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Build guide

Build your own John Doe

EasyAbout 2 hours17 steps

Step 1 of 17

Required tools

  • Required
  • Utility knife or razor blades
  • Pencil and/or pen
  • Scissors
  • Straight edge or ruler (12" minimum)
  • Good to have
  • Yardstick or long T-square
  • Computer printer, for the cutting template
  • Guillotine cutter, for cutting out the template
  • Cutting plotter (Cricut, Silhouette, etc.), for the face details
  • Get inventive if you have a laser cutter or 3D printer
Required tools, photo 1

Step 2 of 17

Materials

  • 22 × 28" yellow poster board
  • 20 x 30" foam board. Same specs as above work too
  • Black poster board or construction paper
  • Glue - Double-sided tape (recommended)
  • Or use a glue stick, white glue, spray adhesive, it's flexible
  • Clear tape
  • Masking tape (painter's tape)
  • OPTIONAL:
  • Lens for eyes (clear plastic, mesh/fabric)
  • Foam padding if you want additional support
Materials, photo 1 Materials, photo 2 1 / 2

Step 3 of 17

Print the template

  • Download the cutting template and print all 3 pages
  • Print at "Letter" size, scaled to 100%
  • Measure the print to make sure it printed at the correct size
  • Tip:The template is too big for a household printer, so you'll need to attach two pieces
  • Warning:Our prints did not come out 1:1 and we had to print at 103% scale to match. Be mindful. You may need to tinker a bit
TEMPLATE DOWNLOAD
Print the template, photo 1 Print the template, photo 2 1 / 2

Step 4 of 17

Cut & assemble cut guide

  • Cut out the template
  • If you have a guillotine cutter, that works best
  • Line up the dotted center line on each page
  • If you keep the glue tab (the grey part) double sided tape may work better. You can cut through the dotted line otherwise
  • The top notch of the template is ignored during the poster board preparation. Feel free to fold it to avoid confusion in the next steps
Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 1 Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 2 Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 3 Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 4 Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 5 Cut & assemble cut guide, photo 6 1 / 6

Step 5 of 17

Poster board preparation

  • POSITIONING IS CRUCIAL HERE. CROSS REFERENCE THE PDF AND DON'T GET CONFUSED BY THE EXTRA NOTCH!
  • The PDF poster board guide below will help with positioning
  • Warning:The uppermost line of the template is only used for the foam board. This part of the mask is folded where the 45° corner ends
  • Almost all parts of the mask can be mirrored, so if you make a mistake drawing the outline, you can just have that part facing inwards
POSTER BOARD GUIDE
Poster board preparation, photo 1 Poster board preparation, photo 2

Step 6 of 17

Template layout

  • Do not cut yet. Observe how the panels interact with the poster board before proceeding.
Template layout, photo 1 Template layout, photo 2 Template layout, photo 3 Template layout, photo 4

Step 7 of 17

Poster board preparation

  • Align the cutting guide to the bottom left corner of the poster board
  • Lightly trace (in case you have to erase) around the edges and eye holes with a pencil, omitting the top line
  • Shift the guide up and continue tracing around the flaps. Use a ruler when needed
  • Tip:The height of the mask is 9.33". Multiply by 3 for 28", the height of the poster board. If it doesn't line up perfectly to the board, measure again.
  • PRO TIP: If your foam board is rigid enough, use it to draw a straight line
Poster board preparation, photo 1 Poster board preparation, photo 2 1 / 2

Step 8 of 17

Poster board cutting

  • Cut a straight line on the edge of the flaps
  • Cut the 45 degree notches for the flaps
  • It is more important that the folds are straight than the cuts. This is fine if the reverse side of the poster board can face outward
  • Cut the holes for the eyes. They don't have to be perfect since the black paper will cover them.
  • Crease all the fold lines and begin to shape the mask
Poster board cutting, photo 1 Poster board cutting, photo 2 Poster board cutting, photo 3 Poster board cutting, photo 4 1 / 4

Step 9 of 17

Side Panel Cutting

  • You can cut the side flaps on the template now. If you plan on reusing it, you can fold them
  • Trace the side panels in the top right and bottom right corner of the poster board.
  • They should be 9.33 x 9.33" (the same inner dimension of the other parts)
  • Cut out the panels. Leave slack if you have a guillotine cutter to clean them up
Side Panel Cutting, photo 1 Side Panel Cutting, photo 2 1 / 2

Step 10 of 17

Gluing the paper

  • Warning:This step is integral to the shape and form of the mask, take your time with aligning the side panels
  • Apply double sided tape to any three corners of the side panel
  • Attach the bottom to the middle flap
  • Fold and attach the other flaps
  • For a quick and dirty mask you can glue the face details on now and skip the foam steps.
Gluing the paper, photo 1 Gluing the paper, photo 2 Gluing the paper, photo 3 Gluing the paper, photo 4 Gluing the paper, photo 5 1 / 5

Step 11 of 17

Foam Board Preparation

  • Download the foam board guide below for additional reference
  • This material is best cut with a razor and a long straight edge tool. Scissors can deform it
  • Mark the channels for the two folds
  • SCORE four lines for the folds
  • Hollow out the channel for the two folds by gently removing the foam
  • Tip:The channel should be the approximate width of the material
  • If you accidentally cut straight through, you can just tape it
  • CUT through lengthwise to separate the panels
Foam Board Guide
Foam Board Preparation, photo 1 Foam Board Preparation, photo 2 Foam Board Preparation, photo 3 Foam Board Preparation, photo 4 1 / 4

Step 12 of 17

Foam board side panels

  • Refer to the innermost dotted line on the template, this is the foam side panel dimension
  • The foam side panels are smaller than the paper. These may need to be further trimmed depending on the form of the paper
Foam board side panels, photo 1

Step 13 of 17

Foam board side panels

  • Observe the folded foam board
  • The removed channel should be approximate thickness of the material.
  • Fold the foam board with the hollowed channel facing inward, leaving a smooth rounded corner.
Foam board side panels, photo 1

Step 14 of 17

Fitting the Foam Board

  • Test fit the foam without glue. If it protrudes past the yellow poster board, mark it and trim it
  • Trace through the eye holes and cut them out
  • Fit the side panels in
  • Tip:Don't use force, if you're having a difficult time fitting them, try rotating the panels to account for deviations in the cut
  • Once you're confident with the shape, you can glue the foam to the paper. It doesn't need much
Fitting the Foam Board, photo 1 Fitting the Foam Board, photo 2 Fitting the Foam Board, photo 3 Fitting the Foam Board, photo 4 Fitting the Foam Board, photo 5 1 / 5

Step 15 of 17

Face details

  • Attach the face feature template to the black paper.
  • You can lightly glue it to the paper, the pieces can all be mirrored to have the nice side facing out after removing the template
  • Cut out the shapes and adhere them to the mask. Spray adhesive works well here.
  • PRO TIP: Use a plotter for cleaner cuts. 🥸
Face details, photo 1 Face details, photo 2 Face details, photo 3 Face details, photo 4 1 / 4

Step 16 of 17

Completion

  • Wow, you did it. Now don't go starting an uprising or anything...
Completion, photo 1

Step 17 of 17

Optional Stuff

  • Get creative or improve upon this project
  • Reinforce the inside of the mask with more foam to support your head
  • Add a mesh or a lens to the eyes
  • Customize the face, change up the colors
  • Change the materials entirely. Use our PDF files for the exact outlines.
Optional Stuff, photo 1