I had to pause posting Queen Rutela cosplay photos from my shoot with Ed Tan so I could get ready for and attend Steamcon. I have a few more to post now, but are you guys sick of 'em?

Current Masks Status:
One fully resin test mask has been made from the new individual horn molds. To sum up, the resin didn't cooperate well for slush-casting in the horns, instead tending to go straight from Too-viscous-to-build-up-a-good-layer to Gonna-just-congeal-right-here-on-this-side-thanks. So I ended up learning a lot about pouring it, and about mixing it with polyfil and pasting it in, and about how much it stinks even when I'm outside in the breeze and I'm probably being poisoned.
Anyway, this mask is a bit heavier than the previous, non-resin ones, and I've only just begun to test paints on it. Next one, I will experiment with better inserts to displace resin from the center of the horns, making them effectively more hollow and thus lighter overall. This has turned into the eternal middle-burner project.

I've had a bunch more inquiries about Majora's Mask replica production status, so I thought you all might like an update.

Yep, I'm still working on them, but no, I haven't started taking names for a list again. My workspace has been awesome, though it hasn't sped up the work any. I've been doing a little here and a little there, all of it working on preparing to make masks and none of it actually making masks. Every time I try a new production method in this project it takes forever to bring its produce up to my standard.

In my continued attempts to come up with a casting process that doesn't involve hand-sculpting the back side of every mask's TEN HORNS, I've been making individual molds of the horns. I cast a new master set of them from the mask mold, and sculpted their back sides one last time (I hope) so that I could create molds of complete horns. I spent... um.. far too long sanding and patching and smoothing and am not satisfied with the result considering the work it took, but I had to call them finished. Then I built a custom cardboard container around each horn and filled it with silicone rubber; again, taking an annoyingly long time and using more silicone than I wanted to, despite my laborious efforts to craft the containers to minimize silicone use. At this time, six of the ten horn molds are made. Two of the remaining four are ready to pour. I may or may not have enough silicone left for them. Time to place an order!

At some point this stuff is going to stop taking me so long to do. Clearly I am not a Jedi yet.

I still haven't entirely figured out how I'm going to optimize construction of the back rim where the horns join the mask. The last mask I made had this entire back edge hand-surfaced in epoxy clay over a custom-fit cardboard platform. It turned out smooth and lovely and strong, but a bit heavy and waaaay too much work for one mask.

Though the evil has gone from the mask, its shape is still plenty evil and fights me every step of the way. Please cross your fingers for me that these molds will expediently produce beautiful piles of hollow resin horns!

Guys
You guys

If you love MYST, or remember it, or read the books, or didn't, or are remotely curious about this many-layered series I never seem to shut up about and which keeps inspiring my artwork,

you should read

this web comic... well, graphic novel? Illustrated adaptation? by *larkinheather

It is still getting started, but I want to get you started on it.

--> MYST: The Book of Atrus - Comic by Heather Larkin <--


And while you're at it, please also follow Mystic Places, a tumblr run by my buddy *shoomlah whom you all probably know already because her art is fan-shmabulous. Mystic Places is filled with gorgeous and MYST-appropriate images and inspirations gathered in, I'll just say it, the finest of taste.


Basically, if you are a STEAMPUNK or love ANTIQUE THINGS and BREATHTAKING WORLDS you should get to know MYST. Seriously. If all you ever heard of was the CD-ROM game, you're missing out.

It's been a convention-heavy few weeks but I'm wrapping it up with Sakuracon this weekend. If you see Princess Mononoke on Friday or Queen Rutela on Saturday, feel free to say hi! I was up late making a spear/knife for San to pose with so I probably won't be there first thing in the morning, haha!

My household is moved! Getting everything arranged at the new place took a while but we are finally feeling settled. I have my new "studio" mostly set up with a nifty new (old) work table scored off of Craigslist! My husband bought me a handy angle-adjusting vise for Christmas and I've just recently gotten to clamp it to my work table and use it for the first time, to help with construction of what will hopefully become a new mold for the backs of Majora's Masks. Up to this point I've been sort of.. sculpting/carving the back of each mask and it's been WAY too time-consuming. I still haven't figured out what's going to be the lightweight, non-toxic filler between the front and back shells but.. ugh. One thing at a time.
So yes, I'm back to work on them, though somewhat intermittently.

Also Sakura-Con is coming up way too soon and Rutela isn't finished yet, and I was thinking I might try to enter her in the Cosplay Contest this year, at long last.

Lots of work to do!

Hi all!
It's been a long while since I posted any updates about Majora's Masks. Let me say first that the reaction to these things has been amazing and it's been awesome to make other Zelda fans so delighted. So thank you for your comments and requests, really! Especially, thank you to everyone who has been patiently sitting on the waiting list!

I have shipped off all the (very few) completed masks I've made, so my workspace no longer appears to have been invaded by parasitic, tribal horseshoe crabs. It's actually emptied quite a bit because I'm packing everything up for a move to a new residence early next year. The holidays are keeping me busy as well, so production is on hold again until my new workspace is set up. I'm hoping to arrange a dry, warm, ventilated space (difficult in our climate) so that I can give resin another go, as the first attempt was.. not good, and I'm going to need to make some separate horn molds in order to continue that way.

Nailing down materials to use that are lightweight, non-toxic, sturdy, workable, and affordable all at once has been next to impossible, and I've so far been cobbling together a lot of different substances. Each mask is an improvement on the previous ones, but they've been taking more and more time to make, instead of less, especially as I get into cosplay versions which are intended to be worn on the face, and thus need to avoid materials such as insulation foam which off-gas toxic fumes (and are in any case horribly messy and difficult to carve out smoothly concave).

So, they're still very limited run, and price is still subject to change, but trust that I am doing the best work I can on these. I'll update again in February or March when we're settled in.

Happy Holidays!

[Edit - already have a taker! Thank you anyway!]

Hey guys, I've gotten about 8 hours into Skyward Sword and decided it's not for me. Wii controls have me tearing my hair out and I'm not having a good time. Makes me sad, because I always want to love a Zelda game. So I'm offering my GameStop bundle up for sale. It comes with the golden Wii Motion Plus controller and 25th anniversary music CD (haven't even taken the CD out of the disc box yet), nice shiny gold box. Everything looks like it was just opened, clean and new. I had to preorder this and it's not available online right now except through eBay, where most of them are going for more than the original price. I'll just ask the original price, $69.99, plus shipping. Not sure how much shipping will be, USPS priority if you like. Please drop me a note if you're interested. Thanks.


::shuffles off::

Thanks so much to all of you who said such uplifting things in my last journal entry! I'm really grateful!
I am (hopefully) done being sick and I'm feeling much less stressed, and even though I said I was on hiatus I actually have been working on my commissions, just slowly. (Though the masks are slow work anyway.)

I tried to keep up on my correspondence but if you sent me something and I haven't replied, please bug me and I'll get back to you.

~Jean

I want to thank everyone who has shown interest in my masks and artwork. I have been trying very very hard but I have to take some time away for my health. Please accept my apologies if you have been waiting for a commission. I will let you know when I am ready to continue work.

Thanks for understanding.

Guys, I'm excited! The mold seems to have turned out really well and I should be able to start experimenting with casting materials within the next few days. I think before I try resin I will try an inexpensive paper mache pulp that I worked with while making my Rutela costume, and get the feel of casting into all those horns.
Thanks for your crossed fingers!

Thank you to everyone who answered my poll! The Myst Riven Uru category is the clear winner, and it just happens to conveniently line up that I have something to put in it!

If you voted for Sculpture, you still sort of got your wish granted! If you voted for anything else, I hope you enjoy this anyway.

Those of you who have been waiting to hear about production on my new mask will be happy to hear that I finally ordered the materials to make the mold and a first (experimental) cast. Sorry it took so long! My Rutela costume took all my attention for a while before SakuraCon. Now I can set that aside and focus on this project again, which will be my first ever large silicone mold + mother-mold shell.  I've got all the theoretical knowledge I need now, and just have to take all the right steps putting it into practice. meep!

Please keep your fingers crossed that the first attempt turns out well!