The Ripper

Feast your eyes on The Ripper! I have been playing with a lot of burlap lately and I gotta say, the end result is pretty terrifying. Never turn your back on the Ripper!

The Ripper!

To build a badass mask, it helps if you have a good strong shape to build off of. I usually use styrofoam heads but in most cases they are too small. This time I used some clay to build up some mass around the styrofoam head and also give it some cool features that will come through in the mask.

First layer of burlap is soaked in water, rung out and tightly stretched/wrapped around my clay head. As the burlap dries it keeps most of its shape but i also use a bit of latex to help the main features come through.

Gross! Adding many layers of burlap will really make a difference. This time when I applied my second layer of burlap I used a patch that I burned a bunch of holes in so it looks all gross and ratty.

The second layer of burnt burlap really adds some gnarly details.

After you have the shape you are looking for it is time for countless hours of stitching! I use three different thicknesses of burlap twine depending on what i am going for. Also some extra heavy needles are needed to push through layers of burlap.

The Ripper comes to life after I do a bunch of dry brush acrylic painting of some browns, rusty colors and black. Last step is setting grommets in the back so it can be laced tight to your melon.

The Ripper burlap mask, all finished.