If you look through the other tutorials on this site, you’ll see that I almost always use crumpled paper and tape for my armatures, with no clay at all. The clay was used in this instance because I was having a hard time getting the right shapes with the paper. The clay I used was oil-based, so it had to be removed. If it’s left inside a paper sculpture the oil will eventually seep out and cause spots on the surface of the paper mache.

The only way you can get clay out is to cut the paper mache apart, remove the clay, and then put it all back together. That’s why I would recommend that you not follow the instructions on this particular page. Build an armature out of crumpled paper, then cover it with paper mache. If you wear the giraffe head, you’ll need at least 8 layers of paper and paste, and they need to dry all the way through. If you leave the bottom of the neck open, without paper mache, you can then reach in and pull out the crumpled paper armature, a little at a time, and what you’ll have left is just the shell – the giraffe’s head and neck.

You could also use a cardboard armature, like I did on my Dogon mask. That way, you have a hollow piece right from the start, and you don’t need to remove the armature when it’s done. The cardboard also makes a very strong, but light, mask.

Be sure to send us a photo when it’s done!

To engineer a large sculpture that’s strong enough to sit on, you would need to make the armature very strong. The plywood armature that I used for the elephant would be strong enough, I think. You’d also need to consider the instability of a real giraffe that’s standing up, with all the weight above very tall, skinny legs – a giraffe lying down would be much less likely to tip over. However, the natural slant of the back would make the sculpture somewhat uncomfortable to sit on, I think. If you make one, please post a photo so we can see it.