Shali,
I made a 5.5 foot tall giraffe a couple of years ago. Here is a link to her picture in my gallery, she's near the bottom:
http://www.papiermache.co.uk/gallery/artist/181/
I make all of my armatures out of coat hangers bent into shape and then taped securely. Then I add a few layers of "skin" strips and then I do a section at a time with pulp. Make sure you do just one section and let it dry thoroughly or you'll end up with a weak, wet mess. I usually do legs first (with the pulp) just to add strength to the structure. As far as proportions go I do internet searches and find out all the specs on whatever animal I am making and use these for measurements. Hope this makes sense
Moni

Thanks!!

Shali, just keep in mind that no matter what you make in a larger size, it almost always has to have some kind of armature. And the larger, and especially longer or taller you want it to be, the stronger the armature must be.

Even small pieces like human figures may need armatures simply to have a form to build on. Small human figures on simple wire forms come to mind.

For instance, if you wanted to make a scupture of a lifesized bear cub, you could do it all with wadded/taped newspaper or securely taped bags of styrofoam packing peanuts.

For 2-ft (60cm) or 3-ft (1m) basic shapes that would hold small objects for display, foam sheet insulation would probably be fine.

But once you start with tall, relatively narrow things like the human figure, giraffes or a leaping jaguar, the stresses caused by the length/height (relative to overall diameter) is going to cause a certain amount of flex. If the armature can't handle the flex, it is likely to break. On some pieces, the armature may be able to deal with noticeable flex, but a thin PM surface (like if you wanted it to be translucent, with minimal layers) may split when the armature flexes and the surface doesn't.

And if your project is top-heavy, you'll need an armature that can handle it, AND have some sort of base or foundation that is heavy enough to prevent the project from falling over, from either it's sheer weight, or from someone accidentally jostling it.

One good thing about armatures is that they are frequently 'translatable' from other types of sculpture. If you find a website or a  book that shows how to make a welded rebar (concrete steel reinforcing bar) armature, you can often adapt the method/dimensions/proportions, either connecting it in another (simpler) way, or using lighter, more available materials.  Since PM is light in comparison to other materials, you can still use materials like rebar or other metal rods, but instead of welding them together, you can tie them together with thin wire.  Metal rods, stiff wire, soft wire wrapped around doubled stiffer wire, wooden dowels, flexible tree limbs and willow whips, fiberglass, nylon or plastic rods, carved styrofoam (even a bag of scraps), cut/stacked/carved sheet wall insulation foam, thin strips of plywood, thin wooden slats, cardboard taped together with packaging tape, bamboo, bundled sticks and even bundled broomstraws. Many materials can be used for armatures.

WetCanvas has some instructions with photos that may help: http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/67/70/

SculptureNet has an archived forum with a verbal description but no photos: http://www.sculpture.net/community/arch … -1547.html

More instructions: http://www.essortment.com/all/armaturewire_rkxg.htm

Here is a sculpture (w/photos) of a deer to be mosaiced:
http://mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/20 … -mosaique/

Sue

Also, if you find it is too light, or top heavy, you can cut into the base and insert something heavy - like a stone, bag of sand (well sealed!) etc.  Make sure they are well taped in so they can't shake loose if the thing is turned upside down.
DavidO