Pete's "Dragon" |
It's been a while since MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD checked in with Pete Infelise, monster mask maker supreme, a.k.a. The Yellow Phantom. In his Devil's Workshop, Pete creates some of the highest quality masks available today.
I've met Pete and have corresponded with him for the past several years and I can tell you, besides being an all-around nice guy, he loves what he does and puts his best into every one of his creations.
In this Q&A, Pete talks about his creative process, his inspirations, and his new baby, a vacuform mask-making machine.
Early Devil's Workshop masks (Death's Head and Phantom). |
MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD: I understand
that you teach. What subject and where? Do you have an art background?
PETE INFELISE: Yes indeed, I have been an instructor at a digital arts
college in the Chicago suburbs for the
past 15 years. I teach a variety of classes, including web design, digital
video and motion graphics classes. I do have a formal art background in fine
art as well as an MFA in computer arts.
MMW: What drew
you to mask-making and, in general, what inspires you to create a mask?
PETE: I was drawn to masks at an early age. When I was ten
years old, I would pedal my bike over to the local Mom and Pop party store to visit
the mask display during the months of September and October. I would stare and
gawk at all the wonderful Don Post and Be Something Studio masks on display. I
did this often as a kid, and it never grew old. In fact, I still love to visit
the few costume shops that are around every Fall season.
Before I learned to make masks, I would buy cheap dime store
masks and re-paint them. I suppose this was the start of what eventually lead
me to making my own masks. I finally made my first mask when I was 20 years
old. I took to the process rather quickly, and made a few dozen different
designs over the next two years from 1995-97. I’m not sure what exactly drives
me to make masks, but I can definitely say I still have a strong passion to do
so.
MMW: Is The
Devil’s Workshop a rented studio that you work out of or are you a “garage”
mask-maker?
PETE: I work out of the garage as well as a small studio in
my basement. The Chicago Winters are too
cold to work out of the garage year round, so I tend to spend the majority of
the time in the basement.
Creations from the Devil's Workshop basement studio. |
MMW: During a
typical workday, do you have any favorite music you listen to, watch movies, etc.?
PETE: I listen to a TON on music. Music is easily my biggest
passion in life other than monster masks. While making masks I typically listen
to a pretty straight diet of heavy metal. Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest,
Metallica, Rob Zombie to name a few. Outside the studio I don’t stick to any
specific genre. My record collection includes a lot of Blues, Jazz, Rock, Hip
Hop and Electronica.
MMW: What is your
creative process? Do you start with a photo, a sketch? What do you use for
sculpting material and tools?
PETE: It really varies from mask to mask. When I’m sculpting
an original design, I always start with sketches and lots of reference photos.
Otherwise, if I’m sculpting a character from a movie, I try to gather screen
shots and reference photos. My “Cover Projects”, which are based on old pulp
magazine or vintage comic covers, are usually the biggest challenge as I’m
creating a 3D sculpture from a single 2D illustration. So I have to create a
good portion of the sculpture from scratch.
In terms of the materials, I have always sculpted in WED
clay. It works a lot faster than oil based clay, is easier to clean up, less
expensive, and it can be reused. I use
pottery plaster for my molds. As far as the rubber, I prefer Monster Makers
latex. For the paints, I tend to use acrylic and ink based paints that I mix
into liquid latex, which keeps the paint
flexible.
MMW: Once the
positive image is completed, then what?
PETE: Once the sculpture (the positive) is done, it’s off to
the molding booth to make the negative. The time it takes to make a mold varies
greatly depending on the size and complexity of the mask. It may only take an
hour to mold a small half mask, or 8-plus hours to mold a large piece. Once a mold is cleaned and dried out, it can
be used to create latex castings, which are positive copies of the original
sculpt. These latex casts are trimmed, painted, and finished off with hair (if
the character calls for hair) and shipped off.
Pete's garage studio. |
MMW: Are the
masks produced and painted by you or are they sent to a “mask maker”?
PETE: Everything is done in-house by me. I am the mask maker
that they get sent to!
MMW: What
determines the number of masks that you make available for sale?
PETE: It depends from mask to mask. The biggest edition I’ll
do these days is 25 pieces. I’m a big fan of doing runs of 13. I really got
burnt out making too many copies of masks back in the late 90’s, and I took a
few years off from mask making. The fun
fades quickly when you find yourself making 40 or 50 copies of a mask. When I
returned to mask making in 2002 I began the process of working in much smaller
runs and I find that it helps me maintain the love for mask making.
MMW: Your latest
in a series of masks inspired by vintage comic books ads is the “Moon Monster”,
and is a vacuformed mask. Was it difficult to find someone to produce them for
you?
PETE: Yes, very difficult. I tried for good year to find someone
to produce them for me. After being unsuccessful in the search I finally
decided to do it myself. It took me a good eight months to figure out how to
screen print on plastic. I bought a vacuform machine that I use in my studio. I
did outsource the production of the boxes and t-shirts.
The vacuform machine that made the "Moon Monster" masks. |
Prints of the iconic Moon Monster from vintage comic book ads. |
MMW: Trick or
Treat Studios offers a terrific line of masks. Tell me a bit about your
relationship with them and which of their masks have you worked on?
PETE: Yes indeed, Trick or Treat puts out a killer line of masks. Justin
Mabry, the art director of Trick or Treat Studios, is a good friend of mine.
Not only do we share a very similar passion for the history of monster masks, but
also the same artists inspire us. I was very fortunate that Justin asked me to
join the Trick or Treat team a few years ago. In my humble (and biased)
opinion, Trick or Treat Studios is making the best mass-produced masks on the
market today. The quality is amazing, and the licenses that ToT gets are
awesome!
MMW: What are
your plans this Halloween [last October, 2015, when this Q&A was originally started]? Do you have a yearly tradition?
PETE: We have a few Halloween traditions. My wife and I throw
our annual “Monster Bash” for Halloween. We also go totally over board with
decorating the yard. We get a LOT of trick or treaters each Halloween and it’s
fun to put a little scare and fun into their Halloween night.
Photos from Pete's 2015 Halloween "Monster Bash"/ |
MMW: Don Post or
Topstone?
PETE: Whew, that one is too tough to answer. It’s like the chicken
or the egg. The mask geek in me adores each, and both companies left an
impression on the industry that truly can’t be measured. The original Keith
Ward Topstone mask illustrations and ads are truly iconic, while Don Post
Studios established a new level of quality and had a much longer legacy.
But, I really can’t answer that because I don’t have a
favorite between the two. I can say this… Be Something Studios will forever be
my personal favorite mask maker. Growing up in the Chicago area, we had BSS
masks in all the local costume shops. They are very near and dear to me. I
still think they made the most “wearable” monster masks of any studio. I also
feel that BSS masks were generally scarier than Don Post or Topstone masks.
They had an “edge” to them that none of the other studios had. Vintage Be
Something Studios masks make up the biggest portion of my personal collection.
MMW: Until next time, thank you, Pete Infelise! Keep pourin' the latex!
Visit The Devil's Workshop -- Click HERE!
Check out Pete's monster mask blog HERE!
Check out Pete's previous Q&A HERE!
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