Tag Archives: figurative sculpture

Sculpture, Uncategorized

Giant papier mache heads – the finished products

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My students had so much fun constructing giant papier mache heads. I posted earlier this year about the construction process for this project, but I wanted to follow up with this post on the final painted products.

This was such a great project to teach a variety of concepts such as facial proportion when sculpting, color theory when mixing paint, and trompe l’oeil painting techniques when applying implied texture to things like hair. Plus, the students really loved working on this project and seeing their people come to life.

Giant papier mache heads

Painting Giant Papier Mache Heads

We started the painting process by applying a skin tone to the majority of the head, extending partially into the hair line. We mixed the skin tone using primary colors of yellow, blue, and red. The students made an orange from the yellow and red and then added a small amount of blue to tone down the color. They then added the color gradually to white until it took on the skin value they needed.

We painted white over the eyeballs and then added eye color and detail with Sharpie marker. The hair was painted with mixed acrylic, and students added subtle streaks of lighter and darker colored paint to imply texture.

It was really exciting to see how each student had to use problem-solving skills to represent the unique features of their chosen people. Some students added extra parts such as nose rings and glasses, others had to come up with unique skin tones and face painting (as you can see in the Bowie head below), and others even created dread locks from yarn.

Painting a ziggy stardust papier mache head
A student puts the finishing touches on her David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) papier mache head.
Student painting a papier mache head.
A second round of skin tone going on after the first was deemed too pinkish. Students mix all of their paint from primaries and white.

If you are a teacher wanting to try this in your art class, make sure you have enough space, tons of cardboard, newspaper, and tape. Also have something for the students to work on during the down times while projects are drying. We worked on artist book prompts simultaneously so students were always creating and never felt like they just had to sit and wait for the next step.

In the end, this project turned out to be so much fun and the students really took ownership of their heads. It was a slightly goofy project but the students really did learn valuable lessons and had a good time in the process. What could be better than that?

Students wearing their finished paper mache giant heads
The finished heads were all wearable, but students needed to cut a small slit in the mouth in order to see.
Finished pappier mache heads.
Students showing off their finished papier mache heads.
Printables, Sculpture, Uncategorized

Sculpting Giant Paper Mache Heads

You haven’t lived until you’ve made a giant paper mâché head. Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it is pretty exciting. I’ve found that teaching 3D art in a school without a kiln forces me to think outside of the box and embrace some slightly goofy and larger-than-life ideas, and these paper mâché heads definitely fit into that category. My students are loving this project because it challenges them but also allows them to be a bit kooky and playful. Plus, they’ll end up with a wearable paper mâché head at the end, and who wouldn’t love that?

sculpting paper mâché heads that you can wear

Planning Paper Mâché Head Sculptures

We started this project by choosing a notable person that the students would like to sculpt. I had the students collect a range of photos of the person so that they could use those as references for the head shape and facial features. We also studied standard facial proportion to help us determine the size and placement of facial features on the head.

Paper Mâché Head Construction

Once planned, we started on the construction. You can see the detailed instructions for the construction of this project in the handout below and you can download a free .pdf file at the end of this post.

paper mâché head tutorial
Download the free .pdf file of this handout at the end of this post.

Basically, each student needed to make a cylinder of cardboard that fit around their head, without going over their shoulders. The cylinder should cover their entire head and extend around 4-5 inches above the top of their heads, when worn. We created the cylinders by using an Xacto knife to score lines in cardboard to make it curve. We then formed it into a cylinder and secured it with tape.

The remaining construction steps involve using cardboard and newspaper to secure the form and sculpt the face. The sculpting consists of crumpling the newspaper into different shapes and securing it on the head with tape. We then cover the entire form in tape to give it a smoother surface on which to add the paper mâché.

Steps for making large paper mâché heads.

The students are just now starting on their painting. We are discussing trompe l’oiel painting techniques to add the appearance of texture and details in areas like facial features and hair. This style of painting tricks the eye into perceiving painted details as three-dimensional objects, so it can be used to enhance the form of our sculptures. I’m excited to see how they turn out and I’ll be creating another post for the finished products so check back soon for that.

Interested in trying this project in your classroom? Download the handout below.

Paper Mâché Head InstructionsDownload

Update: Check out painted and finished heads here!