Special costuming effects I'd like to see.

[kengr]

All of these are based on Vantablack like materials.

Best would be if we could make "cloth" that acted like vantablack. Zentai suit would effectively be "living shadows". Flowing robe type stuff would give "cloud of darkness"

Less ambitious would be a full face "mask" (say something like a fencing mask) worn with a hooded robe. Tiony holes would let enough light in so you could see well enough to move around. But anybody looking into the hood's opening would just see utter blackness.

That last is probably doable.

Finally, ig we could come up with a coating that'd work (and be safe) on scleral lenses (like contacts, but they cover the entire front of the eyball) you'd have the effect of utter blackness instead of eyes. It'd look like there was just a hole in space where your eyballs should be.

Be *really* spooky if you could do it.

Comments

[warriorsavant]

I like it.

[siliconshaman]

Scleral lenses, with vantablack embedded in the material so it doesn't actually come in contact with the eyes.

Problem is, vantablack is a surface effect, it's basically just carbon, graphite specifically, but the light is absorbed by it because of the way nano scale plates are stacked into pillars of alternating big and little plates to produce a light trapping surface. Embedding it into a clear material might change it's optical properties.

However, MIT have come up with something even blacker than vantablack, and more robust. Link here

That shows more promise for the uses you suggested. Plus, it's still carbon so biological safe.

[kengr]

I vaguely recall that for some reason vantablack is toxic. So the new stuff is a better idea anyway.

The scleral lenses are probably still out, but the facemask looks a lot more doable.

Aluminum (not foil, but very thin) with lots of tiny holes thru it. do the chlorine and vapor deposition, and voila!

A black void under a hood would be adequately scary. But the void instead of eyes would still be best.

[siliconshaman]

Vantablack itself isn't toxic, but the traces of the etching agent remaining are very toxic.