How to paint a HEMA/fencing mask

First off, what is HEMA
"Historical European martial arts (HEMA) refers to martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms."

Now personally I feel that painting your sword fighting mask is a sign of commitment, once its done its unlikely that you will be able to sell it, unless your paint job is amazing and or has some kind of connection to the person buying it. For my mask I chose the design used on 'Obitos's combat mask from the Naruto shippuden TV series.

"TOBI is OBITO UCHIHA who disguise himself to be MADARA UCHIHA. (SPOILER ALERT!) Obito Uchiha was a member of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan. He was believed to have died during the Third Shinobi World War, his only surviving legacy being the Sharingan he gave to his team- mate, Kakashi Hatake."

It is obito's/tobi's striving to create a new and better world. And his level of commitment that drew me to this design. Obito used many masks throughout the series, but it is this mask that was designed purely for combat.
When choosing a design remember to aim for the highest contrast as this will hide your eyes the most effectively.

You will need:
Masking (paper) tape,
A sharp detailing knife,
A printed template of your design (approx. A4 size),
A can of good quality spray paint,
Cheap craft paints,
Small Sponge brushes,
Craft glue.

Step 1: cover the mask mesh in a few layers of masking tape

Step 2: use craft glue to glue your template onto the masking tape. The aim is to create a template for your base colour. For my design this involved making a template for the eyes, nose and moustache so that I could spray the red portions of the face.

Step 3: using your knife cut out your template. You want to cut through both the paper and the masking tape. Peel away the excess and leave only bare mesh for the places you want to spray.

Knowing that I was going to use white paint i took a negative photo before painting to see if the design would work

Step 4: cover up EVERYTHING that you don’t want to be sprayed. Especially around the neck and INSIDE the mask. Take out any inserts and line everything with paper and or plastic bags ( i found this better than cling wrap

Step 5: spray your mask. Use short light coats to prevent dripping, clogging and all manner of ugliness. You will want to do at least 4 coats from different angles.

Step 6: peel away your remaining template to reveal fresh black mesh in the area of your designs finer details.

Step 7: Now if you have finer details to put into the masked areas you can go ahead and using your sponge brush and your paints, lightly dab paint onto your detailed areas. Once again take care, light coats, many layers. For my design I did not need to.

 Well there you go, my mask is now complete and I can take it into training and tournaments