When you have the character of this noble king well in mind, take a pencil and paper and make a sketch of him, front view and side view. Keep in mind the general proportions of his face. Having made your drawing you are ready to begin your work with clay. Measure your face from chin to the crown of the head, and the width of your face from ear to ear. Do this carefully, for a good mask should fit the face of the wearer. Onto a slate or a board crush some newspapers into a mound, about 4 by 6 inches, and 3 inches high. This paper, acting as a core, will save your clay and insure its quick drying. Pack the clay over the paper as in the illustration, to a depth of about 6 inches. If the length of your face is 8½ inches, make the mound of clay 8¾ inches, since the clay shrinks in drying. For the same reason, add an extra ¼ inch to the width. With your drawing before you, begin modeling the clay. Remember that a face is not flat. Observe the plans of the forehead, the cheeks, and eye sockets. The expression which you imagine the noble king to have had should be modeled into the clay and the wrinkles cut into the forehead and about the mouth. You must study your mask from many angles in order to make it lifelike.
Characters from Christmas Mask
If you do not finish your modeling the first day, cover the clay with wet cloths to keep it from hardening. When you have completed your clay model it will require twenty-four to thirty-six hours for it to dry. From this model you are now ready to make either a papier-mâché mask or a buckram mask. If you wish to make a papier-mâché mask cover the model when thoroughly dry with a thin coat of vaseline. Now tear medium-weight wrapping paper, cream and brown for instance, into pieces three or four inches long, soak them in hot water, wring out separately, dip into flour paste, and rub gently between the fingers until they feel like wet chamois skin. Cover the entire surface with the cream-colored strips of paper. The pieces may overlap but there must be no wrinkles. When the entire surface is covered you may apply immediately a second layer. Let this be of the brown paper. Follow this with a third layer of cream and a fourth layer of brown. If your paper is thin, apply a fifth or even a sixth layer to give the necessary thickness and strength. The alternating of the cream and brown will help you to count your layers and insures uniform thickness. Strive to keep a smooth surface and a uniform thickness. Do not forget that in this process the last layer of paper becomes the outer surface of your mask. After twenty-four or thirty-six hours, the paper masks should be dry enough to remove from the clay. Plasticine may be used instead of clay but since it does not harden, this process necessitates making a plaster of Paris mold. The directions for making this are given on page 66.
When you have removed the paper mask from the clay or plaster mold, cut out the eye and nostril holes. If a mask is to be worn by a dancer, the lips should be modeled slightly opened to permit the cutting away of the paper between the lips.
If you decide to make a buckram mask you will require a piece of light-colored buckram about twice the size of the face. Soften the buckram with warm water, then place over the clay model which has been covered with a coat of soapsuds. Press the buckram carefully, so as to bring out all the modeling of the features, then allow to dry.
The next step is the construction of that part of the mask which will cover the head. Here you will need assistance. While you hold the mask to your face, your assistant will take a one-inch strip of heavy paper, long enough to go around the back of the head, and attach it to the outside edges of the mask, just above the ears. If this strip is attached too low, the mask cannot be removed from the head, if too high, the mask will not be held securely. You will soon discover that it is necessary to put the chin into the mask first, when you put it on. A mask should fit the face and head closely. If you follow the steps in the illustration, you will see how this basketlike framework is constructed and how any kind of headdress can be built up on it. When a headdress is completed, and the inside of the mask is finished with a lining of papier-mâché, you are ready to paint the mask. Oil paints are the most practical. Tempera colors, however, may be used. The painting of the mask should emphasize the character.
Complexion is the first consideration. Faces usually are fair, sallow, or swarthy. There are certain masks, however, that are much more effective when they are painted symbolically. The mask of the priest of Osiris was painted a rich green to indicate the fertility of the Nile. The demon mask was painted a greenish-gray. Yellow, vermilion, and black were used to heighten the terrifying aspects. Observation and experiment will guide you in the painting of the eyes, lips, brow, and hair, and also in the subtle violet shadows about the eyes, cheeks, and chin. Beware of timid lines that imitate nature. They say very little when the mask is a few feet away from you. Big, sweeping rhythmic lines make for design and carrying power, and are to be seen in all great masks. The inside of the mask should also be painted, decorated if you like, and shellacked when the oil paint is thoroughly dry. This prevents the breath from softening the papier-mâché. The outside must not be shellacked.