Sculpt figures from clay. Polymer clay modeling: an exciting hobby for a modern woman. How to start a beginner sculptor

Polymer clay is one of the most popular craft materials. But did you know that you can make it yourself? Today's masterclass 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 quite an impressive amount on this material.

It also makes sense to make polymer clay on your own and for those who actively work with it and create many different things from it. For example, if you are making beads from polymer clay, it makes no sense to spend factory clay on making beads - it is wiser to use homemade raw materials.

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

What will we need?

PVA glue - 250 gr
corn (not potato!) starch - 250 gr
vaseline - 1 tablespoon
lemon juice (make sure that the pulp does not get in, we need pure juice) - 2 tablespoons
hand cream (not too greasy and always without silicone in the composition) - 1 tbsp
dyes

How to make polymer clay at home?

AT plastic utensils(for heating in the microwave) mix glue, starch and petroleum jelly. Mix well until the lumps are completely dissolved.
Add lemon juice and knead the "dough" with your hands.
We send the bowl to the microwave (use maximum power) for exactly 30 seconds, then take it out, mix and send it to the microwave again - for another 30 seconds.
We take a flat plate, tray or plastic cutting board (in a word, any flat surface will do, where it will be convenient for you to cook polymer clay, even on the table) and smear hand cream on its surface. Now we take the bowl that we just got out of the microwave and remove the top frozen crust - throw it away, because we 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 preparing the dough for pies. We help ourselves with a spatula if our future polymer clay is too sticky 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 staining occurs. You can use gouache, food coloring, or aniline fabric dyes. The main thing is to add the dye quite a bit and constantly knead the mass well so that the color is uniform. However, it is not at all necessary to paint polymer clay now - you can give color to an already finished product when you blind and bake it - then decide for yourself.
The dough must be rolled into a sausage and put on some kind of cloth so that it absorbs the excess moisture of the finished mass. When the resulting material has completely cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap. We put all the sausages in a plastic container and keep it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

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

Today, needlework in a wide variety of techniques and manifestations is back in fashion. Everyone can afford such a hobby, and it’s so nice to create beautiful things with your own hands, and 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 in the world. Dishes and decorative dishes were known to mankind at the dawn of the birth of civilizations. How to get started with this ancient technique? You will need the main material - clay, the easiest way is to buy it in a craft supply store. Some home craftsmen also try to sculpt from a cosmetic powder bought at a 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 is oily, medium and skinny - depending on the amount and nature of impurities. Checking whether the selected piece is suitable for modeling is simple: just try to crush it in your hands and roll up the 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 being opened all over the country, and this is no accident. 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 lumpy 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 entire prepared piece at a time, just put it in plastic bag or wrap with a wet cloth. It is believed that at long-term storage clay can get 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 a suitable size from the entire cooked 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 forms that first come to mind. And most importantly - do not be afraid: one of the advantages of the material is that you can always redo everything before finishing the product. Try to make 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 a special glue. Making it is very simple: prepare a liquid solution of clay with water. Before gluing one element to another, lubricate the intended junction 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 to decorate your crafts with "carving" using special tools or any improvised devices - for example, thin sticks or empty pen rods. An interesting technique is to give texture to clay with stamps, also try to roll out the layer on a piece of embossed fabric. From the selected material, you can make another type of crafts using special forms. Clay, diluted to a liquid state, is poured into them and left for a couple of days. After that, the figure is taken out, if necessary, all irregularities are smoothed out and left to air dry further.

Using clay, casts can be made with finished toys and souvenirs made of hard materials. It is very easy to make such crafts. Wrap the figure with which we will make a cast with cling film. Roll out the clay with a rolling pin and gently wrap around the prepared mold. 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. Clay modeling (for children, you can pick up a few simpler crafts) is not only the creation of voluminous products. You can get by with prints. Roll out the material not too thin. Then invite the young sculptor to leave fingerprints on the surface or squeeze out the whole picture. Prints can also be made with stamps or simply beautiful molds, 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 burn the clay at the stake. Just make sure that the fire is not too strong, otherwise your crafts may crack. Clay modeling is a fascinating activity, but it 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 flaws. Then the products are fired or covered with several layers of colorless varnish. Clay sculptures can be painted 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 and subject them to aggressive mechanical stress.

For the first samples, you can always purchase a ready-made kit for modeling factory-made clay. It contains not only all necessary materials and tools, but detailed instructions on making crafts and a step-by-step guide for each action.

Polymer clay is a versatile material. It is easy to make toys, jewelry, souvenirs, a doll, and other crafts out of it. Products made of polymer clay are durable.

The peculiarity of this material is the ability to harden, because in fact it is polymer plastic. There are compositions that harden in air, some must be baked at a certain temperature. They do it in household ovens.

Polymer clay is safe for children, it is a great alternative to plasticine - the product is beautiful, keeps its shape, and will not wrinkle from an accidental fall.

For babies, air-hardening plastic is more suitable, it is more durable. Fired clay products are fragile, like porcelain.

Varieties of clay

With the modern abundance of various brands, a small review will not be superfluous. Let's start with self-hardening.

Keraplast requires additional painting, it imitates natural colors. Although it sticks to hands, it is safe for children. Dries out in a day.
Deco comes 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 mild varieties. Souffle is suitable for jewelry, this clay is pastel shades.
Kato Polyclay keeps its shape very well. Cernit and FIMO are the favorite material of professionals.
Children willingly 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.

Sculpting technique

For work it is necessary to prepare a working surface. Convenient to use:

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

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

Pins or toothpicks, round shapes are fired on them. Remove defects from finished products with fine sandpaper, polish the surface with pieces of woolen cloth.

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

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

For the manufacture of 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.

Plastic, like plasticine, knead so that there are no air bubbles in it.
We 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 strips should be different - the inner petals are longer, the outer ones are shorter.
We cut the edges of the strips, for a dandelion they are turned into a fringe. For chrysanthemums, strips are made thicker. On the other hand, the strip is wrapped with paper. It is more convenient to hold a clay blank in it.
We make a sepal - the same fringed green stripe.
We take a wooden skewer, on the tip we begin to wind the finished petals, one strip after another.
Outside, the resulting flower is wrapped with a green stripe.
Fluff the petals with a toothpick, trim the excess with scissors.
We fix the skewer on the foil so that the finished flower remains in weight, for this we use lumps of crumpled foil.
After annealing, the flower is varnished.

Learning to make roses, violets, buttercups

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

For a rose, each petal is molded separately, for texture, the clay is pressed between the palms, and natural irregularities are created on the surface.

Such flowers are used in jewelry, they decorate photo frames, decorate wall collages with them.

Decorations

If desired, useful crafts are 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 a hand enters the future bracelet. To do this, it is better to use clay that hardens at room temperature. It is necessary to work quickly, the rest of the material must be wrapped 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, everything that your imagination has enough for.

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

magic clay

Children are happy to make toys out of clay: it adheres perfectly, you can apply layer after layer. Professionals create unique dolls.

Clay is universal, plastic. The only negative is that harmful components are released from it during firing. But you are not going to burn monumental creations, are you? So let the clay into your house. You will not regret. Something to do on long winter evenings.

Photo ideas for polymer clay crafts

Every year there are more and more various materials for creativity and implementation of the most incredible ideas. You can create small masterpieces from polymer clay: buttons, earrings, rings, figurines of animals and various objects, thematic plots and other products.

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

Polymer clay is a lamellar mass, similar to plasticine, but when solidified, it forms plastic. It is intended for modeling and modeling various products for children's and adult creativity.

A large number of varieties are now presented: one freezes when heated, others on their own for several 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;
Polyform Sculpey;
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 (drilling, piercing) can be performed, the product does not break from them.

How to choose

Before you buy the material, you need to decide:

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

Clay manufacturers every year create new types with different properties. 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;
fast - slowly hardening or by applying temperature;
children are allowed to work with some, only adults with others;
some become brittle after solidification, others are ductile and amenable to further processing;
some deform upon contact with water, others do not;
some manufacturers have 2-4 colors, others have more than 10;
some sell small packages, others - large ones.

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

Suitable for working with children: Ezki, BakeShop, Fimo - they are soft and eco-friendly. For the manufacture of figurines - Premo, Kato, Skulpey. For beginners, you can make clay at home, and as you gain experience, you can switch to a professional one.

How to make composition at home

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

Recipe number 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.

Glycerin, glue and starch are thoroughly kneaded and put in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, then cool to a temperature that is acceptable for the skin of the hands to knead the dough. So that it does not freeze, it is laid out in a plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator.

Recipe #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 starch in one, pour salt, soda and food coloring into the other, put on fire. Water with salt and dye should come to a boil, then dissolved starch is added to it and thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous mass.

Recipe number 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, clay does not require heat treatment for cooking. Mix all the ingredients and stir until smooth, then slowly add the 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 sculpting 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;
decor materials (beads, beads, sequins, lace, foil, fasteners, chains, etc.)
gloves;
napkins;
sandpaper or nail file for grinding;
acrylic paints, varnish;
utensils for baking.

When creating products, you must adhere to several rules:

Work with gloves.
Use wooden, glass, metal utensils, tools.
After finishing work, remove the rest of the dough in a bag and in the refrigerator.
Wash and dry the tools, put away until the next time.
Avoid contact with clay on the surface: floor, carpet.

It is important to remember that during drying the product decreases in size, so in order to get the required size at the exit, the figure needs to be made a little larger.

How to sculpt

Prepare the instrument 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 in your hands.
When it softens well, make a ball out of each piece, according to the principle of plasticine.
With a toothpick or wire, make small holes in order to then thread a rope or fishing line.
Put the balls on a plate and put in the oven. Each of the packages always indicates the time and temperature at which the product will be ready.
Remove from oven and cool.
If the product has defects, then use sandpaper or a nail file to grind it.
Degrease the product with a soapy sponge or detergent for dishes and dry.
Prepare acrylic paints and paint the product, if necessary.

The final stage in the manufacture of beads is varnishing and stringing them on a prepared ribbon or rope.

What can be done

Thousands of various products will be obtained from polymer clay: accessories, jewelry, figurines, figurines and other items. Most often, beads, earrings, rings, fairy-tale characters, animal figurines, key rings, flowers, mugs, Christmas tree decorations are made from it.

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 off a piece and roll out with a rolling pin;
attach clay to the cut out sketch, cut with a knife;
add beaded eyes to the figure or rolled up small circles of clay, make scales with a knife, cutting semicircles along the entire length of the fish.

After that, the figure should be wiped with a damp alcohol wipe, cleaning it. Put in the oven for baking, then pull out, dry and cover with acrylic varnish.

Thus, you can make cartoon characters, gingerbread, a cat, a dog, Smeshariki, even buttons. To give flat figures a semi-bulge or wavy shape: for this, it is necessary to lay out the blanks on the prepared foil figures.

dolls

Doll to choose from: voluminous or flat. For a three-dimensional figure, balls are rolled out like sausages from plasticine.

To make a ball is a head.

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

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

To the finished doll, add a dress, costume and headpiece, beaded or beaded eyes, a handbag, etc.

New Year crafts

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

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

Roll up a thick sausage (cylinder) from white.
Roll out a flat cake from the blue color and wrap the cylinder, cut off the excess.
Make another flat blue cake and cut into thin slices.
Cut the cylinder in half and cut along the edges of each stick along the blue strip, connect the halves.
Again, cut the cylinder in half perpendicular to the first cut and stick it, so do it several times, when the cylinder sticks together, you can see that a kind of snowflake has turned out.
Cut the cylinder into circles and put in the oven, then degrease and open with varnish.

Before baking, make holes in the snowflake with a toothpick, so that later there is where to thread the rope.

figurines

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

Mugs

Creating a mug or flower pot is a rather complicated process; for it, it is necessary to choose clay that is harder and dries quickly. To make the figure even and beautiful, especially for beginners, you need to take a shape - plastic cup or a finished mug.

Choose a material and roll out large cakes from it, but not thin ones 1-1.5 cm thick.

Lubricate the form with vegetable oil or rinse with water.

Stick around 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.

Pull out the figure and put in the oven for baking, then degrease with soapy water and open with varnish.

Flowers

The creation of flowers is a kind of symphony in the form of a bouquet, key chain, earrings or just a picture 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, spreading the petals. Chamomile is made from plates: paper blanks with sharp or round edges and cut out the required amount on 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 a hedgehog.

Ideas for modeling

A few things to keep in mind while 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 the air or, on the contrary, lose their shape.
Colors should be mixed carefully using the tables.
The figures must be well connected, without leaving air streaks, since during baking, such a figure will crack or swell.

Modern masters develop many different techniques for sculpting and making figures. For a novice crafter, it is better to make simple, light figures from home-made clay.

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