Very often I make my photo props from cheap or even free materials. What do you need to know about papier-mache? I really like this technique of making props, because it is cheap and fast.
Papier-mache — is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste.
But I have a few secrets!
What will be needed?
- Paper pieces
- Glue (PVA glue, boiled potato starch or wallpaper paste)
- The mold (you can make a replica from something flat, such as a plate or a face mask). If the form isn’t more complicated than a pancake, it is enough to wrap it with food wrap. For complex forms, I advise more greasy hand cream. This way, it will be easier for you to separate your form from the paper replica
- Deep dish and brush for drawing
Despite the French name, papier-mache devised in China, where paper invented, is very logical. I think you did papier-mache as a child or in labor lessons, but was it convenient? First it was necessary to cook starch paste, then tear newspapers into pieces. Then we smeared the mold with vaseline or greasy hand cream. Then I didn’t like papier-mache at all! The newspapers were stiff and did not want to take a beautiful shape, it was hard to repaint them, the edges of the newspapers were visible, the paste dried on the hands with an unpleasant crust. Many years have passed when I fell in love with this eco-friendly hobby and found use for it in my work.
Types of paper pieces
As paper pieces, you can use old newspapers. If you live in an apartment building, then it’s enough just to go down to the mailboxes and type spam (in some houses they take a whole trash bucket for these). But I don’t recommend newspapers, they are very tough, it’s hard to tear them into pieces, they dry for a long time!
You can also use paper towels, table napkins, notes from school that aren’t needed etc. University notes or school notebooks cost for you $0. The writing paper is more rigid and dense, so it needs to be additionally crumpled. Toilet paper, paper towels or kitchen napkins can be purchased for less than $1. It is easiest to make papier-mache out of them, because they are thin and easily get wet from glue.
The paper shouldn’t be cut, but torn by hands into small pieces! So the edges will be better to come to each other. Give the bundle of paper to the cat, he has to work out his free housing, right?😅
Glue types for papier-mache
There may also be several variants of glue. Potato starch is very cheap and quickly. You must dissolve a couple of tablespoons in cold water, cook over low heat until thickened. Yes, it is cheap, but you need to spend a lot of glue right away, it won’t work well the next day. It is impossible to work with a brush, only with fingers. Working with potato starch with your fingers is unpleasant. Hands freeze, become covered with a dried crust, everything slides, it is difficult and takes a long time to dry. The fact that you can glue paper even on potatoes, I learned as a child. Once I was visiting my grandmother and wanted to make a homemade postcard. We found colored paper and cardboard, but there was no glue. Granny took out a boiled potato in a uniform from cast iron. So resourceful! Wallpaper glue (wallpaper paste) works about the same way.
PVA glue (polyvinyl acetate) this is the best option of all. It can be diluted in water or use a concentrate. Yes, it’s more expensive than potatoes, but it grasps harder, the diluted solution can be use for the next day. You must just add water and work on.
My secrets in papier-mache
At some master class I saw this new approach and loved it very much! Additionally, I made some innovations, and now this is my favorite technique for making various three-dimensional details of props. For example, I stopped using notes and newspapers. Toilet paper or napkins for food are easier to tear, you can easily turn them into a pulp for modeling volume. I began to use only PVA with water as glue. Such paste with PVA can be applied with a brush, layer by layer, it dries much faster. In addition, the blanks are strong and elastic due to PVA as a paste. The third secret, it isn’t necessary to use the mold with vaseline. You can use scotch tape or food wrap. And, acrylic primer or putty can help smooth out irregularities. The white coating will help to repaint papier-mache in any color.
How is my cat mask made?
✂️ I put some vaseline on the plastic carnival mask of the cat,
✂️ diluted the PVA glue with water approximately in a ratio of 2:1 (two parts glue to one part water),
✂️ glued the pieces of napkins with a brush to the desired thickness,
✂️ mixed finely torn napkins into the glue solution and folded the relief with this pasta,
✂️ leveled with several more layers,
✂️ painted with acrylic and broken cosmetics,
✂️ sprinkled with varnish, added more lace and fasteners for the head (shoulder strap from the bra).
By the way, papier-mache products very often need priming, grinding, and polishing. But I’m too lazy (there is no workshop/necessary tools, and I don’t want to breed dirt in the living room).
Have you ever done papier-mache?
Hey! English isn’t my native language. So there may be small mistakes here. Please notify me on social media if you have the time and desire to help. Peace to all, thanks!
With best wishes, your Loliminti💜
