The technique of sculpting from “chewed (or torn) paper” (papier-mâché in French) appeared in France at the beginning of the 16th century. There are two ways to prepare paper stock. We'll explore both by making our own papier-mâché masks.
Modeling from paper pulp
The video shows the preparation of raw materials from sulfur toilet paper the lowest quality. It is torn into pieces, poured with hot water and left for 2-3 hours. You can also use newspapers and even cardboard egg boxes to prepare the mixture.
Knead the mixture, squeeze out excess water, chop it and spread it out to dry a little.
Add PVA glue, putty, soap and mix the paper pulp, which can be used to create any masterpieces with your own hands, even this original mask.
It is not clear from the video what material the papier-mâché mold is made of. How and what to make it from can be found below.
Machining
This is pasting of any shape with small pieces of paper in several layers. If we make a carnival mask with our own hands from papier-mâché for a specific person (for ourselves, for example), the face itself can become the shape.
To make a mask using this technique we will need:
- newspapers;
- napkins;
- culinary film;
- gauze or thin cloth;
- PVA glue;
- putty;
- scissors;
- paint, brush, braid, elastic band.
Work order
- Lubricate your face thick cream or Vaseline. Place a thin plastic film on it. Secure the edge with a hoop or headband. Be sure to make breathing holes in the nostril area.
- Place the first 3 layers on a film of napkins soaked in water. Then you need to make another 10 layers of small pieces of newspaper coated with glue. This should be done gradually: 2 layers of newspaper, then dry with a hairdryer and again 2 layers. And napkins and newspaper You can’t cut it, you can only tear it with your own hands.
- After the papier-mâché has dried, remove the workpiece from the face, remove the film and trim the edges. To make slits for the eyes where they should be, place it again on the face and outline the contours with a pencil. Carefully cut along the drawn lines.
- Cover the mask on both sides with gauze. In this case, it is necessary to wrap the ends with cloth to smooth out roughness. Let the product dry. Putty and polish.
- Now all that remains is to do the decoration yourself. Paint the mask and glue on various pretty things. Sew on braid or elastic.
Papier-mâché mold
Using a living face as a form is not always convenient. There are many other items and materials you can use to make papier-mâché masks.
For example, you can make carnival masks from papier-mâché with your own hands, using a mannequin’s head as a mold. If you stick plasticine in the shape of a fox nose on a mannequin’s nose, and on the forehead in the shape of ears, you can make chic mask foxes using any of the proposed techniques.
Indian ritual masks turn out great if you stick plasticine onto an ordinary wooden block and shape it into some kind of scary face. Before starting work, be sure to place the plasticine mold in the freezer for several hours so that the material hardens.
The shape of the future papier-mâché product can be formed from ordinary foil. If you crush it strongly, then you can make any figure out of the soft lump. We make the shape smooth using the same plasticine or simply wrapping it with film.
You can easily make a duplicate of any existing mask using these simple technologies. In order for a papier-mâché mask to be easily removed, you need to lubricate the surface of the mold with oil or any fat, and then apply layers of scraps of napkins or newspaper moistened with water.
Inner mask
In order to make such a mask, you will need a plastic mold.
- First, lubricate it with cream, oil or petroleum jelly, then lay out paper pulp approximately 5 mm thick. We won’t do anything for at least a day until the paper material dries. You cannot force dry it on a radiator.
- Take out the workpiece, cut the eyes and align the edges. Apply a layer of putty, let dry, sand and apply war paint.
Parties, carnivals and balls - these events are not complete without fancy dress. And the most important detail of such an outfit is often the mask. What to do if it is not possible to purchase it? A technique that describes how to make a papier-mâché mask will help you save your costume. Let's consider several options for making carnival paraphernalia.
Papier-mâché, or “torn paper” translated from French, is an ideal way to make relief crafts: casts, masks for masquerade or Halloween, and various figures for decoration. Working with paper has a number of advantages:
- availability of material;
- ease of implementation (paper, especially wet, is very pliable);
- The manufacturing and drying process is quite short (it takes about 2 days for the craft to dry completely).
The nuances of working with the material
In order for a papier-mâché mask to turn out to be of high quality, it is important to choose the right materials for its manufacture.
- It is better to use newspaper paper: it is thinner and therefore more flexible.
- The first layers can be made from napkins, just keep in mind that when wet they form folds and lumps. By the way, this property is convenient when making masks for older people: natural wrinkles and folds are obtained.
- It is better to tear strips of newspapers rather than cut them. The fact is that torn edges are better aligned on the surface of the product.
Papier-mâché masks will also require glue. You can use PVA, wallpaper or paste. As for homemade glue, you can make it in just 5 minutes.
Instructions:
- Mix ½ tbsp. water and ½ tbsp. flour (you can use starch).
- Mix the mixture thoroughly so that there are no lumps.
- Place on the fire and cook for 2-3 minutes until the paste thickens.
- Use cooled glue.
To give the mask its shape, you need a base. The following can be used as a base for hardening the material:
- balloon;
- foil cast;
- gypsum;
- polymer clay.
For some options, you will have to apply the material to your face, so you must first lubricate it with a rich cream so as not to damage the skin.
Let's look at a technology that describes how to make papier-mâché at home using a foil base.
Materials:
- foil;
- several napkins;
- a couple of sheets of white writing paper;
- newspapers;
- paste;
- sandpaper;
- brushes (thick for applying paste and thin for decoration);
- paints (for example, gouache);
- decorative elements (rhinestones, beads, ribbons, lace).
Instructions:
- We put several layers of foil on the face, giving it the shape of bulges and bends.
- Remove the base and make slits for the eyes.
- Let's start with the mask. We tear strips of newspaper about 8 cm long and 2 cm wide.
- Wet the napkins with water and apply them to the base.
- Next, dip each piece of newspaper in glue and glue it to the base, brushing it well on top with a brush dipped in paste.
- We lay out 2-3 layers and level the surface, releasing air and removing unevenness.
- In total we apply about 8-10 layers.
- The last layer is made of white paper.
- We make holes for the nose and mouth.
- Let the mixture harden for 2 days.
- Use sandpaper to smooth the surface of the mask.
- Let's start with the decor. Apply several layers of paint with a brush, decorate with rhinestones and lace.
Papier-mâché mask: master class
It is convenient to make a mask in the style of the Venetian carnival on a plaster mold.
Making a papier-mâché mask can seem quite difficult. Indeed, the main difficulty lies in making a frame for applying paper pulp or pieces of newspaper. Often it is not possible to do this the first time. However, these difficulties can also be avoided. Use the little tricks from this article and you will get a wonderful mask with your own hands; you can find a video of the various creation processes at the end of the article.
Option 1: Papier-mâché mask on a ready-made basis
This method is good for beginners. The master class involves the use of the following materials:
- base mask made of plastic;
- paper napkins or white toilet paper;
- water;
- PVA glue;
- fatty cream or Vaseline;
- hot glue;
- satin ribbon;
- braid and feathers for decoration;
- acrylic paints.
1. Finely tear the paper. We dilute the glue in half with water, soak the paper in this mixture, and let it limp.
2. Lubricate the plastic base with cream or Vaseline and cover it with a paper-glue mixture. We wait until it is completely dry.
3. After this, carefully remove the workpiece from the base. We outline the outlines of the eyes with a pencil, desired shapes masks in the future. Cut along the lines. We will have a Venetian cat mask.
4. Cover the mask with white acrylic paint and decorate with golden braid.
5. Use a hole punch to make holes for attaching ties, glue feathers, and draw details.
The mask is ready! A bright do-it-yourself papier-mâché mask made according to this tutorial will be a wonderful gift or addition to a carnival look.
Option 2: papier-mâché mask from scratch
In the second manufacturing option, we do not have a ready-made plastic mask that we can paste over, so we will have to make the base ourselves.
1. To do this, we sculpt a generalized face from clay or plasticine. We put it on a larger board, smear it with Vaseline and coat it with creamy alabaster. We make sure that the layer is at least 2 cm. We wait a day for it to dry, then we separate the mold. It should turn out approximately the same as in the photo.
2. For work we now need: gauze, paper and paste.
3. Take a piece of gauze so that it is more shape and the edges hung freely.
4. Wet the gauze so that it fits better.
5. We start gluing the pieces of paper from the deepest place. At first they should be small, then the size can be increased. We also seal the side so that the mask does not warp during drying.
6. Leave the molded mask to dry overnight. In the morning we pull the gauze into different sides, but not up. The workpiece will jump out of the mold on its own.
7. Turn the mask over and leave it to dry for another day.
9. Outline and cut out the eyes.
10. Cover the mask with primer. It is convenient to use construction putty. To avoid cracks, the layer should not exceed 3 mm. Leave the primed mask to dry.
11. Sand again.
With today's diverse market for carnival accessories, the question of how to make a papier-mâché mask seems irrelevant. But this is not so, and, above all, because it is the paper modeling technique that allows you to create a unique mask that will not only fit perfectly on the face, but will also emphasize the individuality of its owner.
This forgotten technique
How to make a carnival mask with your own hands? The solution to this issue was not a secret back in the days of our parents. Of course, using papier-mâché. This technique allows you not only to accurately reproduce facial contours without much expense, but also to create own design, seemingly familiar images. Moreover, we are talking not only about classic Venetian masks, but also about those that children like to dress up in during the winter holidays. The papier-mâché technique itself is quite simple in its execution. In order to recreate any shape, you will need newspaper, paper towels and glue (PVA or paste). It all starts with newspaper and paper towels being torn into small pieces. After this, they are applied to the workpiece in the following order: two layers of pieces, simply moistened on both sides in water, a layer of glue is applied on top, then paper again. Using glue, apply three to four rows of paper backing and let dry. That's how simple it is.
Step-by-step instruction
How to make a carnival mask using this technique? First of all, prepare the materials: newspaper, paper towels, glue, cling film and Vaseline. And then follow the instructions:
- Step one is preparing the base. IN in this case this will be the face of the future owner of the mask. It should be lubricated with Vaseline (so that the glue does not reach the skin). Next, it is recommended to cover your face with cling film, but this is only optional.
- Step two is the application of “water” layers. Before making a papier-mâché mask, you should prepare a significant number of pieces from paper towels in advance. This is done so as not to subsequently paint the inside of the mask. Next, lay out three layers of pieces of towels lightly sprinkled with water, then one layer of newspaper pieces.
- Step three - applying adhesive layers. Without allowing the previous layers to dry, glue is applied liberally to them. After which a layer of newspaper is laid out. Next, glue and pieces of towels again. This procedure should be repeated three times.
- Step four is “freeing” the model. The hair dryer prepared in advance is turned on to a low setting and the mask is slightly dried. After which it should be removed. TO
Paints, feathers, gilding
The final stage of how to make a papier-mâché mask is decorating it. This will require acrylic paints and primer. The primer will remove roughness, and the paints will give the mask the necessary tones. After painting, you can coat the mask with hairspray to preserve the colors. By the way, you can decorate a mask not only with paints, but also with fabrics, beads, fur, and feathers. If the master has good artistic taste, then it is quite possible to combine all these components.
The presented instructions are just one way to make a papier-mâché mask, but it is precisely the method by which this can be done easily and quickly.
