If you are interested in plastering, you must know that it requires practice.
If you are planning to do a bit of DIY plastering around your home, then it is essential to do some research on plastering methods and the materials needed for the job before you begin.
Depending on the method used, plaster is applied in three or four different coats/applications.
Tapping the joins can either be done using a self adhesive mesh tape (fiber tape) or paper tape. Paper tape is considered the superior of the two, but application is more complicated.
The next coat (base coat) is applied to cover the tape and fill any manufactured recessed edges in the board.
The material used for the base coat can and does shrink, the amount of shrinkage varies depending on the type of plaster used, the way it was mixed and to some degree, the weather conditions. Once the base coat has dried, it may be necessary to apply another thinner coat to "refill" any areas where shrinkage that may have happened.
The finishing or the white coat is made of the same amount of fine beach sand and lime putty wherein the plaster of Paris is added for a smooth and hard finish. If you want a sand-finish effect, you must not include plaster of Paris in the mixture, instead it is recommended to add ½ cubic yard of sand. Lastly, a wooden float is added to the surface in order to reveal the sand and create a rough finish.
There are other kinds of plaster, which is based on gypsum instead of lime. This kind of plaster set faster compared with lime plaster but if you are going to use this for plastering, it is important to be careful and follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Plasterboard and metal lath are also common used instead of wood lath. These materials are more expensive but they lessen the risk of fire. Any kind of method in plastering must be run back of baseboards and dados because open spaces tend to increase the fire risk.
For further information see, a description and the history of Drywall, Fibrous plastering and Cornice
There is also some basic information about plasterwork on Wikipedia