If you’ve ever wondered how the costume for Deadpool was created, the designers have now revealed some of their secrets in detail, and it involves 3D printing.

A YouTube video by IGN (watch below) shows the behind the scenes of the construction of the mask and explains how a 3D model was used to make the process easier.

In order to remain true to the depiction of the Deadpool mask from the comics, it was important that it was both skintight yet still able to portray emotion and comfortable enough to wear for hours on end.

The designer explains: ”It’s all about getting the hero shot right, the mask was extremely crucial for us. We started sculpting the mask even before we were even awarded the project, it was that important.

How was the Mask Made?

There were many aspects to the mask which were extremely important to focus on including Reynolds’ ability to breathe and the emotion shown in the mask.

The designer said: “The shape of the eyes, getting that expression in a static mask was super important. That in-your-face aggressive, “look out here I am”, kind of thing. That’s him, that’s Deadpool. We digitally scanned Ryan, and start with his head and then we sculpt on top of that.”

Ryan Reynolds added: ”The mask is pretty important because there’s a ton of dialogue that’s underneath the mask.”

It was important that Reynolds was both able to speak and special parts were made inside the mask so he was able to breathe properly.

The designer said: “There’s so many little subtle things: how tall the head is, how skinny the jawline is, the shape of the eyes — that’s all huge. So we sculpt that in clay, then we digitize that, scan it, and 3D print it.”

From there, the fabric suit was made which included the help of  sculptors and costume fabricators, resulting in a very big process.

For the mask, emotions were extremely important to portray and so eye-pieces were made to be removable meaning they could be switched between scenes.

The designer said: ”There’s a release mechanism button in the back. Push it through the eyes, and we have different types of eyes for stunts that you can see better through. Get more air and you can exchange them on the fly.”

However, they still found that this did not bring enough emotion and so, in order to add the extra expression, Weta Digital installed a camera track on Deadpool’s head. Using this, they could project a 2D picture out of a selection of 250 emotion shots.

Make sure to watch the video below and let us know what you think about this impressive mask in the comments.