Bradley Bucsis

I use my own face and also a generic mold. I live in small town canada, most of my clients are nowhere near me so having them model is impossible. Most have been happy with the fit, and the few who haven't just tell me why they aren't happy, send it back, and then I fix it. you'd be surprised how similar most faces are.

Don't you worry that the hair will be worn off through use?

Hi Ellen. I generally like to use leather dyes for my masks as it is alcohol based and will penetrate the leather easily. This is safe for skin contact, however if the mask gets wet after the first few days it may seep out, which can cause quite a problem if the dampness is caused by someones face sweating! Aside from that, for more delecate designs I will use acrylic paint, usually overtop of the dyes, as this helps the paint show up with fewer layers as it seals some of the pores on the leather. To prevent the dyes from seeping, and to protect the paint, I will then seal the mask in an acrylic sealer of the spray on variety. This also gives the masks a nice sheen and can be polished in the future, keeping it looking like new. Also to answer another question of yours, it is usually a good idea to also color the inside of the mask, that way even when it is not on the person's face, it can still be viewed like a work of art. If you did not color the back side of the mask, then the raw leather color could be seen through the eye holes and at different angles, which would look bad. Hope this helps!

I'm new here- got drawn to the community while searching for some knife sheath patterns and decided I would join for the company! I work primarily with leather masks, but have started doing some custom work such as sheaths, wallets, and belts. Hope to meet all of you soon.

Very nice! Some pretty awesome carving there.

Wowee... that is impressive. I really like the dye job- looks very antiqued. The stitching on the elbow is very clean. I think rounding the edges of the tiered bit towards the elbow would have done some good- it looks a little rough on the edges without it. All in all, though, great work!

Here is a mask I made for a client a few weeks ago. The hardest part was deciding when the carvings on the antlers were enough and not to go overboard (I am sure we all have been there before). The client wanted something with plain, earthy colors, and was quite happy with the end result. Unfortunately the only camera I have is my cellphone, and the color saturation is quote bad so you cannot see the colors around the eye sockets, or the carvings that continue down the sides of the mask from the antlers. I have attached a picture with the raw leather, and the painted version. I use 4-6 oz leather bellies from Tandy