Sculpt figures from clay. Modeling from polymer clay: a fascinating hobby for the modern woman. Where to start for a beginner sculpture

Polymer clay is one of the most popular materials for creativity. Did you know that you can make it yourself? Today's master class is great option for those who are just trying their hand at making jewelry and other crafts from polymer clay and is afraid to spend a rather impressive amount on this material.

It also makes sense to make polymer clay yourself and for those who actively work with it and create many different things from it. Let's say if you make beads from polymer clay, there is no point in wasting factory clay on making beads - it makes more sense to use homemade raw materials.

As for quality, homemade polymer clay has all the same properties as factory clay. Another thing is that if you use low-quality ingredients for its production, you can get an imperfect consistency. So we do not advise you to take expired or downright bad components - the final result depends on this.

What do we need?

PVA glue – 250 g
corn (not potato!) starch – 250 g
Vaseline – 1 tbsp
lemon juice (be careful not to get any pulp, we need pure juice) – 2 tablespoons
hand cream (not too greasy and definitely without silicone in the composition) – 1 tbsp.
dyes

How to make polymer clay at home?

IN plastic dishes(for heating in the microwave) mix glue, starch and Vaseline. Mix thoroughly until the lumps are completely dissolved.
Add lemon juice and knead the “dough” with your hands.
We put the bowl in the microwave (use maximum power) for exactly 30 seconds, then take it out, mix and put it in the microwave again for another 30 seconds.
Take a flat plate, tray or plastic cutting board (in short, any flat surface where you can conveniently prepare polymer clay will do, even on a table) and spread hand cream over its surface. Now we take the bowl that we just took out of the microwave and remove the top frozen crust - throw it away, because we will only need the mass that remains under it. We dump it on our flat surface with cream.
We begin to knead the mass with our hands, as if we were preparing dough for pies. We help ourselves with a spatula if our future polymer clay sticks too much to the surface. After about 5 minutes of vigorous kneading, the mass will become pliable and plastic.
Now we divide it into pieces - it is at this stage that coloring occurs. You can use gouache, food coloring or aniline fabric dyes. The main thing is to add the dye just a little at a time and constantly mix the mixture thoroughly so that the color turns out even. However, it is not at all necessary to paint polymer clay now - you can add color to the finished product when you mold and bake it - decide for yourself.
The dough needs to be rolled out into a sausage and placed on some cloth so that it absorbs excess moisture from the finished mass. When the resulting material has cooled completely, wrap it in plastic wrap. Place all the sausages in a plastic container and keep them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

You need to use homemade clay in the same way as factory clay. Take out the required amount of mass from the film, form the product and bake it (the time depends on the size of the craft), and then coat it with varnish.

Today, handicrafts in a wide variety of techniques and manifestations are again in fashion. Everyone can afford such a hobby, and it’s so nice to create beautiful things with your own hands, literally “out of nothing.” One of the original hobbies for children and adults is clay modeling. What materials will be needed for such creativity and where to start? Especially for you - a detailed master class in our article.

Let's go in search of clay

Pottery is one of the oldest crafts in the world. Dishes and decorative items were known to mankind at the dawn of civilizations. Where to start getting acquainted with this ancient technique? You will need the main material - clay, the easiest way is to buy it at a craft supply store. Some home craftsmen also try to sculpt from cosmetic powder purchased at the pharmacy. Another option is clay mined with your own hands. To do this, it is not at all necessary to go to a quarry; in many regions of Russia you can find places where the material we need lies directly under the soil layer. Attention: clay can be oily, medium and thin - depending on the amount and nature of impurities. It’s easy to check whether the chosen piece is suitable for modeling: just try to mash it in your hands and roll it into a sausage. If the material does not stick to your hands and does not crack, you can start making crafts.

Basic rules for working with material

Today, clay modeling courses are opening all over the country, and for good reason. Working with this material is indeed somewhat more difficult than with plasticine or salt dough. First of all, the clay must be diluted to a plastic consistency. If you have powder, just add water and mix. The situation is a little more complicated with lump clay. In this case, the material should be filled with liquid for a while. Then drain the water and knead the lump. If you can't use up the whole prepared piece at once, just put it in plastic bag or wrap with a wet cloth. It is believed that when long-term storage clay can become moldy - so try to knead it at least once a day if you plan to use it in a couple of days.

Simple crafts: where to start?

Clay modeling for beginners involves making simple figures. Separate a piece of suitable size from the entire prepared mass. Remember it in your hands - your fingers should get used to the texture and density of the material. Next, you have to turn a piece of mass into some kind of figure. What exactly to blind? Experienced clay sculptors advise beginners to depict any images and shapes that first come to mind. And most importantly, don’t be afraid: one of the advantages of the material is that you can always redo everything before finishing the product. Try making some simple animal or even a human figure.

Clay modeling is an interesting type of craft that allows you to create a variety of things. So, the easiest way is to draw complex shapes from one piece of material. But sculpting something from individual pieces of clay is a little more difficult. To fasten the parts you will need special glue. It’s very simple to make: prepare a liquid solution of clay with water. Before gluing one element to another, lubricate the intended joint with the resulting liquid. The same solution can smooth out cracks that sometimes appear when the material dries. Clay modeling is a very creative process. Try decorating your crafts with “carvings” using special tools or any available devices - for example, thin sticks or empty pen refills. An interesting technique is to add texture to the clay using stamps; also try rolling out a layer on a piece of embossed fabric. You can make another type of crafts from the selected material using special forms. Clay, diluted to a liquid state, is poured into them and left for a couple of days. After which the figurine is taken out, if necessary, smooth out all the irregularities and left to air dry further.

Using clay, you can make casts with ready-made toys and souvenirs made of solid materials. Making such crafts is very simple. Wrap the figurine with which we will make a cast with cling film. Roll out the clay with a rolling pin and carefully adhere to the prepared form. Wait until the clay dries a little (no more than a day), then carefully remove it from the base. Leave the figurine to dry and process further in the usual way. Modeling from clay (for children you can choose several simpler crafts) is not only about creating three-dimensional products. It is quite possible to get by with prints. Roll out the material not too thin. Then invite the young sculptor to leave his fingerprints on the surface or squeeze out an entire picture. Impressions can also be made with stamps or simply with beautiful molds or jars.

How to process the product?

Real pottery masters fire their products in special kilns. Of course, few people have such equipment at home. But you can always fire the clay over a fire. Just make sure that the fire is not too strong, otherwise your crafts may crack. Clay modeling is a fascinating activity, but requires patience. It is not enough to sculpt a figurine; the products must still go through several stages of processing. After the crafts have completely dried, they must be carefully sanded, smoothing out all the imperfections. Then the products are fired or coated with several layers of colorless varnish. Clay sculptures can be decorated with paints. Remember that unfired products are quite fragile. After firing, the figurines become more durable, but it is still not recommended to drop them or subject them to aggressive mechanical influences.

For your first tests, you can always purchase a ready-made factory-made clay modeling kit. Not only will it contain everything necessary materials and tools, but also detailed instructions for making crafts and a step-by-step guide for each action.

Polymer clay is a universal material. It’s easy to make toys, jewelry, souvenirs, dolls, and other crafts from it. Products made from polymer clay are durable.

The peculiarity of this material is its ability to harden, because in essence it is polymer plastic. There are compositions that harden in air, some need to be baked at a certain temperature. This is done in household ovens.

Polymer clay is safe for children, it is an excellent alternative to plasticine - the product is beautiful, holds its shape, and does not wrinkle from an accidental fall.

Air-hardening plastic is more suitable for children; it is more durable. Products made from baked clay are as fragile as porcelain.

Types of clay

With the modern abundance of all kinds of brands, it wouldn’t hurt to small review. Let's start with self-hardening.

Keraplast requires additional painting; it imitates natural colors. Despite the fact that it sticks to your hands, it is safe for children. Dries in a day.
Deco is available in bright colors and white bars. Perhaps the most child-friendly material.
Darwi is less sticky but dries faster.

Clay that hardens when heated is used for complex shapes.

Superskulpey and Skulpey Original are quite soft types. Souffle is suitable for jewelry, this clay has pastel shades.
Kato Polyclay holds its shape well. Cernit and FIMO are the favorite materials of professionals.
Children are happy to work with clay Sculpey II, Premo, Bake Shop, Tsvetik, it is colorful and bright.
Artifact is universal. The sonnet is beginner-friendly. Yozki is considered the most environmentally friendly.

Modeling technique

To work, you need to prepare a work surface. Convenient to use:

laminate trim;
flexible cutting boards(they will become unsuitable for cooking);
pieces of thick oilcloth;
a flat, smooth table, covered with cling film.

To prevent the clay from sticking to the surface, talc is used. Sometimes it is replaced with flour. The clay is cut from the briquette packaging with a knife or scissors. To roll out the pieces to an even thickness, use a rolling pin or something that replaces it ( glass bottle, jar).

Pins or toothpicks, round shapes are fired on them. Defects are removed from finished products with fine sandpaper, and the surfaces are polished with pieces of woolen cloth.

Products are painted acrylic paints, coated with a special varnish for clay or a construction varnish for wooden surfaces. It is better to use gloves for work.

What else do you need for a simple craft? Fantasy. Bouquets are made from polymer clay. For beginners, it is important to take the first steps.

Chrysanthemum or dandelion

To make clay bouquets, the same principle is used as when working with plasticine or salt dough - they make a blank and give it its final shape.

We knead the plastic, like plasticine, so that there are no air bubbles in it.
Roll out strips of yellow clay 2-2.5 cm wide, of arbitrary length. These are the future petals of the flower. For a natural shape, the thickness of the stripes should be different - the inner petals are longer, the outer petals are shorter.
We cut the edges of the strips; for the dandelion they are turned into fringe. For chrysanthemums, thicker strips are made. On the other side, the strip is wrapped in paper. It is more convenient to hold the clay workpiece in it.
We make a sepal - the same fringed strip of green color.
We take a wooden skewer and begin to wind the finished petals onto the tip, one strip after another.
We wrap the outside of the resulting flower with a green stripe.
Fluff the petals with a toothpick and trim the excess with scissors.
We fix the skewer on the foil so that the finished flower remains suspended, for this we use lumps of crumpled foil.
After annealing, the flower is coated with varnish.

Learning to make roses, violets, buttercups

The child will make such a flower himself. For violets, first a blank is formed in the shape of an icicle or pear. The wide end is cut crosswise and petals are formed. You can also make a buttercup - the thick part is divided into 6 petals.

For a rose, each petal is sculpted separately; for texture, the clay is pressed between the palms, creating natural unevenness on the surface.

Such flowers are used in costume jewelry, they are used to decorate photo frames, and they are used to decorate wall collages.

Decorations

If desired, useful crafts can be created from clay. A master class on making bracelets will be the starting point. An old plastic bracelet or ring cut from plastic bottle can be given new life.

The main thing is that the future bracelet fits your hand. To do this, it is better to use clay that hardens at room temperature. You need to work quickly, be sure to wrap the rest of the material tightly, protecting it from drying out.

You can make an interesting colored bracelet by twisting strips of different colors. If you roll them out, you get a colorful splendor. To such a bracelet on chain links you can attach different flowers, figures, whatever you have enough imagination for.

Defects on self-hardening clay are eliminated with fine sandpaper, then the surface is polished with woolen cloth or a piece of fur.

Magic clay

Children enjoy making toys from clay: it adheres perfectly, and you can apply layer after layer. Professionals create unique dolls.

Clay is universal and plastic. The only negative is that when fired, harmful components are released from it. But you’re not going to burn monumental creations, are you? Therefore, let clay into your home. You will not regret. There will be something to do on long winter evenings.

Photo ideas for crafts made from polymer clay

Every year more and more appear various materials for creativity and implementation of the most incredible ideas. From polymer clay you can create small masterpieces: buttons, earrings, rings, figurines of animals and various objects, thematic scenes and other products.

Now everyone can use this material, because it is sold in any craft store or stationery department and has an affordable price.

Polymer clay is a plate-like mass, similar to plasticine, but when hardened it forms plastic. It is intended for sculpting and modeling various products for children's and adult creativity.

Now there are a large number of varieties: one hardens when heated, others on their own within a few hours.

The basis of the clay mass is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), auxiliary components (pigments for coloring, white porcelain, kaolin, talc, various stabilizers, plasticizers, cellulose, mica, chalk). The most common brands:

Fimo is one of the first brands;
Darwi;
PolyformSculpey;
Decoclay;
Cernit;
Keraplast;
Bake Shop;
Kato;
Flower.

For some, it takes time to harden in the open air, for others, an oven for baking finished products.

Finished products can be painted with acrylic paints, mechanical actions can be performed (drilling, piercing), and the product will not break.

How to choose

Before you buy material, you need to decide:

what product will be made, what colors of clay to choose for them;
will an oven be used for curing;
you need a very soft or harder material for modeling.

Clay manufacturers create new types with different properties every year. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that some manufacturers produce:

material based on natural components, others from synthetic materials;
soft or hard;
quickly - slowly hardening or by applying temperature;
Children are allowed to work with some, only adults are allowed to work with others;
some become brittle after hardening, others are plastic and amenable to further processing;
some are deformed upon contact with water, others are not;
Some manufacturers have 2-4 colors, others have more than 10;
some sell small packages, others large ones.

Therefore, before purchasing, you should read the instructions and characteristics of the material.

Suitable for working with children: Ezki, BakeShop, Fimo - they are soft and environmentally friendly. For making figurines – Premo, Kato, Skulpey. For beginners, you can prepare clay at home, and as you gain experience, you can switch to professional clay.

How to make the composition at home

There are many recipes for creating polymer clay at home, but each has its own characteristics.

Recipe No. 1: for working with children

Required components:

corn or potato starch - 100 g;
glycerin – 30 g;
PVA glue – 150 g;
food coloring - the amount depends on the desired color.

Knead the glycerin, glue and starch thoroughly and place in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, then cool to a temperature that is acceptable for the skin of your hands to knead the dough. To prevent it from freezing, place it in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator.

Recipe No. 2

Required components:

salt – 50 g;
soda – 50 g;
starch (corn, potato) – 150 g;
warm water –100 g;
food coloring.

Divide the water in half: dissolve the starch in one, add salt, soda and food coloring to the other, and put on fire. Water with salt and dye should reach a boil, then dissolved starch is added to it and thoroughly mixed until smooth.

Recipe No. 3

Required components:

starch – 150 g;
Vaseline – 50 g;
baby cream – 50 g;
PVA glue – 150 g;
food coloring;
vegetable (vaseline, olive) oil – 30 g.

This recipe has its own peculiarity; the clay does not require heat treatment for preparation. Mix all ingredients and stir until smooth, then slowly add starch and knead the dough.

Tools needed for sculpting

To create masterpieces from polymer clay, you need to prepare a place and tools. It is important that all tools after modeling are not used for cooking, but it is better to leave them only for making crafts:

board on which products will be made;
knives, wooden sticks, wire;
rolling pin, empty bottle, pasta machine;
molds;
materials for decoration (beads, beads, sequins, lace, foil, fasteners, chains, etc.)
gloves;
napkins;
sandpaper or file for sanding;
acrylic paints, varnish;
baking dishes.

When creating products, you must adhere to several rules:

Wear gloves.
Use wooden, glass, metal utensils and tools.
After finishing work, remove the remaining dough into a bag and into the refrigerator.
Wash and dry the tools, put them away until next time.
Avoid getting clay on surfaces: floor, carpet.

It is important to remember that during drying the product decreases in size, so in order to obtain the required final size, the figurine must be made a little larger.

How to sculpt

Prepare the tool and workplace, choose 1 or more colors to create beads. For the first product, it is better to take a simple craft (for example, beads).

Cut a piece of clay into equal parts and knead it in your hands.
When it softens well, make a ball out of each piece, according to the principle of plasticine.
Use a toothpick or wire to make small holes so that you can then thread the rope or fishing line through.
Place the balls on a plate and place in the oven. Each package always indicates the time and temperature at which the product will be ready.
Remove from oven and cool.
If the product has defects, sharpen it using sandpaper or a nail file.
Degrease the product using a soapy sponge or detergent for dishes and dry.
Prepare acrylic paints and paint the product, if necessary.

The final stage in making beads is coating them with varnish and stringing them on a prepared ribbon or rope.

What can be done

Thousands of different products can be made from polymer clay: accessories, jewelry, figurines, figurines and other items. Most often, it is used to make beads, earrings, rings, fairy-tale characters, animal figurines, keychains, flowers, mugs, and Christmas tree decorations.

You need to know that if the required color is not on sale, then it is allowed to mix it and get a variety of colors and shades.

Toys

To create a toy, you need to decide on the color and shape (volumetric or flat). For a flat figure (for example, a fish) you need:

prepare a sketch drawn on thick paper or cardboard and cut it out;
cut a piece and roll it out with a rolling pin;
apply the clay to the cut out sketch and cut it with a knife;
add eyes made of beads or small rolled clay circles to the figure, make scales with a knife, cutting out semicircles along the entire length of the fish.

After which the figurine should be wiped with a damp alcohol wipe, cleaning it. Place in the oven to bake, then remove, dry and coat with acrylic varnish.

Thus, you can make cartoon characters, gingerbread, a cat, a dog, Smeshariki, even buttons. Flat figures should be given a convex or wavy shape: for this it is necessary to lay the blanks on prepared foil figures.

Dolls

Doll to choose from: voluminous or flat. For a voluminous figure, roll out sausages and balls like plasticine.

Making a ball is the head.

The body must be made in the form of a cone, the arms and legs must be rolled into sausages.

You can make the feet and hands flat using a sketch and stick them to the sausages.

Add a dress, a suit and a headdress, eyes made of beads or beads, a handbag, etc. to the finished doll.

New Year's crafts

To decorate the Christmas tree, you can make toys in the form of large and small balls, geometric shapes, Santa Claus, snowman, Snow Maiden, snowflake and others.

One of the options for crafts is combining several colors, using the example of a snowflake made of 2 colors (blue and white):

From white roll into a thick sausage (cylinder).
Roll out the blue flat cake and wrap it around the cylinder, cutting off the excess.
Make another flat blue cake and cut into thin slices.
Cut the cylinder in half and cut a blue strip along the edge of each, connecting the halves.
Cut the cylinder in half again perpendicular to the first cut and stick it on, do this several times, when the cylinder sticks together, you will see that you have a kind of snowflake.
Cut the cylinder into circles and place in the oven, then degrease and seal with varnish.

Before baking, you should use a toothpick to make holes in the snowflake so that later you have somewhere to thread the rope.

Figurines

The figurines are made in the likeness of a doll; you can combine colors or make one color and paint them after baking. For figurines, it will be necessary to make a pedestal on which the figurine is attached, so that it can then be placed and hung.

Mugs

Creating a mug or flower pot is a rather complicated process, for which you need to choose clay that is harder and dries quickly. To make a figure even and beautiful, especially for beginners, you need to take the form - plastic cup or a ready-made mug.

Select the material and roll it out into large flat cakes, but not thin ones, 1-1.5 cm thick.

Grease the mold with vegetable oil or rinse with water.

Cover the mug from the inside, carefully connecting the layers of clay so that there are no cracks; ideally, it should be made from one whole piece.

Remove the figure and place it in the oven for baking, then degrease it with soapy water and seal it with varnish.

Flowers

Creating flowers is a kind of symphony in the form of a bouquet, keychain, earrings, or just a painting or a watch.

To create a rose, you need to roll out the plates, roll the first one into a tube, and gradually wrap the rest, straightening the petals. Chamomile is made from plates: blanks of paper with sharp or round edges and cut out the required amount from them.

Then combine and bake. You can create dahlias from balls that are cut in a circle with scissors, forming sharp petals, a little prickly, like those of a hedgehog.

Modeling ideas

A few points to remember when working:

Polymer clay has a specific smell when sculpting and baking, so you need to work with an open window.
The figures must be made immediately and baked, because some types of clay can become brittle after drying in air or, on the contrary, lose their shape.
Mix colors carefully using tables.
The figures must be well connected, without leaving air streaks, since when baked, such a figure will crack or swell.

Modern craftsmen are developing many different techniques for sculpting and making figures. For a beginning craftsman, it is better to make simple, light figures from homemade clay.

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