The Guy Fawkes Mask: Who Profits, and How You Can Create Your Own Mask

By now, it’s no secret that with every Guy Fawkes mask purchased, the Time Warner Company makes a profit. You’ll find a lot of articles online that cover the topic, however you’ll be lucky if you can find one that offers genuine solutions. We’ve decided, therefore, to provide not only some facts about the production and profits made from the masks, but what you can do to avoid purchasing one.

The Guy Fawkes mask became associated with the Anonymous movement innocently enough. It began at 4chan with a stick-figure known as Epic Fail Guy who was eventually seen depicted in the mask.

During Project Chanology—which was formulated partly at 4chan—protesters donned the mask to symbolize Scientology’s failure (Guy Fawkes himself had failed at his endeavors), however it became associated instead with the character ‘V’ from the movie V for Vendetta, a Time Warner production.

Time Warner now owns the rights to the mask, and they earn royalties on every sale. The company has never released any data that shows their earnings, but it’s safe to assume they’re making a fair profit from the hundreds of thousands of masks that are bought each year. This issue is a thorn in most Anon’s sides considering the history between Anonymous and Time Warner.

There’s also the controversy surrounding the production of these masks that must be taken into consideration. The photos below were taken at a factory in São Gonçalo, Brazil where employees are forced to work in third-world sweatshop conditions.

Those in the Anonymous Movement do not support corporate interests of any kind, therefore this is an issue that must be resolved immediately. We feel it is our responsibility as representatives of Anonymous to provide a wide variety of solutions, however it involves everyone’s cooperation. Provided below are a series of ideas and suggestions that will help you to support that which you believe in—guilt free.

Paper mask:

In a quick fix, you can always rely on simple paper cut-outs. There are numerous sites that provide them, and these can be printed out in a few seconds. Unfortunately, they are quite flimsy, and you’d better hope your protest doesn’t occur on a rainy day. There are simple methods to reinforce them if you have an extra 20 minutes, however they still won’t last you long.

Papier Mache:

For the artistic Anons who are looking for something more reliable, Papier Mache is an inexpensive, easy, and fun alternative. There are quite a few different methods and recipes, many of which require items that can be found in the home.

Most forms of Papier Mache can be sanded smooth, and painted with a glossy finish. You can make your own molds, like that pictured above, however if you are looking for a perfect shape, one Guy Fawkes mask can be used as a mold-template to create many Papier Mache masks.

Provided below is a quick tutorial on how to make a Papier Mache copy of a Guy Fawkes mask, and best of all, it doesn’t ruin the original, so you can borrow a friend’s mask and return it in the same condition:

Vacuum forming:

For the mechanically inclined Anons who want something a bit more professional, the mask pictured below can be made using common household items (such as an old toaster and tire pump), and simple crafting supplies. This method initially requires more time and effort, however once finished, numerous professional-quality masks can be made for friends and fellow protesters in less than 3 minutes each.

Like Papier Mache masks, vacuum-formed masks allow for unlimited artistic creativity as they can be painted and customized any number of ways. Here’s a tutorial on how to get started:

Bandanas:

Another easy option is to have your own bandanas printed. These can be worn over the face completely (if you decide to cut out some eye-holes), or folded in half.

Simply get yourself a solid-colored bandana or an equivalent-sized piece of material, print out your favorite Guy Fawkes template like that shown below, and take it to your local custom screen printer (they’re everywhere). For about the same price as a mask, you can have your own custom bandana printed by a locally-owned small business, not a corporation. If you would like to make multiple bandanas, you can sometimes find relatively cheap screen printers at your local craft store as well.

There are many other creative ways to make your own Anonymous mask, we’ve simply listed a few of the easiest and least expensive methods. For those who are interested in creating something truly unique and of high quality, there are a multitude of tutorials available on YouTube that will help you to make fiberglass resin masks, slush-cast masks, leather-molded masks, and more.

We won’t relinquish our beloved icon, nor should we. People are free to accessorize however they choose—humans have been doing it for thousands of years—however we need to be more conscious of our choices. November 5^th will be here soon, and we would love to see some imaginative creations at this year’s Million Mask March.

This Article (The Guy Fawkes Mask: Who Profits, and What You Can do about it) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.