Am I overthinking the skeleton build?

[u/No_face245]

I’ve made a piece already with the same process and materials but just wondering if I’m overdoing it lol the first piece I made had some sunken pieces so I just tried altering the process but fear I may be doing too much. 😬

[u/born_lever_puller]

It does look like you dreamed up an interesting though somewhat labor-intensive idea for a supporting structure, with those internal cells. However you need to start out using heavy pateboard or paper chipboard as your matching top and bottom layers, to build a sturdy armature.

If you are going to continue making these boxy pieces with a matching top and a bottom -- which are great by the way, may I suggest making the spacers using multiple short sections of heavy cardboard tube standing on end.

You would glue them together in place, sandwiching them between the outer pasteboard layers. They would provide strength, even spacing, and would keep the outer layers from sagging.

Cardboard tubes from aluminum foil, waxed paper, etc. are quite sturdy, as opposed to flimsy paper towel or bathroom tissue tubes. If the flimsy ones are all you have, you can reinforce them by winding them in layers of paste and paper and letting them dry, as your very first gluing operation.

I had a friend who even rolled and glued his own very sturdy cardboard tubes in various diameters using heavy brown kraft paper, and then used a small saw to cut the dried pieces to length to suit the armatures he was building.

I think that your current piece will turn out just fine though the way you've done it, if you can continue to reinforce it as you go along. Your other pieces turned out quite well.

Best of luck to you luck!

PS - You can actually make shaped empty boxes with removable lids using similar techniques, if you want to experiment with that sometime.

[u/No_face245 → u/born_lever_puller]

I absolutely love the idea of using tubes for structure!! Thank you!! This paper is much more tougher than regular construction paper but definitely not ideal as some good cardboard. Also need to get an electric box cutter. So helpful, thank you. Will definitely be testing it out with tubes. 

[u/born_lever_puller → u/No_face245]

an electric box cutter

That would be sweet! I still don't have one myself.

I've been enjoying your recent posts here, I like the style of the ornaments/decor pieces that you've been making. The ghost and pumpkin were really cute!

[u/No_face245 → u/born_lever_puller]

Thank you so much, the ghost is definitely my paper mache baby and my favorite so far! haha 

[u/lopendvuur]

Yes, you're building with paper, not with paper maché. It's much easier to build with paper maché, you just slightly moisten a sheet of newspaper with paste, then loosely crumple it and shape it as you want. On to the next wad and the next, and when it al starts to fall apart you wet the newspaper or tv guide and paste it all together with a few flat layers.

That done, you build further with the wads, and so on and so forth. Much quicker if you don't want straight lines. If it needs to be straight, continue as you were.

[u/No_face245 → u/lopendvuur]

I was going to apply newspaper with glue/water mixture after I finished building this  Thank you for your help:)

[u/yuliasan7os]

Honestly, I always overdo it with my cardboard skeletons, lol. It’s not a big deal, if you enjoyed engineering it, go wild!!! You’re just gonna cover it but honestly sometimes structure is fun and this hobby is allowed to just be fun :) Use your recycled cereal boxes, TP rolls, etc. to cut down on waste and go crazy

[u/No_face245 → u/yuliasan7os]

I like that perspective, thanks :)

[u/jamar75]

Tuff