Jesssmith's 2013 Halloween Costume Contest Entry

Hi everyone!

New member here, this is my first contest entry. I wanted to make a latex mask of Disney's the Beast from the film Beauty and the Beast, and from there decided it would be fun to combine Belle's ball-gown with the Beast. I've worked once before with latex, but never made a latex mask so this was a bit challenging.

here's how I went about making my costume:

started by sculpting the head using a foam mannequin head for an armature and clay.



Once I was done I built a plasticine wall, made key holes and then added a thin beauty layer of plaster. Followed by 4 more layers, adding burlap to strengthen on the 2nd layer.



After the Plaster dried I opened up the two part mould and cleaned out the clay. After adding a release agent I brushed in 2 layers of plaster then added cheese cloth to strengthen the mask, before adding 4 more layers of latex.



Once the latex dried I carefully removed it and began trimming the parting line. I noticed however that in some areas the seam was very thin so i turned the mask inside out and added thickened latex along the parting line to give it more strength before I trimmed it fully.



I didn't have time to order the right paint, so i mixed latex with acrylic and used that. If the mask were more flexible I can see that it would flake off rather easily, but since i knew it was just for halloween I figured it would work for the night. After painting I attached fur around the neck to blend in the mask to the rest of the costume.

Next I began work on the body. I'd like to warn that i am in no way a seamstress so building this was a little makeshift.

I wanted to have beast's body in Belle's dress so i bought 1 metre of faux fur and began by cutting arms and upper torso shapes. I sewed together the fur inside out so the seams would not be visible.
Next I bad shoe covers for feet by cutting a rectangular strip of fur and sewing it together along one side half along the top so that a slit was left open for the foot to fit through


Next I bought 2 metres of yellow satin fabric to build the gown. I didn't really know how to go about making this so i decided to make it in two peices, i started by making a tube top. then added the shoulders with a sewed strip that I then pinned to the front and back



After that I used the rest of the fabric to create the skirt. I folded it in half and pinched every two inches and sewed along these areas to create a bunching effect. Then I ran a string through the middle to make a drawstring.


here's the finished product!

This entry is complete for the new members category. :thumbsup

thanks michael! I didn't know if i should enter in female costumes or new members so i uploaded in female. Should I change my entry to the new members category?