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A Graveyard Smash: Douglas Education Center Grad Creates DIY Masks for Kids
Ten-year-old Tyler Green had a problem. He loved the amazing masks, makeup and practical effects he saw in films, but couldn't learn any more about how they did it. Now a seasoned special effects professional, Tyler pioneered the Monster Kidz Box, an introductory kit that lets kids try out this profession by making fun masks with child-friendly materials.
Tyler Green’s ghouls and goblins: ‘Monster Kidz Box’ a hit
BY MICHAEL CHAIKEN REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
April 16, 2020
When Litchfield’s Tyler Green was a child, he wanted to create special effects makeup like he saw in horror films.
But when Green tried to read how-to tutorials, he was frustrated. What the then-9-year-old Green was shown in these was beyond his scope.
That’s why he saw the need for “Monster Kidz Box,” which instructs children ages 8-12 to create their own horror masks. Green, a first runner-up in the SyFy special effects makeup competition “Face Off,” will be making the kit available this summer.
“As a kid, I watched everything monster from the original Universal monsters (Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolfman, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula) to ‘Evil Dead,'” the 33-year-old Green said. “They had great monster designs … I wanted to replicate.”
“I had no clue at 9 years old what materials were out there,” Green said. “I did find kits and materials from reading magazines and searching the web but what I received was far beyond my knowledge.”
“I can recall major disappointment,” he said.
As he got older, Green said he still didn’t see any product that would teach children how to make a special effects mask. But there was definite interest. When he was on “Face Off,” he said parents often asked him, “How can my child get started?”
“I began hosting monster workshops (in Winsted) where kids make masks based on my designs,” Green said. “The level of understanding these kids had shocked me and gave me the idea to create something where kids can do this at home.”
Monster Kidz Box is designed like a workshop, Green said. There will be separate kits for children to create zombies, creepy dolls or ghouls. There also will be access to a video tutorial on how to customize the masks.
Although horror film masks make one think of Halloween, Green said monster fans aren’t tied to that holiday. As a child himself, Green said, “I would have a tendency to create things scary and creepy just because I saw something from a movie.”
Sisters Abigail, 9, and Amelia O’Mara, 11, of Litchfield are two fans of horror masks who took a lesson at one of Green’s workshops.
Their mother, Rachel Bernhardt O’Mara, said the girls liked making the masks because it was an interactive experience where they could make something creative that they could personalize and wear.
“There are hundreds of different things you could do with your mask and you could be super creative and everyone’s mask will be unique,” said Litchfield’s Ian Owler, 9.
Bernhardt O’Mara said making masks at home with Monster Kidz Box would be a fun and creative opportunity for her daughters. Green’s product will allow the girls to indulge in a craft that was different from painting on a canvas or other traditional artistic endeavors.
“I think with kids spending so much time on their phones and in virtual worlds, they are missing out on the benefits of hands-on creativity,” Green said.
“I think discovering painting, decorating, learning new textiles and mediums and creating something special that they actually wear is a wonderful alternative.”
Green is still preparing Monster Kidz Box to bring to the marketplace.
Most of the work remaining, however, involves marketing and business plans.
The goal is to launch the kit this summer.
For information:
MonsterKidzBox.com, monsterkidzclub@gmail.com