More Paper Mache "Party Animals"
Hey again.
Thanks for tuning in. I left off with the donkey hanging from the ceiling waiting for a head. As you can see in the photo I started by loosely taping some pieces of paper mache balls together to form a neck. I keep this all loose because 9 times out of 10 I will tear off whatever I put on after I decide it doesn't "look right." I then added a "head sized" paper mache ball on top of the neck. When the proportions looked right I fashioned a few muscles in the neck using newspaper and masking tape.
I inserted the jaws. Note that I'd already painted them. I used the shell of another ball to make donkey ears and I added eyes. After that I cloth mached the face. Okay, I know what you are thinking..... this looks like the donkey in Shrek, right? You almost expect to hear Eddie Murphy's voice. I really hated it. In my next entry I'll show you how I tweaked the features to make it less Shrekkish.
Back to the elephant. I don't often use the stuff, but I used some commercial paper mache pulp for the elephant's horns and toenails. I just added water to the mixture and fashioned some crude horns. In this photo the horns were dry but not sanded. The toenails were fairly easy to make. I just flattened a few little balls and let them dry. They got really hard. So hard in fact that I ended up using a belt sander to shape them. Here is a photo of the toenails after sanding. I didn't want them to be perfect. After all, they are elephant toenails.
I hot glued the toenails to the feet and added some cloth. To add strength to the elephant body, I applied a couple layers of cloth mache. Once those layers were dry, I took large pieces of cloth dipped in glue and draped them over the torso. As you can see, I pinched the cloth to give the elephant body a wrinkled texture.
I left a large hole in the side of the body since I still needed to attach the arms from the inside. As you can imagine, the body of the elephant became a refuge for the cats. I caught Eddie climbing out after a nap. Isn't nice that I didn't paper mache the hole?
That's it for now. Next installment soon. As always, thanks for popping by!
Thanks for tuning in. I left off with the donkey hanging from the ceiling waiting for a head. As you can see in the photo I started by loosely taping some pieces of paper mache balls together to form a neck. I keep this all loose because 9 times out of 10 I will tear off whatever I put on after I decide it doesn't "look right." I then added a "head sized" paper mache ball on top of the neck. When the proportions looked right I fashioned a few muscles in the neck using newspaper and masking tape.
I inserted the jaws. Note that I'd already painted them. I used the shell of another ball to make donkey ears and I added eyes. After that I cloth mached the face. Okay, I know what you are thinking..... this looks like the donkey in Shrek, right? You almost expect to hear Eddie Murphy's voice. I really hated it. In my next entry I'll show you how I tweaked the features to make it less Shrekkish.
Back to the elephant. I don't often use the stuff, but I used some commercial paper mache pulp for the elephant's horns and toenails. I just added water to the mixture and fashioned some crude horns. In this photo the horns were dry but not sanded. The toenails were fairly easy to make. I just flattened a few little balls and let them dry. They got really hard. So hard in fact that I ended up using a belt sander to shape them. Here is a photo of the toenails after sanding. I didn't want them to be perfect. After all, they are elephant toenails.
I hot glued the toenails to the feet and added some cloth. To add strength to the elephant body, I applied a couple layers of cloth mache. Once those layers were dry, I took large pieces of cloth dipped in glue and draped them over the torso. As you can see, I pinched the cloth to give the elephant body a wrinkled texture.
I left a large hole in the side of the body since I still needed to attach the arms from the inside. As you can imagine, the body of the elephant became a refuge for the cats. I caught Eddie climbing out after a nap. Isn't nice that I didn't paper mache the hole?
That's it for now. Next installment soon. As always, thanks for popping by!
Posted by Dan the Monster-man at 10/10/2010 2:44 PM 
Categories: Paper Mache Party Animals
Tags: papier mache paper mache politics republicans pary animals democrats mixed media crafts sculpture
Categories: Paper Mache Party Animals
Tags: papier mache paper mache politics republicans pary animals democrats mixed media crafts sculpture
Are the horns solid purchased mache or just covered over wire wrapped with paper?
Curious as to the reason you didn't use your usual wire wrapped paper? They are looking good and taking on personality now!
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Hi Suz,
Yes, I guess I should have mentioned that. I wrapped a clothes hanger wire with paper just like I do for most of my horns and tentacles and fingers. Then I layered that with the mache. I must say, I hated that part. At first I couldn't get it to stick or it would stick and then come off on my hands when i took them away. I almost threw it all away a few times. But they were too big to use Fimo. So I persisted and they ended up working fine.
Thanks for popping by as usual.
See you
Dan
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Hi Dan, so it was for smoothness? (cause you said you sanded it) thanks!
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Hi again,
Yes, you can see in the photo that it was really rough. I used that material because I knew you could sand it and make it smooth.
Dan
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Are you sure sleeping was all Eddie was doing in there? I know my cat Spaghetti would have thought it the perfect place to leave a little present...
Dan,last screamer I made, he was balanced perfectly on his feet and tail until I painted him. Once he dried he was overbalanced to the front, and now if I don't keep him with his elbow wedged against something he falls forward onto his tongue. His tongue can't take much more, it is already sprained. At this point his tail no longer touches the floor. Any suggestions? I would like to be able to keep him free standing.
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Hello Shea,
Yes, sometimes that happens with standing projects. I'm sorry to say, but you'll have to do a little operation. In that situation I would cut a hole in the back and put a rock near the top of the tail, or as far back on the Screamer as possible just to change the weight distribution. Use a little masking tape and then cloth and glue to patch the hole. Make necessary adjustments on the legs and tail and then add a bit more cloth and glue in places that were changed. This cloth and glue mixture will stay a little soft for a couple months. At some point however it will cure and turn really hard. If it's balanced by that time it will stay balanced. I've redone projects many times in this way. I use it as an opportunity to add more detail or change the piece in some way to make it even better. It's a value added kind of thing. It will be worth it.
Good luck.
Dan
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Dan,
Thanks so much for posting your artwork. I absolutely love it. I just happened upon your site while searching for tips on the "how to" process for paper mache'. Thanks again
Jen
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Hi Jen,
Nice to meet you. I'm very happy to be of service. Good luck on your project. Let me know if I can answer any questions.
Dan
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I spotted your dragons in a window across the street from the Davidson Gallery last Thursday eve--and fell in love with them!!!! Their expressions, their attitudes, their body language, their detail--supurb! Thank you for your videos showing approximaately how to make them. Your book is on my to buy soon list.
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Hi Suzanna,
I'm so glad you had a chance to see the display. I'm even happier that you liked it! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know.
If you ever decide to make something I'm very happy to answer questions.
Take care
Dan
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I am drawn to your creative craft because it is so interesting and detailed. I will be checking back in later for sure for further progress and any other projects.
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hey i think the work you do is amazing, i have bin working with paper mache a lot over the past year in school, made a demon mask with huge horns and dread locks, and a small creature of my own creation, but i want to go further with it, and i noticed a few things you do that adds to your projects, like what is the white material you put on it that seems to form its skin, and the black liquid you put on it in the end that adds depth to the color, if i knew what you use then it would add a lot to my projects and really further my skills
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Hello Manny,
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thanks dan you really are an inspiration
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