Modernisation Part 4: Linking It All Together with Mask Generations

Modernisation, the process of updating and improving a process with the aim of making it better, be it more accurate or more efficient. One of my main goals at DAME is to see how we can improve on our old production methods and what additional tools or processes might be needed to do so.

Fortunately, the optimisation and automation of processes was also part of the work I did before helping to found DAME, so I have a lot of experience to draw from. However, as that experience is primarily focused on engineering, I have been adapting it to suit our needs and make our production methods more efficient without restricting our artistic freedom.

As this is not the easiest subject to cover, we will be breaking things down into smaller parts in order to explain our plan and thought process clearly. As such, this is the last of 4 blog posts that we have planned:

• The Old Method
• Options for Improvement
• What We Have Done
• Linking It All Together with Mask Generations

Linking It All Together with Mask Generations

Now that we’ve looked at our old production methods and the different ways we tried to improve them, we want to make it clear where those various methods have been used by outlining the various different groups, or “Generations”, of masks we have offered.

Gen 0 – Kickstarter

We’ll start with the generation of masks that never got to happen. The idea for the Kickstarter masks was to use injection moulding to make the mask shells, so that they could be made in the correct colour with mouth, eyes and ears already built in. In other words, the plan was to make as much of the mask as standard as possible, then finish them as needed with the iris design, eyelashes, eyebrows and hair as requested. The long-term goal here was to create a 2-tier system where people could buy either an injection moulded mask or pay extra for a fiberglass mask with more customizable features.

The project failed and eventually the company we were working with admitted that they could not make the mask shells using injection moulding.

Gen 0.5 – Kickstarter Rewards

We did not want to leave all our backers without anything for investing in us as we tried to set up injection moulding, so we created masks for all of the backers. This was done in-part using the old method, as described in the Modernisation Part 1 blog post, by creating half-masks from FRP, then permanently attaching a moulded styrene back piece to change them into ¾ masks.

The main reason for this was it resulted in a simpler mould that, in-turn, vastly cut down on the time need to actually create the FRP part of the mask shells. We also only used a single mould for the kickstarter masks, which not only simplified the process even further, but also meant it was possible to get the back pieces made in bulk.

Overall, our focus for these masks was balancing efficiency with quality, namely due to the sheer number of masks that we now needed to make by hand. In spite of all the issues and delays we encountered throughout the kickstarter, we’re satisfied with the quality of the masks we managed to deliver in the end. However, whilst we did the best with what we had, it ultimately wasn’t the direction we wanted to go with our masks, so we set out to further refine our mask making process.

Gen 1 – Semi-Custom Masks

Next, we get to the first mask product we offered post-kickstarter, our semi-customs. They were all based on an early version of our Alice design and used more traditional production methods, namely hand layup for producing the fiberglass mask shell.

The idea of doing semi-custom masks, instead of full custom, was that they all used the same base design, allowing the same mould to be used for all the mask shells. These were made in advance, then modified heavily to meet the customers specifications, which drastically cut down on the time needed to produce the finished mask. This is one of the main reasons we didn’t want to offer full custom masks, as they would have required a much greater amount of time and resources to produce, as a new sculpt and mould would need to be made for each one.

This is also when we first started to introduce 3D modelling to our workflow; we got the base Alice shell 3D scanned by an external company, then cleaned up the model to use as a base to design accessories on. This allowed us to offer features like horns, as it meant we could more easily ensure that what we designed not only fit onto the mask more securely, but was also scaled correctly to match the character. At the time, almost all accessories where printed on an FDM printer, so it took a lot of time and effort to finish them to a high quality before attaching them to the mask.

Additionally, we started to play around with the padding inside the mask to see what we could do to fully standardise it and subsequently came up with the padding sets, although in a cruder format that has been greatly improved since then.

Ultimately however, we decided to stop accepting semi-custom mask requests, as we wanted to focus more on other aspects of DAME and develop something better, namely Gen 3 masks.

Gen 2 – Generic Masks

Next is what we’ve been the most well-known for, our generic mask range. We began with Anna, a modified version of the original Alice semi-custom design, though this time the mould included both a built-in mouth and an indentation showing where the eye holes should be cut. We later added Ami, an original style designed from scratch, and lastly an updated version of the original Alice.

The core idea of this generation of masks was to see how much we could do in advance of an order, in order to bring down the overall production time. At launch, it was possible for us to make the mask shell, cut out eyes and vision ports, as well as sand and paint the shell. We would then add the makeup, hair and eyes as required, based on the options selected by the customer, once an order had been placed. Over time we added elf ears and different paint colours, meaning that we could no longer paint the mask in advance, though it was still possible to make the mask shell in advance.

From the very start, we were using Fiberglass Vacuum Moulding to produce the mask shells, which gave us a much higher level of quality straight out of the mould whilst also allowing for the mask shells to be finished much faster. This, along with the fact that we began dividing the workload among us more evenly since launching generic masks, drastically increased our mask making capacity.

Sometime after the launch of our generics, we added backplates to allow our masks to be made fully enclosing. This was the result of a lot of design and experimentation, namely looking into different production methods and trying to make sure they functioned as an optional section of the mask that can be added at a later date. We decided the best solution would be to use SLA/Resin printing for the backplate, while FDM printing was used to make the nut holders, a set of small parts used to simplify the assembly of the backplate.

Despite the advancements we made in both quality and efficiency, we started to feel that gen 2 masks had run their course. After they first launched, we had plans to expand the range of options available for generics, such as more iris and eyelash designs, however we gradually lost motivation and felt like we made the system a little too restrictive. There were a few times when we chose to try and push the framework we created as far as we could, as we still wanted to challenge ourselves with more interesting projects, though for much the same reasons we stopped offering semi-customs, that wasn’t a service we wanted to make readily available. We did, at one point, have plans to create some new moulds for open mouth versions of the masks, as outlined in the Direction of DAME blog post, though we have since decided to focus on developing our new, and hopefully final, generation of masks instead.

Gen 3 – Modular Masks

Even though they have been in the works for over a year now, we still get excited talking about our latest range of mask, “Generation 3”. The core idea behind Gen 3 is a similar system to our Gen 2 masks but considerably more flexible, both in terms of the options available when ordering the mask and the amount of customisation possible once the customer has the mask.

We have split the mask into 3 main sections: the mask shell, the irises and the hair. Each of these is a separate component that, when combined, will make a mask similar in appearance to a Gen 2 mask, but with the addition of the ability to swap out the hair and/or eyes to change the look of the mask. Furthermore, this is all achieved through a toolless attachment system, meaning no additional equipment or materials are needed for swapping out components of the mask; it can all be done by hand! This was one of our main focuses whilst designing our Gen 3 masks, as we wanted to ensure that they are as easy to use as possible.

The mask shell is printed using SLA/Resin printing in reinforced resin, the same method we have been using to make backplates, as it allows us to add a greater range of options by cutting out the need to make a new mould for any additional mask features, such as different mouths or eye shapes. It also means new features can be added more easily at a later date.

Our goal with the eyes is to make them as standard as possible, with the majority of currently available iris designs, as well as all current eye cut-out shapes, useable with all 3 mask styles. As such, when a new iris design is added to our standard range of options in the future, it will be made available on all the mask styles we believe it is best suited for. We can’t promise that all designs will be available for all mask styles, as certain iris designs and/or eye shapes may simply not work well with different mask styles.

We also plan to have different levels of vision available as a standard option, as doing so will mean customers can opt to have eyes with no vision holes cut in them to help produce a better result in photos, or even a set that also covers the mask vision ports, turning the mask itself into a very extravagant blindfold.

Lastly, whilst the actual process for attaching the hair hasn’t changed, it is now stuck to a solid base, meaning the hair functions more like a wig that can be detached/swapped out. Furthermore, the system used to attach the hair also serves as a base for the majority of the features we plan to add in the future, such as accessories and solid hair.

Where to next?

So, now that we have started to retire Gen 2 masks and begun rolling out our Gen 3 masks, it’s time to talk about how we move on from here.

Firstly, to clarify, Gen 2 masks are going, meaning fiberglass masks will not be offered anymore. This was not the original intention when we started designing Gen 3 masks, but it became clear that offering both at the same time would not work as well as we wanted.

To further cement this decision, we lost the capacity to do Fiberglass Vacuum Moulding nearly a year ago now, and we have since then been working through the large amount of shells we had in storage, though now they are almost gone. Once a Gen 2 mask style has run out of stock on the website, it will not be restocked again.

Lastly, we have a lot of fun and interesting options lined up for our Gen 3 masks that we plan to start working on once the remaining Gen 3 mask styles have launched. We hope for this to be our last generation of masks, as the core framework we have designed will allow us to implement new ideas and features without the need to redesign things from the ground up. Thus, in the long run, we aim to make Gen 3 masks as versatile as semi-customs whilst retaining all the benefits of having standardised features.