Sculpting advice with Sculpy

[m00nsh1ne]

Hello,

First time poster, just joined the forum. Amazing work and advice from what I have so far seen. I have just started sculpting and have messed around with a few different types of clay. Right now, I am using JmAC classic medium. I really want to start using the Sculpy stuff do to not having the ability to cast my creations to display. What are some tips and tricks with the Sculpy. How can I soften it up, mixing procedures and general sculpting tips with it. I cannot find any tutorials going over any basic procedures with it. If there is a better alternative out there, I would appreciate that information as well.

m00nsh1ne

[Alaneye]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I think you will find that Super Sculpey is soft enough out of the box, some say too soft for their needs. Some mix it with Sculpey Firm and say that it gives a nice compromise. You can smooth with isopropanol, or lighter fluid. Best bet is to get a box and try it out. For a medium that can be baked and used as the finished item, it's a good choice is you can get on with it. Other choices are air drying clays, but they are much weaker and don't hold detail as well, or there are epoxy putties, which do hold detail very well, but have a limited working time before the cure.

Al

[Charadas]

A few tips off the top of my head:

* For mixing clays a pasta machine is superior. It is quick and easy and also gets the clay soft and warm so it is easy to work with. If you do not have a pasta machine to spare (you can never use it for food again) you can always mix the clay by rolling two snakes of clays, twist them, fold them, roll again, fold, twist and repeat ad infinitum. It takes a long time, but it works.

* if you use a wire armature you can bulk it out with aluminum foil to save clay, but remember to cover it with floral tape or similar afterwards. Otherwise the foil will stick to the clay if you decide to take some of it off the armature.

* You really do not need a lot of tools. I use my hands and a blade-knife the most and perhaps a needle or a knitting pin for details. There is also an amazing tutorial somewhere around here on how to create your own tools instead of buying them. I highly recommend to check it out.

[m00nsh1ne]

Thank you for the responses. I had a box of Sculpy to begin with and just could not do anything with it. I did not think to mix it with other types. I already have a collection of tools to use. But I will definitely look for that tutorial. Thanks! Ill post my progress when I can.

[Alaneye]

What do you mean when you say you could not do anything with it?

[lvithnn]

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthr...culpture-Tools

[m00nsh1ne]

As in it would break apart and hold absolutely no detail what so ever... Now, that being said, I'm sure I was doing something wrong.

[Charadas]

Hmm, that sounds a bit weird... original Sculpey is usually very soft and pliable (and it also has this horrible beige colour which I find apalling) and thus not very good for super-fine detailing, but it shouldn't break apart and crumble.

However if the sculpey you had was really really old and not stored very well, the oils in it might have leached out and then the sculpey can become very crumbly and hard to work with. The best thing to do then is to mix in some oils or clay softener and work work work the clay until it's soft again. Or possibly buy new fresh clay.

[m00nsh1ne]

Thanks for the tips. I will try that and see how it goes.

[Mabus]

Yep, sounds like it's a problem with old clay. Knead it quite a bit. the oil and heat from your hands will help soften it.

Also, I find it helpful not to bake it so high in temperature that it states on the box (it has a tendency to burn). Bake between 160-200 degrees F, and you could rebake over and over. Bake a foundation layer if you want and you could build up more clay to do the detail work.

[philofmars]

Go here and get a michaels or hobby lobby coupon for 40 percent off. They have pasta machines for 25 bucks. 10 dollar savings!!!!!!!
Trust me, I did sculpy for years without one and when I finally bought one, I... well, I am still kicking myself. It's awesome. You can also buy some softener there. Or just a new box and use the crumbly one for bases. It looks good to just press the crumblies into themselves for a good dirty base or rocks if it's got lines in it.

Do not buy the white sculpy, it is brittle.
the beige is so much better, but it bakes sort of see-thru, so you don't see a lot of the flaws in your sculpt until it is primered. Buy a brick of the small colored sculpy and mix it in, to make the clay opaque. There are 4 layers of sculpy in a box and four partitions in the small block.

Work in layers. Make an armature, bake. bulk out, bake. skin, bake. clothes, bake.

If you go down to the bottom of my tumblr page, I go thru some quick tips and you can see all the good and bad that happened to me working on a cthulhu idol in sculpy.
http://velikan.tumblr.com/

[m00nsh1ne]

Wow Philofmars! Your work is amazing, and the link to sculpting with polymer is exactly what I have been looking for! I have bookmarked your blog and plan on keeping up with your work. Thanks so much for taking the time to post some help.

[philofmars]

Wow Philofmars! Your work is amazing, and the link to sculpting with polymer is exactly what I have been looking for! I have bookmarked your blog and plan on keeping up with your work. Thanks so much for taking the time to post some help.

Thanks, I won't be doing any sculpting until April tho. I am working on a kid's book that is due 4/1. After that, I will be back on it. I have a 1/6 Frank Sinatra, a 1/6 clown, and some minis to do (which will be in the dreaded "green stuff"). I plan on detailing that too. Come back then!