BRILLIANT!

You could always work at one of those halloween funhouse places BYOM style. Not even being sarcastic here, i was thinking about working at one of those and was thinking like "man, i would really want to be a werewolf"

That hellhound one is pretty sexy!

Well, I think most people just make them for themselves...? They're expensive because they need to be custom to work well.

The material itself is expensive too. And if you want realistic fur on those silicone masks, like on the "Planet of the apes" movie from 2001... Expect long sleepless nights of punching hairs one by one Even once you get one, the guilt kicks in, because the entertainment value never justifies the price! If these weren't so expensive, we'd be seeing tons of them around, they clearly have many advantages over the others.

And yes, what good is a costume if nobody is around to see it and confirm how awesome it is!

And many of the early materials actually broke down over time, often only months. Which means a mask made ten years ago is hardly what it was today.

Yeah, silicone is very durable so at least you're getting *some* of your money's worth... By the way, is anyone else excited about the new season of FaceOff? ( http://www.syfy.com/faceoff/ )

No, but I don't like syphilis.

What?

What's what syffy means... It's archaic slang for syphilis.

They don't need to be custom, but it helps! And it's so much work to make one of these and have it look good. It takes a lot of experience. I've dabbled in silicone myself and if you mess it up it's a really expensive mistake.

" It's only worth building a costume if you have a place where it would be appropriate to show it off." - every convention ever?

The problem with silicon masks is the lack of user facial expression, and a slight slurring/hollowing of words from the stuff around your mouth. As someone who costumes 2-3 times a week in an environment where authenticity matters, masks are taboo. Make-up and prosthetics take longer to put on (average 1.5 hours for medium-difficulty stuff) but the fact that you can smile or grimace or snarl or yawn. The demon mask presented above is a good example. As good as it looks when it isn't moving, its looks like a puppet when someone's speaking, and listen to his lip-sounds (Fs and Vs, etc). Also, any eyebrow expression has to be ridiculously over-accentuated to be even noticed.

I drooled over good masks for years - but then realized that they aren't what they're cracked up to be. In Sci-fi/Fantasy movies (take LOTR, since that was well documented), extras will get masks because they don't get close screen time, dialogue, and the like. Anyone that had to interact gets prosthetics.

If you want to go hybrid, you could get a mask-like balaclava and then prosthetic/makeup your face, being careful when joining them. You'll look good 360 degrees without having to detail your back or neck, while getting the facial detail you need.

That all said, mask themed art is great, and don't dare stop making it.

They are gorgeous masks. I was very interested when the Devil mask came out years ago, but could not see an immediate reason to get it. Same here with the werewolf mask. Both are very well designed, however, and would be excellent in any masking collection! For those who can afford them, that is! (I used to be able to, bah!)