Yoshplay 3D Props: Project Corvo: 01 - Introducing Corvo Attano mask from Dishonored

For those who have played the game Dishonored, should recognize the main protagonist symbolic outfit from the story. Without going into details about the game, the worn mask is inspired of a human skull made in metal combined with all sorts of steampunk technology and oddities. Needless to say its a strange mask, but cool in a fictional way. So what about it? I admit it's a bold statement to say, but I want to make a 1:1 scale replica of it, and that by 3D printing it.

The eye opener

I've only had one encounter with a real 3D printer once. I believe it was a Printrbot model, but it wasn't working or hooked up that moment. I managed to convince the students who had this mini showcase/workshop to give me one of their printed models of a whistle, cause I really wanted to have some kind of interaction with a 3D printer. This was over 9 months ago and back then and I didn't know so much about what kind of possibilities a 3D printer could offer, other than it looked cool. I didn't give it a much of a thought and lived my life as usual since. Not until I played Dishonored and by random chance stumbled on pictures of a real 1:1 size mask from the game. I looked it up and it turns out the mask was almost entirely made from a 3D printer! Wow for reals? How? Who did it? More pictures surfaced, and even the work in progress was documented. This opened my eyes and brought back the spark to my hobby as a prop maker and cosplayer.

The original mask

The mask was made by Technically Magic Effects, an art studio based in New York City. I don't know anything about them other than they take on projects hired by various range of clients to make all kind of props, and in this case was commissioned by ~~Bethesda~~ (my bad, I just assumed it was since Betheseda made the game. But it was "Future US" who commissioned it as a part of a GamesRadar sweepstakes) to craft this mask along with other effects from the game for their marketing.
Now I'm familiar with the gesture of professionally made props hired or sponsored by game companies, as I see them regular at the large conventions. Hired models and actors wearing highly professionally made costumes to create blaze around their new game releases. Etc. But, the thing which caught my attention was the fact it was printed. A printed whistle is cool, but a video game replica? Much cooler!

Source: Official Techincally Magic Effects @ Facebook

The advantages of a 3D printer

A 3D printer in this case doesn't solve anything new. I'm sure a hand crafted mask, or any other prop would become just as good and decent quality if time and effort were spent well enough.
So what does 3D printing bring to the table?

Imagine maintaining the quality but still exceed in quantity, and potentialy in less time!
In short, what if I I needed parts with exact same symmetry? Or more of the same part, and they need to be exactly the same? Instead of starting over again and redoing all the work and steps it took you to finish one piece, simply hit "print" again, and there it is, a second identical copy! And don't forget the blueprints are simply 3D object files and has the obvious advantages of digital media so you can pre-visualizer your prints, as well as shape, build, and sculpt your prints down to the tiniest details.

During my years of cosplaying and attending both large and small conventions, many of my props have had their share of wear and tear. And sometimes so grave I would resort on the fly repair with hot glue and other quick fixes. And starting over on a part have been discouraging because of the amount of work required, and there isn't a guarantee I will end up with an exact same part I need. However with a 3D printer I could make extras intended backup as well as be a great asset as a time saving tool which produces high quality accurate parts I need.

The goal

The Corvo mask is might be one of the first "big" projects I will attempt with a 3D printer. It's an ambitious project and it will be a decent challenge but a good one. I guess there will be a lot of trial and error and mostly wont be perfect, but it will give me good benchmark of capabilities it holds and what possibilities it opens for me on a later point and future projects. It's definitely a steep curve to learn and maintain a such tool but without a shadow of doubt rewarding once learned. Because of the handcrafted appearance of the mask, it should be quite forgiving if the prints doesn't turn out to be perfect, which could simply just add to the realism in the end, the only concern I actually have is if I should encounter some issues or shapes which cannot be printed. We will see.

So the goal of this project is to see how far I can take both me and the 3D printer. I will make the mask, but we will see if I can reach the same quality as the one Technically Magic Effects did. Best way to start learning is to copy. TME did a great job of providing pictures and references on how they did it and how the mask should look like in the end.
Wish me good luck!