Downloadable
Lion King Jr. Lion Headdress Mask Patterns
For Paper Mache
$48 – $28
These printable PDF patterns help you make beautiful Lion King Jr headdress masks, even if you’ve never made a theater mask before.
Your young actors will be proud to wear them – and you can proudly say “I made them myself!”
Save $20 when you buy the 4-pattern set. To purchase the individual Lion Mask patterns, see below.
The Lion Masks are Also Available Individually –
Mufasa – $12
Scar – $12
Sarabi – $12
Simba – $12
How to make your Lion King Jr. Lion Masks:
Note: Be sure to watch the videos below for more details about how the masks are made.
Print the pattern and put it on cereal box cardboard.
Cut out the pieces and tape them together, using the instructions as a guide.
Add paper mache, with newspaper or brown paper from amazon boxes.
Bring your lions to life with acrylic paint, and add a mane for Mufasa, grown-up Simba, and Scar.
Approximate finished size:
The four lions are all different, but they’ll be about 10 inches (25.4 cm) high, 10.5 inches (20.32 cm) wide and 12 inches (30.48 cm) deep, not including the manes. The Lion King Jr masks will fit an adult head, but you can easily change the size of the cap portion to fit the actor who will be wearing the mask on stage.
My downloadable PDF Patterns come with full instructions.
There’s no waiting for your pattern to arrive, and no shipping costs, so you can start on your project right away.
Note: If you’ll be saving your pattern to and iPhone or iPad, those devices like to hide your downloaded files. You can scroll down this page to see how to find them.
And remember – if you have any problems downloading your files or putting your pattern together, just let me know. I’m always happy to help. 🙂
Only $28 for the complete 4-pattern set.
To purchase the patterns individually for $12 each, see above.
Watch the videos below to learn more about the Lion King headdress mask patterns:
Watch the videos below to see exactly how the Lion King Jr. headdress mask pieces fit together and for some ideas about painting them and adding manes.
While each lion has its own unique shapes, the building steps are clear and consistent across all four designs. Be sure to check the detailed instructions in your downloadable PDF pattern for tips on fitting and finishing
For best results, follow the detailed step-by-step instructions included with every pattern — they’ll guide you through the process with ease, and include tips on fitting and finishing . (And yes, Scar has a few extra quirks — just like his character!)
Taping the Lion King Jr. Mask Pieces Together:
Adding Paper Mache to Your Lion Masks:
I often recommend the wood glue for theater masks, because it’s so strong and it dries really fast. But in this video I do a side-by-side comparison between the glue and the cooked flour and water paste. They do both work, but there are some big differences in the final masks – so watch the video before you decide which one to use when you add the paper mache to your masks.
Painting the Lion King Jr. Lion Masks:
There are many different ways to paint the headdress masks. Watch the video below to see how I painted mine. For many more ideas, scroll down to see how other schools and theater groups have painted their Lion King masks, or do an image search online.
How to Add a Mane to the Scar and Mufasa Masks (and a Cute Cowlick for Baby Simba)
There are many ways to make a mane for a Lion King lion. One of the easiest ways is to use a raffia “Tiki Bar Fringe.” To make each lion stand out, their raffia manes can be spray painted before gluing them on. I used dye in the past, but the raffia available now is often made with a fabric material that won’t absorb the dye, so I used gold spray paint for Mufasa’s mane, and copper spray paint for Scar’s mane.
There are many other ways to make manes for your Lion King Jr masks – scroll down for ideas from people who have used these mask patterns for their own school and community theater productions.
To make your lion masks you’ll need:
- Printer
- Copy paper or full-sheet labels
- Glue stick if using copy paper for pattern (the full-sheet labels are much easier to use)
- Cardboard from 5 standard-sized cereal boxes for each mask*
- Sharp scissors for cutting cardboard
- Tape, both clear plastic tape and masking tape
- 1 ½” (4 cm) Styrofoam ball, cut in half
- Aluminum foil
- Glue gun
Paper strips and paste (or use Titebond III wood glue, like I did – recommended, see video) - Acrylic paint, fingernail polish and matte varnish
- Black felt (optional but recommended). I had to buy a package of assorted colors, but one sheet of 8” x 11” felt is enough for several headdress masks.
- Raffia “Tiki Bar Fringe,” for manes – optional. Metallic spray paint is also optional – see mane video above, and look at some of the lions that have been made with these patterns by scrolling down below.
* If purchasing cardboard in place of the cereal boxes, it will be sold as “light chipboard.” The thickness will be about 24pt or 1/41 of an inch. Medium or heavy chipboard is too stiff to bend well.
Only $28 for the complete 4-pattern set.
To purchase the patterns individually for $12 each, see above.
Do you have a question or need help with your Lion King patterns?
There are two ways to contact me: The fastest way to get an answer is to leave a comment below. I read all comments and answer them as soon as I can, usually within a few hours. One of my readers might also chime in to help – we have a very supportive community here on this site.
If you prefer to reach me privately, you can send me an email.
I get a ton of spam and I don’t want your email to get lost, so please put “paper mache” in the subject line so your email won’t be accidentally deleted. If you don’t hear back from me within 24 hours, assume the cyberspace gremlins ate your email, and try again. 🙂
More Lion King Headdress Patterns:
Have you made a Lion King mask that you’d like to show off?
Upload a photo or two on the Daily Sculptors Page. Our community would love to see how it came out. 🙂
Hi Jonni, I am looking to make a cow headdress for a children.s play. I am thinking to adapt from the Simba headdress. Would you recommend I do that? Essentially, I was going to stick on the cow. Nose and nostril , change the ears to cow ears and add small horns. Your advise will be most appreciated
Hi Mei Li. Are you going to use the cow mask pattern I have, but put it on top of the cap from the Simba pattern? If you just need the cap portion, I have a free blank mask pattern that you could use instead. You would just need to cut out the opening for the actor’s face, and you might need to overlap the lower back seam to make it fit tighter on the head. You might also need to make some changes to the bottom of the cow mask to get it to match the top of the cap. I think it would work, although I haven’t actually tried it. It seems like it would be easier than trying to turn Simba into a cow, because of the different shapes on the head.
Hi Jonni — do the Scar and Mufasa patterns allow for adjusting the cap size? Or do you find they are generally one-size-fits-most? We have young actors and they may need a smaller circumference. Thanks!
Hi Helen. All of the mask patterns will fit an adult head, but it’s easy to make them fit a smaller head. You just cut open the center seam at the back of the cap, and overlap the two sides a little. Then tape them back together and try them on again. Have fun! 🙂
Does cardstock paper work as well as cereal boxes?
Card stock is very lightweight compared to cereal box cardboard. It’s possible that it would work, but the masks won’t be nearly as strong, and the cardstock might not hold up well when you put wet paper mache on it. I haven’t tried it, though, so do a small experiment first to see if it will work – because I might be wrong. If you don’t have enough cereal boxes, you can get light chipboard on amazon.com.
Hi! Do you know if paper grocery bags would work for the paper mache? I have tons of those and would love to put them to use, but wasn’t sure if they were too thick.
Thanks!
Yes, that kind of paper will usually work. The only time when you might need to switch to a softer paper, like newspaper, is in areas that have a lot of fine details that thick paper can’t easily bend around. Have fun!
Have your patterns ever been converted to svg format for cutting with a Cricut machine?
I can’t make a SVG version myself, because I don’t own a cricut machine and wouldn’t be able to test the file to make sure it worked. However, one of my readers sent us a link to a video that explains how you could do it. You can find the video here.
Thank you!
This video only shows how to transfer the shapes but we would need to have all the numbers and lines. Anyone know how we would transfer the whole pattern as a pdf
Are you trying to make the pattern larger or smaller? Or do you actually need a file that works in a cricut machine? If you’re trying to change the size of the pattern, watch this video.
Do you ever make and sell silicone molds? I am making 7 lions for a Daniel in the Lions den party for 50 little boys at church. I have a fill size blow up Lion I am going to attempt to paper mache, but the face is cartoon like and I’m not sure I can make one myself. A silicone mold would be great to create 7 all the same.
Hi Debbie. I don’t sell silicone molds, but many people make multiple lions using the patterns on this page. You can make them larger if you need to, by printing them bigger. That sounds like a fun party for the kids. 🙂
I should have mentioned that it could be faster using the patterns instead of a mold, because a paper mache casting in a mold has to dry completely before it can be used again.
good morning
i’m from Zimbabwe I’m trying to pay for a couple of your lion king patterns by my payment is not going through. please help.
I’m sorry about the payment problems. A lot of people who don’t live in the US have recently been having the same problem, but it isn’t something I can help with. Your bank might be able to explain why it isn’t working. Have you tried using PayPal?
Hi Jonni,
Did you ever try the Titebond 3 glue with blue shop towels? I want to make a large, strong, lightweight puppet and I’m thinking of using those, over a clay form which will be removed. Going to do a sample but just wondered if you’d tried it.
I haven’t tried it, but I would love to know if it works. I know that flour and water paste doesn’t work well with the shop towels, but if you add just a little water to the wood glue, the towels should absorb it, and when it dries is would be quite hard. Theoretically, anyway. It’s a great idea for an experiment, so please let us know how it turns out. 🙂
What type of brown paper do you use? Could you use newspaper instead or is that too weak?
I just used the brown paper that comes as filler an Amazon.com boxes. My main reason for using it is that it looks better in my videos than newspaper with all the printing and photos on it. The brown paper is only slightly thicker than newspaper, so newspaper will work just fine.
I am new at this. I want to make a 12 to 18 inch santa, next to a chimney with a bag of toys on left shoulder. This is to replicate one my mother made back 1950s!
I have pictures and will try your recipe
Thank you for sharing.
Barbara
That sounds like a great project! I hope you’ll show us how it comes out – we’d all love to see it. 🙂
They look awesome! If I made one, I’d probably make one that looks like Simba’s daughter Kiara