How To Make Venetian Masks the Easy Way

Five Ways To Make Venetian Masks ~~~ Beauty of Carnival of Venice ~~~ Materials To Make Venetian Masks ~~~ Make a Pedrolino Mask ~~~ Plaster Strip Venetian Mask ~~~ Make Crying Pedrolino Mask ~~~ Venetian Mask Gallery ~~~ Colombina Venetian Mask ~~~ Make a Papier Mache Venetian Mask ~~~ Harlequin Venetian Mask ~~~ Make A Venetian Sun Mask ~~~ Making Venetian Masks Is Easy ~~~ The Magic Of The Commedia Dell'Arte ~~~ Venetian Mask Poll ~~~ More Venetian Masks ~~~
About the Author ~~~ Our Venetian Mask Guestbook

Photo: Adult Pierrot Mask

• Take a paper plate
• Cut out holes for the eyes, the nose and the mouth
• Punch two holes on the extremities of your paper plate to attach ribbon
• Decorate the paper plate the way you wish.

• Draw the shape of the mask, the eyes, nose and mouth on a sheet of construction paper
• Cut out the shape, the eyes, nose and mouth
• Decorate the mask in the way you want
• Punch two holes on the extremities and attach a ribbon to each of them

• Cut newpapers into strips
• In a pan, mix a quantity of flour in an equal quantity of water; boil
• When the mixture is smooth, remove from the stove and let cool
• Take a blown up balloon and cover with oil
• Dip the newspaper strips into the mixture and put on the balloon (3 or 4 coats)
• Put the mask aside for 24 hours
• When the mask has dried, using a cutter, cut out openings for the eyes, nose and mouth
• Decorate

• Oil your face, hair and eyebrows
• Dip plaster strips in water and apply 3 coats of them on your face
• Once plaster strips have dried, carefully remove the mask from your face
• Fix and secure additional paper decorations (such as ears if you make a rabbit or a cat) with more wet plaster strips
• Decorate the mask

• Choose the type of white mask you want: a full face mask or a half-white mask
• Using paints, beads, feathers, pieces of fabric, decorate the mask the way you want.

Easy To Make Venetian Masks

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Venetian Mask Decorating Ideas

Pedrolino, is well known in French comedies as Pierrot. He's desperately loves Colombina, however, she doesn't care. Instead of many other characters of the Commedia Dell'Arte, Pedrolino isn't a stupid person and doesn't wear a mask but a black and white face makeup. Naturally, nowadays, we also use masks to feature Pedrolino.

How to make a half-face Pedrolino Venetian mask

Paint the eyes and eyebrows black
Paint a tear drop below an eye
Using white construction paper, cut out the shape of a bonnet and paint a Moon quarter and a star or a big black dot
Fix the bonnet to the mask

How to Make a Pierrot (Pedrolino) costume

Large white pants
Large white blouse
A big white ruffle around the neck
A white or black bonnet
Black shoes
Decorate the blouse with a line of big black buttons or pom-poms.

Masked Woman, Venice Carnival,
Italy Photographic Poster Print
by Kristin Piljay, 30x40

When making a Pedrolino mask, there are several options: since this character isn't supposed to wear a mask, you can choose a specific design.

One Pedrolino mask that I particularly like is the one on which one paints a triangle over each eye and another triangle below them.

Paint the lips black. Just like for the other Pedrolino Venetian mask, you can paint a big black dot on the bonnet instead of a Moon and a star.

The costume doesn't change: Pedrolino wears white clothes.

Venice, Carnival Characters
Giclee Poster Print
by Umberto Brunelleschi, 9x12

If you're a woman or a girl, you'll want to create a Colombina Venetian mask, for sure! So, let's learn who's Columbina in reality: she is a character of the Commedia Dell'Arte, of course and isn't the kind of woman who's accustomed to shut her mouth when she doesn't want to. While Colombina can be arrogant; she's also stupid and grasping; in addition, she always hurts the two men who are in love with her.

However, nowadays she's mostly represented as Pedrolino's romantic girfriend or Harlequin's partner.

Directions to make a Colombina Venetian mask

Paint the eyes and eyebrows black
Paint the mouth dark red
Apply a black dot somewhere on the face
Cut a bonnet out of white construction paper
Paint a big black dot on the bonnet and fix the bonnet to the mask

What kind of costume does Colombina wear?

A large white blouse on which you fix a line of black pom-poms or giant black buttons
Put a long white skirt on a long white crinoline
A big ruffle for the neck
White tights
Black shoes

Optional: wear a long sleeved white shirt on a ballerina tutu

Harlequin Venetian mask is one of the most popular masks of the Venetian Carnival. Naturally, Harlequin is one of the most famous characters of the Commedia Dell'Arte, more particularly known for his very specific costume dotted with multicolored rhombuses. Each color of this costume represents one side of Harlequin's personality. Harlequin is one of the most important and funny characters of the Commedia Dell'Arte, however, Harlequin is also a stupid, naive and lazy person.

How to make a Harlequin Venetian mask

In order to create your own Harlequin Venetian mask, all you have to do is paint multicolored rhombuses on a mask, whether a half-face or full-face mask.

What about Harlequin's costume?

Although often black and white, stores sell ready-made Harlequin costumes. Therefore, and, unless you have the patience to create your own Harlequin costume, buying one from the costume stores is the quickest and easiest way to have your costume ready on time for Mardi Gras.

Another option is to ask a specialist to create a bespoke Harlequin costume or find a costume store that sells multicolored Harlequin costumes. This option is very interesting in case you plan to order a Venetian Carnival costume for you and your significant one as Colombina is often represented as Harlequin's "girlfriend", and also wears a multicolored blouse on a multicolored skirt.

People in Carnival Costume, Venice,
Veneto, Italy Giclee Poster Print
by Roy Rainford, 32x24

If you wish to be the focal point of your masquerade party this year, then, you'll make a sun themed Venetian mask.

Materials to make a sun themed Venetian mask at home

• A full face white Venetian mask
• Gold paint
• Paint brush
• Yellow, Orange and Red silk or tissue paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Ribbons

• First paint the eyes, eyebrows, lips and cheeks gold
• Fold the yellow paper sheet in the shape of accordion
• Unfold the paper so as to form some kind of fan


• [If you have several paper sheets of the same color, stick their extremities to each other so as to form a corolla from which one of the extremities won't be closed]


• Do the same with the orange and red paper sheets
• Glue the base of the orange paper sheet on the yellow one, and the red on the orange one
• Once silk or tissue papers have dried, glue their base along the mask (as seen on the picture on the right)
• Punch two holes on the extremities of the mask to attach ribbons

As you can see, it is not really hard to make Venetian masks at home. Obviously, you can go extravagant and, instead of choosing the Commedia Dell'Arte characters to base your Venetian mask decorations, paint advanced designs and use beads or gemstones and peacock feathers to create extraordinary Venetian masks.

Whatever the type of Venetian mask you choose to create, remember that you're supposed to wear long clothes that include a hooded cape. For a normal effect, a velvet cape will work fine, however, if you choose to wear an extravagant Venetian mask, then, a colored hooded cape made out of satin will work wonders.

I wish you a happy Venetian Carnival masquerade party!