My first mistake was to put the mask on a windowsill on a sunny day. I was trying to get the glue to dry quicker, but the balloon burst and the paper mache began folding in on itself. It didn't collapse completely and I thought I might be able to repair it by cutting the shape down the centre and re-joining it over a new balloon.
First thing was to remove the mask from the support cylinder. I was surprised that it kept it's shape to some degree.
I cut the mask down it's centre
Then I taped the two halves onto the new mould. Not surprisingly the new balloon wasn't the same size as the first but it was close enough to make a repair.
There was a small gap due to the size difference but I think the next few layers of paper mache might hide it.
Next I got busy adding more layers. It's a slow process though as the PVA glue has to dry thoroughly which means I'm lucky to get two layers done each day.
Although it's a bad photo you can just make out the crumpled texture of the surface, I think this would be good for an Insect or Alien creature.
I hadn't decided on any particular animal for the mask so I'm toying with this design
For the human head I think maybe an elderly gentleman, with big bushy eyebrows and a handlebar moustache - and a huge cartoon nose.
Initially I was going to make a mould for the mans nose out of plasticine, though after it was made - with up to ten layers of paper mache - I would have to cut it down the middle and re-join it in position.
I figured I could save time by making a mould with hard foam, glue it in place, and then possibly get away with only a couple of layers of paper.
It was hard enough to get the nostrils symmetrical, and then I realised they were far to big, so I had to reduce their size - and still keep them symmetrical.
The nose mould - well it's really a base as it will be staying in place - with the nostrils glued on.
Having tried the nose in position I found there were big gaps between the bridge and the face.
I shaped a filler piece and glued it in place.
I had to add a second filler piece and file it down.
For the ears I always had intended to just cut out circles of cardboard, glue on some rope to give ridges, and tape them on to the head.
The foam nose base was taped into place
I started adding paper mache
The ears were taped in position and secured with paper mache.
The face is starting to take shape now and looking like the design so that's good
I wanted to add tusks and antennae to the insect mask so I made up moulds using plasticine.
I inserted wire through the tusk moulds so they could be placed into a base for support while I added layers of paper.
I did the same with the antennae. It seemed though that this ribbed shape would require smaller pieces of paper to retain the curves.
Instead I decided to use necklace beads threaded onto wire - I'd bought a mixed bag of these when I'd needed to make eyes for characters in a previous stop-motion project.
After the Insect head was removed from it's mould I thought it was still a bit flimsy, so I added a layer of brown paper (it's thicker and therefore stronger than the white) to the inside. I probably never mentioned this before but Emma Fisher taught us to make alternating layers of different colours so that it's easier to tell what's part of the new layer as your applying it. We used white newsprint and brown paper shopping bags during the work placement and I've just continued to do that.
I'd made foam moulds of the mans eyebrow protrusions but had to cut out holes in the head before fitting them as I want to thread rope fibres through them later for the eyebrow hair. It would be hard to do this through two layers of paper mache.
The eyebrow protrusions were positioned with masking tape and then secured with paper mache.
I followed this procedure with the bottom lip. The top lip shouldn't be seen as I'll be adding a bushy moustache.
As the eyes will be high up on the head I made small pin-holes to see through the mask. these are just under the nostrils. I just hope the moustache doesn't block the view.
For the insects eyes I first made a sphere of plasticine
I split this down the centre (as close as I could) using a kidney cutter.
After applying several layers of paper to the tusks I decided to leave the plasticine moulds in place - for strength - and seal the ends with paper mache. I will then be able to glue them in place, as opposed to securing them with several layers of paper. I want to have these ready for our presentation but it's looking unlikely at this point. At the very least I'd like to have them completed for the assessments.
The antennae are now assembled and ready for painting
Painted
All the features are secure on the mans head and I've added a full layer of newsprint.
With time running out I adding as many layers to the insect eyes as possible. I discovered that by leaving the moulds in the sunlight to dry quicker, the plasticine also heats up and transfers that heat to each new layer that's being applied - helping it to dry even faster.
I glued on the tusks to the insect mask and sealed the joint with a bead of glue.
The nose, ears and bottom lip now have four layers of paper each and are good and secure. I think I'll have a go at painting it now.
I can't help feeling that this looks wrong. It seems to look more like a rat from this perspective.
I think I should have left the original mottled greyish colour, as it's probably more like an old mans skin tone, anyway I added several shades of different colours, mainly pinks and creams, some greys and blues, but I'm not happy with the colour.
So, as it stands, it still needs the bushy eyebrows and the moustache, but I put it on for a photo - to see how it might look - and d'you know what? it's despicable.....despicable me!
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