The Splendor of African Animal Masks
Creation and History Behind the Art
African masks are known to be some of the most exquisite and renowned masks in the world. Their haunting beauty teamed with timeless stories of heroism, celebration, peace, and troubled times makes for a breathless deliverance of legend and morality. Africa is home to many exotic animals, from huge protective elephants to devious little monkeys, and each animal carries a story with it in the African culture. Just as each animal has its purpose in Africa, each African representation of this animal is made to highlight specific characteristics of the animal, and to convey a moral story to its followers and onlookers. Each story is a lesson, and within each story the mask wearer will be able to identify with the animal spirit through the mask or clothing they are wearing, in order to connect the people of our world to that of the spirit world.
The African masks are created using colors that depict the animal it represents. Often these colors will be brilliant shades, carefully painted on using fingers or hair brushes. The masks often hold the natural “mask” of the animal, with figurative shading and symmetrical contrasting. This will help the audience understand the will of the being, whether it is good or evil, playful or serious.
At The Printable Mask shop, we strive to create each mask as a fun, cost sensitive alternative to the original African animal masks. We carefully create each mask with sensitivities to the African culture and allow our users to gain more knowledge of the legendary masks through sharing them with friends and family in a fun learning environment.
Fun Ideas for Using African Animal Masks
Any type of party is a perfect setting to unleash the mystical qualities of our masks. For adult parties, it can be a fun and exciting way to:
- bring in the New Year,
- celebrate birthdays,
- or simply add some artistic fun to any other occasion.
Children’s Parties
For children, the options are truly limitless. All children love stories and make-believe. What better to get your audience involved in the story than to present them with their very own character mask?
The animal masks also make a wonderful party favor for children. If the birthday party is for very young children, this disposable and affordable option is perfect. Not only are these masks printable and reusable, but additional feathers, glitter, and other decorative materials can be used to enhance the mask and perhaps the entire costume, creating a truly make-believe wish come true for your young ones.
If story time is a favorite within your household, camp, or school, these masks can help create a fun learning environment by holding the children’s attention more firmly as they learn about their animal. They will retain the information longer and have more fun doing it because the experience was made personal to them. The story teller should also wear a mask or masks, and as the story itself changes, so can the type of mask worn. This will make story time exciting and fun for everyone involved as they see the characters come to life before their eyes.
A trip to the park or zoo isn’t complete without an African animals mask! As the children and adults walk through the zoo, park, or museum, masks can be worn to teach the children what each animal looks like, the sounds they make, and some of their natural habits. This makes for great photographs and cherished memories at any family outing.
Halloween
Halloween is, of course, a vividly celebrated holiday among children and adults alike. Instead of messy face painting and suffocating hooded or rubber masked costumes, opt for one of our printable masks. You and your child will have a blast dressing up like the characters of Lion King (or whatever your heart desires) with these fun dynamic masks. You can research your outfits together online and create them as a team. It will be sure to make Halloween much more memorable, and a healthier learning experience, not to mention much less expensive.
Anytime
These colorful masks aren’t just for parties; these can be worn just for fun! Make a normally boring cleaning day with your children more fun by donning each room a specific animal. When the person cleaning the room finishes, they will then take off the mask for that room and put on the next mask. Tons of fun games and exciting learning lessons can be created, and made more fun by using our inexpensive African animal masks. Let your imagination be your guide!
Check out all of our animal masks for your next African mask party
Designed to Fit!
Mask Categories
Videos
