Looking For Alternatives To Veg Tanned To Save Money

[Imaya]

So, I have roughly a gazillion tabs open right now, trying to find the cheapest veg tanned leather for my project, and in the process, have considered trying some alternatives.

I am making a plague doctor mask, and hate the way paper mache looks. Like pretty much everyone who is trying to make plague doctor or general leather masks these days, Tom Banwell has been a HUGE inspiration! His classic plague doctor mask is close to what I am going for, but I am making more of a cosplay replicate for my themed costume. I am going for the general plague doctors from Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, as pictured here:

(this last one is pretty big, just click the link: http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121008171913/assassinscreed/images/4/4b/You_Should_See_The_Other_Guy_5.png)

Now, some things to note about this costume is that it is very 'authentic', and true to the times. I want to maintain that look as much as possible, so I won't be using rivets or anything that wouldn't have been used in the 15th century/ Renaissance time. All hand stiching for this mask. I have some spare welder goggle glass lenses somewhere, and will use those instead of acrylic. That is about as far as I have gotten with almost a week of looking at potential mask materials.

Tom makes his masks out of 5/6 oz Veg Tanned, which is what I looked at and am basing my material comparisons on. Awfully expensive. My budget isn't a set number as much as it is "I am dead broke, but haven't been to a party on Halloween since I was a kid, and REALLY want a cool costume cause I love costumes and this is a HUGE party." It's selfish, but I don't have the luxury of going crazy. It is going to hurt later when I have to pay it back off when I have the money, so I want to do as little damage as I can. So is life!

Past experience has me divided on trying to do this on a budget. I have succeeded in finding cheap alternatives for things before, and have also failed miserably and ended up spending the money to get the right thing, while having wasted money on the cheaper alternative I tried. Obviously, I don't want the latter to happen, which is why I am here asking for help!

I am not sure if anyone has tried Kraft Tex paper, which was the first thing I saw that made me think I could do this cheap. On small items, it looks really cool. However, after seeing some larger items that used it, I found it looked like... well, paper. Maybe it just needs some love and paint to look right? I would be willing to use that if I can truly get it to replicate the look of leather, but I am afraid it really will look as cruddy as other large projects. I have white cold press, heavyweight paper (not sure which poundage I have at the moment, most likely 80# and maybe some 100# or 40#). If that is all Kraft Tex is, I can just use what I have instead.

The other alternative to save some money is rawhide. I have a bit of an inkling that perhaps some of the traditional masks WERE made of rawhide. Since this mask is white, bleached rawhide could be a good interpretation of it. I poked around some guides on working with rawhide, and it sounds like a bit of a bull to deal with. Shrinkage is a major concern, and I also want to make sure I get the correct weight. Splits are cheaper, and if they are easier to work with and have roughly the same result, that is obviously what I want to use. I wouldn't mind putting a light stain or acylic layer on it to make it more opaque (I think the splits might be quite translucent, but it is hard to tell). And I would need to seal it, since the mask would become a stinky mess if it got wet. I have regular artist grade acrylic seal (aerosol) and varnish (brush-on), and am unsure if one might cause a bad reaction on the rawhide and melt it. Maybe an old fashioned oilskin treatment with boiled linseed oil and wax?

Poking around on Ebay has found lots of leather, and a surprising amount of it appears to be from actual online leather suppliers using EBay for clearance items. One piece in particular is from a leather and supply website, and is a clearance piece of white 'oil tanned' leather, 6oz weight. It *looks* supple, but at 6 oz, I am confused why. Is the oil treatment one that turned it into more of a supple garmet material? Is there a way to stiffen it to use it for a mask? There is also another 'oil tanned' piece that is 10 oz, in a neutral 'sand' color (will need to be stained or lightened somehow), and appears quite a bit stiffer than the other piece, seeming to be something firm enough for a mask. Once again, can an 'oil tanned' (it isn't specific about the type) piece of leather be shaped somehow, as well as stained a bit lighter?

Final small note, Tandy Leather has their 4/5 oz veg tanned single shoulders on sale for $30, plus $13 S&H. Still a bit of an 'ouch' there, but if veg tanned is truly the only way to go, would the 4/5 oz be too thin for a mask? I looked up tutorials, and found one where someone made a plague doctor mask out of a thin veg tanned leather (they didn't specify the weight), and I thought it looked like crap. The nose was caved in on the sides, and none of the mask looked 'filled out' or stiff, despite the fact they did soak it and mold it. It looked like it was made out of stiff fabric instead of sturdy leather.

I don't think I need too many tools. A pack of needles, some waxed thread, sinew, and something to punch holes. Rotary punch or mallet and punch? Something to cut with too, I think I have a medium to heavy duty box cutter somewhere I can use. Sounds about right, yes?

Anyways, sorry about the long post. I tend to ramble when I am overwhelmed. Any advice with working with these alternative materials would be helpful! Thanks!

[Imaya]

Whoops, the link picked up the perenthese and doesnt work right. Too late to edit my post. Try this:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121008171913/assassinscreed/images/4/4b/You_Should_See_The_Other_Guy_5.png

[Tgrlily]

I'll take a stab at this one. Hopefully some others will chime in as well. I'm a leather mask artist and have an especially good following with Bioshock cosplayers. I'm a huge Assassins Creed fan and created an Edward Kenway costume for my son last Halloween.

I'm teaching a mask class this weekend at my local Tandy store. I start the class by teaching about leather selection. I don't think there's a good leather alternative to veg tanned leather. Something in the 6 ounce range is easiest to mold but not quite as easy to cut. I know that there are other non leather alternatives, but I've never used them, nor do I know what they're called. 3-4 ounce is good for curvy, swirly, Venetian style and filigree masks. I prefer a solid 6 ounce for my carved and tooled masks. The 4-5 ounce shoulder might work, provided you bake at the proper temp for the right amount of time and are good at sculpting & wet molding. Mask sculpting with an oven isn't like baking cookies. My masks go in and out of the oven a minimum of a half dozen times while I perfect the molding and the mask dries. If you leave it in too long or bake too hot, it shrinks or burns. Not long enough, it can warp after you think it's done.

That said, a plague doctor mask is a very difficult mask to create, particularly if you've never made a mask or worked with leather. Other than being a full face mask, it has a beak which is not as simple to pattern & mold as you may think. Then you have to sew & paint it. You also have to plan on some form of ventilation in the beak, so you can breathe.

When I look back on my first few masks, I can't believe how bad they look to me now. I still haven't gotten around to doing a plague doctor mask. I recommend that you try a small, simple mask first... Learn and practice some wet molding and saddle stitching, just to get a feel for leather working before taking on such a large project. I'm absolutely not trying to discourage you, just lending a bit of advice from someone who has trial and error experience in this particular medium. Hope this was helpful to you, and wish you the best of luck! Feel free to email me.

Renee

Bezidesigns.com

[Imaya]

Thanks!

Well, I only consider myself a novice with leatherworking, not sculpture. I suppose I should have mentioned I have a BA in Fine Art, where my studies had an emphasis in Sculpture and Painting. I haven't worked with ceramics or clay for many years, but have worked with a large variety of mixed medium. Going through the process is something I know how to do, so I am not jumping into this completely blind (and perhaps is partially why I am so apprehensive... because I know the kind of mess I am getting into!)

After going through all my resources last night, I started a basic paper model. My original plan was to modify a nice pattern I found online. However, close inspection of the reference images revealed that this particular mask is almost all one piece. The only seam is along the 'mouth' of the beak. No stitching on top or connecting the nose to face...

I found a very close match this guy made in leather:

http://griffinleather.deviantart.com/art/Plague-Doctor-Mask-1-179856943?q=gallery%3AGriffinLeather%2F25261085&qo=42

He mentions that he likes to do a lot of molding in leather, but doesn't go into details about his process. So it CAN be done... just not sure if I can do it too

After struggling to make a paper model in one piece, I have decided to make a model to play with. I ordered various cheap quick-dry modeling stuff (plastercloth, plaster of paris, and some paperclay), and will build a mockup face to stretch stuff over. I will pop over to the store and grab a cheap plastic mask to stick on the head model I have. Depending on the material I end up with, I also plan on practicing before messing with the real thing. If I order a small piece of leather, I will throw some scraps in with the order. If I use an alternative, I will use a piece of that.

This is my halloween costume, and I already got the rest of the pieces. So, I gotta make a plague mask happen somehow! I am meeting with a costuming group tomorrow, but I have a feeling they are more seamstress types and won't be able to help with leathercraft.

Either way, working with leather is something I have wanted to do for many years. I know I did some minor stuff as a kid, embossing and staining book marks, keychains, that kind of stuff. But I really am interested in it as an artistic medium, and have always found it to be quite an entrancing material! It is one that just draws me in, makes me want to look closely at the item made from it, and imagine all the things I could do with it.

[NVLeatherWorx]

Have you checked this out yet? It might be of some assistance you in getting the idea and approach down to where you want to go.

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1748-steampunk-plague-doctor-leather-mask.aspx

[Imaya]

Now, I assessed the tools I have available to bake the leather, and this may change the project if nothing will work.

My oven only goes down to 170F. From what I researched, ideal is something like 130F, 150 is ok if you watch it. 170 sounds like it will be too high? Maybe crack the door while it bakes?

Alternative options include leaving it outside (today it is still over 100F, but it will drop to the high 90s by the end of the month). It is also very dry here, usually no humidity. Other options are a heat gun or a hair dryer. I have both. I also have a toaster oven, a decent sized one... but I think once I get the mask done, it still won't be big enough.

Can I make this work?

[Tgrlily]

170 is the minimum temperature that I use for baking masks. My filigree masks are 3-4 ounce & bake at 170. The weight I use most (6-7 ounce) handles 225-250 just fine.

You said, "150 is ok if you watch it." My masks go in and out of the oven several times while sculpting and refining the shape. When you first put the wet leather in the oven, expect it to slump. When the leather is warm, I manipulate the mask and place it back in the oven. I do this repeatedly until the mask is dry.

If your temperature is too low, your mask will dry but not be firm. My first attempt at mask making was dried near my woodstove. It is very soft and has not held its shape. I also attempted one using my blow dryer. Same soft effect.

[Imaya]

Phew, thank you!

I watched a couple tutorials on youtube, and both actually had ovens that went down to 150, so I was afraid mine would be too hot. The tutorials went over the importance of putting the mask in for a few minutes, shaping, putting it back in, and repeating. One also made a point to mention burning, tips to avoid it, and made it clear she pretty much watched her masks like a hawk to ensure they were not burning. If anything, I may end up not baking it enough out of fear of warping it. So I will make some sort of sample piece with scraps first to make sure I get a process down!

[Tgrlily]

Burning is not fun! My daughter did a very intricate edge on leather too thin for the design, did not watch it like a hawk and the edges burned. I bring it with me when I teach mask class to illustrate what not to do. With 4-5 ounce leather and clean lines, you should be alright.

[Imaya]

Alright, cast is done (no eye holes, didn't line up on the cast. I will figure that out later)

More or less correct, I think I will add a bit more curve to the nose when baking. It doesn't need too much more.

Once it dries properly, I will sand out the lumps too, and add the proper curve back in the bottom from the base to the center (it was collapsing, I added more than I wanted). Still a bit damp due to all the plaster cloth.

Oh, and some better reference pictures I found later:

Edited October 8, 2014 by Imaya