Alien Head

[Ms. Wicked]

My 11 year old son is going to be an alien. He doesn't want to wear a mask; rather wants face paint/make up. That's totally understandable.

But he's going to need an alien head. I'm going to make one using paper mache over a balloon and then cut it to fit/fix onto the top of his head.

Has anybody done something like this before? Any tips would be appreciated!

[RoxyBlue]

I take it this will only fit on top of his head, to give that bulging brain sci-fi look, yes?

[Ms. Wicked]

That's exactly it Roxy. I think the best way to do it will be to make it like a hat, and add a tie or elastic under the chin to keep it in place. He wants a green face/head and to wear all black i.e. solid black shirt and pants.

I balloon should give the right shape to his head and still be lightweight. I'll have to cut the button out a little at a time to make sure the hole doesn't become too big and fall over his face...

[RoxyBlue]

You can also glue a styrofoam block to top of the head on the inside to keep the mached head from falling down or resting directly on top of your son's head. That way if the opening is a little bigger than his head size, it will stay in place regardless.

If you measure the circumference of your son's head (as you would if you were fitting him for a hat), you can use that as a guide for how big to blow up the balloon. You also won't need to mache the entire balloon, just enough to go a little past the head circumference point to allow for adjustments later.