How to make papier mache skull and paper skull mask?

If you decide to arrange a photo shoot with a skull, or you need it for a theatrical performance, but you don’t know where to get such props, then you can try to make it yourself from improvised means. How to make a skull with your own hands, and what materials will be required to make it?

papier mache skull

Before starting work, you should search the Internet or other sources for photos with original images of skulls, and how to consider them. The more you have an idea of ​​how this prop should look like, the better the finished product will turn out. So, how to make a papier-mâché skull?

• Stationery knife.
• Model stand.
• Scissors.
• Awl.
• Newspapers and a roll of toilet paper.
• Medical bandage or piece of gauze.
• 150 g of PVA glue and the same amount of wallpaper glue.
• Scotch.
• Pliers.
• A piece of aluminum and a piece of copper wire.
• Plastic bottle.
• Glue for working with plastic.
• Inflatable ball.
• A4 paper or landscape sheet.
• Putty.

1. First you need to inflate the balloon, cut out an oval from the album sheet and glue it to the balloon with adhesive tape. It is also required to seal the tail formed when tying the ball with adhesive tape.
2. From a plastic bottle, cut out the neck and the area that is adjacent to it. Put the neck on the model stand, put the ball on top and fix everything with adhesive tape.

1. In advance, you need to prepare a paste from a tablespoon of PVA glue, a tablespoon of wallpaper paste and 0.5 liters of hot water. The mixture should stand for some time until the wallpaper glue swells and the mass acquires a jelly-like consistency.
2. Now you should cut the gauze or bandage into strips, soak each of them in the resulting paste and stick it on the surface of the ball: first put the strips along, and then across.

1. Then cut newspaper strips and also glue them on top of the gauze layer. Let it dry for a while.

1. Next, alternate gauze and paper layers. The last should be a bandage. In total, you need to make about eight layers.
2. Now, from a newspaper torn into small pieces, begin to form a face, as shown in the photo:

1. Using pieces of aluminum wire, use pliers to make a frame for the jaw, fix the ends of the wire on the surface of the base ball with pieces of newspaper soaked in glue and form the jaw, as shown in the following photos:

1. Cover the almost finished skull with a few more layers of toilet paper and leave for several hours until completely dry.
2. The last stage is the application of putty to the surface of the skull. While it is still wet, squeeze out and scratch out the seams, pits and bumps on the skull, focusing on the original photo from the Internet. Let the putty dry well, and then sand the finished product with the finest sandpaper.

1. If desired, you can paint the skull with acrylic paints and form teeth or even fangs.

If you are preparing props for Halloween, then inside, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eye sockets and mouth, you can insert red LEDs.

Skull mask for a child

For a costume party, it is very easy and quick to make a skull mask from an ordinary thick paper sheet and black colored paper. How to make a paper skull mask is described in the following instructions.

For work you will need:

• Rubber band (about 50 cm).
• A sheet of colored black paper.
• Scissors.
• Sheet of thick white paper.
• Simple pencil, black marker.
• Scotch.
• Sample.

1. Enlarge the mask template to the desired size and print on the printer.
2. Cut out two ovals and one detail for the nose from black paper. In the ovals, you should carefully cut round holes for the eyes.
3. Make the same holes in the mask.
4. Glue the black parts in place and draw cracks on the skull with a marker.
5. Now adjust the elastic to fit your head size, cut off the excess and glue its ends to the inner edges of the mask with tape.

The mask is ready! Any child can do it without much difficulty. You can also sew a felt mask using this pattern.

Cardboard skull mask

Such a terrifying mask is made of thick cardboard. For example, a shoe box is perfect as a working material. You can draw the template yourself or print the following picture:

How to make a paper skull mask:

1. Transfer the template to a sheet of cardboard and cut out the pattern along the contour. You will need to make two more such blanks, since the mask should turn out to be voluminous and dense.
2. Connect two whole parts together and glue, and from the third cut out only the upper part of the skull, nose and teeth.

1. Now you need to cut holes for the eyes, nose and a hole in the skull, as shown in the photo:

1. In this case, you should pay attention that the holes for the eyes on the main template should be smaller than on the auxiliary one, which will be on top. You also need to cut two holes in the details for the nose. It is most convenient to do this with a clerical knife or small nail scissors.
2. Then draw a snake and its tail on the cardboard:

1. Take a piece of foam rubber and, dipping it in white acrylic paint, paint all the details of the future mask. Leave them to dry completely. You should also decorate the mouth, eyes, a hole in the skull and a snake.

1. Now outline each piece with a black marker, apply glue on them and connect them together, not forgetting the snake and nose. Leave the mask to dry for several hours.
2. Now you need to make a mount so that the mask can stay on the face. To do this, take an elastic band or two pieces of braid. Cut out two small squares from cardboard, grease them with glue and attach the ends of the elastic or braid to the inner edges of the mask. Fix them with glued cardboard squares and carefully place them under a press, which can be played by several books or some other heavy objects. After a few hours, you can remove the mask from under the press and use it for its intended purpose.

Of course, if you want to make a carnival mask, then you should choose a different look, but this particular skull mask will be a great addition to your Halloween costume.

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