How To Sculpt cont.....

Sculpting Tips - Part 2

How To Manage Clay - Your Raw Material

Ceramic Clay Management

Plastiline Management

Polymer Clay Management

Ceramic Clay Management

There is also a separate section on different types of earth or pottery clays (click to go to a special page explaining about the best earth clays for sculpting) .

To keep the clay in good condition, you will first need a sprayer. The clay comes out of the bag soft and pliable ('plastic') - too soft to work with apart from to rough out your basic form. So at first you will be looking to harden the clay off somewhat.

Once the clay is at the right working consistency (resists tool pressure, but is still moist), spray little and often to keep it right.

Your piece shouldn't dry out too much, neither should it be too wet.

Alway place your work on a damp bat made of plaster of paris (holds moisture) . If you want to get hold of one of these, the quickest way is to make one yourself. It easy, just get some plaster of paris powder from your local store.

When not working on the piece, cover with a plastic bag. Preferably see-through to allow you to see which bits you don't want to knock off!

Warping or Exploding artwork and Cracks While Drying etc!

Imagine you have spent weeks perfecting a sculpt. Imagine how horrified you would be if your precious piece of work cracked up during drying, then warped or even exploded in the kiln.

Do not hurry the drying process! This topic is discussed fully on the pottery clay page - but, in a nutshell, dry the piece out very slowly. The best pottery clays for sculpting contain a high ball clay content which is notorious for cracking while drying and warping in the kiln. It is imperative, therefore, to have an even thickness - no thicker than one inch anywhere (see hollowing), and not to fire the piece until it is totally dry and follow the slow drying instructions on the pottery clay page.

For more information on different types of ceramic modeling clay for sculpture, go to my page on ceramic modeling clays

Plastiline Management (How to sculpt with oil-based clays)

Oil based clay doesn't dry out but needs managing just the same. I used it for years professionally, but now I only use it now and again (see Rose Arbour pic below). However, at one time it was all I ever used and it is the popular choice of film studios and fantasy artists.

Plastiline is very hard compared with ceramic clay and the main management of this sculpting clay is the softening. You can microwave it or put it on the stove, or keep some in your pockets. I went through a 5 year period when I was mainly using plastiline for my commercial commissions. Mostly, I always had pocket-fulls of the stuff!

The brand I found best was Chavant (that's essentially when I learned how to sculpt). What I found the most effective method was to buy soft and hard in the same color - then mix together for varying consistencies.

I also mixed the soft with sculpey (see polymer clays below) if I needed extra soft & smooth clay. Use these tips to begin with, then ...... experiment!

Polymer Clay Management (How to sculpt with oven hardening clays)

Obviously the bonus for Sculpey and Fimo is that they oven harden. Sculpey is too soft for most of my sculpting requirements. Again, I defer to the expert in polymer clay, Katherine Dewey. I suggest you utilize the advice on both our sites.

Using Super Sculpey is a popular method with doll artists. For a doll or a portrait bust, you can put a thin skin over an armature, bake and then add more soft.

I used to use this method for dolls heads until I realized ceramic clay would do a better job for me and was cheaper. Remember, though that I was not having to finish the original sculpt - it was being cast for production.

I find Sculpey hard to get properly smooth and a bit too 'giving'. You can use the sculpey solvent or lighter fluid, or a mixture of the two to smooth. Personally, I find ceramic clay is easier to work with in many ways. I know how to sculpt with both methods, and unless I was doing minute pin-point sculptural detailing, I would work with pottery clay. Each person learns how to sculpt in a slightly different way, using the same principles.

Fimo is great for small work and if you mix small amounts with Sculpey, you get any color sculpey you want. Experiment!

Polymer is very expensive pound for pound (dollar for dollar) compared with ceramic clay - but more convenient to decorate and you don't have to go through the bother of firing.

This is a great method while learning how to sculpt or when utilizing your creative juices.








Blogger and graphic designer KNY (aka Kenn) also loves to free-style with polymer. I see them as 3-d doodles as he doesn't know where he's going with them before he starts. See... this is a good example of just DOING IT. Something we could all get better at.











The sculpt shown below of the lady under the rose arbor is a sculpt I did recently for Royal Worcester. The lady is Potclays 1150 ceramic modeling clay.

The arbour is mainly plastiline (grey) and sculpey (beige) for the twine work. Each type of clay has its specific applications.