Clay Tribal Mask

This is a project to create a mantelpiece mask made out of clay, with a tribal themed design.

Air drying clay

Roller, surface for rolling

Moulding surface (rolled up cloth, or use a base of a bowl, big bottle, etc)

Plastic sheet (to prevent clay from sticking to the moulding surface)

Cutter blade

Acrylic paints

Paintbrushes of appropriate thickness

Metal rings

Take the clay out of the airtight sealed packet (use at least 300 grams, extra clay can be stored aside later). Keep a mug of water handy on the side, to help smoothen the kneading process. The clay may be quite hard, so initially put a little more force in order to initiate the kneading.

Take a small chunk and keep it aside as it may be needed in later stages for making protrusions and attachments on the mask. Place the clay on a metal plate, and use a rolling pin to flatten the clay.

Roll it to get the right width of the mask first (do not roll it to more width than required as it is hard to reduce the width after rolling) Then roll to get the right length. Keep the design idea in mind and get an appropriate ratio so that you don't waste too much clay. Make sure the thickness of the mask is around 1 - 2 cm

Use a mould of suitable curvature and shape which you can use as a base to place your clay. Make sure to not use a very curved object as that would increase the chances of cracking after hardening. For this particular mask, a long and relatively narrow mould will be suitable. Here, we have used a rolled up towel. Wrap a plastic sheet around your moulding base so that the clay does not stick to it and will come off easily.

Place the rolled patty of clay on the moulding shape, and make sure no cracks develop.

Now, gently create the outline of your mask by using a pencil or a blade or any pointed object. This will help as a guide while cutting the mask out. (Tip: Draw vertical and horizontal axis lines to aid in the symmetry of the mask)

Now use a blade (or a paper cutter), to smoothly cut out the edges of the mask. Make sure to take the blade deep through the whole thickness. Pull off the remaining excess clay from the sides.

Use the same blade or a scale or any plane surface to level the edges, and remove the irregularities from cutting.

Use the clay pulled out from the first or second step and roll it into specific shapes as required. While adding the pieces make sure to not pull out the clay too many times, or change its shape much because the clay has already started to harden and in the small pieces it may begin to develop cracks at the edges.

For giving curved shapes make a small patty and use your fingers to elongate the shape from the corners, and create a sharp corner. Avoid pulling clay out as much as possible, if needed, use a blade to cut off extra portions.

For the nose rectangles, cut them using a blade and then create rounded edges by smoothening it using your fingers.

The most important aspect here is to stick the pieces to the main mask. While sticking use a little bit of water (not too much as it will just drip away or cause the pieces to slip), and pour a few drops or stroke the piece with wet hands. Now, a sticky texture develops on the clay. Place the piece on the mask and gently press without making a depression.

Make sure there is enough contact area between the piece of clay and the main mask, so that the sticking happens properly.

For attaching ear-rings later on, make small holes in the ears using a skewer, or a pencil, at this stage.

Place the mould in a sunny and dry area, away from any risk of touching or disturbance, and let it harden for approximately 24 hours (it may take more time too)

The clay might become blackish in colour from some portions but that is not something to worry about.

After 24 hours, make sure all the pieces are stuck together, and then our mask is now ready to beautify.

Acrylic paints are highly recommended for longevity and not wearing off on washing. Poster colours may be used too but they may not stay very well or may wash off with water on clay.

Paint the base colour first, making sure that the edges too are painted well so that there is no gap left out. If there are portions which can be painted and are not visible from the front view, paint those too to give a better effect.

After this coat of paint dries, paint the protrusions with appropriate colours and thin brushes, making sure to paint over the background green as less as possible.

After this is done, give a finishing touch to the green colour too so that the edges are crisp and not shabby.

For the design on the cheek portions, make a rough drawing using a pencil (as much as it can be seen on the green paint), and then fill it in with the appropriate colour paint.

Add more add-ons of your choice like ear-rings in the holes specially made during moulding.

Voila! Your clay tribal mask is ready.