I was wondering how safe it was as well. At any rate I am thinking of making a face shell, not unlike the spiderman one. I would, however, do a two piece face shell. The one layer would sun directly over my face with a mouth piece or hose, not sure yet, the other would be over that with space in between the two shells and holes all over it to evenly distribute my breath so I can get an all over ink change. Not saying it will work lol but that is my idea for the time being.
It'd have to be extremely thin. Base layer with a hinged jaw, cast in whatever, with a vacformed shell on top punched with holes. The ears, eyes and chin/jawline could act as a lip to raise the shell away from the base and distribute the airflow, but I'm not sure that would do the job... by being thin enough to look right it'd also mean your breathe couldn't disperse over a wide enough area to affect any major changes.
And the problem with using a heating element to activate premade patterns would be the heat, as the site lists a temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit as the color change point, too warm for such close proximity to the human face. Direct sunlight would also cause the color to change, and your face would turn blank.
I'm not trying to be a pessimist, just trying to figure out the limitations of existing consumer available technology to not only let us know what we're capable of with the ideas already brought forward, but to help push us into territories that could allow us to make what we really want.
Flexible e-ink displays would the trick, but we won't have those available for several years. Even the one from the cover of Esquire could not be changed, only the pattern in which the existing text and symbols turned on and off. Same deal with flexible LCD and OLED panels it seems.
Is there a color change paint/pigment available that shifts with the application of an electric current? Nissan spoke about using it a few years back to actively change the color of their cars, but I haven't heard about that in a while.
Remember, the face part of the mask could always be made with a translucent fabric, with the color change effects actually taking place on the face shell (the shell would have to be sculpted to make complete contact with the cloth, but still have the appearance of fabric pulled taut over the facial features, most likely not an easy task) so that opens a whole new door of possibilities.
I've been wanting a proper Rorschach mask for years now, I'm glad to see that the movie has others wanting to do this as well.
