I wanted to do something just a little different today, so I created a how-to video showing the baby Indian elephant coming to life, from beginning to end. This big baby used several of the techniques you’ve probably already seen in other tutorials on this site, but this is definitely the largest project I’ve done to date.
Even though she’s big, and I used a power saw to make the armature, Elsie wasn’t really the most difficult project I’ve done — she’s just the biggest. I’ve now discovered that making big animals sculptures is kind of fun. Where on earth will I put the next one?
If you want to make your own baby Indian elephant, you can download the patterns here.
Elsie came inside last night, which I thought was prudent after the previous slug incident. I managed to get her gray coat on before I went to bed. When I woke up this morning there was a dead mosquito attached to poor Elsie, with it’s proboscis embedded in her new gray hide. Nature, tooth and claw, I guess—but you’d think a mosquito would have enough sense…
Enjoy.
[edit] - I just received a note from someone who saw this video on YouTube – and used the ideas to make a full-sized adult Indian elephant. That’s right – full sized. That’s one humongous paper mache animal sculpture. You can see it on their paper mache elephant video here.
- My favorite online bookstore.
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Hey Jonni. I’m downloading your video, which should take awhile, at my speeds. Meanwhile, I thought of something that might at least save your outdoor paper mache art from slugs. You can get copper tape at garden supply places that you could ring a base in, or even place in a pattern that surrounds it on … uh … concrete or whatever you’re setting it on. The slugs and snails won’t cross it. It can be quite attractive, too, of course. You might even figure out how to work it into future designs as an aesthetic element on the bottom.
Wow. Hubby and I just watched your video. She came out just great. You must be so pleased that all that work paid off!
With such a stiff armature, I was thinking about how you might get some organic flow into poses. It occurs to me that you could mold your paper a bit to suggest some curvature. For instance, on the trunk, one could make it undulate a little by packing on more at one side, then below that more on the other, and back. Does that make sense?
Anyway. Great job!! Have you tested the marine varnish for outdoor safety? I’m very curious about that!
Thanks, as always!
Hi Xan. I don’t think the slugs would really be interested in the sculpture after the paint and varnish went on. I just used the poor slimy creature as an excuse to keep my big baby inside, where I would see her more often (and there was that issue of the dog… I now pass her every time I go into the kitchen, and I find myself automatically patting her on her head. She’s good company.
I haven’t tried the marine spar varnish myself, but another blogger did extensive experiments on waterproofing paper mache and found that it does work. You would want to re-apply the varnish every year or so, just like you would if you kept a boat in the water.
I realized from your comment that I didn’t get a very good photo of the elephant’s trunk from the front. I did just as you suggested to get a bit of wiggle in the trunk. It would also have been possible to not use the particleboard on the trunk at all, and use the expanded aluminum for the armature. Then you could bend it any way you want.
For smaller creatures, when I want something to move out of the plane of the armature I just whack off the head or whatever, and reattach it. I did this with the panda and the bulldog. You could also whack the body right down the middle if you wanted the backbone to bend. There are limitations to this sort of armature, but it does help me maintain the proportions. For something as large as the elephant, I felt the weight of the head required the support of a one-piece armature, so chopping off her head and reattaching it was not an option. However, one could cut the armature itself and then get the bend with piano hinges. If anyone comes up with a better idea, please let us know.
Ah! I see there is a lot of life in Elsie’s pose! Such nice work.
I’m now imagining different ways to joint an armature …. Hmmmm…… I bet my handy hubby could suggest some hardware solutions ….
I’ll have to check out that marine varnish solution. How fun to populate our wild 12 acres with surprise animals appearing out of the tall grasses!
This is sad – did you see that a paper mache elephant named Elmer was stolen outside a shop in England? He and Elsie would have made a nice couple. I hope they get him back.
Hi Jonni,
Thank you for sharing your skill and artistry, a most inspiring site you have here and such clear and well photographed tutorials as well. The elephant sculpture and video are stunning!
An interested in art related things has been life long but I never tried Paper Mache, until now! I wanted to make something for my back yard but little did I know weather proofing is an art and science all its own.
I resurrected an old site set up to learn how to use the site tools for a friend that needed a quick web page for his business. It has been a while since I have used it but my first and on going Paper Mache efforts are recorded there …it is a work in progress.
Thank you again for this great site and all your efforts here.
Bob C.
Hi Bob. Thanks for sharing your paper mache tutorial on your website. We’ve had a lot of discussions about waterproofing paper mache on this site, so your project will be of great interest to readers, I’m sure. Your toadstool will certainly brighten up your yard! Good job.
Hi Jonni, Thanks for your kind remarks and encouragement.
My head is buzzing with projects as I continue to explore the many nooks and grannies of this site…So many things to see and do….so little time! This site must be a project all its own!
Actually, this site is my excuse for making all these paper mache sculptures. None of the sculptures is finished until the blog post is done. Then it’s time to make something new!
Dear Jonni=
Thank you for sharing your wonderful little friend with us and sooo appreciative of the fact that you are so gracious to share your technique. Speaking of technique, I do have a couple of questions. I went to home depot and the only cellulose insulation they had was was called ‘Green Fiber’. The salesman that was assisting me told me that it would be necessary to wear good quality rubber gloves when applying the joint compound/insulation mixture, since there is a chemical in the insulation for the purpose of making the product fire retardant. Accordingly, it is necessary to wear a mask when sanding. I bought the book that is available for downloading on this site, and In reading what you have shared about other products, purity is pretty high up on your list as to not expose yourself to chemicals. So, what cellulose insulation do you use? Is there any chance that you may be in the Northwest?
Look forward to your feedback!…Jennie
Hi Jennie. I bought my bale of cellulose insulation from my local hardware store. The brand-name is Cocoon 2, but I’m sure the brand your store sells is pretty much the same stuff. You definitely need to use a mask when you’re messing with the dry material, because it contains fungicides, too. I don’t bother with gloves when I apply it, because I use a knife, not my fingers – but you should pretend you didn’t hear me say that and go ahead and use the gloves.
Actually, for the small amount of modeling that I used the product for on the elephant, you could just forget about adding the cellulose and just use the joint compound straight from the tub. If it’s put on too thick it will crack when it dries, but that doesn’t matter because you’ll be covering it with a protective layer of paper mache.
I hope this helps. Please let us see your elephant if you make one!
can’t believe you use cold paste!!! hot cooked flour paste is so much better.
I did my own informal tests, and my experience showed that raw paste is actually stronger than cooked, and way easier to make. I see you disagree, but you didn’t say why…
Great site, thank you
My 6 year old son wants to build a model kangaroo for a class project so I am fairly sure that we will be spending a lot of time looking through your site for help.
Thanks again
Jo
Thank you so much for your tutorial. I work at a church and we use design elements for each sermon series…the next one is called “what elephant?” and is about questions we’re afraid to ask God (suffering, evil, unanswered prayer, etc.)…Anyway, we came up with the idea to put a large elephant in the room, made of paper mache, but weren’t sure of where to start. A coworker came across your website, and voila, here we are! We’ve got a few weeks and a crew of help, so we’ll see how it goes.
I’m glad it was helpful. I hope you’ll share a photo of your elephant when it’s done. Have fun with it.
My daughter is having a Murder Mystery Dinner for her B-Day and I am doing the elephant for the entrance to the Big Top Tent I am making. He is turning out very cute but I do not know how to attach his ears. Can you or anyone heop me?
Hi Nancy. I made my elephant’s ears out of the expanded aluminum, but you could use heavy paper or other material as well. Make sure you have lots of extra material at the bottom of the ear, so you can fold it back over the elephant’s head. Then cover the extensions well with paper and paste, and also run several layers of paper strips from the head onto the ear from both front and back. If the ear is too heavy you may need to use a heavy wire, like coat hanger wire, and bend it so it can go along the top of one ear, over the top of the head, and then over the top of the second ear. Tape it down with lots of masking tape and then cover it with several layers of paper strips and paste to make it strong.
I hope this helps. Please let us see your elephant when it’s done! And I hope your daughter enjoys her birthday party.
Hi
Its me again. What web site do I go to to learn how to paint the eyes.
This one is really good. There are lots more out there. Do a Google for “how to paint eyes.”
But if you’re just interested in “elephant eyes”, use those words in the Google search bar to find a closeup photo.
I am making an African landscape and am thrilled I can accommodate it with animals as well. My only problem is I am in a remote area and have, as a result, shooters… this being the case, I had my husband weld a kinetic gorilla in which are cameras. I may not be able to save my sculptures from the poachers, but at least I can report them now. I use to have the real animals, but, alas, they were all shot and thus the sculptures, of which, I do myself and love…some are, thanks to my husband kinetic.. and thanks to you and your tutaleage, now, life-sized and sturdy..sincerest appreciation for helping my dream come true.
dorothyntoto2@yahoo.com
Wow – I’d love to see some of your sculptures. Are you here in the States?
I live on a remote ranch in southern New Mexico which is why your reference is so thrilling to me (no libraries in my area). I am a published author of Westerns. I live an acre off the old Santa Fe Trail formerly used by wagon trains. Now the iron horse chugs through daily in route, according to inscriptions on the boxes, to such exotic places as China and Japan (am vigilent to discover a car onward to Africa) etc., and a single-laned highway used pridominantly by motor cyclists (they are never the shooters… have proved to be a lovely sort). It’s the trophy hunters looking for the newly stocked gazelles (IBEX) in my area that are the problem…
I read more of your site today. I have two questions… why eight layers of paper? I’ve read this from several artists. How is it determined 8 is the magic layerage. Secondly, I don’t understand the sculptclay method…considering it’s hardened in an oven.. Did you use this clay or the paper clay for the details on the pony? the latter makes sense, the former however I wonder how this works what with combustible materials? and considering the size of the project? Here, we have coke ovens (Native Americans cook in them outdoors), so there are options… wondering how you’re accommodating same in an average kitchen.
Thanks,
Dotti
Hi Dotti. Now you have my curiosity going – I’ll have to do some online research to see why they’re stocking gazelles in New Mexico. We have pronghorn antelope here, although I’ve never seen one.
I added more layers of paper to the elephant than I normally do. With small sculptures built around a form, only two or three layers seem to be enough. I just keep adding layers until the dried papier mache won’t “give” when it’s touched. However, as you know, one’s art is always evolving. If I did the elephant today I’d use a wire frame instead of plywood, to make her lighter, and I’d use the new paper clay recipe for the skin because it’s so much faster and easier.
I would love to have an outdoor oven, since the glue in the paper clay gives off a slight odor when heated, so my larger sculptures need to air dry. Sculptures made with flour and water paste and paper strips can bake in the oven (no higher than 200 F), so if they fit in the oven, you can quickly dry them, but you must check often to make sure the shape is not distorted by the heat. For larger works I’m thinking about building a solar oven or greenhouse, which would get quite hot here in eastern Oregon.
The sculpey was used as a form under the paper mache layers on some sculptures, and then removed before finishing the work. Since the paper clay can be molded much more easily than strips of paper, I no longer use a plastic clay form for details. If you do use sculpey or any other plastic clay in your work, it must be “cooked” until hard, or removed. Otherwise, the oil in the clay will seep out through your paper layers, ruining your work.
I hope I haven’t confused things too much. I’ll start work on my new book today – it will give detailed instructions for using the new paper clay, which could be used for any of the projects currently on this site in place of paper strips and paste.
thanks for your answers…they made sense. I just finished a Sandhill Crane and am working next on a couple of Ravens…my totem, so sayeth the Apache.
Now I understand why you’ve so much material in regards to molding and thwarting it. I wondered often as I read your tutorials, and comments therein.. I’ve traveled much, and to Oregon. A beautiful state, although rainy?? We get a monsoon once a year, usually for a month in August.. and that’s about it…otherwise dry and beautiful. Surprisingly green, not as green as Oregon, but, I live on the bosque (river), so I’m in the thick of it.
Thanks for your comments, always enjoy yours and the others.
Dotti
I would like to know how you create the griveses such the eyes and the the mouth
I formed the details with joint compound, and when it dried I covered it with a layer of paper mache. If I did this project again I would use the new paper mache clay recipe in place of the joint compound and the paper strips and paste. Then it could all be sculpted in one step.
Oh and also how did you attached the indian ears to the elephant
I cut the ears from a piece of expanded aluminum that I bought at the hardware store. I cut it extra long so some of it could be bent over the head and taped. Then the paper mache was applied over the extension and the ears, and the paper mache was also extended over the head to make a very firm attachment.
Hello! Not being a whiz with the computer, I cannot find the post where I asked you for help! My 6 year old son wants to make his Reading Rainbow book ( about a turtle) out of paper mache. I made the base for him out of styrafoam circle ( for flowers) and used a balloon and masking tape to make the shell. I used a paper tube for the neck and another styrafoam ball for the head. We cover this with the flour and water mix and newspaper.
I used the other half of the styrafoam circle for the lower body and paper tubes for the legs. Cover that with the same mix.
my questions are…. This has to be handled a lot so should i have him cover the turtle with joint compond to make it smooth and sturdy or …? also can i place this in the oven to dry if I keep it under 200? Thanks for the help in advance!
Hi Brooke. I’m thinking that the balloon would expand in the oven, because that’s what air does when it heats up. It might pull your paper mache apart. But it might work. I have to admit that I just don’t have the answer to this question. The paper mache itself will be just fine in the oven – it’s just the balloon I’m worried about.
The joint compound is plenty strong enough, if you cover it with another layer of paper mache. It would crack under pressure if you don’t cover it.
I am trying it right now so we will see if the balloon blows or not! So I should put joint compound on and then another layer of newspaper or should I use a different type of paper? If I could use another paper i thought about trying paper towel to give mr. turtle some texture or even the baby wipe idea…
Yes, you can certainly use a textured paper, like paper towels. I haven’t tried the baby wipes, but some people swear by them.
I am not really getting the paper towel layer and am praying that I haven’t screwed this up since the book is due this Wednesday! I put on the joint compond baked it, sanded it, and then placed a layer of paper mache using paper towel. It seems strange not strong like the newspaper. Is this just me or does the paper towel layer always seem a little funky if you have never used it before?
I think it might depend on how much paste you put on the towel. The paper in paper towels is not as hard as newspaper, so you’ll definitely get a different feel. However, if you have plenty of paste on the paper, it should dry hard. The joint compound under the paper towel layer will soften slightly when the paste is added, but it should dry hard again. Since you have the joint compound on hand, you can make a final hard coat using a home-made gesso, using about 1 tablespoon of joint compound, about 1 teaspoon of white glue, and a dab of acrylic paint. It dries to a very hard coat, but it will cover some of the texture of your paper towel.
Actualy the paper towel layer looks really cool by itself since it is suppose to be a turtle. now that it is dry its good. Thanks for the help I will send you a pic when he is all done. Now I just have to figure out how to attach the top and bottom to the book…wish me luck!
Hi again. I’m glad the project is turning out well. And I hope your kids are having as much fun with it as you are!
I just now set up the blog so you can ad an image to your comments. If you decide to do this and share your project with all of us, please make the image fairly small in your photo editing program so it won’t be too big to see on screen. I know we’d all like to see that turtle.
I received some photos from Kemberlee, who made her own elephant using the instructions on this site. I asked if I could post them in these comments, and she said:
“No problem! It was my first paper mache project since childhood though.
I used to sit on our porch in the summer and spend my time inventing art to do, at the top of the list was paper mache. Thank you so much for helping to rekindle my love for it! I’m currently making a tombstone and a few rocks for a local Easter production.”
Great Job, Kemberlee!
Would a cardboard armature (i want to say frame, but that seems like the correct name) be just as efficient?
Yes, I think it would work, and it would be much lighter. You might want to reinforce your armature with wire or wood if you’re making a sculpture this big, especially if you think children might feel inclined to play on it.
Hello jonni:
I have neen doing very simple paper mache recently and I really enjoy the caracter of it, it is as though paper mache were a happy medium. .. plus I loe anything that encourages recycling.
Thank you very much for this tutorials and sharing them with the world, they are very inspirational.
I live in Colombia and I will try your paper mache recipe, although I do not know quite well what is this compoundd you use. I will do some looking around. I will contact you if I cannot find it. I use in my recipe calcium carbonate, do you know if it is similar?
Bye and regards from the beautiful countryside of Villa de Leyva, Colombia
Hello Mariana. Yes, calcium carbonate is the main ingredient in joint compound. If you can get some that’s very finely ground, you should be able to mix it with just enough water to make it the consistence of wet plaster, then use it as a substitute for the joint compound in the recipe. I say you “should” be able to do that — I’m going to experiment with this today, and I’ll let you know how my experiment turns out, so be sure to check back.
Another reader suggested you could do the same thing with gypsum, and this is true, in theory. Unfortunately, the only gypsum available in my town is not ground fine enough, so the clay won’t mix well. The calcium or gypsum must be finely powdered in order to work.
Dear Jonni
This was so inspirational! Wow! Thank you and I hope I can match up with your inspiration with my 24 Cub Scouts. I came across the video when searching for inspiration on how to do a life size elephants head. With your video it has gave me a new direction and hope for the future.
I intend on setting a scene for a scout competition called Feast of the Lanterns. My theme is the story of Ging gang goolie… It is an old tribe story of a chief, witch doctor and a elephant coming out of the jungle, through a mist and into a tribal village.
If you have any more great ideas that would further help my inspiration to do well with my cubs at this competition. Please do not hesitate to contact us and advise me of the best course of action.
Regards
Ange x
How long did it take to make the elephant? I need one in 2 weeks, do you think that it could be done within that time frame? Or I may just do the head and front legs (to mount on top of a tent to hopefully make it look like it is inside the tent).
I think it took me about two weeks. I made it in summer, when the paper mache would dry fast. I don’t know how long it will take you, of course. Good luck with it!
Great video, thank you so much!
Nico from Geneva, Switzerland
i love your Elephant. I’m acually trying to make a smaller elephant now. Oh and I think that another project you would be good at is making a paper mache monkey. They are so interesting.
Thanks Lily. Have fun with your elephant. And have you seen my chimp bust? Not a monkey, I know, but they’re related (as are we all…)
Dear Jonni
I want to thank you for your excellent tutorial. With the guidance of your video I produced with my graphic design students two beautiful elephants, a mother and baby. The baby stands 2.5 meters high! We left the newspaper to show because the theme was Biodiversity and the Environment. This was done in support of the First International Biodiversity Conference in Cyprus which was held at Intercollege Larnaka, Cyprus. Thanks again!
Dear Jonni,
Thank you so much for the very detailed video, I absolutely was enthralled at watching the process. Great job!
I am going to try this for myself, I think it is doable. LOVE IT!
Thanks
Bee
Hi I am very interested in your tutorial and would firstly like to congratuate you on your superb work. Is there anywhere on your site you have a list of what materials I will require. Many Thanks and keep up the great work.
John
Hi John. I don’t have a specific list of materials, except for the ones I mention in the video. Sorry…
Hi
I have been working on some things with the paper mache clay. I would like a smoother finish than what I am getting so far. I haven’t sanded yet, but I know I did see a mixture mentioned somewhere to coat at the end for a smoother finish, but now I can’t find it. It seems like it was three coats of something. I just saw it mentioned to mix a teaspoon of joint compound and a teaspoon of white glue and a “dab” of acrylic paint. Maybe it was some kind of mixture of this only I need more. So one part of joint compound and one part of white glue and how would you know how much acrylic paint to use? I am trying to make a doll and I want a smooth face and neck area. What I have makes me think of linen, lol, with the little bumps here and there. So far I just want to cover it with paperclay to get it to where I can paint her, but I thought I would search it out to see what I can do to make her totally papermache. She has been quite a project and when I get her done I will share. I did this from learning about making the paper mache clay from this site, so I will have to show you when I am finished. I noticed that you had said to use it within five days, is that because of molding possibly? I put mine in the refrigerator and used it up that way. My fridge is very cold and it has kept for a while. I had to go out of state and I had mixed up a double batch. I hated for it to go to waste, so I threw it in the fridge. lol. It worked for me. I am trying to get it all used up.
Please help on the finish part so I can show off my doll. I just can’t remember exactly what I had read a few weeks ago.
Thanks for all your sharing, this has been very fun for me.
Carmen
Hi Carmen. I would love to see your doll when she’s finished, and I know my readers will, too.
I make my gesso using about 3 parts joint compound, 1 part Elmer’s Glue-All, and some white acrylic paint if I want the gesso nice and white. The paint isn’t really needed. You can apply a coat of this gesso, sand it or use a lightly damp sponge to smooth it out, and then add another layer if the surface still isn’t smooth enough.
For a thicker home-made gesso, you can use calcium carbonate (powdered marble) and white glue. The traditional proportions are 2 parts PVA glue (Elmer’s or an archival book-binder’s PVA glue if you worry about pH), 4 parts water, and 8 parts calcium carbonate. To make it nice and white, add 1 part powdered titanium or zinc white pigment. If you want to thicken the gesso to cover bumps faster, you can use more powdered marble. I buy the powdered marble and the powdered white pigment online from Blick’s.
Hi
I am making Elsi and cant get the eyes right, does anyone have any sugghestions for me or maybe a pattern or picture?
wendy
I’m not familiar with that name. Is Elsi an elephant? I did a Google image search for elephant eyes, and found some great photos.
Hello,
I also want to thank you for that helpful and inspiring video! I am not so familiar with papermache, but working with mortar for about a year now.
When I found your video I thought ‘this must be possible with mortar’!
I did everything as you described, used wood, paper – and two thin layers of mortar mixed with glass fibre at the end.
Well, it took me a while to finish this, but I think the result is satisfying. (I try to add a pic here…)
Best wishes from Germany!
Britta
Beautiful! That may be the answer to our outdoor sculpture problems. I was afraid to leave my paper mache elephant outside after her picture was taken.
After reading all of the above postings about outside wear and tear, I was wondering if you could put on a final thin layer of either mortar, or what I used to sculp with, white portland cement. For the main sculpture I used sand mixed in with the cement, but on the final outside layers, I often just used the cement. that way I could get the smoothness, and add the pigment from the ground powders, etc. I always painted on a layer of outside waterproof for stone (from local hardward stores) and I have several sculptures that are outside 10 years later. Not sure if this will help, and I haven’t had any time to experiment with the paper mache yet, but thought I’d pass this idea on for anyone else who might want to try. I got the white portland cement from a local cement supply company. It was what they recommended I use for my sculpting when I first started sculpting as it was the easist to use.
Good ideas. Color could be added to the cement, instead of painting. And then the sculpture sprayed or dipped in a product made for waterproofing concrete. I wonder if the same could be done using the paper mache clay without cement? I might give it a try.
Dear Nikki,
do I understand right and you use pure cement for the last layer? Not sand-mixed?
Yes, just a slurry of the white portland cement mixed with a bit of water, the consistency depended on the heat, and weather at the time. (I live in very hot Arizona, USA) Because the rest of the sculpture was a cement/sand mix, the slurry mixture would bond with it very quickly. I often had to spray water onto the main sculpture and then just put on the sluffy with my hands (gloved, of course!). But it was very easy and fun to work with, and especially when I would do this, and then very quickly dip my fingers into some of the powdered pigment and then quickly rub this into the slurry. I got some wonderful coloring affects. I’ll try to upload a couple of photos if I can. For those I just wanted to paint, I used a variety of paints, some which gave me an aged look of bronze, copper, etc. If you want more info please let me know. I also was able to achieve the effect of animal manes/tails, and long, flowing hair using this combined with steel wool. I had a blast!
Photos would be great! So far I prefer the natural look of the mortar-sculptures.
But your way of coloring sounds interesting!
Do you use that “stone-waterproof” for all your outside sculptures?
Here are some photos of my cement sculptures using the natural pigments for the final layer as I mentioned above. There is a wide variety of colors, even a very bright blue. These have been outside for over 10 years. Hopefully you will be able to see the possiblities in the small photos. Enjoy!
Oops! Only 1 uploaded so here goes another try!
And the last one…
Wow, looks interesting indeed!
)
The first one is my favourite, although for my taste a bit too orange…
And the third looks great!
That shiny look is the waterproof for stone? Did you use it for the rocks, too? And what are the animals made of? Also cement? And are they armed somehow?
(Sorry, I always tend to ask a lot of questions… Our “teacher” on our German webpage can tell..
btw: I have an “eye-picture” – for wendy? I tried to leave holes for the eyes, then formed the eyeball first. After they had dried I added the lids. (Took me several tries until I was nearly satisfied…)
Britta
The colors vary depending on how much pigment you use and also combining pigments, just as with paints. The wet look is from the use of the stone sealant, glossy finish. I believe they also have a less shiny one also. Everything is made using the cement and armatures of various types. As I said these were all done over 10 years ago, and I had just discovered cement and tried a lot of things with it. It was a lot of fun. I mentioned it on this forum because of the last layer techniques possibly being of help for people concerned with outdoor problems with their paper mache, and colorants questions. Love your elephant by the way!
Hi Jonni,
I just wanted to thank you for posting this tutorial! I am apart of my church’s “creative team”, which helps display God’s will for our church through creative ideas in worship, technology, and outreach. Our pastor came to our group back in July with an idea for a sermon series aimed at tackling some obvious, but rarely addressed issues that affect God’s Kingdom- the “big pink elephant” in the room. In his initial gusto, he sarcastically suggested we come up with a 6 foot pink elephant to accompany him onstage during the series. Not to back down from a challenge, our creative team stepped up to the plate!
Well, none of us had any idea of where to even begin constructing a 6 foot elephant, so we searched online and found your wonderful tutorial! After some major scaling and modifications, we crafted a plan to bring our own paper mache elephant to life. So, only 2 weeks, countless hours, tons of newspaper, gallons of flour and water, and 5 cans of pink spray paint later… Pinky Pepto Tuskadero was born!
We had a great time during the whole process, and our congregation absolutely loved Pinky! So, thanks again for this website and the time and effort you put into this tutorial!
Hi Tracy. Your pastor must have been quite surprised to see a “real” pink elephant. We’d love to see how it came out – did you take any photos?
Yes, our pastor was quite surprised!
I tried to post a photo, but it didn’t work. Let’s try again…
Ok, one more time…
Tracy, your elephant is great! I too am on a creative team at my church, and we are mulling over how to craft a 12 foot paper mache monster for our Christmas series called “Taming the Christmas Monster.” I’d love to email you about some of your details…drop me a line at jennaegee@hotmail.com if you’re so inclined
Tracy, this is amazing! I’m working with an Active Minds organization (fighting mental health stigma at the collegiate level) and we’re wanting to make a huge pink elephant, too. You say that you made modifications to the design to make it bigger, etc. I was wondering if you could share some of those patterns/mods with me so that our group can do the same. Please email me at omair.adil.khan AT gmail DOT com.
Thanks!
This is fantastic! I, too, need to create a 6 foot elephant for a high school drama club production of Phantom of the Opera. We have a pretty limited budget and very few hands on deck. Could you send me more details on this? I would REALLY appreciate it! IT IS PERFECT!!! (I wish that ours could be pink!.)
My email is as follows: jessica.bien@temple.edu
THANKS IN ADVANCE and GREAT JOB!
Jess, Tracy mentioned to me that they used the techniques shown in the video on this page, but scaled everything up so the elephant was a life-sized adult. If I’m misrepresenting anything, I hope Tracy will see your comment and correct me.
What a huge project – I hope the pink elephant finds a permanent home when she’s no longer needed for the presentation. (AA meeting hall, perhaps?)
Hi Tracy,
ja, a picture would be nice!
After I showed my elephant on our “mortage-homepage” someone suggested to make a Mama-elephant next year. Huh, I wonder if I would find that much paper in 6 months….
Here’s another..
And one more..
Great looking elephant!
Hi Jonni
I loved your tutorial on the baby elephant sculpture, I studied it alot for my project making a six foot tall african elephant to be used as a stage prop in a production of “Phantom of the Opera.” I worked on it non-stop for three days and this is a photo of it so far, after applying the first layer of paper mache. How do you, specifically, do the wrinkles with the paper towels. If you could elaborate on that a little, I’d appreciate that. I’m on a business trip right now til the 5th of November, so the elephant is just sitting in my garage til I get back. I then have seven days to get it ready for the first show. Thanks for all your tips and advice on this site, it’s a gold mine!
Dave
Dave, you’re doing a fantastic job on this gigantic elephant. The paper towels will form into wrinkles easily – when the towels are wet with the paste, they can be pushed and pinched into wrinkles. Look at photos of elephants, and see where the wrinkles naturally form, around the “arm pit” for instance.
I hope the play is a smashing success.
This looks like you could hop on for a ride!
You can. I built a saddle into the back of the elephant. Hannibal will ride the elephant in the play.
Wow! I am even more impressed!
Jonni
Elephant is finally done, two days before the opening show, “Phantom of the Opera.” As you can see, I made an armor helmet for him and decorated him in Hannibal fashion. Thank you for all your advice in your web site, it was invaluable is making this stage prop for the play. Here’s a final picture.
David Heemstra
Great job! Your production should be a huge success.
David,
THIS IS AMAZING! I’m currently the artistic director for a high school production of Phantom. I’m wondering if you would be able to send me the details as to how you constructed this beauty. Hannibal’s friend has become the bane of my existence!!!
Thanks in advance!
Jess
jessica.bien@temple.edu
I am doing a senior project for my school. I am making 2 or 3 paper mache animals (zebras or deer) and I am donating them to the zoo so they can be given to the lions for enrichment. I will be filling them with different scent packets so the lions will be attracted to them. Is there any tips you can give me while making theses animals like how long the scultptures normally take or if you know of any animal friendly non toxic paint that i can use? thank you so much
Hi Arden. This sounds like a fun project – a piñata for lions. You won’t be able to use wire forms, of course, but you can make a crumpled paper armature, which can be removed after the paper mache is dry. You’d need to cut the critters in half to do this, of course, but you can put them back together with more strips of paper and paste.
I just did a fast Google search and found these soy-based paints at Blick’s. I’m glad you brought this up, because I’ve been worrying about acrylic paints and the plastic that ends up in the water when I clean my brushes. I might go ahead and order some of these and see how they hold up. If you try them, please let us know what you think.
Good luck with your project. Be sure to let us see the critters when they’re done.
Thank you so much and Ill definately post some pictures when I finish them.
Hi Jonni,
Your elephant statue was my inspiration for a set piece I needed to make for our high schools production of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” We needed a stone lion for Edmund to interact with in the Witch’s castle garden. Everyone involved fell in love with our lion as he grew – he was dubbed Rumpus McGee as we tended to push him around by his rump when we needed to move him. The show was a smashing success and now Rumpus will be entered in our Gala Auction and sold off to the highest bidder to raise money for the Theater department. Let’s see if I can get some pictures put up.
Hi Kim. We would love to see the photos. The instructions for posting images can be found here.
Great job! I can just imagine the joy of making something like this.
I’d love to make a life-sized (If not bigger!) Alligator to put down by the lake at my mates house. But i think i’m the only one of my friends who don’t just think it’s too much work. But maybe i’ll get to try that someday
Dear Billy,
)
for a live-sized Alligator a chicken-wire, filled with tough-stuffed newspaper, would do. I don’t think it needs a wooden heart. So YOU are probably right: it is not too much work! Just give it a try!
(of course I am the “mortage-lady”, so I would use mortage instead of paper-mache
Britta
Thanks alot!
I’ll just start the process of talking someone else into it
Now i have to admit i have no idea what mortage is. And it’s not that easy to translate either… All i find is loans and money stuff ^^’
But i’m guessing it’s some sort of modeling material.
Again, thank you for your answer!
//Billy
Oops – I thought my English is quite good…. Sorry, of course it is mortAR! Cement, sand and water
I started with ready-mixed one, but meanwhile I prefer my own mixtures….
Britta
)
(mortar, mortar, mortar…….
Thanks for informing me
If you don’t mind, i’ll rant a little about some thoughts i had today.
For an alligator, I actually thought about making skeleton out of cardboard. I’d be working on it in my garage in the summer in that case. I would do something like this: Draw out the alligator head (Jaws open, going Hisss….) on a decently sized piece of cardboard, cut it out, draw out the basic body, tail and such in different pieces and tape them together. By making it in sections like that i wouldn’t need a huge cardboard sheet. I would then do the same to the legs (Arms?) And sort of slot them into the body piece, so that i would get a Strange looking 3-D style alligator skeleton. Basically what i would have would be a cardboard version of Jonni’s Elephant’s skeleton. After that i would do just what Jonni did, tape newspaper to it.
Do you think that would make sense? I’m just a litte unsure of how well i would be able to shape the chicken wire.
Hope you got that, i’m not the best explainer ^^’
//Billy
Well, shaping the chicken-wire wile putting newspaper into it, is not THAT difficult…. You could make a big hose, put it together at one end (the end of the tail) and then go forward via tail, body, head. you can do the same with the legs and “stich” it at the body when ready.
But you are right: cardbord-skeleton helps a lot to get surely the right shape. Especially when it shall be bigger than my dragon-tail.
Britta
I try to add some pics:
What a lovable baby elephant! You did a great job. And is that a dragon’s tail coming out from under the bushes? Thank you so much for sharing your photos.
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