Make A Velociraptor

In the final part of our series showing you how to make a velociraptor, you'll see how useful our homeschool paper mache clay recipe can be.

You can use it for all sorts of fun projects.

And it's great to make something three dimensional that's nice to paint!

If your child likes any sort of animal, you could use the clay to help them model it.

And here we'll show you how a prehistoric beast comes to life!

velociraptor model with Catherine

I couldn't fit everything on so I had to use three pages to show you how to make a velociraptor.

But I think you'll be fascinated to find out!

make a dinosaur for kids

By now you have the basic structure which will go to make your dinosaur.

We're going to make our Velociraptor's skin using our homeschool paper mache clay recipe.

Paper mache clay is a brilliant material.

You can use for lots of homeschool projects; it's very adaptable and easy to use.

Paper Mache Clay Ingredients

  • 1 roll toilet paper 
  • Start with one cup* regular joint compound (polyfiller) from the hardware store. Get premixed “regular,” not “fast set” or “light.” You'll need to add more than one cup to get the consistency you need.
  • ¾ cup Elmer’s Glue-all (PVA glue)
  • ½ cup White Flour
  • 2 tablespoons Linseed Oil 
  • A dash of Miltons sterilising liquid (to stop your dinosaur going moldy) .... see Courtney's question below....
dinosaur clay question

Thanks for asking Courtney!  If you buy THIN bleach in the supermarket it is exactly the same chemical composition as Milton, although a little more concentrated. (Bleach is usually a 4-5% sodium hypochlorite solution whereas Milton is about 1-2%).

And bleach is a lot cheaper!

How To Make Paper Mache Clay

  1. Unroll the toilet paper from the roll and put it in a bucket with warm water so it all gets wet.
  2. Squeeze out the water from the paper and throw the rest of the water away so you just have soggy toilet tissue in the bottom of your bucket.
  3. Break up the soggy mass into bits with your fingers.
  4. Add all the other ingredients to the bucket.
  5. Stir furiously with a wooden stick for as long as you can stand.
paper mache clay

Now you need to judge how much more joint compound (polyfiller) to add to give a nice consistency.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container and the clay will keep for a few weeks.

Make A Velociraptor's Skin

adding paper mache clay to Velociraptor

When you're putting the paper mache clay onto your dinosaur, you'll need to apply it gently with a knife and smooth it off.

It's an ideal material to shape and fun to do.

Here is a video showing you Catherine adding the paper mache clay to her Velociraptor model.

Hope you like the Velociraptor roar at the start!

Catherine adding paper mache clay to Velociraptor model

Painting Your Model

painting Velociraptor model

This, believe it or not, is the hard part when you come to build a dinosaur!

Acrylic paint works fine, but it took Catherine two or three goes to get the color right.

painting Velociraptor model no. 2

At one point Velociraptor nearly became a very sickly green!

finished Velociraptor model

When you make a Velociraptor, we're not suggesting you build one exactly like ours.

He might get jealous!

But you can borrow the techniques, and particularly our paper mache clay recipe, to make all sorts of exciting projects.

full-size Velociraptor model

Other Pages You Might Like

Click on the picture to go to the page.

pterosaur dinosaur robot
kids dinosaur scene
Ideas for homeschooling covering all subjects.

Please note that the book link above is an affiliate links so if you buy I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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