I feel like something was lost in translation somewhere along the lines with the making of this mask.
Someone in the creative team, probably George, thought "You know what would be neat? A vampire bat!" and then went to tell someone in the art department, probably Craig, who thought he meant quite literally a Vampire with a bat on his face. Look, I know Vampires turn into bats, and I know that Craig has only been working here for like a week, but seriously, how do you screw that up that badly? In fact, I'm more than willing to bet that Craig here is also responsible for the man with a spider on his face. Remember that post? I can just see these two being a double header (no pun intended) together at some cheap knock off Halloween costume shop that badly wants to be Spirit but can't afford to be Spirit. So instead they buy masks like this, and call themselves "Soul" because that's kind of like Spirit. Look the owner's doing his best, okay? His daughter needs to be put through college, and his son wants to be a cheerleader and like, he's not ashamed of that or anything but he does need time to adjust to it, and therapy is expensive, so.
Either way, whoever is responsible for this guy is honestly my favorite person, so Craig you're moving up in the world buddy! Much like the man with a spider on his face, it too is simplistic in nature; just a typical plastic molding with minimal paint job and rather basic design, except it all really works in its favor. The most obvious example of artistry for this comes from the bat, and of course the teeth of the Vampire himself whom we'll call Count BadLuckula, on account of he has bad luck seeing as he has a bat stuck to his face, but really when comparing him to the man with a spider on his face, this one actually comes out on top. Not as hilarious, certainly, but definitely as the more well made of the two. Nobody could argue against that, when compared.
Was the idea more like a superhero? Because now that I look at it closer, the bat almost looks like a facemask of some kind, because there's eyeholes where the wings are so the person wearing it can see out, obviously, but it makes it have a whole superhero vibe. Has there ever been a Halloween based superhero? I mean I know a lot of characters in Gotham are Halloween creepy, but I mean just a sincere Halloween based superhero. If not, then Batface here is really in a league of his own, I must say.
I have to admit, I do like the shading that's present on his cheeks, almost like a cel shaded look. The colors, as well, are absolutely fantastic. In all seriousness, the green mixed with the black and reddish pink of the bat is just magnificent color combination, and the blue greyish lines in the black hair of the vampire himself is also perfection. Whoever did the paint job on this really gave it their all, and it shows.
Also, I just noticed there's a small, faint trickle of blood running down from the side of his mouth, and that's also a neat little touch! So yeah, kudos to the makers of this mask, because they really went all in on tiny details and because of that it shows! And while I personally am more a fan of full masks - masks that wrap around the entirety of your head - rather than the plastic front portion masks, I can't deny there's a level of artistry when working with only a certain percentage of space, and these people always hit it home despite what most would see as nothing more than a creative limit.
So here's to Craig, and here's to Count BadLuckula, because this is truly an excellent mask just because, again, it's different, and different in all the best of ways. It doesn't let its differences drag it down, and instead it hones in on its difference and makes it the most defining and interesting aspect of itself. Kudos to you, folks.
But please, for the record, if you're looking for homemade Halloween costumes this year, don't skin a bat and superglue it to your face. That isn't going to be fun for anyone, especially the bat.
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