Hey everyone, I just wanted to share my adventure as a first time rehauler attempting a Halloween Ends mask.
I had watched pretty much every guide for doing this on YouTube (Cosplay Chris, Nick Mulpagano, etc) but nothing seems to stick. I started off using the Nelson method which was wet brushing a mud bath and dry brushing white on it and sealing it as a base coat in order to keep the paint from peeling and keeping detail in all of the cracks. It feels like the layers never build up and the mask stays this weird gray tone with some areas having a lot more white than the rest. I finally got the color I was looking for today and tried to weather with a watered down brown and dabbing off and the paint on the cheek started to peel.
I would really appreciate if someone could please help me with this rehaul as I’ve stripped and repainted this mask about 6 times and I’m starting to get really frustrated. I successfully rehauled the new Rob Zombie H2 Dream Sequence mask and didn’t run into any kind of problems like this. I was really hoping I’d be able to use the Halloween Ends mask for Halloween this year but the way things are going are just not working out atm. I am really unsure of what I’m doing wrong.
Do I have to strip the paint? Do I have to use liquid latex with my paint? Is my dry brushing technique not good enough? I have so many questions.
Yes, you should use liquid latex with your paint, atleast for the base color, if you drybrush detail on top you can use just regular acrylic as long as the layers aren’t too thick.
I’ve been there, the detail on these masks is so fine you won’t get away with doing washes.
If you’re not sure that the dark to light dry brushing method is working, try painting the mask the color you want (so yellowy white), doing a dark brown wash on top and letting it dry almost completely, try to remove it lightly with alcool or acetone, be gentle cause you run the risk of stripping the paint underneath. After that it’ll probably be still patchy, and in that case drybrush the base color again on top, use a flat brush and swipe it gently back and forth so you don’t cover the cracks and imperfections.
After this just do extra colors as you like with watered down paints if you wanna add brown/burned/moldy spots, and go over the major cracks with a fine brush and a watered down black or dark grey and start filling them manually for that good sharp look.
I figured out that the issue I was having was that I was pushing too hard with my brush because I didn’t have enough paint on it. Trying new method now to see if this will fix my paint peel issue.
I think I am going to try the white to dark method now. I finally got the color and paint level to be what I wanted but it started peeling after I used a sponge with diluted black paint for weathering. I am not sure why I’m having this issue. I don’t use liquid latex because I didn’t need to use it for my rob zombie mask and didn’t have any issues like this.
You need to, acrylic paint will become dry and eventually flake.
Atleast the base needs to be all done with liquid latex + acrylic, you can do the lighter layers on top with just acrylic (detailing, washes, slight hue changes) but it’s important that the base doesn’t crack.
I’m painting over the stock paint with a brown and then I was going to dry brush white. Do I dry brush with white paint mixed with liquid latex or just the paint only?
Everything was going great until I tried to make the proper colors that I didn’t have lol. In an attempt to start over I have decided that I will buy an airbrush setup and am now currently stripping the stock paint. Besides using paint thinner, should I order a Dremel too?
Hi, every artist, enthusiast, and hobbyist each has different skill levels, we each work differently; whether or not you’ve painted before, I would suggest that you keep your work area/ tools/ subject/ mediums as neat and clean as possible before, during and after this process as well as taking your time, this sometimes takes practice so be patient with yourself. It doesn’t matter how you approach this mask or any other, it’s your project, your art, so let it come to you with your mojo. Let everything become second nature; essentially, the energies that you put into this are the energies that you’re going to get out of it. Stay calm and rehaul on! If you feel you’re not doing something that is giving you the results you expect, take a step away, clean it, start over; clean your brush, start over, and you’ll get it! You have to be happy with your work! Remember, patience! patience! patience! …. Don’t forget to breathe, hydrate, and take bathroom breaks.
My best advice would be the dark brown base layer, mixed of your paint and latex with water (have it more watery though) and then slowly dry brush the old white color you want. Be mindful to use light drag strokes (no back and forth strokes) with only so little paint on the brush so it doesn’t get into the cracks.