Unraveling the Mystery: Crafting a Golden Bakunawa Mask

Hello fellows! It's @iamjkk again. How is everyone feeling right now? Preoccupied with your job and academic life? or bored? Both? HAHAHAH, same. It's strange how we complain about having busy schedules and a lot of work, yet when we do not have anything to be busy about, we just sit there and ponder what a boring life we have. I sometimes feel the same way. So every time I felt bored, I would do something fun and interesting. Something like ✨crafting✨. Yes, you read it right. I kind of missed doing art. In this blog, I'll show you how I made a Golden Bakunawa Mask.

But before I delve into making the mask, let's first get to know who Bakunawa is.

(this reference photo was cited from Google)

A long time ago, it was said that we had seven total moons. Bakunawa, also known as the Giant Sea Serpent in Philippine mythology, ate all the moons out of greed until there was only one left. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and winds. To protect the last moon, God commanded the people to make noise with pots and pans to scare Bakunawa away.

To begin the activity, I prepared first the materials needed for the mask. I bought a plain white mask, brown cartolina, acrylic paint, a paintbrush, and Zoy paper paste. These are the primary materials needed to craft my ideal Bakunawa mask.

From what I've seen on the internet, the Sea Serpent's colors were predominantly blue and green. Then I had a new thought, something unique. I considered a precious color, which is gold. My creativity began to flow from this point forward. I had a broad picture of what the project should look like at the end. I maintained my focus and began.

I began by cutting and sculpting the mask's mouth into a viper shape. I also enlarged the form of the eyes on the upper end to give it a more menacing appearance. I then pasted scratch papers using zoy paper paste to give the mask a great, durable surface and texture. I repeated the paper mache process five times, layer by layer until the mask was fully hardened.

(A friend took this photo of me)

I then painted the surface with a yellow to serve as a base for gold. I repeated the process three times to give the mask a nice, smooth, and vibrant yellow color.

After this, I drew the patterns for the scales. From the center of the forehead, making a circular pattern up and down to the mask's face. I almost started to give up. It was really a hassle creating the patterns as it could result in an asymmetrical shape of the mask if not done correctly. But thankfully, I didn't make a mistake.

Beginning again from the center, I added details to the scale. I added a darker brown for the shadows, and lighter yellow and white for the highlights. Making a circular pattern in coloring each scale requires enough patience. As the colors started to glow and pop up, I was in awe and very excited for the final finish as the result was accompanied appropriately by the picture in my head.

After coloring the scales, I applied a crimson hue to the sides to give the mask a more fiery appearance. At first, I thought it was a major mistake to pair a red color with gold. It was challenging. I should have chosen a darker yellow to create the desired golden hue, but I botched up. However, I choose to continue trusting the process while, you know, also doubting the probable outcomes.

Using the brown cartolina, I sketched three elongated triangular shapes for the horns. A big one in the middle and two smaller ones on each side was my idea. I made sure that the sketches were measured properly.

I divided the shapes into four parts for them to have this bending motion. Then I added some support in the back portion using pieces of cartolina.

Finally, I covered the finished horns with scratched papers and Zoy paste to strengthen their texture. Painting became the next difficult task. I struggled to utilize the acrylic paint because it would dry so quickly. At this moment, I think I'm going to mess up.

I started by applying a lighter color first, then a darker one. I went faster this time, blending the colors to prevent the paint from drying too soon. As it dried, I added shadows, highlights, and line strokes to the sharp edge of the horn. I repeated the same process for the remaining two horns and this is what it looked like after:

I also made two ears using the cartolina and Zoy paste, following the same steps that I did with the horns. I also crafted little horns for the Serpent's brows.

After several hours, all the parts were ready to be assembled. I then placed each part of the mask in its designated areas and adhered them with glue sticks.

TADA!! We now have our finished Golden Bakunawa Mask. Inspired by the great mythology of our country, the Philippines.

Aghh! That was a tough yet productive task! An endeavor fraught with uncertainty, yet one that was ultimately successful. I really love art even though it's challenging. How about you? What are your interests in life? Tell me down below. This ends here, my fellows. It is indeed a productive day! See you in my next blog and have a good day, Hivers!