It takes a day or so to dry. The more layers you add, the sturdier it will be. We applied a second layer, but we only did one layer, not 4 this time. That just made sure all the parts stayed firmly in place. I find newspaper needs two coats of paint, whereas the white paper only needs one.
Toilet paper gives a rough texture which is nice for some animals.
We used computer paper for our lion. Use a black marker or black paint to add facial features. Close the template window after printing to return to this screen. It has some personal questions. Only fill in those you are comfortable with.