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African Animals Pattern Set.
Save $10 when you buy this three-pattern set. Use the patterns to create memorable gifts, or to bring a little bit of Africa to your own home
This is a very simple mixture, but this DIY gesso can make a big difference when you’re making a paper mache sculpture.
Home-Made Gesso Recipe:
- “Some” Elmer’s Glue-All (PVA glue)
- “Some” Drywall Joint Compound (if you’re not sure what that is, watch this video to see how it’s used in home remodeling projects.) Use any joint compound except Dap brand, which doesn’t work. Walmart sells non-Dap joint compound in their paint department.
That’s right — there’s no specific amount of either ingredient in this “recipe.” In fact, I just pour some glue and plop some joint compound into a bowl and start mixing. If you use more glue and make it runnier, the gesso will tend to self-level and make a nice smooth surface on your sculpture. If you use more joint compound and make it thicker, you can use an old brush or sharp tool and create fur and other interesting textures. If you apply the gesso too thickly, it may crack as it dries – but you can fix that with a bit more gesso, or by using a damp sponge to smooth things over.
You can add a dab of white acrylic paint if you want the gesso to be more opaque, to cover the printing on newspaper, for instance.
Also, you can sand the gesso if you want the surface of your sculpture to be really smooth, but if you do sand it, be sure to wear a mask. The dust is really fine, and it contains silica, which you don’t want in your lungs. I never sand, just because I don’t like the dust flying around the house. I prefer to use a lightly damp sponge and “wet sand,” instead. If a kitchen sponge doesn’t seem to be working, you can use one of those sanding sponges that you buy in the hardware store. Since I’m not that serious about getting anything perfectly smooth, the kitchen sponge works just fine for me.
This mixture can also be used as paste with blue shop towels. The gesso is a variation of the fast-setting paste that I use for my masks. I used the gesso mixture as paste with shop towels for the first time when I made the green witch mask for Halloween, and I was quite impressed with it. However, the gesso is so heavy, I don’t think it would work well as paste with lighter papers, like newspaper. (Haven’t tried it, though, so I could be wrong).
By the way, several years ago I tried making paper mache clay using the DAP brand joint compound, and it turned into little balls of rubber. I tried it again with the gesso recipe, and it didn’t work for that, either. Use any brand of drywall joint compound except DAP.
Note: Drywall joint compound is created for the construction industry and is not edible! Do not use this gesso if you’re working with small children who may put the gesso or the joint compound in their mouths, or if you’re making a toy for a baby. It’s also important to wear a mask if you sand your paper mache after it dries, because the calcium carbonate in the joint compound is mined in areas that also contain silica, and fine silica dust is not good for your lungs.
Powdered Marble Gesso recipe:
For a thicker home-made gesso, you can use calcium carbonate (powdered marble) and white glue. The traditional proportions are 2 parts PVA glue (Elmer’s or an archival book-binder’s PVA glue if you worry about pH), 4 parts water, and 8 parts calcium carbonate. To make it nice and white, add 1 part powdered titanium or zinc white pigment. If you want to thicken the gesso to cover bumps faster, you can use more powdered marble. This mixture dries very hard, but sands easily. This recipe uses materials that are not readily available, and they can be rather expensive, but this was the first gesso recipe I used, and it does work really well. You can see someone making this gesso here.
Hi:
I am wanting to introduce my grandchild (14 years old) to this mache craft. I/we have never done this before. What proportions would you suggest as a starter recipe in making gesso that would prepare the project for painting?
This looks like a lot of fun…..hopefully!
Thanks
You can use about 2 parts of pre-mixed drywall joint compound with 1 part glue. I hope you both have fun with it! 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for your recipes! I have a question- I know that paper mache isn’t water proof. But I was wondering if the gesso would help it resist the water? Because my another option is to varnish it for protection, but I’m not sure if I have enough. Thanks!
Hi Sea. The recipe for gesso is not waterproof. You can varnish paper mache for temporary protection from the weather, but don’t leave it out in the rain for too long. It will soften, even when varnished, but you can bring it back inside and let it dry out again.
So I just did have my piece and it says it’s the DAP brand? Why doesn’t this work on paper mache? Now I’m freaking out
Hi Aerin. If you mix PVA glue with the DAP brand drywall joint compound it may get rubbery. It doesn’t always, but it does that often enough that I recommend that you use a different brand.
Hello! Love love love your resources! Thank you!
Does the gesso tend to add much weight to the finished sculpture? What about strength? Will it chip? How does this differ from modge podge or latex primer? I’m building some theatre props… what do you suggest?
Thanks! : )
Hi Neal. It adds no strength, and it will chip. A lot of people like using it to make their sculptures a little smoother, but if you use a thick coat it can crack as it dries. I’ve never used Mod Podge, but if you’re making items that will be handled a lot you’ll probably want to use a good latex primer or an acrylic gesso. I bought some Valspar exterior primer last year that’s quite thick, and I’m using it instead of gesso at the moment so it won’t to go to waste. It’s also a lot less expensive per ounce than artists’ gesso, but seems to do the same job. I don’t know if this helps or not… 🙂
Do you have a recipe for fabric mache glue?
No, but I think Dan Reeder uses Elmer’s Glue-All mixed with water. He’s the guy to ask, because he always uses cloth mache over his dragons.
What is gesso used for in a paper mache project?
It gives you a nice white ground for painting. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.
Could you make it into a thick paste so you could then funnel it from a cone on to a flat surface for 3 D art projects ? Just like cake icing ? Does it harden well and last long ? Or does it crack ? Thanks for answering in advance my innumerable questions.
Hi Nirmal. I think it would crack – and the combination of glue and joint compound isn’t very thick. I think you’d have better luck using the smooth air dry clay recipe, but use less flour. Maybe just leave out the 3/4 cup of flour that we usually add after everything else has been mixed in. A lot of the people who visit the Daily Sculptors page every day have used the air dry clay recipe more often than I have. If you have any questions or need some advice after you try it, that would be the best spot to leave a comment. Good luck with it!
You absolutely can do that. Use a plastic bag or pastry piping bags, and make the paste to the texture you need it to be. That’s your only measurement- ‘how you need it to be’ 🙂
I usually purchase drywall powder as it tends to work out more economical where I live. Can you recommend proportions for using drywall powder, as opposed to the readymade paste?
Would you recommend adding water to the powder first to make a paste, then adding glue? If so, a ratio would help a great deal. Or would you simply mix glue into the drywall powder?
Thanks very much ??
I have never tried the dried version of drywall joint compound in my recipes. The ones available to me are fast-setting, and it’s possible that it would make the paper mache clay or gesso get hard too quickly. If you’d like to do an experiment, go ahead and add water to the powdered joint compound first. From that point on, it should work out the same as the recipe. If you try it, please let us know if it works.
I can’t download your “5 Best Recipes for Paper Mache” book. The link takes me to a page that describes the book, but there’s no subscribe form to fill out or link to click for download.
Hi Chris. I just looked at the page and I can see the subscribe form. Did you use this link? If not, could you send me the link that didn’t work so I can fix it? And if you go to the link in this comment and still don’t see the form, please let me know that, too. 🙂
I love your vidios!!
I want to make some outside animal animals to put in my yard, like topiaries. What can I use that will be weather proof.
Hi Susan. Any material made with paper will eventually get wet outside, even with the best coating. However, some people have been able to keep their sculptures “alive” for at least a year using Flex Seal. Personally, I use Apoxy Sculpt or some other epoxy clay for outdoor sculptures, because it’s completely waterproof.
I am curious what makes DAP joint compound not a good choice to make gesso with. Also is the DAP plaster of paris the same, not a good brand. I was talking to a friend and they said that the plaster of paris hardens fast and the joint compound doesn’t harden as fast. I would like to know the whys of it all before I make my gesso. I am a all the round craftswoman and I had been painting Day of the Dead masks. I have a surplus of about 30 so decided to paper mache them into different masks. I am working on 14 and coming close to the gesso stage. I love your cooked paste by the way. I am making Indian ones, monsters, a bear and some old people. Having a blast but I like to know the whys of stuff I do. By the way, I think you are amazing and love your web site. Debbie Strahm
Hi Debbie. DAP is a ‘good’ brand, and that’s probably why they’re taking over most of the US market. But their drywall joint compound contains an ingredient that, when mixed with Elmer’s glue, turns the mixture into Flubber. It’s probably boron, which reduces fire danger and eliminates mold. Good stuff – but not good for paper mache clay or DIY gesso. Plaster of Paris is entirely different. As your friend says, it hardens quickly when mixed with water. The pre-mixed joint compound that we use, the kind that comes in a plastic tub, will only harden as it dries.
Have fun!
Hi Jonni your gesso recipe is absolutely great! Cannot wait to try it on my paper mache vase… however can I use the dry joint compound instead of it being already mixed.. cheaper when it comes dry… Otherwise would the dry compound dry faster or do you add water to get the consistency you want for gesso
Hi Pearl. I haven’t tried the powdered version. You might need to add a little water, and mix the joint compound before adding glue. And some versions harden very fast because they contain plaster. Get the slow kind to experiment with. We’d love to know how it turns out, so please let us know.
Hi pearl, I work in the drywall industry and I do not reccommend using the dry powder joint compound. It’s what we call hot mud and will fire very fast, they actually make it by the min, 90 min 40 min or 20 min mud. This mud can actually fire while submerged in water so nothing will slow it from hardening. In fact adding more water to it once it’s been mixed can cause it to react and fire faster. It’s great when I’m at work and need my mud to dry fast and extremely hard but when I’m sculpting I like to take my time, and I like to be in control of my clay or gesso not the other way around. Premixed all purpose mud works the best for this clay or gesso, I can keep the premixed mud in a bucket and as long as I keep water on the surface in an air tight bucket it will never harden. Keep in mind If stored longer than a year it can start to spoil and stink. Hope this helps.
Excellent advice, Nicole. Thanks!
I actually use the dry joint compound for many purposes, including paper maché, and haven’t had any issues with it whatsoever.
Hi Jonni, does this gesso store well? I want to make some for art journal pages. Thanks, Lesley
Yes, if you keep it covered so air can’t get in, it will last a very long time. However, it isn’t flexible, so it might crack when you turn the pages. Give it a try – but you might find that an acrylic gesso will work better for your journal. You can get a small container of drywall joint compound in the paint department at Walmart – most places only sell it by the gallon. And remember that you don’t want to buy the DAP brand, because it doesn’t work. Good luck!
I found this site because I was attempting to find out what Franz West used in his paper mache sculptures.
The main interest in wanting to know this is that he died at a fairly early age of liver cancer.
It’s been my experience that sculptors seem to perish of either lung disease or organ cancer, which may indicate bad stuff is either being breathed or absorbed into the skin.
With that in mind, wouldn’t gloves be a basic precaution?
(Not that sculptors take health precautions)
If you like getting your hands in your gesso, gloves would be a good idea. The calcium in the joint compound dries out the skin. And the label clearly states that it shouldn’t be sanded without a mask. As for Mr. West’s paper mache formulas, his work looks quite large, so he probably just used flour and water paste. He painted them, of course, and may have used various solvents and other products. And it looks like he used a great number of different sculptural media in addition to paper mache, so it seems impossible to know which one (if any) led to his illness.
When you imply that sculptors don’t take health precautions, are you speaking from personal experience? Are you a sculptor?
Hi Jonni,
I just found your site thru your YouTube videos, and I have to say You are amazing!Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Hi Barbara.I’m glad you found us. Have fun!
Hello!
Thank you for your insights, my gf has taken to referring to you as “the craft god”!
When we used your homemade gesso recipe, upon drying the gesso began to crack. Is this simply because we applied it in too thick of a layer?
Thanks again!
I’ve had other people tell me about the cracking, but I haven’t been able to duplicate it. Since there’s no real recipe, it could be the proportions of glue and drywall joint compound that cause the cracking. Or it could be the thickness of the layer. Another coat quite often covers the cracks. If you do any experimenting with the proportions, I hope you’ll share what you discover.
Aconteceu isto comigo usei o gesso no papel e rachou tudo só gates tempo e dinheiro, prefiro a massa corrida, para dar forma suáveis.
Its my 4th Trex
Im making a dinosaur skeleton out of wood and I want to use a homade way to fill around the wood to sand it until I have the desired shape of the bone.I have drywall compound but I want it to be stronger as it dries.What can I add to the compound.Any thoughts?
Hi Stix. Do you want the material to remain on the skeleton after you’ve finished the woodwork? Or do you hope to remove it? The original paper mache clay is very strong – much stronger than plain drywall compound. It dries about as hard as plastic, and harder than most wood. It also sticks really hard, and it would be very difficult to remove.
Hi Jonni,
It has been awhile and I hope all is well.
I recently created 2 plaster life casts of a head. They were fairly thin, maybe 2 layers of plaster cloth. I then used “great stuff” expanding foam inside to give them some stability. I allowed them 24 hours to dry completely before attempting to smooth their surface with the gesso recipe. I am pretty sure I was too heavy handed with the gesso and developed a large crack and tear in the temple area of one of the heads. I went ahead and applied some joint compound to the crack directly and then re-gessoed with another layer of home made gesso, this time adding more glue to the recipe. Now that this has happened I am wondering how thick is safe to apply the gesso and not get cracks. I did apply it with a fan brush, as my initial batch was about the consistency of pancake batter.
One other piece of information that might have influenced the outcome. I used Elmer’s wood glue and not the white “glue all.” So, that might have played a role as well. But I do think I may have been heavy handed with the initial application.
That is possible, although I’ve tried the Elmer’s wood glue for other projects that included joint compound in the recipe, and it didn’t work very well. A thick layer will crack, though, because the joint compound shrinks as it dries. Try again with a layer that’s about as thick as you would normally use when painting. For thicker sculpting, the paper mache clay recipe works better, because the paper reinforces the mixture and reduces the possibility of cracking. It will also add strength to the thin plaster cloth shell.
Thank you Jonni,
This will give me an an opportunity to try your paper mache clay recipe for the first time. Thank you for your feedback. I will keep you posted on how it all turns out.
Thanks again and please know I really value your site. I just purchased your books and look forward to referencing them for some masks and small sculptures I plan on making for Halloween. Your site and videos provide such a wealth of information. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Thank you, Amon, for all the kind words. I look forward to seeing your new creations.