Paper Maché Skulls

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

  • Balloon Form
  • Paper Maché Strips
  • Paper Maché Pulp
  • Background Painting
  • Detail Painting

Tools & Supplies

  • Balloons
  • Paper Strips
  • Paper Pulp
  • Paste
  • Paint & Brushes

Technical Skill Videos

Resource Book Notes

Order of Work

Determine Your Design
  • DRAW out your design ideas
  • TEAM VOTE - use the voting tally sheet to vote for your favorite design among your group
Prototype: Small Skull
  • Make a small paper maché skull as an individual
  • Use a small balloon as a base form for the main skull
  • Use paper strips and paste for the skull form
  • Use cereal box, paper, or cardboard to form the base for the jaw and teeth area 
  • Use paper pulp to sculpt details
  • Vote amongst your group as to which prototype is the best - that is the one that will become the final version
Large Skull
  • Use a large balloon to form the main skull 
  • 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 7 layers of paper mache over all areas to add strength and durability 
  • Add a wire hanging hook that is reenforced from the inside of the structure.
  • Once the paper maché is thick and hard, cut the parts you don't need and use them as the base to form the jaw and teeth area
  • Once you've gotten all the basic form together, use the paper pulp method to add dimension to your form
  • Sand the surface fully before painting - otherwise the edged of the paper will be visible
  • Paint the skull in white paint first.
  • Draw the details in pencil, then paint. Try to keep a symmetric design.
Documenting
Picture
DESIGN PRIOR TO COLOR
Picture
DESIGN WITH COLOR

Skull Sculpture Criteria

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

Skull Detail Ideas

Steps

Picture
PAPER MACHE A BALLOON
Picture
CUT OUT THE EYES & NOSE - MAKE CHEEK BONE SLITS & CUT UPPER JAW
Picture
CREATE & ATTACH LOWER JAW
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ADD PROTRUDING PARTS (EYEBROW RIDGE, NOSE RIDGE, TEETH) - CAN BE CEREAL BOX OR PULP
Picture
CREATE EYE SOCKETS & RECOVER WITH PAPER MACHE
Picture
ADD A THIN LAYER OF JOINT COMPOUND
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SAND DOWN THE TEXTURE FROM THE JOINT COMPOUND
FORMING THE SKULL FROM THE BALLOON
Picture
These are the skull CUT LINES
Picture
Draw the skull CUT LINES onto your skull
Picture
CUT the CUT LINES on your skull - including 3-5 cuts in the back so you can form the brain compartment
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Push in the skull and TAPE the skull parts underneath the zygomatic bone that points to the ear
LOWER JAW
Picture
Cut out the LOWER JAW bone
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Tape the CURVE of the LOWER JAW bone and then attach it to the skull
EYEBROW RIDGES & NOSE RIDGE
Picture
You can use cereal box with cut slits to make curving eyebrow and nose ridges
Picture
Tape them onto your skull
TEETH

Documenting your Skull Sculpture

  • 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