“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

3D pen artist Heather Baharally has been summoning the creative spirit, and has quite a few enchanting crafts for you to behold. Her weird witch Doodles and magical mask tutorial have landed just in time for All Hallows’ Eve.

We had the opportunity to speak with her about her creative processes and her very personal connection with this hair-raising holiday.

Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with us, Heather. We are absolutely in love with your Halloween masks and witches! We wanted to ask you, what do you love about Halloween?

It is so much fun to dress in costume and act silly or scary. I love the chance to get out and meet the neighbours – to celebrate and confront our fears as a community.

Can you comment on the inspiration behind your Doodled witches?

Kitchen witches are a tradition I grew up with, where you hang a witch in your kitchen to give good luck and prevent food spoiling or burning.

Often made as old women on wooden spoons, I changed the design to be pin-up figures on brooms. The bright colour range of plastic filaments available encourages a playful attitude.

My first witch was inspired by a friend going through a hard time.

She was starting fresh in a new home and I wanted to give her some good luck. I love the story and symbol of kitchen witches and I keep making them and other fun fantasy figures that inspire narrative.

Can you speak about your creative process with the witches, and any challenges around Doodling human figures?

Creating a character is a chance to tell yourself a story. Who are they? What are they doing? What clothing or accessories do they have?

I like to start with the head of a figure. It is the hardest part to make, and the rest of the proportions for the body are based on the size of the head. Once I have a face I like, I can measure the length of the limbs and torso and begin to create the basic shapes, often using a ‘skeleton’ of filament strands. Smoothing the skin is challenging, but making costume details is a lot of fun.

You’ve been making Doodled masks for many years. What do you love about making masks and creating your own costumes?

This may sound strange, but I think my fondness for masks comes from the current social culture. It is a response to the lack of privacy and the saturation of cameras and social media in everyday life. Masks are also characters, telling a story, and I love how that reflects in a lot of my artwork.

Masks and costumes can come is any shape or color and gave me a form to experiment with the variety of materials and techniques available to 3Doodler users. I learned my scribble technique by making masks and wanting a light cool structure. I learned ways to mimic ice with layers of filament by making a couple of different styles of ice masks.

For all of the aspiring Doodlers out there, do you have any advice on making masks you can share?

Refinement can happen as you go, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect right away! Paper cutouts covered in tape work great to add details like ears or horns. Be inspired by what you love, then put the time in and see the project to the end.

Scales Mask Tutorial

Materials Needed

• Blank Mask

• 3Doodler Start Pen

• 3Doodler Start Plastics (Yellow, Green and Blue)

Directions

• Let the pen warm up, and click to start, holding the pen’s nozzle where you want the first scale to go.
• Hold the nozzle in place until a large blob of filament has accumulated. Click to stop, and hold pen in place a moment before quickly pulling away with a jerk.
• Allow the filament to cool only a moment before pressing it down quickly in short, quick pats.
• Once filament has settled in place, you can smooth fingerprints or scuffs out.
• Heather’s Tip: Using a blank mask, I started in the center with yellow filament. Making scale rings around the eyes in yellow, green and turquoise. This mask is a great example of the scale texture and could be adapted for many kinds of creatures!

Are you inspired by Heather’s Halloween Doodles? Let us know on social media, and be sure to share all of your spooky sculptures with us!

@3Doodler #3Doodler