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Custom Mask Creator Guide Part 1, By Alvaro Rios

My name is Alvaro Rios [check out his designs here], and I am an art student currently studying to become a graphic designer/game artist. The Custom Mask Creator for Army of Two:40th day opens up doors for various people to create their own amazing designs. However, some of you out there may be a little overwhelmed by the tools or confused as to how some of the talented individuals in the Army of Two community are able to create the more complex designs. Luckily, Spenser Norrish contacted me and presented me with the opportunity to try and explain some of the artistic process that goes behind creating my masks.

This guide is written in a step by step process that outlines the basic process of how I go about creating a mask. For this particular design, I have chosen to create a mask based of Mick Thomson of Slipknot. I hope this guide helps you to create your own amazing designs, or at least helps you understand and appreciate some of the hard work that goes into creating such designs.

The Making of 'SEVEN'
Part 1
By Alvaro Rios

Step One: Choose a Design

The first step to making a mask is choosing a good design. Keep in mind that you are working on a fixed template (Salem and Rios' bullet-proof masks), so try to choose a design that would fit best on the mask template. If you are a beginner, mask designs with hollow eyes tend to work well with the Custom Mask Tool (example: Hockey Masks, Skull masks, etc.), but do not limit yourself to just working with hollow eye designs. Once you get better at it, you'll know what you can and can not do on the Custom Mask Editor. For this step-by-step demonstration, I have chosen to design a mask based off one of my favorite musicians, Mick Thomson of Slipknot.

Second Step:

Research and Reference The second step before you start working is to collect and compile a good amount of reference images. If you're working from your own design, try to sketch your mask out from various angles. If you working from reference images from the internet or magazines, collect as many shots of the design from all perspectives. The more angles, the better.  The purpose of all this is so that you can use the images to study what your mask is supposed to look like when you work on it from the profile view (side-view), three-quarters view, as well as from the front.

Step 3: Background Color

What is the dominant color of your design? If most of your mask design is primarily green for instance, it would be a good idea to choose this as your background color. For this particular design, a silvery gray hue is the dominant color, so I will use it as my background color. The values for the color I've decided to use as my background color are H 0,S 0,B 40 and R 102, G 102, B 102.

Tip: It is important to note the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness (HSB) values along with the Red, Green, Blue color values (RGB) in the color picker, especially if you're planning on masking imperfections later on with “hidden shapes”. In short, memorize the numerical values if you plan on using the same color various times during the design process. I tend to stick to even numbered values as they tend to be easier to memorize (Example: Blood Red = H 0, S 100, B 50,  R 128, G 0, B 9. Every time I use blood splatters or spots on my design, I will input these values to get the color that I want, each and every time). Alternately you can memorize the color code, the 6-digit code that corresponds to each color. For example the color code of  my gray mask's background color is # 666666. This is perhaps easier for some to memorize than the individual HSB RGB values. It comes down to personal preference.

Step 4: The Eyes

The first part of the mask that I like to work on is the eyes. That is because some of the shapes get warped due to the surface of the mask template. That circle shape tool that you placed over the eye hole may end up looking like an oval once the mask is rendered in 3D.

Tip: Turn on the Mask Outline
This helps you see where the edge of the mask will be, as well as showing you where the eye-holes are located. This is essential to your workspace when creating a mask.

For this specific design, notice the menacing glare of the mask. Study the eyes carefully. You will notice that the eyes are very angular. Luckily for us, the Custom Mask Creator comes with a stamp that is very close to the design's eyes.

The hardest part is positioning the eye shape. You'll have to tilt it a bit and mess around with the scaling until it matches the reference photo.

Remember to save and hit the preview button to see what you have so far.

It's nice, but not quite close enough to the original design, so I will add circle shapes inside to “fill” in the empty cracks inside the eye shape.

Congrats! You just finished once of the hardest parts of the mask creation process!

Step 5: The Mouth ( or mouth equivalent!)

The next part I usually work on is the mouth... the second most expressive facial feature. Notice that this particular design replaces the mouth with air vent thingies.

Tip: Breaking down the complex shapes of the mask to simple geometric shapes is the key to creating a detailed mask design. Start developing this mentality when you work with the Custom Mask Editor.

I begin by breaking down the air vent parts into simpler geometric shapes. They look rather angular, almost like triangles (hint hint).
So we use our triangle tool. Once we warp it to make it look long and thin, like fangs, we can stamp four more and proceed to rearrange them to match the original design.

However, notice that the top of the air vents are rounded. We will use circle stamps to round out the top of these shapes.

Step 6: The Nostrils

This is fairly simple. Guess what shape we'll be using for these nostrils? A Shield! Yes, a shield.
With this type of Custom Mask Creator, you must learn to look at shapes from different perspectives and angles. Each shape that has been included in the editor can be warped and twisted to create countless other new shapes and forms. That shield, with a little warping, tilting and scaling, will make an excellent pair of nostrils.

Tip: When dealing with the smaller complex parts of the mask, it is best to create and alter the shapes in a bigger size. When you are done tweaking the shapes, just scale them down to size.

You have pretty much laid out the distinguishing features of the mask.
Now it is time to work on the details that will add depth and texture to the mask.

Continue reading part two...