Residing in Maryville, Missouri, cosplayer Garrett Boyle recently debuted his Happy Mask Salesman cosplay at Sausome Con 2016.
Boyle, a cosplayer, is also a writer and administrator for the Hidden Triforce and consistently provides the page with thorough content. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Northwest Missouri State University last year. His cosplay journey began in 2013 when he constructed a cosplay costume of Blue from the Pokémon series. Since then, he has cosplayed Prince Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke and TK from Angel Beats, which took more effort to create.
“I conceived the idea of creating the Happy Mask Salesman cosplay back in 2013, too. I gathered several materials, but I did not put any actually effort into it until a year later. The reason I began this one was because of all the clamoring for a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. I wanted to create a cosplay in support of that idea, but it took me so long to bring it together that the game actually announced and released before I could complete the cosplay.”
His Happy Mask Salesman cosplay is his favorite that he has worn up-to-date because of the character’s bag, which is topped with strange and powerful masks in the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Aside from the blue jogging suit, his clothes have been heavily modified to match those of the Happy Mask Salesman with the help of his friend Lauren. The character’s bright purple robe was made from a beige, polyester robe and, because polyester is difficult to dye and recolor, he placed the robe in a pot of boiling hot water with a polyester-friendly dye. After pouring the mixture down his bathtub drain, his bathtub was stained purple, and recommends readers to let the mixture cool before disposing of it.
The Happy Mask Salesman’s masks look just as odd without their paint.
For the mask props, Boyle constructed a mold from his face in order to achieve realistic-sized replicas of the masks. He laid plastic over the desired mold and applied clay on top to construct the shape he wanted. A second layer of plastic was applied before placing wetted plaster Paris bandages on top. Once dried, he would continue building another mask that possesses a similar shape to one he had already made. He planned out what excess material needed to be trimmed in order to reinforce its structure with more plaster. He penciled the designs and painted them accordingly. His final touches include a gloss finish and the process of drilling holes to attach them to the bag with twine. Aside from the masks, Boyle created the gold collar and cuffs of the Happy Mask Salesman’s garb and considers the material they are made out of the most difficult part to build for this particular costume.
Boyle brings the Happy Mask Salesman’s zany masks to life with vivid colored paints.
He aims to become more proficient in sewing so that he can build cosplays in his spare time. He has plans to create costumes for characters like Oswald from Odin Sphere and the Fierce Deity from Majora’s Mask. He finds more challenging characters to bring to life through cosplay appealing and has a desire to “go bigger and better” with future efforts in costume building. He encourages his readers to pursue cosplay, but to keep in mind that it is an expensive and time-consuming hobby. According to Boyle, “It does not matter if it is a simple cosplay or something grand; you should be proud of what you put together. Just remember to have fun with it.”
Boyle’s final product: his rendition of the Happy Mask Salesman.
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