Thanks...

I hope the pictures I post here are helpful to you.  I know it's different to see the sculpt in progress, and see what they look like as wet (unbaked) clay.  It was always helpful to me.  Much of what I share here will be pictures.  Time doesn't allow for lengthy, wordy tutorials, as I've got a young baby around...and several other children that keep me busy.  I'll let my booklets give you the detailed descriptions and processes.  Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy this blog.  =)

Give Kyle a Hand (or two)

I like to sculpt my hands out of a hunk of of clay I can hold onto. Then when I'm ready to attach them to my sculpt, I just cut off the "handle" portion I've been using.

Kyle's legs and feet have come together nicely. I think it's funny how the hand always looks like a glove at first.

A foot takes form (Kyle)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baking Kyle

I bake my sculpts over a bed of stuff (Polyfill) and am sure to support their bends and extended limbs with more fluff. I'm still shopping for a convection oven I like well enough to use for all my sculpts. In the meantime, I use a home oven, and bake the sculpts in this roasting pan. It minimizes the amount of chemicals that get into the oven itself.

Here is a shot of Kyle before and after he is sanded. In the second picture, he is still wet from the wet sand paper I use.  I start with 320 grit and work my way to 1000 or so.  I have up to 1500 left over from when I used to make jewelry and barrettes.  I usually don't make my sculpt THAT slick...they'd be glass-like.  But, one pack of this paper lasts forever!

Notice how he's pretty lumpy in the above pictures.  I always sand.  Polymer clay expands a bit when it is baked so no matter how smooth your sculpt it, the clay will come out a little uneven, due to the way it expands. 

And Blog Give Away Winner is....

Janine, from Foxtail Creek Studio!  Janine, I'll see if I can find your email, if not, please contact me so I know which booklet set you'd like and where to send it to.  Thanks for playing along.  I've got more tips and pics for everyone coming right up!

"Welcome to the New Blog" Give-Away

Hello there Sculptors and Fairy Aficionados!

Thanks for stopping by the new Making Fairies Blog. This first give away is for the Fairy Booklet set of your choice (Series 1, 2, or 3).

All you have to do to enter is:

1) Become a follower of this blog

2)Leave a comment on this post, and tell my what kinds of things you'd like to learn more about on this blog or future booklets.

That's it! This give away ends Tuesday, May 18. Winner will be announced on May 19th, in honor of my husband's birthday. Winner will be selected using this Randomizer.

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Pearl - A Baroque Mermaid

Current Works In Progress (WIPs)

the {Work} space....circa 2008

Tutorial: Sculpting Kyle's Legs

I've finished sculpting the top half of Kyle and I've heat set him with a heat gun, to just bake the top a bit. His tummy is still soft clay, for blending into his leg clay. I've handled his armature so much, I'll need to rewrap that leg.

He's got a nice face and dimpled chin.

Notice I just gave him a partial butt to begin with. Here I'm just adding on more pancakes of clay.

I keep the clay I've run through the pasta machine in sheets wrapped in Glad Wrap.

I fill out both legs at once. Notice he's missing a butt.

A thick pancake will take care of that.

Filling in this gap with a small pancake.

Smoothing out another butt cheek. I use my wooden tool first, then smooth with my fingers.

Ta-da!

Filling in the legs.

I add a fake foot to get keep my proportions right.

Notice how he's missing his muscles above the knee.

Good quads give a leg a manly look.

It's normal for the sculpts to be pretty lumpy at this state. I'll smooth him well just before baking and then sand him a bit, but he'll be mostly smooth already.

Keeping his lower half under wraps as he waits for more attention tomorrow.