Armour That Grows On Trees –
Step 3
Pulp Power
Finally we get to the actual papier mache process. Again, I apologize that I do not yet have any pics of a pulping in progress.
Materials:
Now
The Time Consuming Bit
1) Take your nice dry armour piece. You should have trimmed off all the little dangly bits of cheesecloth around the edges from Step 2 and the piece should be completely dry. Now is the time to TRY IT ON! Make adjustments if you need to. The piece should fit without too much wrangling and squeezing on your part. Once you get the pulp on there the piece will turn rock hard and any little bit of give the material has now will be gone.
2)
Take about a teaspoon sized
lump of paper pulp on the end of your putty knife and plop it down in the
center of your piece. Use the putty knife to spread the pulp over the surface.
You want a fairly thin layer, but not so thin that you can see the cheesecloth
underneath. The putty knife should make a nice scraping sound as you pull it
across the surface of the armour. When you have spread the pulp as far as it
will go, take another teaspoon sized lump, plop it down next to the patch you
just finished and repeat.
3)
Cover the entire piece with
pulp. It’s that simple. Use your fingers to spread pulp just over the edge of
the piece (it’s not necessary to do the whole back) as well as into any nooks
or crannies you can’t get the putty knife into. Try to get the surface of the
pulp as smooth as possible. If you leave any bits sticking up they will dry
rock hard and be very sharp.
Adding
Details – it is possible to use some extra pulp to add details to the
surface. Pulp rolls into balls very easily, and to a certain extent, short
‘snakes’ and ‘sausage’ shapes as well. By pinching the pulp between your
fingers (or two knives) you can create ridges and patterns on the surface. The
pic below is not a piece of armour, (it’s a mirror frame I did) but it is done
with pulp and gives you an idea of the type of detail you can achieve.
Sometimes you will find that the cheesecloth has buckled somewhat as it dried.
This is not a huge concern as the paper pulp should moisten the cheesecloth
enough that you can get it to lie flat again. If you are concerned it is going
to buckle further, stick a pin into it (make sure you go right through into the
base) – the pin will hold the cheesecloth and pulp down long enough for the
pulp to harden. You can then remove the pin.
4)
Leave your armour to dry. If
you are able to I highly recommend putting the pieces outside to dry in the
sun. That is by far the fastest way to harden them. If you are building your
armour in the middle of winter, however, or during a week-long rain storm then
I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait the 2-3 days (sometimes longer) it will take the pieces to dry. You want
them to feel absolutely bone dry before you move onto step 4. This is why it is
so important that the pulp layer be fairly thin. The thicker you lay on the
pulp, the higher the moisture content and the longer it takes to dry. Make sure
to rotate the pieces once they are hard to the touch (especially if they have
been leaning against something) to make sure there are no damp spots. If you’ve
added details in relief you’ll find they take longer to dry than a flat piece
of armour.
That’s about it for pulping. It’s a fairly straightforward process. It is, however, one of the longest stages. But don’t worry you’re now in the home stretch. Up next – Step 4) Sanding And Finishing
Armour That Grows On Trees
Tutorial by Kusanivy, August 2004, Feel free to use this tutorial as you see
fit, all I ask is that you do not try and pass it off as your own.
