Over two years (on and off) in the making, my first latex mask sculpt, Abaddon is nearly complete. He just needs help to come to life
Several years ago, my family and I started hosting backyard haunts for Halloween. They started out simple, but grew in complexity, and cost, but every year, we insisted on one rule: We never charge for admission. We gladly accepted donations, but always gave those to different charities, such as food drives, Toys For Tots, and others.
Over the years, as our ideas grew, we were often frustrated by the lack of masks to suit our desires for a particular “gag”. While watching the SyFy Channel shows “Face/Off” and “Making Monsters”, I was inspired to give sculpting my own mask a try.
Although I had zero experience in sculpting, it didn’t take long for , what was supposed to be a simple practice piece, my vision to truly take shape. After a month, even I couldn’t believe what I had created.
Due to financial constraints, I’ve been unable to afford the materials to finish my creation, so for the past two years, every couple of months when I was bored, I would get out my sculpt and do a little work on it. Some carving here, some texture there, maybe a small change or an addition, but now, my work is 99% complete and I really can’t go much further.
To further complicate things, I injured my back at work and have had to take time off from work. Unfortunately, worker’s comp hasn’t been paying me for the last month or so, and my State disability has yet to kick in, so, the bills are starting to add up. Without being able to go to work, or do anything to make money, I came up with the idea that if I could just sell a few “advance” copies of my mask, I could make enough to post it on a website I found that sells artists masks, and from there, well,… the sky’s the limit.
Unfortunately, in my small network of friends, we’re all in the same financial boat.
That’s when a buddy turned me on to Kickstarter.com. From there, my motivation, and my morale, improved dramatically, and I’m ready to commit to my dream and not let anything stand in my way.
The name Abaddon comes from the demon who holds the key to the abyss in The Book Of Revelations. He’s supposed to be the guy who lets Satan out, then leads an army of locusts across the land during the Apocalypse. When I started the sculpt, I was just making a simple demon, but he needed a name, so after some research, I came up with Abaddon. That being said, I wanted to make sure he would look like someone who was leading an army of evil, and had already faced off against the forces of good. I wanted him fierce, war-torn and dried by the fires of hell. I think I hit my mark.
Over the years, this mask has become more than just a mask though. I now believe, that if I’m successful, and everything falls together right, this venture will net me enough seed money to start my own Halloween mask and prop company, and maybe let me open a professional haunted house some day.
And that seed money is needed more now than ever, because my doctor tells me that there is a fair chance that while my back will be better after surgery, it’ll never be 100% perfect, and I may not be able to return to my previous job as a warehouse manager because it’s too physically demanding. With no college education or degree, or marketable talents, that makes my future a bit scary.
You’d figure since I love Halloween, I’d like scary. But I’m not liking this one bit.
But I do have faith. And I do have drive. And I believe things happen for a reason. And I can’t believe that I would be granted this unknown ability to sculpt without there being some divine reason for it. And I believe that it’s my destiny to pursuit it. And I believe that the siatica pain is just a residual of fate giving me a swift kick in the pants to get moving.
So, if everything works out right, I’d like to get a couple more masks under my belt (and not take two years to do it) launch a website, get a few other artists, like me, who are trying to get started and make their mark in the same art, and then, like I said…
The sky’s the limit.
So, in a nutshell, here’s my plan:
1. Fulfill my committments to my Kickstarter contributers
2. Post photos of my mask for sale on halloween-mask.com at a retail price of between $100 and $175, and work out deals with local costume shops to either sell them wholesale to the shop, or let me display them and sell them on a consignment basis.
3. Start making more masks and networking for fellow artists.
4. Once we have enough masks to warrant it, start our own website and start marketing other props. One goal of our site will be to always promote new and upcomming artists, and give them a platform to launch themselves from.
5. Once we’re successful enough, launch our own Halloween Haunted House. And, although we will have to charge admission, we’re going to keep true to Creepy Hallow’s roots by donating to childresn’s charities, because I’ve always said to our patrons “We’re trying to scare up some money for some children in need who are really scared of stuff thats real”
But it as every journey starts with a single step, every Halloween mask company starts with a single mask… or something like that.
So, to get my ball rolling, all I need is a liquid mask latex (about $300 plus shipping), some special mask paints ($300 plus shipping), various other latex additives, clear coatings, etc. ($100-$200), a new airbrush (mine just died three days ago. Piece of junk generic one) ($50-150), shipping materials, misc items, etc…, and a little bit of time.
True, the thirteen hundred dollar goal is a bit more than what I actually “need” to “finish” the project as described above, but, it’s enough to fulfill all my rewards and leave me with enough materials to make a few more, and cover any additional unforseen costs that may prop up. Then I can list any extras I make on the mask website, and market it to a few local costume shops and independantly owned halloween shops that open up. I’d also use the extra money to get a body form (I plan to build a chest piece and arms for this mask) and additional supplies to begin my next work.
$1300 may not seem like enough to try top start a whole company, but I believe that it’ll be enough to get my foot in the door, and from there, I can legitamately earn my own way. Of course, if my donations go over the goal, every penny is going to be used to get me further along my path.
So, there you have it. I appreciate you taking the time to look at my work, and I hope you like it, and will support it. But if you can’t, maybe you could refer a few friends my way.
In any case, most importantly, thank you viewer, and thank you Kickstarter.com for giving people like me a chance.
View it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1482166145/abaddon-guardian-of-the-abyss-halloween-mask
