First, I made the main mask portion with modelling clay without the headdress portion, because I began to make it from modelling clay and found that it would just take too much clay to build. So I decided to cut the headdress part later out of foam or something.
Then, I coated the modelling clay in vaseline, to prepare it for the paper mache. Then I went to town, putting layers and layers of paper mache on top of the modelling clay:
I was particularly worried about the modelling clay getting stuck in the eyelids, because as you can see in the above image, the paper mache actually wrapped inwards on the clay eyelids. Surprisingly, however, no bits of clay stuck in the eyelids whatsoever! But the entire beard was stuck in, and I had to fish the clay out of the beard with a fork. I got it out, though.
If you’re wondering why the paper mache is blue, that is because I saw somebody suggest using shop towels instead of newspaper because they are buff and absorbent. I thought that sounded like a great idea – but after having done it, I’m not particularly impressed with them that I’d say to use shop towels over newspaper. I feel like, just use whatever you have on hand. If you have a bunch of newspaper, use that. If you have shop towels, I guess use that.
Welp, I’ve finished up with my Halloween costume for this year! I’m being Dagoth Ur from Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. I’ve only just finished, so the only photos I have thus far are in a garage. Although I’m not really sure what would be a better setting.
And, since I’m certain that I will be spending more time with the mask off than I will be with it on, I’ve made sure that I will still be Dagoth Ur when I take the mask off.
I’ll post some of the progress shots of how I made the mask, etc, in the coming weeks.
Well, I did the thing I said I’d never do: I tried out a character mesh/texture replacer mod for Morrowind. I had decided that the faces in the Races Redone mod looked pretty good and were very true to the style of the original faces, so a lot of the original feel/character seemed like it was preserved.
However, I did not like the hairs at all. I much preferred the Vanilla hairs. I just about spat out my drink when I saw Aryon’s new “haircut”…
This is actual footage of Steen coming back from adventuring, and seeing (and reacting to) Aryon’s terrible new haircut that makes him look like he’s a 5 year old child about to go to get a family portrait:
I wasn’t a huge fan of Aryon’s old dorky-ass haircut, to be quite honest. But this… Peewee Herman monstrosity of a haircut was… irredeemable. Don’t get me wrong, it is gorgeously rendered, and absolutely 10000x better than anything I could make a mesh for. I just feel like it doesn’t quite have the same feel as the original, and it looks like it was made with a much younger character in mind. Which, given how few hairs there are to choose from in Morrowind, maybe it was.
The new face is great, though. It is pretty much how I’d always seen him in my mind. The facial tattoos are a bit of creative license here, since the original texture did not have any. But, they’re subtle and such things are common enough in Dunmer society that I don’t mind them.
I didn’t like Steen’s new hair, either. I hated how it was luxurious and flowing and beautiful, because Steen’s hair is none of those things and it never should be. So I suppose maybe she waited too long between haircuts here in this photo:
Again, the face is great, but ugh the hair >:-( no way would Steen be caught dead with hair like that. Or even be willing to maintain it, for that matter.
I also don’t like anybody else’s new hairs, but obviously Steen and Aryon are the most important characters for me to be happy with.
So then I had to go on this mad goose chase to get the vanilla hairs without the ears (because then otherwise he’d have 4 ears), but alas then there was still a problem with the hairs clipping into the new face model, making Aryon and Steen both have bald patches.
Too bad, too, because if not for the clipping, the aesthetic of these new faces plus the vanilla hairs is PERFECT for me. Like, exactly what I was looking for. I thought everybody looked great.
Master Aryon with the new face and Vanilla hair… pretty much exactly what I was looking for, except for the clipping giving him a weird bald patch
Steen with the new face but Vanilla hair. I love this look a LOT. I wish this is how it could be.
So I set out on a gallant mission to tweak all the vanilla (earless) hairs in Blender to solve that clipping problem. But, several hours in, and now I apparently have like 5 different versions of Blender installed (because that’s important for Morrowind meshes… for some reason… I don’t even know anymore), and yet ANOTHER version of Python installed on this machine, non-working .nif files all over the place… it’s a madhouse. I might… I might just go back to Vanilla faces and hairs. Because the clipping is a tiny bit too much to ignore.
And also also… I am partial to the tall rabbit-ears of Vanilla Morrowind mer. These stumpy little Skyrim-style mer ears are not cartoony enough for me, I guess. I’m just too used to all the original meshes and textures, I have trouble adjusting to anything else.
I might have just wasted an entire day on this, because I nuked everything and went back to vanilla meshes and textures. Oh well! It was funny to think of Aryon getting a terrible haircut. Luckily it grew back 😉
