I started making a new animal mask two weeks ago. But I didn’t just want to make any mask, this time. I was going to make a giraffe, and I was going to make it as a tall helmet.

I started with the bare helmet part that would sit directly on top of your head. All it is is a basic construction of cardboard strips and some papermaché. The tricky part was to get the shape right. I used a mock-up cardboard form that was traced from my trusty straw hat, and it worked :)

Then I moved on to the construction of the head and the spine. The head was shaped with old newspapers and some masking tape and covered with papermaché. The special thing about the spine was the “hair”, which I made out of straw. I made several mini bundles, shaped them, and glued them between two long cardboard strips.

base and spine

the open spine, one of the neck rings and other raw materials

super sophisticated clamping system ;)

Next, I attached the spine to the base. You could now get a sense of the height, but the neck still needed to be fleshed out. To do this, I used rings of toilet paper rolls. (About 50 of them!) I prepared the individual rings first, then attached them to the neck and covered everything with a thin coat of epoxy.

Finally, I attached the head, and did some fine tuning with the shapes. The assembly and construction is now complete.

I will go in and paint the helmet once the last papermaché layers have dried up. I will also have to add the belt and some foam on the inside to make the whole thing wearable. But I am already very excited about the look of it. I’ve always wanted a giraffe in my collection! :)