Eva
Mask Project
Prompt: Create a fictional avatar from a classmate’s object archive and a mask for that character.
Eva
Mask Project
September 21' 2020
Prompt: Create a fictional avatar from a classmate’s object archive and a mask for that character.
*This project worked in conjunction with two classes; studio and seminar. The creation of the fictional avatar corresponded with the seminar class, while the physical mask corresponded with the studio class.
Process
Anonymous 16 objects
Sketch up of initial mask design
Fictional avatar write-up
Taking inspiration from the tape measure, the first thing that came to mind was symmetry, which led to my initial design of a mask made up of symmetrical shapes that resembled mechanized robots. The form of this fictional avatar corresponds with a write-up from seminar.
I sketched by taking rough measurements of my face, which included the length (measured from the bottom of my chin to the top of my forehead), width (the distance between where my ears start on my head), and the width of my face just slightly above my chin. I used a rolling ruler to map out a rough grid using these measurements and began drawing.
Mask sketch taped on cardboard
Cutout of outline
Individual pieces cut out
To connect each part of the mask, I used paper clips as an alternative to wires. I first held the entire mask together by taping the pieces together before sliding the wires through the cardboard's corrugated innards to connect each shape.
Paperclips
Straightened paperclip
Piecing together individual shapes
Creating the camo-print
One of the mask’s abilities is that it enables the user to camouflage with its surroundings. Because the main character, Eva, lives in a warzone, I used an image of a run-down room and wilting flowers to represent her living conditions, which her mask will reflect. To create the camo on her mask, I printed out multiple pictures of the room and flowers and created an abstract collage.
I started by printing out two copies of the room, one in color and one in grayscale. I cut up the first pair of images vertically and cut up the second pair of images horizontally. Each cut is asymmetrical, and I used the paper strips to create the collage base. Each strip is placed randomly and weaved, one placed on top of another, to form abstract shapes the same way camo is usually randomized in shape and form.
Vertical Cut
Horizontal Cut
Base Collage
Once satisfied with the base collage, I then began cutting up images of wilted flowers and interweaved them into the base collage. The flowers represented Eva’s love of beauty and nature, and the wilting of flowers represented the torn down world she lives in. The flowers are also cut up into smaller pieces and randomly scattered around the base collage to further the concept of camouflage. Once done, I placed the collage on crobart paper to add rigidity to its form. I then took another copy of my mask sketch-up, positioned it onto the collage in a position that could include a balanced array of colors, and cut up the collage according to the mask’s shape. Using a glue stick, I pasted the cut-outs of the collage onto my mask.
Wilted Flower
Completed Collage
Mask outline on collage
Collage mask cutout
Finishing Touches
I stuck in two pieces of paper clips on both sides of my mask to attach the mask to my face and twisted the paper clips tips to form a hook, I proceeded to attach spare yoyo string and looped and tied it into the hook on both sides and then tied both strings together to form a closed loop.
Eva’s sister, Morana, died on her way back from a mission in my avatar fiction. The mask was handed down to Eva with Morana’s blood, stained on her head’s upper left side from a wound sustained during the mission. To add this detail onto my mask, I took a screenshot of a slightly dark shade of red, printed it, and then cut it into blood splatter shapes and droplets before glueing it onto the mask.
Final Product
The final interation of my mask is called the "Senju Mask" based from my avatar fiction.
