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How to make a Mask
I have had more than one person ask how I did the Grinch Mask. No real major secrets or strange materials to it so here is how I did it.
1) You make a clay sculpt of the mask (or puppet/doll face). You can see an example among the Whoville pictures. Use the kind of clay that doesn’t dry out. I think most of them are called reusable modeling clay.
2) Mix up flour and water to make a paste. You might have to experiment a bit for the consistency you need. (http://www.planetpals.com/papermache.html for several recipes. The first one is closest to what I use)
3) Tear up strips of brown paper rather than newspaper. I find it holds better and is easier to work with overall. I use brown grocery bags but you can also use brown paper you use to wrap packages you send in the mail. I have found rolls of it at Staples and Office Max in the packing and shipping section of the store
4) Run your strips through the paste and place on the clay making sure you get all the corners and creases. Cover the mask with the brown paper. Smooth it as you go. I find that about a width of 3/4 to 1 inch works well. The length of the strip really depends on what you are covering but I have found through trial and error that over 6 inches isn’t very useful. Make sure that you overlap the strips and put them both horizontal and vertical to strengthen the mask.
5) Let the paper mache dry. Really dry. Overnight is good.
6) After the mask is dry, remove the clay carefully. One of the few problems to doing it this way is that each mask is pretty much a one shot.
7) For the Grinch mask I then took felt and glued it to the paper mask. I dampened the felt slightly and used my clay sculpting tools to push the felt into the ridges. I put binder clips around the edge of the mask to keep the pieces in place until they dry. For the Goblin mask, I painted a base coat and then did highlights and shadings to give it contrast.
8) I used elastic to keep the mask on the face with foam on the inside to keep the mask from rubbing up against the face especially around the eyes.
I think I may try to take pictures of the inside of the Grinch Mask later to illustrate some of this but I hope this gives a jumping off point for anyone who wanted to know “how it was done.”
I am grateful to those who taught me this kind of stuff.
I have had more than one person ask how I did the Grinch Mask. No real major secrets or strange materials to it so here is how I did it.
1) You make a clay sculpt of the mask (or puppet/doll face). You can see an example among the Whoville pictures. Use the kind of clay that doesn’t dry out. I think most of them are called reusable modeling clay.
2) Mix up flour and water to make a paste. You might have to experiment a bit for the consistency you need. (http://www.planetpals.com/papermache.html for several recipes. The first one is closest to what I use)
3) Tear up strips of brown paper rather than newspaper. I find it holds better and is easier to work with overall. I use brown grocery bags but you can also use brown paper you use to wrap packages you send in the mail. I have found rolls of it at Staples and Office Max in the packing and shipping section of the store
4) Run your strips through the paste and place on the clay making sure you get all the corners and creases. Cover the mask with the brown paper. Smooth it as you go. I find that about a width of 3/4 to 1 inch works well. The length of the strip really depends on what you are covering but I have found through trial and error that over 6 inches isn’t very useful. Make sure that you overlap the strips and put them both horizontal and vertical to strengthen the mask.
5) Let the paper mache dry. Really dry. Overnight is good.
6) After the mask is dry, remove the clay carefully. One of the few problems to doing it this way is that each mask is pretty much a one shot.
7) For the Grinch mask I then took felt and glued it to the paper mask. I dampened the felt slightly and used my clay sculpting tools to push the felt into the ridges. I put binder clips around the edge of the mask to keep the pieces in place until they dry. For the Goblin mask, I painted a base coat and then did highlights and shadings to give it contrast.
8) I used elastic to keep the mask on the face with foam on the inside to keep the mask from rubbing up against the face especially around the eyes.
I think I may try to take pictures of the inside of the Grinch Mask later to illustrate some of this but I hope this gives a jumping off point for anyone who wanted to know “how it was done.”
I am grateful to those who taught me this kind of stuff.