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Why paper mache?
Many people think paper mache is just for kids.
But it’s actually an art medium that has been used by professional artists for over a thousand years.
- It’s inexpensive and easy to use.
- When done right, your new mask or sculpture will be a work of art that can last a lifetime.
- And it’s fun – even for grownups. 🙂
I love tinkering and finding new ways to use this inexpensive material.
And it’s even more fun to see other people use my new methods to create so many different works of art with paper mache.
There are almost no limits to what you can create with paper mache.
My first innovation was using a cardboard pattern on the inside of an animal sculpture.
The pattern supports the sculpture and makes it stronger, and it sets the silhouette, or outline, of the animal. With a pattern, you know you’re getting the legs as long as they’re supposed to be and the head is the right size. It saves hours of trial and error.
This post shows you how to make your own flat cardboard patterns for any animal you want to make. You can draw it freehand, or trace around a photo. If you try it once, you’ll see how much easier it is to make a sculpture look exactly the way you want it to.
If you’d like to know more, my book Make Animal Sculptures with Paper Mache Clay has some fun projects that teach you all you need to know to sculpt realistic animals.
What’s “Paper Mache Clay?
Paper mache clay makes sculpting less messy than with traditional paper strips and paste, and the final sculpture is lightweight and strong. It even makes it easy to sculpt fine details and fur on your sculptures – something that is almost impossible with paper strips and paste.
Over the years, my recipe has been found by millions of people on YouTube and on this website. I recently posted a new, revised version that’s even easier and less expensive to make, and it’s now my favorite – you can see that recipe here.
But could paper mache sculpting be even easier?
After creating hundreds of posts and videos, and meeting many creative readers of this blog and my YouTube channel, I discovered that many people need an even easier, faster way to make masks and sculptures.
That’s why I started making 3D templates for masks and sculptures.
My patterns create all the shapes for you. You just glue the downloaded patterns to cereal box cardboard, cut out the pieces, and tape them together. After adding one layer of paper mache, you can finish it any way you want.
I love seeing all the different ways people use the patterns – often in ways that I never would have thought of myself!
I try to make my patterns easy for anyone over the age of 13 to use, even if they’ve never sculpted anything before. Each one becomes a one-of-a-kind sculpture or mask that their creator can be proud of.
