Teaching Mask Making and Face Proportions
Teaching Mask Making and Face Proportions
Mask making asks two things at once: a face drawn in correct proportion, and an object a person can actually wear and see out of. This page covers a grades 5 to 8 unit that measures real faces first, studies what masks do in different cultures, then builds and fits a wearable mask in card and papier mache.
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Units and bundles for this topic
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Mask Making Activities | Face Proportions, Mask Design & Masks in Culture | Middle School Art Unit | Grades 5–8
Space, Nature & Masks Bundle | Architecture, Land Art, Mask Making & Street Art | 4 Art Studios | Grades 5–9
Drawing Activities | Light, Shadow & Shading Techniques | Middle School Art Unit | Grades 6–9
Sculpture and Statuary – Foundations of Analysis
Complete Art Curriculum Bundle | 14 Hands-On Art Studios | Middle School Art | Grades 5–9
The teaching problem
Proportion and Wearability Fight Each Other
A mask that looks right flat on the desk often fails the moment someone puts it on, because the eye holes were cut where the painted eyes are rather than where the wearer's pupils sit. Students design the front and forget the head behind it. Proportion is the other half of the trouble, and it is stubborn: almost every child places eyes too high because they draw the face they notice and leave out the skull above it. Measuring real faces breaks the habit faster than any diagram. There is a third demand that is easy to skip. Masks carry meaning in the cultures they come from, some of them restricted or sacred, so the survey lesson has to teach function and context rather than hand out images to copy.
A sequence that works
Measure, Design, Build, Then Wear
Four making sessions with a research lesson in the middle, arranged so drying time falls across a weekend. Students test the fit on a real head before any surface decoration begins.
- Where the Eyes Actually SitPairs measure each other's faces with a strip of paper, then check the halfway rule against their own last portrait drawing. Most discover their eyes were placed a third too high.
- Changing Expression by ProportionWorking from a fixed grid, students shift brow angle, eye spacing and mouth width to produce four different expressions, recording which single change did the most work.
- What Masks Do, and WhereA survey of theatrical, carnival and ritual masks with attention to function and to which objects are not ours to copy. Students then write a purpose for their own design.
- Building the Base FormPapier mache over a balloon or clay form, center line marked, curvature checked from the side. Eye holes are cut to the wearer's measurements, not to the drawing.
- Surface, Strap and PerformancePaint, texture and attachments go on last. Straps are fitted and reinforced, then each mask is photographed on its wearer and shown in a short silent movement task.
Where it goes wrong
The Eyes Are Too High
Set the halfway rule early and return to it every lesson: on an adult head, the eyes sit at the midpoint between chin and crown, spaced roughly one eye width apart, with the base of the nose about halfway from brow to chin and the mouth line a third of the way from nose to chin. Students resist this because it looks wrong until the cranium is drawn in. On the object itself, three faults recur. Eye holes get cut at the painted eye position, leaving the wearer looking at cardboard. Symmetry drifts when a student finishes one side before starting the other, so work both sides in turn from a center line. Weight and airflow are forgotten, so test wearing time before decoration.
What's in the download
Inside the files
Editable Word and PowerPoint plus print-ready PDFs, with answer keys throughout.
- Face measuring and proportion sheets
- Expression grid design pages
- Papier mache method with timings
- Editable PowerPoint on masks in culture
- Template shapes for card bases
- Critique and self assessment forms
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Do we need plaster bandage or a kiln?
Neither. The unit is written for newspaper, paste and card over a balloon or a clay former, which keeps costs low and needs no firing. Some teachers prefer plaster bandage for a smoother shell; if you do, cast on a form rather than on a student's face, since direct face casting needs a proper barrier, close supervision and a conversation with your health and safety lead first.
How do I handle masks from other cultures respectfully?
The slides frame the survey around function, materials and context: who wore the mask, when, and what it was for. Students are asked to design their own mask for a stated purpose rather than to reproduce a specific ceremonial object, and the notes flag categories of sacred and restricted objects that classes should study but not copy. That framing tends to produce better designs as well as fewer problems.
How many lessons should I allow, including drying?
Six to nine, depending on your period length. Papier mache needs at least two days between layers, so plan the build sessions on a Tuesday and Friday rather than back to back. If your term is short, run the proportion and expression lessons as a drawing unit on their own, then build simpler card masks with folded darts instead of a molded shell.
Fit the Mask to a Real Head
Measure faces in lesson one and test the fit before painting. Those two steps stop most of the disappointment at the end.
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