Here's what I consider the best shot I have of the motif. Captured outside, there was no "flash" to wash out the colors and details of the "opera" styled mask. You'll notice an extreme cropping of this photo serves as my avatar, one I've used since the late 90s. (I'm nothing if not consistent.)
The Freddy Kruger type gloves were a novelty item I found at Spencer's Gifts. They were a kind of "cyberpunk" equivalent. Strobing LEDs housed within the finger segments illuminated the clear acrylic blades.which looked rather wicked in dim light. The blades were originally absurdly long and had "safety nodules upon the tips. I cut them shorter and rakishly pointed.
I found a talented FSU student to make the furred sleevings. Everything else I pieced together, getting "creative" with a hot glue gun. Yes, I even sculpted the mask. A fellow con attendee made a "life cast" of my face at an earlier convention (right within the bathroom of the room I rented). With that as a base, I sculpted felinoid features in oil based clay once I returned home. I made a mold of the final sculpt and once I separated the pieces, I poured liquid latex within the cavity to form a "skin". After it cured I removed the rubber sheath; cur away the extraneous portions; hot glued sections of a Tina Turner type wig to the outer "cheeks" and then airbrushed a basic color pattern in water based acrylics.. I originally intended to apply it as a prosthetic using medical adhesive. But unlike foam latex, the "poured" method leaves a glass smooth inner surface, no "texture" for the glue to "grab". I eventually thought to attach two thick bands of woven elastic, one across and a second vertical strap. The intact Tina Turner type wig I fitted afterwards hid the straps. this way, it took just moments to fit it upon my head and took less than a second to remove if I felt overheated.
But that was a lifetime ago. I've gained a bit of weight since then (not morbidly obese, thankfully), but now I'd look more like Garfield rather than a sinewy cyberpunkish mountain lion.
The mask covers the upper lip to my hairline. The lower lip and jaw is my own skin simply covered in "clown white" greasepaint. I could even eat while wearing it. That resulted in an interesting situation at one particular convention. I ordered a slice of pizza from a food cart. Shortly after consuming it (occasionally having to extract a stray cheek hair from my mouth, blech!), someone complimented the "fresh kill" effect I had achieved. Huh? I looked upon a reflective surface and discovered I had smeared tomato sauce upon the "muzzle". Inded, it did look rather like blood!
