Design Foundation
Assignment 3
Paper Mache Masks
A mask is a thing worn on the face typically for safety, concealment, performance or entertainment. Masks have
been used since antiquity for ritual, religious and practical purposes. Although the religious use of masks has waned,
masks are used sometimes in drama, theater and costume parties. Also a number of ceremonial or decorative masks
were not designed to be worn.
Masks are a familiar and dramatic element in many folk ceremonies, rituals and festivals, and are often of an ancient
source. The mask is normally a part of a costume that adorns the whole body and embodies a tradition important to
the religious and/or social life of the community as whole or a particular group within the community. Masks are
used almost universally and preserve their power and obscurity both for their wearers and their audience.
Ritual masks appear all through the world, and although they are likely to share many characteristics, highly unique
forms have developed. The function of the masks may be magical or religious; they may appear in rites of passage
or as a make-up for a form of theatre. Equally masks may disguise a penitent or preside over important ceremonies;
they may help mediate with spirits, or offer a protective role to the society who utilizes their powers.
In post-colonial Latin America pre-Columbian traditions combined with Christian rituals, and masquerades and
ceremonies, such as All Souls/Day of the Dead developed, despite efforts of the Church to stamp out the indigenous
traditions. Masks remain an important feature of popular carnivals and religious dances, such as The Dance of the
Moors and Christians. Mexico, in particular, retains a great deal of creativity in the production of masks, encouraged
by collectors. Wrestling matches, where it is common for the participants to wear masks, are very popular and many
of the wrestlers can be considered folk heroes. For instance, the popular wrestler of Lucha Libre, El Santo continued
wearing his mask after retirement, revealed his face briefly only in old age, and was buried wearing his silver mask.
Materials Needed:
 Corrugated card board strips
 Newspaper strips
 Paper Mache glue
 Masking tape
 Stapler and staples
 Acrylic Paint
 Paint brushes
 Hot glue gun
Assignment:
You will create a paper Mache mask using cut corrugated cardboard, tape, staples, hot glue, gesso and acrylic paint.
The mask can be based on an existing ceremony, ritual, or theatrical performance. You can create an animal (real or
fantasy). The mask and be worn or simply decorative but it should be created in relief sculptural form.
Process:
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Created some thumb nails/ sketches to visualize the mask
Search for mask images on line or books on masks
Cut out 1” wide strips of cardboard to create the armature of your mask.
Cut out abstract cardboard shapes can also be utilized for your armature
Be creative and try different shapes (abstract and geometric) and directions (horizontal, vertical and
diagonal) to create a sense of movement and balance.
Assemble the cardboard pieces together using staples, masking tape and hot glue
Cut out strips of news paper
Glue the news paper strips using the paper Mache glue
Paint the mask with white gesso
Use acrylic paint on your mask with a combination of transparent color and opaque color
Cardboard armature
Paper Mache over armature
In this project you will be thinking about and using the follow design principles with design elements:
Harmony/unity are the achieved by repetition of characteristics that are the same or similar.
Variety means "to change the character" of an element, to make it different.
Contrast mean opposites are intensified.
Repetition is the use of the same visual effects a number of times in the same composition
Variety is the complement to unity and is needed to create visual interest. Without unity, an image is chaotic and
"unreadable;" without variety it is dull and uninteresting. Good design is achieved through the balance of unity and
variety; the elements need to be alike enough so we perceive them as belonging together and different enough to be
interesting.
Varying the elements creates variety. Ways to vary elements include:
Line - thinness, thickness, value, color, angle, length
Shape - size, color, orientation and texture, type
Color - hue, value, saturation
Value - darkness, lightness, high-key, low-key, value contrast
Texture – rough/smooth or invented/simulated
An effective way to integrate unity and variety is by creating variations on a theme. Just as a composer can repeat
and vary a musical theme throughout a composition, a designer can repeat and vary an element throughout a design.
Student examples: