Make a 3d Gargoyle Without a 3d Printer

Outsider Art is an area of art that not many people are aware of. It’s where artists can’t get access to the mainstream art world, because of barriers such as mental & physical health, finance, education etc.

As a Family & Friends Carer (someone who cares for other people at home), I’m such an artist. Fortunately a variety of charities, organisations and art galleries are trying hard to redress that imbalance. With one gallery kindly inviting me to join their community programme and workshops, including ones held at our local cathedral.

A beautiful 500 year old building, with the workshop being held in something resembling a certain fictional Mr Potter's school. So when I was lucky enough to be asked to do a workshop there, it just had to be gargoyles....

brown paper, pva glue, newspaper, cardboard boxes, household junk

Obviously with just a few hours to make stuff, doing stonemasonry would be a tad tricky, so instead I produced a booklet. Which (gargoyle.pdf) is what’s available to download from this step and contains...

Page 2 is the historical & educational bit.

Page 3 & 4 the "how to" stuff.

Page 5 a colouring 'page', so you've got something to do while the glue drys.

Page 6 & 7 are the templates.

Page 8 is tips & ideas.

Instead of air dry clay I now use PVA glue, news paper and brown paper - yep that stuff that a certain online retailer likes to give you loads of :)

So first dip a few strips of dry newspaper into the cheapest PVA glue you can get. A mix of 75% glue and 25% water works well, though if you want quicker drying increase the amount of glue. Simply drape over that your model. Then for the next layer use some brown paper/glue. Repeat with layers of newspaper and brown paper until happy with the depth, then leave to dry.

To make sculpted shapes, in Slicer for Fusion 360, use the “Interlocked Slice” option in the “Construction Technique” pulldown menu. Then,after making your card model, place bubble wrap in between the shapes and cover with a mix of newspaper/brown paper.

Ending the layering process with a final layer of brown paper will help, especially if you are painting. Because it stops printers ink from the newspaper from showing through.

Once dry you can gently sand the model if you wish. It’s also a good idea to apply a “primer” coat. Which again doesn’t have anything expensive like spray guns or artists gesso, just a few coats of watered down acrylic/emulsion household paint will do. Such as sample pots from DIY stores.

Now you have a wide choice of things you can do, from gluing on other objects such as bottle caps or bits of scrap wood or metal. Which can also be covered with a layer of brown paper and newspaper. Tube glue is OK for this, but a 2 pound/dollar hot glue guns works better and things stick better.

You can also do other things such applying a texture, for example with something like chinchilla sand or bird grit. Which is a lot cheaper than model railroad scenic materials. Or give your model a metallic look with some cheap pound./dollar store gold paints..Then weather it with an wash of black/brown paint. After which just give it a quick coat of pound./dollar store varnish to seal it.

You can always work large as well, and I mean really large.. this armour is nothing more than a freezer packaging box, newspaper, brown paper and household junk. Something that, in part, will be covered in cut down aluminium drinks cans, held in place with brass paper fasteners. Then “rusted” by painting it with washing up sponges. Also note the dot in the “eye” that area will be drilled out and LED lights added.