Paper Maché Flying Fish

Students will work in a group of up to four students to create a large paper maché skull sculpture. 

This unit has five parts: research and design (designing a project, collaborating with teammates), prototype (individual life size paper skull sculpture), final design in paper maché, paint, and tissue paper, documentation of the finished work (photos, looping GIF, email, reflection, and critique), and display (Dia de los Muertos celebration).

Overview Unit Goal

Composition Concepts

  • Dimension
  • Color
  • Representation & Abstraction
  • Pattern & Symmetry

Technical Skills

  • Skeletal Form
  • Paper Maché Strips
  • Tissue Paper with Resin
  • Background Painting
  • Detail Painting

Tools & Supplies

  • Tubes
  • Paper Strips
  • Tissue Paper 
  • Resin
  • Paste
  • Paint & Brushes

Technical Skill Videos

Resource Book Notes

Order of Work

Prototype
  • Create a cardboard/cereal box/paper tube structure that matches the dimensions of a California Flyingfish
  • Sculptural details should include body, tail, jaw (paper eyes and fins can be placeholders now, but will be made with resin and tissue paper in the final version)
Final Project
  • Make any adjustments to your prototype or remake your prototype as needed to create a 3D body that matches the dimensions and proportions of a California Flyingfish
  • Add a wire hanging hook or fishing line hanging support that is reenforced from the inside of the structure.
  • Paper Mache: dip a paper strip into the glue paste, wipe off the majority of the paste, apply the strip onto the structure - layer strips so they overlap the last strip, creating a seamless layer - layer AT LEAST 4 layers of paper mache over all areas to add strength and durability - USE VERY THIN STRIPS to create a flush even surface
  • Once the paper maché is thick and hard, cut any parts you don't need and refine your form
  • Using tissue paper and resin, plus something to make bones (wire, skewers, paper), make 6 fins
  • Use paper mache, cardboard, paint, and resin to make eyeballs that look wet
  • Paper mache all the attachment areas so the fins are well secured
  • Apply a layer of joint compound over the entire thing (avoiding the fins and eyes)
  • Sand the surface fully before painting - otherwise the edged of the paper will be visible
  • Paint the sculpture in house paint first (it will create a coating to seal the joint compound).
  • Draw the details in pencil, then paint. Try to keep a symmetric design.
Documenting

California Flying Fish
  • Largest of the flying fish - up to 19 inches
  • Four-winged flying fish type (both front fins and back fins are larger than on a typical fish)
  • Flying fish use flight to evade predators
  • At speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56km), the fish propels itself out of the water and glides in the air for an average of 25 feet
  • Typically, one fish makes 5 successive flights in a row
  • Scientific name: Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus californicus
Picture

Paper Maché

USE PAPER MACHE STRIPS TO MAKE THE BASE SCULPTURE

USE PAPER MACHE PULP TO ADD SCULPTURAL DETAILS

DO NOT USE PULP TO MAKE AN ENTIRE JAW

Steps

CREATE A SKELETAL STRUCTURE THAT HOLDS THE FORM AND MATCHES THE PROPORTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS FROM A REAL FISH
PAPER MACHE THE FORM
CREATE FINS USING TISSUE PAPER AND RESIN - Lay out the tissue paper and bones - lay another layer of tissue paper on top - coat in resin - let dry
USE PAPER MACHE, CARDBOARD, PAINT, AND RESIN TO MAKE EYEBALLS THAT APPEAR GLOSSY
PAPER MACHE ALL JOINTS WHERE THE FINS WERE ADDED
Picture
ADD A THIN LAYER OF JOINT COMPOUND
Picture
SAND DOWN THE TEXTURE FROM THE JOINT COMPOUND

Documenting your Fyingfish

  • Use a solid background (no distracting lines, shadows, table, or other stuff) like the photo cube
  • Use quality lighting (soft shadow from artwork only)
  • Photo should be in focus, with artwork centered
  • One photo of each side of your sculpture
  • One looping GIF of your sculpture rotating in place
  • Three photos and one looping GIF in total

Email an Image of Your Project

Grading Criteria