This lesson we continued with making our masks. We already had the base of the mask (the plaster of Paris mould of our faces), so our next step was to draw on the mask where our eyes are and how big we would like them, and then cut the eye holes out. After this, I copied my design on to the mask in pen; by doing this I would be able to ensure that my features were exactly where I wanted them to be. To make the features we get pieces of paper and roll them into the intended shape and then stick them to the mask with wood glue. To ensure that our features stand out, we will have to layer the features up (so probably have about three layers for the eyebrows and about two layers for wrinkles). Next lesson, I need to continue adding the first layers to all of my features and then add layers to them. Once I have done this, I will add another layer of plaster of Paris to the mask to hold the features in place, give the mask extra strength and to give the mask one smooth surface. Once the plaster of Paris has set, I will be able to paint my mask.
01/02/16Today we continued making our masks for Commedia dell'arte. I added more layers for my eyebrows and added another layer of plaster of Paris to give the whole mask a smooth surface. I have decided to paint on the wrinkles next lesson as I think they should stand out more with paint but would also ensure that the eyebrows stood out the most. So far my mask looks like the picture on the left. Next lesson I shall paint the base coat of my mask (the pink on one side and the green on the other side) and once this has dried I shall add depth to the mask and define my features.
05/02/16 In this lesson I finally completed my mask for my character Brighella! I am actually really happy with the final result. To begin the painting process, I drew the line down the middle of the mask to separate the two colours, the outline of the eyebrows and the wrinkles. I wanted to paint one half green to show my character's jealous and cunning side. I wanted to paint the other half pink to show the womanising side of my character. I also wanted two contrasting colours to show that my character is two-faced and will manipulate people to get his own way. Once I had painted the base colour of pink and green, I added a couple of layers of the same colour to ensure that the plaster of Paris was not visible underneath. Afterwards, I used red to paint on the eyebrows, wrinkles and nose on the pink side of my mask. I also smudged a bit of red paint to emphasise the cheek bones for my character as I think it makes Brighella look more restless and cunning - he looks as if he doesn't get much sleep as he is always plotting, as he is a cunning character. When I finished the pink side of the mask, I added to the green of my mask. I painted on the wrinkles, nose and eyebrows and then smudged a darker green in below the eyes to emphasise the cheek bone on this side. I then found myself naturally adding "eyeliner" to my mask. I emphasised the eyes by adding decorative dots underneath the line and adding a descending curl to the line (though not visible in the picture above) - these decorative features make this character seem more appealing and seem more attractive to others, forming a massive contrast to his ugly personality. 
Since thinking I had completed my mask, I looked at my mask from a distance, only to realise I hadn't finished my mask! The wrinkles weren't very visible from a distance so I decided to use red acrylic paint for the pink side of the mask to make the features stand out even more. For the green side of the mask, I used a darker green than I had used before, to ensure that the features were visible from the back. I also added a darker brown underneath the eyebrows to make them stand out even further.
