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cwicseolfor — Jackal Mask
Published: 2006-07-11 16:56:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 3975; Favourites: 25; Downloads: 121
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Description
To be honest, this mask was a salvage. I was over at a friend's, where we were watching movies and generally being creative, and I decided to go ahead and potentially waste some leather trying to make a cat mask. In the process of drafting the shape, I got disorganized, and cut the leather wrong, resulting in something that looked more like a fennec.So I reinterpreted him. Something about the nose reminded me strongly of some Egyptian statues I'd seen - so in dark gray with brilliant copper kohl eye detail, we have an Egyptian Jackal. (And so can you, if you've got $45 plus shipping. It's for a small face.)
Largely I'm proud of this design because of what it wasn't, and how I managed to save it. I don't like wasting cows any more than the next person, so it was kind of nice to see the material and effort go to use... not to mention, it gave me a few new ideas. More to come.
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Comments: 15
Sorry for the belated reply! Life's been insane. I still need to retype the long version of "this is awesome" in response to the Nine Panel Nerds Gargs casting... x.x
I've been struggling with the physical logistics of a more classical iteration for the last year or two... but it's nice to think I got something right the first time around ^-^
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This looks more like some of the Egyptian carved images of Bastet than Anubis or any other jackal. The ears are much too short, and too far apart on the head for a jackal. And the nose is also too short. The cats of ancient Egypt that Bastet was modeled off of, however, had these proportions, unlike our modern housecat. All it would need to be a very accurate Bastet mask would be a light wash of gold over the copper, and painting out one of the earrings. (Bastet is traditionally shown with a single gold hoop earring, left ear, and either black or gold eye makeup.)
All in all, lovely work, and not near as big a "mess up" as you seem to think.
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Well, that's true - looking at 'domestic' cats out of Africa and south Asia, the features are longer and conducive to life in the tropics; Bastet then would have been similar. But (ideally) my final cat design with any Egyptian paint style (preferably carved, as well) will probably still be a bit more catlike; my standard cat design (to be finished to look like the more common domestics) will be shorter and stubbier; my jackal will be more doglike and realistic, the Egyptian jackal will feature the Anubislike long, close ears and long muzzle.
I'd like to do an accurate Bastet, but I'd want to dress her up a bit - an abstracted headdress might work (even in fully feline form I've seen some details to that effect represented, no?) This little critter didn't really hit any of my intended goals, but he fit well and was cute, so I didn't want to waste a perfectly good mask just because it didn't happen to be particularly representative (I love the way the nose turned out.)
It's good hearing from somebody with interest in this family of beings, as - as I said - I'll be excited to do a few better-planned designs toward the Egyptian pantheon. It's a natural step for masks, given the depiction of their particular gods; the stylization is distinctive, and the appearance of an animal-headed man or woman is usually immediately recognizable. Any masquer with a linen sheet could make a memorable costume in a moment (and I love this thought, because too many people consider costuming a struggle.)
Thanks very much for the info, and the compliments, they're all much appreciated - sorry about the chronic verbosity demonstrated by my reply! You got me excited, and I tend not to shut up then... ^-^
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Glad to hear it ^-^ Thanks for the feedback!
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After trawling through DA for over an hour for masks, I still can't go past this one!It's so clean and simple . . . and moreover, proof that mistakes can be turned to one's great advantage! Marvellous work!!!
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I've spent hours and seriously gone through all the results available at the time - most of what I could find was stock of people wearing bought masks. Why were you searching, may I ask? I might know where to find it.
Thanks so much ^-^
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Oh, I was just looking for inspiration - I've got three carnivale masks that I bought in Venice and I adore them so much I've decided to have a go myself ^_^ I just wanted to see what other people were coming up with.
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Sounds wonderful, I hope to go someday. I hope you post what you make, I'd like to see it ^-^
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Thanks ^-^ It was something about the nose - it was more pronounced in a couple of the other photos, but it almost tapers outward, and something about that reminded me of some Egyptian sculpture I'd seen, so when I decided to try to paint it, I just went with it. The copper is really strong IRL, a lot of fun to use, and it's snuck into nearly everything I've done since....
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Your masks are fabulous. This is my favorite of all I have seen. If you don't mind my asking, how do you make them?
>^_^<
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Thank you!! The masks are made by waterforming a piece of vegetable-tanned leather, sculpting it by hand, then painting in acrylics. It's sort of tricky to describe (I think that explains the dearth of information on it online - I had a bit of a time breaking into the technique), but what you get is a sturdy, lightly flexible mask that breathes very well. Most of my designs have been based on a single piece of leather, with a few exceptions, but some maskmakers like to layer a lot of thin leathers, which can have a great effect as long as the adhesive is sufficient. After it's formed, most people like to paint or sometimes dye them, and a few I've seen will add a layer of varnish over the entire mask, both front and back surfaces, but in my opinion it's far less comfortable to wear a varnished mask simply because after varnishing, the leather cannot breathe. I'm constantly experimenting with different techniques, but that's the essence of the process as I use it.
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This sounds really fun, Thank you!
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