ways of doing this?
The lens:
The skirt:
The rim:
