These hyperrealistic masks created to look just like your favorite animal
- The artists that work with Shindo Michika Planning office create masks of animals that look incredibly realistic.
- Each step that goes into making it must be done with extreme precision to get the features just right.
- Everything down to the way the hair curls is specific to specific animal they're modeling the mask after.
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The following is a transcript of the video.
Narrator: This mask wasn't created to look like just any dog. It was actually made to be identical to this specific dog. The facial structure was sculpted precisely with this pup in mind, replicating its exact nose and snout. Although lots of people think all dogs of the same breed look alike, the artists who work with Shindo Michika Planning Office are experts at seeing the small, unique details.
Every angle carved in the sculpture of the face is the same as the angle on the pet they've been tasked to recreate. Each clump of hair is placed specifically to mimic the natural growth of hair that the real animal has, and if any part of the process is done wrong, it won't look like the animals in the photos. So, how do they do it?
To start, the structure of the face is sculpted out of clay. The artists who work on the sculpture have to know how a dog's face is shaped beneath all the fur and apply that information to each animal they recreate. This is one of the most vital steps to capture the features specific to this dog. The artists use it as a basic foundation of the mask. Because clay itself is too heavy to be used as the actual mask, it's used to create a silicone mold. Once the mold is created, it's used to make a cast using a gauze-like material. The process done here is similar to paper-mache.
It might not look like anything special yet, but once the hair is added, everything starts coming together. Large strips of hair are crafted by hand and glued down to the base of the mask. The hair grows outwards, just like hair on a real dog, and each strand varies in color. For this mask, the team has created hair with strands of white along with the black. The parts closer to the eyes with shorter hairs are trimmed carefully.
Next, they make the ears. They're made separately from the head and take a bit of practice to get right. While the back of the ear is made with one large piece of hair, the inside is placed more precisely. A large clump of hair is separated into smaller sections and placed bit by bit to recreate the growth of real hair. After that's done, the ears are sewn onto the rest of the mask.
The eyes are crafted next. Each eye is created using a mold and painted brown and black, matching the photograph of the pup. They're solid except for in the center, which has a hole to allow the person wearing the mask to see.
Once all the pieces are in their proper place, the finishing touches are added. The hair is painted in spots around the face with a brown color to capture the varying colors that run in the dog's coat. Then, with a small curling iron, the artist goes back in and curls small sections of hair on the ears, face, and the back of the head. This final touch gives the poodle its lifelike curl, matching it to its real-life companion.