How To Use Sculpting Tools For Clay
Grab some tools and a ball of clay and make some faces letters and numbers or perhaps a weird and wonderful creature.
How to use sculpting tools for clay. X-Acto Knife Used for trimming away excess clay create grooves use the flat side to make simple fish scales. Plastic shape templates in a few basic shapes or a few basic cutter sets. Wire tipped tool - homemade tool with stiff wire coming out the top - this is good for dragging across the surface of your sculpt to give random wrinkles that then can be smoothed out with brushes 2.
Rib Tools Rib tools are traditionally made of wood and are used for cutting and scraping clay but theyre easily made out of old gift cards. Working in three dimensions can be an interesting artistic challenge. A set of playing cards.
Knead the clay to make it more pliable and to remove any air bubbles. This is really just a fun exercise to get things started so dont worry about neatness at this stage. We teach you the tools and language of sculpture.
Modelling tools wires knives spoons old kitchen implements A mask. Enlarge Picture showing the X-Acto knife 2. Head to a department or craft store and pick out some polymer clay and a few sculpting tools.
If you dont own an X-Acto knife get one. Practicing Sculpting Techniques Download Article 1 Knead the clay using your palms. Get to know the various styles available and learn how to use different tools for the best results in your sculpting.
If you havent any polymer clay just yet feel free to use plasticine for this class. Although not strictly necessary this is the one investment that I would recommend. One of the best things about polymer clay is that it doesnt require expensive equipment to get started.