The Last of Us Show Clicker Mask

This is a tutorial for a homemade Clicker mask from The Last of Us. I tried to base it off the show's clicker design, but ended up deviating.

Materials: balloon, base plastic mask, Painter's tape, tape measure

1. Using the flexible tape measure, measure the circumference of your head. You can also use string to do this. Blow up the balloon to the same measurements as your head. Tape the plastic mask to the balloon. This is the foundation of your mask.

Note: you might want to add an extra inch or so to the circumference of the balloon. Mine shrunk after taping and is quite tight.

2. Tape, tape, tape! The object here is to create an extended mask out of tape. You'll want to use a lot to create a thick layer for your design to attach to. You can extend the tape as far as you want, depending on how encompassing you want your mask to be. I usually tape about halfway down the balloon and trim later. You can also use paper mache or glue and newspaper for this step! I prefer Painter's tape because it's not messy, doesn't need to dry, and is strong enough to hold the design with enough layers.

3. I ended up adding layers of tape to the cheeks, too. The mask is narrow and might not cover your cheeks. I wanted a full coverage mask. I started by adding tape to the mask cheek then extending it to my cheek. I repeated this step, moving down the face to the chin. Make sure the tape layer is thick.

Note: It'll stick to your skin after you're finished layering the tape, but it didn't hurt my skin when I pulled it off.

4. My balloon popped about half way through, if yours doesn't, pop it when you're finished taping.

Materials: foam clay/modeling clay

1. Use the foam clay to start building shapes on your mask. This is really up to you and your artistic preference. You can go mushroom shaped or slithering tendrils. The world is your oyster. Clay foam is light weight and stiffens after a few hours, cures after 24 hr.

Note: I ended up later covering one of the eyes with clay foam.

Note 2: I found out that the higher I tried to build the foam, the more floppy it got. I tried using different supports (such as toothpicks) to build up the mushroom shapes, which didn't work. The best thing I found was to use the stiff LED wire to make shapes then cover them in foam clay. If you aren't using LEDs, any stiff wire should work to create a support framework.

Another technique is to let the foam clay stiffen for a few hours, then to shape it into a taller form.

Materials: strand of orange LED lights

1. After researching and knowing my limited ability, I decided to go with this string of orange LED lights cheap from Amazon. The lights will show through the foam clay! I started by inserting the end of the light string into a blob of foam clay and then building around it. I used the stiffness of the string light wire to make unusual shapes- you can form the wire and then build the clay around it. There is so much variation that can happen in this stage!

Note: I changed my design up a lot in this stage.

1. Form the gums. You can use the handle of a paintbrush to create a divot between the teeth- this causes the center of the clay to curve out and the sides to curve down, giving it the shape of gums.

2. Insert the acrylic teeth into the gums. Don't leave them there! You just want to mark their place for when you glue them in later.

3. I originally set the bottom teeth into the bottom lip. I later added a lower gum to the mouth because I didn't like how it was looking.

Materials: clear gesso or plastidip

1. I used clear gesso for this step, though I have successfully used plastidip in the past. I decided on gesso this time because I wasn't sure the lights would shine through several layers of plastidip. This step protects the clay and gives the paint something to hold on to.

2. I did one layer of gesso, let it cure for 24 hours, then added another layer. I only did two layer as according to the directions on the bottle.

Materials: paint, sponge

1. I did a basecoat in black, then a coat of warm white. I wasn't satisfied with that, so I added a layer of very light yellow followed by a layer of warm white. This step is up to you.

2. I used a sponge to dapple the tips of the mushroom shapes with a layer of light yellow-orange, topped by regular florescent orange, then finished with a light smattering of dark red-orange.

3. I painted the tendrils with a combination of orange and red paint. I added a touch of black paint to red paint to color the beginning point of the tendrils.

Materials: plain glue and toilet paper

1. Apply a thin layer of glue to the cheeks. Take a sheet of toilet paper and place it over the glue. Add a layer of glue to the top of the toilet paper. Repeat. You can make shapes with the toilet paper, squiggles and divots, by folding it or scrunching it.

2. Once you have a few layers, let it dry. Once dry, I added light brown paint and dark brown paint haphazardly. Then I added more layers of glue and toilet paper

Materials: acrylic teeth, transparent glue (E6000), clear cord or fishing line

1. Paint the gums. Mine are a little miscolored, I need to touch them up. Line each tooth hole in red to mimic inflamed, bloody gums.

2. I used the E6000 glue to cement in the teeth. This stuff dries strong, but it takes awhile to cure

3. To make saliva, take a short piece of clear bead cord or fishing line. Use a spot of E6000 to attach the cord to the top of the gums. Squeeze a small amount of glue to the cord and allow it to drip down. E6000 is viscous enough that it won't run too much, giving it a thick, shiny appearance. I added glue to the corners of the mouth and dripped it down to mimic spit.

Materials: blood paint

1. Paint a base coat of dark red. I would highly recommend buying the Citadel Color Technical Blood for the Blood God. It's around $10 on Amazon. I don't know their secret, but this stuff really looks like wet blood. Drip it over the dark red base coat and wherever you want it.

Materials:

1. I gooped on a pretty thick layer of the modpodge super gloss and let it dry for 24 hr, then applied another thin layer. I really wanted a shiny, wet look.

2. I wasn't satisfied with the glossiness yet, so I sprayed on a layer of Modpodge Super high shine clear acrylic sealer and let it dry for 24 hr.

Note: you could probably skip the first step entirely and just use the modpodge super high shine clear acrylic sealer

Materials: two leather straps, velcro strips

1. I decided to add more support as the mask slides when I look down. The elastic tie that comes with the mask might be sufficient for you! If not, glue one leather strip on the inside of the mask by the temple. Glue the second leather strap on the opposite side of the mask in the temple area.

2. Glue the velcro strips to the outside of one strap and the inside of the other strap, so that you can press them together to stick.

Note: I couldn't find velcro strips, so I substituted command hooks velcro.

3. I used clothes pins to add pressure while the glue was drying.

Note: you could probably use ribbons/string/rope if you don't want to use leather. I would use the preexisting holes the elastic band is strung through to secure the ribbon on both sides. Put one ribbon per hole and tie together at the back of the head. Cover the ribbon with hair.

Materials: E6000 glue, clothes pin

1. Use the E6000 glue to cement a clothes pin to the battery pack. Let it dry for at least 24 hours. Using the clothes pin, attach to the inside or your shirt or a bra strap.

Note: There are probably smarter ways to do this! If you have extra room in your mask, you might be able to fit the battery pack in there. I may update this step as I experiment more with the best way to hide the battery pack. If you have long hair, you could possibly hide it in your hair somehow, maybe on a hair band.