Left: Jeremy Oneail of Oneail FX Studios poses with some of the many masks he creates for clients. Right: A dragon created to sit on a person’s shoulder
(Photos by Matthew J. Mowry)
How realistic are the masks that Jeremy Oneail makes? On a lark he wore an old man silicon mask he created to the museum where his wife works, walking around and interacting with patrons who didn’t bat an eye.
The most unusual call he received was from a federal agency investigating a bank robbery where the suspect was wearing a realistic mask. Oneail says he was able to identify it as one he made and also helped identify the robber and put him behind bars.
Oneail, the artist and owner behind Oneail FX Studios in Goffstown, has carved out a successful business creating custom masks ranging from realistic human faces (Santa is one of his popular items) to fantastical creatures and nightmare fuel. He creates them not only for individuals but haunted attractions, theme parks across the world and movie productions.
He also creates and sells renaissance fair (or “RenFair”) cosplay items such as dragons and owls (animal familiars) that sit on your shoulder using magnetic clips, and wands that come with colorful tufts of material that represent spells that can be fired from them sling-shot-style. In October, he sets up a booth in Salem, Massachusetts, and sells a line of Krampus and other creepy Christmas decorations. He also produces large stationary and animatronic creatures for clients.
Most of his sales come through his website but he also exhibits at two major theme park industry expos annually and works the RenFair circuit throughout New England. Oneail says he makes about 100 custom masks annually, which range in cost from $250 to $800.
It is a business that was literally handed to him on an old VHS tape. “I didn’t have any direction growing up,” Oneail says. “I always liked to draw and I was a fan of fantasy movies and
Star Wars.”
After graduating high school, Oneail went to work in manufacturing but decided he wanted more and attended the University of NH. As a hobby, Oneail enjoyed participating in medieval reenactments and live role play. He found out a live action role play group was looking for an artist for their newsletter but when he applied the job had already been filled. What they still needed was someone to
make masks.
Oneail had no experience, but someone from the group gave him some clay and a VHS instructional tape. Oneail became hooked. “I would go to the back of Fangoria Magazine and buy more tapes and books,” he says. At UNH, he took a class on exploring the Internet where he learned to make a website and created one to sell his masks. He began selling on eBay too and from there landed jobs making masks for haunted house attractions. Then the movies came knocking.
At the same time, he was pursuing a dual gig as a professional jouster, traveling the world to compete in tournaments and even securing a job as a trainer on a jousting reality TV show. Eventually, it all came together in his own business, and he launched Oneail FX Studios in 2014.
“I went from living in my parents’ basement to saving money for my studio to making adult money,” says Oneail, who describes himself as “an artist who happens to be a businessman.”
He says like his masks, his business has proven durable. If a client follows the care instructions for their mask, “they will be able to gift it to their grandchildren, who will be disappointed if that is the only thing they get.” For more information, visit oneailfxstudios.com
