Sculpting a Mask Out of Paperclay

(This is a tutorial that was done for the Creative Paperclay Blog tutorial series, enjoy!)

Hello everyone! I am going to walk you through the steps on how I created this mask. I wanted to create another persona for this doll and I figured a mask would be the right way to go about it.

Supplies:
Creative Paperclay®
Saran Wrap
Masking tape
Sand paper
Acrylic paint
Sealer, Varnish

I first placed saran wrap around the head of a doll that I previously made. Make sure to wrap the head really tight and secure with masking tape when you do. This part is crucial so that the mask fits snug around the face.

Place a layer of clay over the wrapped face, make sure to press the clay down into all of the crevices under the nose, and eyes and wrap it around the face as close as possible. This will help ensure that the clay will fit snug onto the face when it dries. Also be sure to add clay to the sides of the face going back towards the ears. It’s better to have more clay that ends up being sanded down in the long run then to not have enough to work with later. 
Optional: While the clay is still moist, get a needle and make a hole on each side to attach a piece of string later to tie the mask onto the doll’s head to hold it in place.  

Allow the clay to dry overnight. Do a light sanding to get it to a level of smoothness that you are looking for. At this point you can start to work on some of the facial features.  

Here I let the mask dry and sanded down some of the sides to get them both even. I worked on the eyes a bit and allowed it to dry so that I could come back and work on it in a few more stages.

At this stage the features are all done and the mask is all sanded down and smooth. It is ready to be painted.

While creating this piece, I had some of the colorful masks that I seen in New Orleans in mind. The design for this one in particular came from a porcelain one that I brought as a souvenir. Make sure that you seal whatever design that you create with varnish when you are done.

Thank you all once again for stopping by, and I hope that you enjoyed today’s tutorial!

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