Ever wondered how ET came to be? Or how Predator was brought to life? Keith Robson did, too, and is now a self-taught character sculpture and latex mask-making expert.
Keith’s passion for the creative process is inspiring a new generation of creatives to follow in his footsteps.
Growing up in Wormit, Keith and his brothers and sister were always encouraged to be creative by their mum.
“She was always the one making Halloween costumes and Easter bonnets and Christmas cards, probably based on the fact that we didn’t have huge amounts of money but she was always very creative,” he reflects.
Costume creations
“By the time we got a bit older we wanted to make our own costumes so we were doing that before cosplay (costume play – especially where fans dress up as a specific film or TV character) was a thing.”
Keith didn’t pursue a career in the creative arts and now owns a successful construction business. “Life kind of got in the way, I suppose,” he says, “but once a year we would have Halloween parties where everyone made huge efforts to make a costume.”
Now, aged 40, he says he has gone back to his artistic roots in the last eight years.
“A friend of mine was involved with a film production studio based in Kirkcaldy. He asked if I could use my van to help him with moving some equipment.
“I went down to give them a hand and basically just totally fell in love with the movie-making process!” said Keith.
“I got speaking to the make-up artists and production designers, and found out how things like masks and prosthetics were actually made.”
Film fan inspired to make his own masks
“I’ve always been a big movie buff,” he enthuses. “My personal favourites and the ones I feel most inspired by, in terms of creature design, are Predator (1987) and Pumpkinhead (1988).
“The ground-breaking animatronic work and innovative fabrication techniques that brought these characters to life gave them almost immediate iconic status, and I think they still stand the test of time today!”
So his love of movies, his mum’s creative influence and own practical skills have come together to see Keith create his own incredible masks and sculptures.
Hands-on
“I’ve always been a big DIY-er, that comes from my dad,” he says, “and it comes with the job as well, of course. I’m just one of those people who is willing to have a go myself.
“Try it first and then you can get someone to help out if you need to.”
Learning his art has been a much easier journey thanks to the support he has found online. “There are Facebook groups that you can turn to specifically for sculptors and mask-makers – everyone is there,” he says.
In the past, some of the techniques were quite closely guarded Hollywood secrets, but Keith explains: “Things are so much more transparent now. It’s a natural community so that was hugely helpful.”
One of the artist’s early creations was a monster mask that was spotted by a producer who saw its potential to be turned into a full monster costume.
Bringing terrifying creatures to life
“It’s a six-and-a-half foot monster called Creaky. A film producer was making a collection of short films and they gave me an opportunity to write my short film, Creek.
“We filmed at Morton Lochs in Tentsmuir, a story about this creature living in a swamp and an unfortunate girl passing by at the wrong time.”
Keith loved every aspect of the project, from launching a crowdfunder to finance the film to writing the script and even donning the finished costume himself to do some creature-suit performing.
Creek was released as part of the creepy For We Are Many horror anthology in 2019 and Creaky still lives in Keith’s studio, where he serves as a pretty effective burglar deterrent and occasionally “terrifies the window-cleaner”!
That was pre-Covid, and the collapse of the film industry over that time led Keith to focus his efforts more on sculpting and mask design.
While he was able to learn a lot from online groups and forums, he didn’t find any in-person teaching or courses that he could attend to hone his skills.
“I think that is part of the reason for me starting the Character Sculpting and Latex Mask Making course. I think if I had seen classes to do with sculpting or special effects I would have signed up straight away.
Character sculpting courses hard to find
Keith believes that the course he has created is the only one of its kind in the UK.
“While there are other sculpting classes – although nothing local to Dundee – as far as I am aware there is nowhere else in the UK that you can learn the complete process of sculpting, moulding and casting a latex mask. It might actually be a UK first!”
The team at Dundee Ceramics Workshop, where Keith’s courses take place, certainly saw a gap in the market for the skills he teaches.
Lauren Swan, workshop coordinator at Dundee Ceramics Workshop, said: “Keith reached out to us last year with a proposal for teaching a mask-making class, and the team were absolutely blown away by his attention to detail, his passion for his craft and the amount of possibilities that stem from the mediums that he uses.”
“The work Keith makes is astounding,” she enthuses, “and we were really excited about working with him to share this with others.
“Although the class outcome isn’t a ceramic object, there are so many transferable skills to be learned in Keith’s class.
“Before this class, portraiture/sculpting and mould-making wasn’t something that we offered, so when Keith reached out we were ecstatic to be involved in making the class happen!”
Making character sculpture more accessible
Lauren points out that getting involved in this kind of creative process can be “really expensive to learn as there’s so many materials and tools required, and lots of time spent finding resources to learn from”.
She adds: “We hope that the character sculpting and latex mask making class makes it more accessible for people that are just starting out, or artists that are looking to try something new.”
Keith’s first intake of students come from different walks of life. Calum Frood, Gosia Mnich, Karen McCormack, Rachel Murray, Rory MacRae and Sarah Burt were all delighted with what they learned at the Dundee Ceramics Workshop.
Keith believes that anyone could take part. “Once you understand the methods that you would use to create a character or mask the only limit is your imagination.”
Gosia Mnich, 38, is a ceramics and support worker. “I’ve always been fascinated by the work of American movie sculptors and the characters they create,” she says, “so when I saw this course advertised, I was really excited and keen to attend.
“I was inspired by the skills of the teacher who was self-taught. It made me think anything is possible with hard work, some talent and passion.”
Clay-sculpting part of the character-creation process
Dundee-based graphic design student Rory MacRae, 22, signed up for the course on the spur of the moment. He particularly enjoyed the clay sculpting aspect.
“I thought it was pretty relaxing and the classes would pass by quickly,” he enthuses. “The character of my mask is based on a short story by HP Lovecraft called The Outsider.
“I wanted it to give off a creepy vibe without using too much emotion in the face,” he explains. “It has one large eye in the middle of the mask and large worms covering the rest of the face.”
Inspiration for character sculptures and masks
While many of the masks and creations are inspired by horror and sci-fi, Keith points out that there is no reason that the techniques need to be used to create something that will scare the pants off your neighbours.
Students took inspiration from sources as diverse as the film Labyrinth to crustaceans and fungi.
Rachel Murray is a 22-year-old graduate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She studied a BA in production arts and design focusing on prop-making.
“I had been following Keith’s work for a while via Instagram and loved seeing the amazing masks he made,” she explains.
“The course interested me as a way to learn from Keith and grow in confidence with my sculpting skills. It was such a brilliant experience. Keith is so knowledgeable in his craft and the Dundee Ceramics Workshop was so welcoming and a great space to work,” she says.
See more of Keith Robson’s work and keep up to date with course details and dates through his Instagram page @shadyscarecrowfx
Book a place on an upcoming course through Dundee Ceramic Workshop.
