# Masking unmasked



## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Hey everyone, I do paper mache masks. After taking a bit of a break, I'm getting back into them again and figured I'd document a build to help anyone.

The mask we're gonna build today (several days, actually) is a full-faced one. I like these because they are simple and versatile. As soon as I finish everything, I'll get a picture up here to show the final results.

Excuse the awkwardness, I hate starting threads. :googly:

_Anyways_, here we go!

Step One: Getting prepared








Sooo, I like building my masks on a concrete mold, because this allows me to bake it in the oven to release it. The process is pretty simple to build one. Sorry I don't have any picture of this process, I have enough as it is!

So go to the craft store like Micheals or Jo-Anne's and get one of these buggers.








It's just a cheap white plastic full mask that's about $1.50.

So you got your mask? Go ahead and lather it up with Vaseline the outside and then put a pretty big chunk or saran wrap on the Vaseline. Got it done? Good.
Now find a container that is just a little bigger than the mask, in all 3 directions. Mix up a bit of cement so that it is water-thin and fills up about 3/4 of the container. Ready? Schweet, now you put the plastic mask/vasaline/saran wrap contraption in the cement, so that only the plastic wrap is touching the cement. Get it far enough down that the cement comes as close to the sides of the mask as possible, but make sure nothing is touching the bottom of the container either. Let that dry until the cement is solid.

Soo, the cement is hard by now, right? Take everything out now, so you just have the cement with the imprint of the mask in it. Take another piece of saran wrap, and put it inside the spot where the mask used to be. Mix up some more cement, and pour it into the mold. Let that dry, take it out and remove the plastic-wrap and you are good!

As a side note, I also dremeled the mouth out and deepened the eye-holes.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Your first step alone is pretty cool! It has mummified effect to it. Could work on it's own! But I will wait to see Part 2, to see how things come along. But great work though!!!! :jol:


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks, always nice to hear compliments.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: Nice AR...the first picture reminds me of a death mask.


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## bmaskmaker (May 6, 2010)

Love the idea of a cheap, easy bake-able base. It would work with personalized masks too where you cast the cement in a plastercloth (or other) mold of your face. Very cool. I've made plaster positives, but cement never occurred to me. Thanks!

Looking forward to step 2.


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

Do you have problems demolding the concrete form from the concrete mold? I am always afraid of getting a mechanical lock between the two, so I make my mold from silicone caulk. Looking forward to your next step.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Pumpkin5 said:


> Nice AR...the first picture reminds me of a death mask.


Thanks! I never noticed that before! 


bmaskmaker said:


> Love the idea of a cheap, easy bake-able base. It would work with personalized masks too where you cast the cement in a plastercloth (or other) mold of your face. Very cool. I've made plaster positives, but cement never occurred to me. Thanks!
> 
> Looking forward to step 2.


Thanks! I think it comes around to about $0.50 per base, so its not too bad. I've also been considering making some and sticking them out in the garden to let the moss grow on. 



Jaybo said:


> Do you have problems demolding the concrete form from the concrete mold? I am always afraid of getting a mechanical lock between the two, so I make my mold from silicone caulk. Looking forward to your next step.


Nope, there's a layer of plastic wrap in it to act as a release. Just like his:








So the only problem that can arise is if the plastic wrap wrinkles and gets a grip, but the concrete is still fairly soft when I take it out, so they mostly just break off.

Anyways, thanks everyone! I'll have part 2 up sometime this weekend or on Monday.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

Jaybo said:


> Do you have problems demolding the concrete form from the concrete mold? I am always afraid of getting a mechanical lock between the two, so I make my mold from silicone caulk. Looking forward to your next step.


Because the mask he's starting with has already been though the molding process (twenty bucks says those puppies are vacu-formed), it's _pretty_ much a guarantee there won't be any undercuts to cause a mechanical lock. If you're molding anything of your own, then yes, the soft mold-hard cast / hard mold-soft cast rule should apply.

I'm interested to see the rest of your process, too, aquariumreef.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok everyone, here's Part 2!

Part 2: Getting the Glue

So, you've got your mold made and ready for putting paper strips on? No you aren't, you don't have your glue yet! 

So I keep my glue recipe pretty simple and easy to make. So get out your food processor or kitchen-aid stand mixer with paddle attachment. Got it or on your way to buy one? Nice, get some flour, salt, and wood glue while your out.

Measure 2-3 cups of flour, don't bother being exact and put it in your mixer of choice. Now add 4ish tablespoons of any kind of salt, but if you live somewhere like Arizona, New Mexico, or the sun, don't bother. The salt will just keep mold from forming on it.

So you've got your flour and salt mixed all together, put it in your under garments. Just kidding, that'd be weird.:googly: Add some water a little bit at a time until you have the consistency of slightly thin pancake batter. Now put _that_ in your pants. Just kidding, again.

So that's a basic run-of-the-mill glue, but I like to add about 3/4 a cup of wood glue to the batter, for increased strength. Remember to wash off all the stuff you used and store the glue in a airtight container so that it keeps. The mixture will dry super tough so make sure none is on your mixer or utensils.

So it's simple, really nothing too it. Kinda disappointingly simple now that I think about it, so I'll get part 3 up either tonight or tomarrow morning so stay tuned!


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok everyone, we got our mold made, our glue mixed, now we gotta get our area set up!

Just kidding, we've got to do

Step 3: Preping the mold and Laying the First Layer

So this is where I started taking pictures regularly. Your welcome.

So first you've gotta get some paper bags, any size works. Tear it inta strips, don't use slicers because the edges are harder to blend together later. So you should have torn the bags into strips, make sure you have a fairly decent amount. Set up your area like this.









Now you've got to prep the mold. Put some saran wrap under the mold and on a tray. Get your latex gloves on, or you can just go bare. I personally hate the feeling of stuff on my hands. Get a nice sized glob of Vaseline on your fingers like this.








Got your fingers all piled with the stuff? Now spread it onto all the nooks and crannys of the mask mold. Make sure to fill all the cracks, and get all the way down to the edges. Like this.









The point of the Vaseline is to act as a release when you are done. Basically it'll melt in the oven and unstick the finished mask.

So now you are ready for paper and glue. Change your gloves, or just wash your hands. Grab ONE strip and dip it in the glue and then spread it all over the paper with your fingers. Now put it on the forehead and smooth down. Repeat until all of the face is covered with overlapping pieces. It will look like this when you are finished putting the paper on.








Now let it sit somewhere with a breeze overnight. It'll look like this when done.









Stay tuned for step 4!


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: AR, this is just such a great tutorial, and I love how you use pictures to illustrate what you are saying. Very well done.  (very K.I.S.S. way to show people)


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Your doing a great job here, the step by step instructions are fantastic! Your to the point, like Pumpkin5 states and with the pictures people can see how it's going to turn out. Like they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Good job!


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Pumpkin5 said:


> :jol: AR, this is just such a great tutorial, and I love how you use pictures to illustrate what you are saying. Very well done.  (very K.I.S.S. way to show people)


Thanks! I've gotten the tutorial up to speed almost with the actual project, so there should be move pictures now. 


Troll Wizard said:


> Your doing a great job here, the step by step instructions are fantastic! Your to the point, like Pumpkin5 states and with the pictures people can see how it's going to turn out. Like they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Good job!


Thanks! It's nice to hear that people are enjoying it. 

Anyways, I'll have step 4 up sometime before Saturday maybe.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Have you ever thought about using the same mask, but using the crackle paint to make the skin look like it's separating? Just a thought.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

This is turning out great AR. How long does it usually take you to make a mask?


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Troll Wizard said:


> Have you ever thought about using the same mask, but using the crackle paint to make the skin look like it's separating? Just a thought.


I haven't, but that's a great idea! 


scareme said:


> This is turning out great AR. How long does it usually take you to make a mask?


Thanks! Honestly, it depends on what I am using. Using paper clay only (I'll add a side-tutorial) I can pump out 3-4 a week. Where's on the traditional strip method I'm getting on average 1-2 a week. Of course, the size of the mask and the humidity can also play into factoring time. I have one mask that took me 2 weeks to finish, just because there was so much detail that had to go into it. :googly:


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok, so I've finally got this part up.

Part 4: Into the Oven and More

So you've gotten your first layer of paper on and it dried. Now put on another layer on and let it dry, then go ahead and proceed with a second layer also.

Now that you've got those layers on, it's time to put that Vaseline to use! Get your oven up and onto 175* Fahrenheit, the lowest my oven will go. Get a tray and put some parchment paper on the bottom and the mask on top of that.

Put it in the oven on the bottom rack, and leave it in for 10 minutes. Take it out and immediately start peeling at the edge between mold and mask with a butter knife. It should come off fairly easy with a little work.

I'll look like this:








Of course, by now I realized I used the bad mold that is off in proportions.

Ok, it's dry and cool. Mark out the eye's (make the markings smaller than they'll actually be) and saw out AT THE MARKINGS with a knife or scissors. 








Now head out into your workshop or whatever you have and get both safety goggles (flying particles hurt) and a dremel (sp?) with this attachment.








Now set up your area like this:









Now start smoothing out the eye sockets and shaping them closer to the lines you marked. Remember that it doesn't have to be too exact right now.









Next post


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Continued.

Now get your dremel again and change to this bit.









Locate where the mouth will be, and start grinding into in in a horizontal line. Keep going until you go all the way through the paper mache and until it is about 2ish inches long. Now smooth the edges so they are a little more round. It'll look like this. 









So stay tuned for part 5 involving paper clay and building up features.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

So yeah, this will have to be put on hold for a little while...

I put the blank on a bucket of salt when I was out, and the stupid dog ate it. Literally ate it. So I'll have to rebuild it. :blush:


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Hope your dog will be okay!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

"The dog ate your homework" - that's the first thing that popped into my mind:googly:


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

:googly:

Thanks Troll Wizard for that thought, but she's a weinor. 

I honestly wouldn't put it past her, Roxy. Just think, I had 3 pairs of sandals 2 weeks ago and now I have a single left-footed one. Suppose I could whop off my right leg though, and call it good. 

So another hurdle came up: Someone used all the brown paper bags, so I'm going to be using white printing paper. It's a little thicker, so it dries a little stronger. The only downfall is that you have to let it soak in the glue for a bit longer to absorb as much as possible.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

So I've hit the limit on internet usage, so I can't upload any more picatures until the 1st. Technically I shouldn't even be on now. 

But I'm a boss so I don't follow no orders.

Part 5: Making the Paper Clay

This stuff is great.Its incredibly strong, easy to work with, and versatile. I absolutely love using it to make bone masks, because I has a nice rugged texture when baked. 

So get some toilet paper, any is fine. I like to use one roll at a time, because this stuff gos far. *har har har* Oh, take out the inner tube.

Anyways, put it in a bucket and let is soak for a day or two, so it gets all soft and broken down. Now put it in a food processor or blender and grind it into itty pieces.

Schweet, now drain the water.Try and squeeze as much as possible out. Remember all the glue I had you make? Pour it in, 1/8 a cup at a time until the clay is semi thick. Now add a little pit of plain wood glue, grindit up and call it good. Oh, make sure you wash all the stuff you used by hand as soon as you finish. 

I keep mine in a sandwich bag in the refrigerator. One sandwich bag of this stuff will make 2-3 full sized masks. 

Stay tuned for the next part!  And it will have picatures.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

So what time is it? Time for

Part 6: Using the Clay

Before you get all antsy and gobbing the clay on, I need to tell you that this part of the mask making process can go any which way or where. So basically, I do the sculpting how I do it, you may do it differently. You'll get your technique down after a mask or two. 

So this is how *I* do it.

Get your gloves on and some paper clay on the glove, I start with about 1/4 cup.









Basically I will clump on about 1/4 to 1/8 over the entire mask, so get a nice even base. Then I'll add the raised areas around the eyes, particularly the brow line. Then I'll raise the cheeks a tad, build up the chin, and sculpt the nose.

And then you get this:

















Now that you've got it all sculpted, set your oven to ~450*F, and place the now sculpted mask on a tray with parchment paper. Once the oven warms up, put the tray/mask on the middle rack and bake until it is almost entirely dry. The key to getting it to finish faster is to open the oven door every 5 minutes or so to let all the moisture out.

I know this part was a bit vague, so feel free to ask any more specific questions.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Well crud, I promised a update on this today, but have been swamped with nice warm days and such. I'll have it up soon though.


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## Copchick (Apr 10, 2012)

AR - I like the texture on that mask! The nose is pretty cool too.


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## doctorgrim (Jan 12, 2012)

Looking interesting now


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks and thanks!

Anyways, time for 
Part 7: Gluemania!
So you got the blank all baked up and ready to go!
This part is so straight forward and easy that I would have to punch you if you couldn't do it. Just kidding.

Or am I?








So anyways, get yer supplies. You'll need wood glue (I have a big container I bought at the Home Depot for like $15) a cheap paint brush, some kind of ~1 cup container to hold the glue while dipping (it'll be sooo much easier to have one with a spout) and the mask blank. Oh and saran wrap for under everything to catch the dripping glue.

So pour about 1/2 a cup of glue into the smaller container.








And dip your brush into it.









And then just lather it onto the blank. Literally the hardest part about this step is getting the glue onto the mask in just the right thickness. You don't want it too thick, caus it'll drip, but not so think that it takes forever to get it done.
Here's what it'll look like after one layer.








And then after the second (hasn't dried yet)









The main reason to put the glue on is for smoothness, to get a more skin-like texture. You can do as many layers as you want, depending on the texture you're aiming for. Anyways, just let the glue dry and keep going until you are happy with it and stay tuned for part 8.


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## pennywise (Aug 5, 2008)

I have been making paper mache masks, and this tutorial is going to help me a lot. I actually stopped doing it because of long it takes, but with the tips I learned here, I'll be starting another PM mask soon. Thanks for the tutorial!


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

Yeap, when you actually work hard, you can be done in a week or so. I've been taking my time though, almost 3 months worth of time!

Speaking of which...

Part 8: Pigmentation
I love paint. And I suck at it. But that's beside the point! So go ahead, get your blank, some white (or black) paint and slather on a layer or two as a base layer. It'll help if you pick a color that's going to contrast with your final layer, that way you can see if you missed spots.









Now that you've got that done and dried, set it up like this.









I used a grand total of 5 paint types (white and metallic bronze aren't shown here) It was midnight blue, cardinal red, and brown.


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## aquariumreef (Sep 16, 2010)

So I'm going to be covering the mask, after it is painted, with feathers. So the base layer doesn't have to be too elaborate or detailed. First I covered the blank with a brush layer of brown.









After that's dried just a tiny bit (I blended the different types of paint together on the mask to get smooth fades) I dabbed on some red with the tips of the brush bristles, mainly. Make sure you blend the edges better than I did! 








So after that's finished, I did some details with the midnight-blue paint, mainly on the eyelids. Then I used the metallic bronze and did the horns, and filled in any blank spots.








So I cannot stress if enough: EXPERIMENT! If you hate how the paint turned out, you can always go over it all with a solid color and restart! And paint is cheap!

Anyways, stay tuned for part 9!


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## bleigh (Sep 2, 2012)

That is very nice.


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