How to Make a Sculpture With Drywall Compound

Knockdown or Skip Trowel Sculpting

• 1

  Cover all areas you do not wish to be textured. Cover windows, baseboards and door jambs with plastic sheeting and tape it in place.

• 2

  Add water to your drywall compound until it is a thick soupy consistency.

• 3

  Apply the drywall compound in small but rough chunks with a trowel, or splatter the wall with compound using a paint brush. Work in sections as you create texture.

• 4

  Spread each section with a trowel, moving lightly over the compound. Move in different directions with a very light touch so that you leave irregular gaps between the flattened mounds of compound. Let the compound dry.

Comb Sculptures

• 5

  Cover and tape all areas you do not wish to sculpt.

• 6

  Apply the drywall compound to the surface and smooth it as flawlessly as possible with a trowel.

• 7

  Drag a sculpting comb across the smoothed compound. This creates a pattern in the compound. Use this technique for straight or curved lines.

Stencil Sculpting

• 8

  Drape and tape areas where you do not want the compound.

• 9

  Tape your chosen stencil to the wall or ceiling.

• 10

  Apply the drywall compound with a trowel across the stencil. Texture the compound by splattering and smoothing, combing or any other method that creates the texture you want.

• 11

  Remove the stencil from the wall and let the compound dry.