No. 44

The Mysterious Stranger is a book written by Mark Twain and published after his death, then later re-published when it was revealed the first version was so heavily edited it's considered fraudulent. It's a strange book about a teenage boy who is visited by what seems to be a youth about his age, but turns out to be something not of our world. Whether this beign is and angel, Satan, or something else entirely depends on the version and the interpretation.

The most well-known adaptation of the book is a short segment in Will Vinton's The Adventures of Mark Twain, where the character (designed by Barry Bruce) shows up as a living mask voiced by a woman and a man speaking in unison. A less well-known version is the live-action The Mysterious Stranger, which more accurately adapts the re-worked version of the book in plot and in tone.

I decided to combine the two, first sculpting a replica of the mask from the claymation film and then basing the rest of the costume off of the live-action character.

I began with a storebought cardboard mask from the craft store and built up the bulk of the shapes with tin foil and masking tape. After that, I could begin sculpting layers of air-dry clay, smoothing it out as I went.

The mask ended up very heavy, so I took all the precaution I could to keep it attached to the pole. Nails stick through the wood to give it a solid shelf to rest on, and layers of popsivle sticks, clay, and foam give it plenty of surface area to attach to.

Once attached, I could build out the decorations on the pole with wire covered in tin foil and clay. I ran out of my first batch of clay here, and the new brand cracked even more than the first. But after some fixing and smoothing it turned out okay. Since the original clay figure is so small, there couldn't be much detail in the mask. So I added a little more of my own, including spots where glass cabochons would later be inserted.

The pole and decorations were painted to match the movie, and I added black see-through fabric behind the eyes and mouth so they always appear empty.

I used Amie Sparrow's tudor hat pattern as an inspiration for the pattern, but created my own. It's essentially a big stuffed doughnut, covered in ribbons, with a gathered top.

I was able to make the hat and cape out of red upholstry fabric to match the movie, but used a stock doublet borrowed from my theater and decided to make the pants to match. Hopefully someday I can re-make these two pieces to be more accurate.

TO tie-in the claymation a little more, I sculpted some little clay figures to math the ones in the scene. One attaches to the hat, another can be sewn "hanging on" anywhere on the outfit, and the last one is just to hold.

For the pants, I used this Pumpkin pants pattern by TorianderC, widened slightly since even the largest option was a little small for me.

The cape is a simple half-circle, and attaches to the doublet with snaps. I found a blue piece of rope trim and attached it from one corner to the other, mimicking the blue trim on the claymation design's armor.

Since I was plannign on taking the costume to ComicCon, I decided I needed some way to hold and protect the rather fragile mask while moving around and when I needed both my hands. I decided on a hip bag, just big enough for the mask itself and with a small pocket in the front for my phone.

The undershirt I wore for the costume is the same one I originally made for my Bennedict of Amber cosplay a few years prior.