Goalie Mask Designs - Ideas

[Thresher]

The San Jose State University netminder is looking to add flair to his basic blue mask.

I may have found a local airbrush artist willing to give it a go - but, he has never painted a goalie mask before.

Any FYI's would be greatly appreciated... (ie: certain paints could weaken/soften fiberglass/plastic, etc....cost...do's/don'ts)

Also - what goalie masks have you seen that you like or did not like... (The Oakland University club netminder had a shiny solid gold-colored helmet -haha - a possible tactic to blind the opposition?)

Click to read more...

 

[RedK]

Go over to civilgoalies.com and look in the Ask the Experts section. There are several questions, answered by professional goalie mask painters, about what type of paints to use and how to figure out what to do on the mask.

The big thing to remember is that the size of the canvas leaves little space for detail. You have to go with one or two big elements. A single theme often looks better than a million odds and ends thrown onto a mask. When you decide on your them, look at the placement of the vent holes on the mask. My original design was very horizontal, but there were too many vent h9oles on the side that made it impossible to do. he also needs to decide if he wants the paint to go all the way to the edges of the faceplate or if he wants to stop the paint at the edge of the cage and do a white inner rim.

I'd be pretty darned nervous about a guy who hasn't painted mask. The many curves, especially the ridges on the forehead some masks have, can make it really difficult to get perspective right. The goalie should be absolutely sure this guy can do it. If he has any doubts, he needs to decide if he will still feel comfy in the mask if it turns out funny looking.

 

[Thresher]

Thanks for the link - I'll definitely check it out.

So basically:
*one or two big elements/single theme
*note placement of the vent holes on the mask
*paint all the way to the edges of the faceplate or paint to the edge of the cage and a white inner rim.

The feedback is greatly appreciated - more so for my own edification, from an artists perspective - - - it really all comes down to $...I've contacted the artist by phone & he's asked for the goalie to bring the mask to his studio so they can decide on where to go from there - it may not be a route either is willing to take...the worst case scenerio, is the paint actually ruins the mask....In the end he may just want to fork over the hundred-some bucks for a simple gold to blue fade or the ever popular flames by the pros.

What seemed like a simple task is a bit more complicated than I initially thought. Maybe the all-gold helmet isn't too shabby of an idea afterall -ha

 

[RedK]

Figuring out the theme was the hardest part for me - I had way too many ideas! Take some time to cruise the galleries of some of the mask painters out there. That will give you a lot of ideas. I'm a big fan of John Pepe (www.pepedesigns.com), who did my mask. MaskFX.com gets some good press. There are dozens of others. Go to any of the goalie BBs and do a search on mask painters and you'll get a load of links, pictures and reviews.

 

[dawgbone]

When I had mine done, it was by a guy who had never touched a goalie mask in terms of airbrushing, but he had done something like 500 various different bikes.

If he can do the gas tank on a Harley, he can do your helmet!

 

[Habsfan 32]

Figuring out the theme was the hardest part for me - I had way too many ideas! Take some time to cruise the galleries of some of the mask painters out there. That will give you a lot of ideas. I'm a big fan of John Pepe (www.pepedesigns.com), who did my mask. MaskFX.com gets some good press. There are dozens of others. Go to any of the goalie BBs and do a search on mask painters and you'll get a load of links, pictures and reviews.

John Pepe is a god!! Man those are nice.

 

[PecaFan]

I'm a big fan of John Pepe (www.pepedesigns.com), who did my mask.

Heh, love the comic book guy mask. Worst. Shot. Ever.

 

[Jokerit Wasp]

Dave Art Mask Designs - This site has HUNDREDS of mask designs! inc loads of pro ones.

 

[Habsfan 32]

Dave Art Mask Designs - This site has HUNDREDS of mask designs! inc loads of pro ones.

This guy is also great.

 

[Kirk- NEHJ]

I've had VooDoo do a mask and Jeff from Midnight Air (near Toronto) do one. Jeff did a terrific job. My team was called the 'Outlaws' and being the Pantera fan I am, he did a skeletal cowboy with a gold tooth in a nod to their 'Cowboys From Hell' album.

On one side, he painted the deadman's hand- Aces and 8's (held by skeletal fingers)- what Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he got shot. On the other side, he put a hangman's gallow against a sunset (We wore Ottawa Sens jerseys and colors). Across the chin, he put my nickname, 'Lunatic' on parchment in old-west style letters like it would appear on a wanted poster.

He did an outstanding job with it.