Clay man step by step. Examples of work from home length can be seen in the photo

Clay modeling is a fascinating and not difficult hobby that even a child can learn. It makes it possible to create a variety of things: from well-aimed jewelry to impressive sculptures, creating an interesting decorative design for a room or presenting them as a gift.

Children, doing such an activity, can not only recreate their favorite cartoon characters, please with entertaining crafts, but also develop spatial thinking and the ability to work with their hands.

For children, clay crafts are one of the best hobbies, and for adults, they are an option to relax, calm down and enjoy the work done.

Where to get or how to prepare clay

Polymer clay is a material that, in structure and characteristics, resembles plasticine known to everyone since childhood, but is able to harden, making crafts durable. There are several types of clay: those that harden only after baking or firing, and the other - without the use of high temperatures.

You can buy clay at any stationery store or make your own at home. It is impossible to call such a material polymeric, since when creating it at home, completely different components will be included in the composition. However, the properties of such a material will be similar to purchased polymer clay.

To obtain such a mixture, you must:

250 ml of PVA glue and the same amount of corn starch;
2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice;
1 st. a spoonful of petroleum jelly and the same amount of any cream;
polyethylene film;
Surface for kneading;
Bowl and spoon for mixing.

These ingredients are enough to prepare 350 grams of finished material. All components, except for the cream, must be mixed in a prepared container and put in the microwave for half a minute at maximum speed. The cream is needed to lubricate the surface on which the clay will be kneaded.

After the microwave, you need to mix everything again and put it on a surface greased with cream and knead intensively, like a regular dough, for 5 minutes. Subsequently, an elastic plastic material should be formed. Next, you need to give it a shape, to remove residual water, wrap it with a cloth. When the clay has cooled, it is ready to use.

Crafts from polymer clay

If you are new to pottery, don't be fooled by sellers' advice to buy a variety of tools to create masterpieces. Many of them may be unclaimed. At the initial pores, a hard surface, a clerical knife, toothpicks, contours for forming figures, a rolling pin for rolling material, gloves and wet wipes will be enough.

If you pay attention to the photo of clay crafts, you will notice that there are many modeling techniques. Before starting work, you can watch several master classes in order to better get acquainted with the nuances of the upcoming work.

Of the most original methods, one can distinguish: the “cane technique”: rolled plates of different shades are laid out on top of each other and rolled up, and then cut into circles. On the cut you can see a colorful unusual pattern.

"Salt technique" involves rolling the product in salt and baking. After that, the salt is washed off the inputs and an interesting surface structure remains.

When using the "kaleidoscope" technique, different clays are rolled up and various shapes are cut out with molds. There is also a transition technique: using pieces of different colors, they form a smooth transition from one shade to another.

Self-hardening clay, after drying, is similar to gypsum, and the one that needs to be baked becomes denser and resembles a plastic product.

Clay crafts for beginners are best made in the form of a flower, bouquets or simple jewelry. It is better to paint with acrylic paints, however, in order to save money, it is also possible to purchase gouache, but it should be covered with several layers of varnish to fix it.

What is better to blind in the first place?

The easiest way to make a rose. To do this, you need to say a ball and give it the shape of a drop - this will be the base. Then make a few smaller balls and flatten them with your fingers - these are thin petals that need to be fixed around the base until you get a full-fledged flower.

To make beads or earrings, it is enough to take the shape of a square and cut out the required number of shapes - this will help to make each one the same size. After the figure, roll into balls, and then make holes for the lace using needles or toothpicks.

Modeling from ordinary natural clay

Clay is formed when rocks break down. Due to the difference in the minerals that make up its composition, it can be of a different shade: yellow, green, white and even blue.

Modeling professionals prefer red and white clay. Therefore, if production from polymer clay, for some reason, does not bring pleasure, you can try to sculpt from ordinary clay, getting it yourself or buying it in a store.

Before starting work, you should sign up for a few lessons or watch video tutorials on the Internet in order to get acquainted with the features of clay and understand what it should be for use.

Before forming the product, it is necessary to thoroughly vent and beat it off with your hands to eliminate air, otherwise, when baking, the voids will tear the product.

For work, you can use various tools, the most convenient spatula. After completing the work, the finished figure is wiped with a sponge or soft brush. Then leave to dry for 10 days, and then fired.

The finished product is decorated using various techniques: glaze painting, colored clay decoration, acrylic coating and more.

findings

The more you sculpt, the easier this business will be given. Having become familiar with the features and properties of clay, you can create real masterpieces - baskets, caskets, vases, figurines and even sculptures of people. Crafts from polymer and ordinary clay for beginners will become a real decoration of the apartment, created by yourself.

Photo of clay crafts

From modern plastic hardening material, you can create designer figurines, jewelry, buttons, plaques, small souvenirs and large panels on the wall. Most artists embody popular memes, flowers, leaves, figures of people, animals, anime characters and computer games in "plasticity" (as polymer clay is also called). In addition to stamping miniatures of the same type into molds, as for author's chess, there is a practice of creating small figurines in a single copy.

Self-sculpting of polymer clay figurines is an entertaining and educational creative process recommended for children and adults to relieve stress, develop artistic taste, observation and fine motor skills of hands.

What you need to know about plastic

The photo shows what polymer clay is and in what form it is produced:

There are two main types of plastics: self-hardening and those that have to be baked at a high temperature. The first acquaintance is more expedient to start working with a self-hardening composition in order to reduce the time and effort required.
The polymer composition is dense white, translucent and opaque colored in mass. It is sold in the form of bars of various colors in plastic packaging. It indicates the expiration date of the material and the mode of its hardening (baking temperature).
Keep the material tightly sealed, otherwise it will dry out, and it will become very difficult to sculpt from it. To make it a little easier to work with dried plastic, add two drops of vegetable oil to the lump and knead thoroughly.
Polymer clay, depending on the type and manufacturer, is somewhat firmer to the touch and not as greasy and sticky as plasticine. But it also retains fingerprints and stacks (needles, stencils, etc.) on its surface just as well.
During the final processing of figurines, brooches and dolls, to give a smooth surface to the material, it is manually polished with waterproof sandpaper.
The surface of the finished product should be protected from external influences, otherwise it will quickly darken from touch and collect dust. For protection, a special acrylic varnish is used.
Polymer clay is baked in a household oven (gas or electric). In the microwave, a plastic product is not baked! There is a risk of damage to the figurine or the microwave itself, since the craft may contain metal elements.
The cost of the same type of material from different manufacturers sometimes varies by 30-50%. Cheaper products are more likely to have reduced strength, crumble, and have some surface friability or grain even after processing.
To make a polymer clay figurine exactly as it was intended, you should first practice modeling on a material with similar physical properties - plasticine.

How to quickly make a plastic model

First of all, you need a sketch of a future craft - a photo if it is a person or a real animal, or a drawing if it is an anime character, a computer game or a book.

Consider a short master class - sculpting a two-color composition of an animal (octopus) with your own hands:

Form a round even roller of light polymer clay.
Roll out a bar of dark plastic into a sheet 3-5 mm thick and cover it with a light one.
Separate two-thirds of the roller with a knife and cut them lengthwise into 8 strips.
From the remaining third, form a convex head (you can use a spoon), highlighting a place for the eyes with a match.
Roll each strip lightly, lengthening and sharpening the ends.
Form tentacles, removing their edges under the head.
Curl the ends of the tentacles in accordance with the plan so that their light part turns out to be “inner”.
Apply "suckers" to the light part of the tentacles, squeezing them out with a small tube or gluing slices of chopped "sausage" from dark plastic.
Work out the details. Bake (dry). Glue eyes and other decorations, if necessary.

In the photo you can see how designers imagine such an octopus.

Stages of work with plastic

Extended master class for beginners acquaintance with polymer clay contains tips for organizing the work area, filming the process, and illustrating design ideas.

The process of creating a figurine from polymer clay is divided into several main stages:

Preliminary. After preliminary thinking about how the final product will look like, it's time to select the necessary materials. Acquisition of a certain type of clay and paints, feathers, fur, fabric or sequins, ready-made accessories (eyes, nose, clothing details) figurines.
Site equipment. To work, you will need a free table 60x80 cm or more, and on it - a flat, hard, smooth surface, which is difficult and not a pity to scratch with a cutter or a stack. Be sure to have good lighting of the same type, in which the product will be exhibited more often in finished form (preferably natural light or overhead light + directional). For the base, it is better to take a glazed ceramic tile or a porcelain plate with thick enamel. The molded figurine will need to be placed in the oven or left to dry for a long time directly on this stand, so you should use something unnecessary.
Process. Work on the craft should be done in stages, first creating the center of the composition - the most massive part - or the base (skeleton) of the wire and foil structure. Unused plastic should be kept wrapped in a plastic bag or original packaging.
Final finishing. Baking or curing the figure in the air. Grinding (if necessary), coating with protective and decorative varnish, sparkles.
Creation of a platform. If the craft is intended to be a brooch or jewelry, this step can be skipped, but if a figurine of an animal or an anime character is being created, you need to make a flat stand made of glass, metal or ceramics, twice the diameter of the “heel” of the product.

For clarity of the process, how to make a polymer clay figurine with your own hands, beginners are advised to watch the attached video.

Masters who have been sculpting from polymer clay for a long time advise beginners:

Taking hold of the part, you should finish it completely, without leaving it “for later”, otherwise the top layer of the composition will dry out, become brittle and will not perceive molding well.
Plastic is non-toxic, but during its baking, be sure to ventilate the room well so as not to inhale combustion products.
Small details, accessories and even the figures themselves should not be trusted to children under three years of age at all. They can swallow them or shove them up their noses. From three to six years old, it is recommended to practice modeling under the supervision of adults.
Beginning sculptors, in order not to spend money on a professional stack, use a teaspoon, a shoe spatula and matches as a tool.

A fascinating hobby is best done by the whole family, with children or a company. It brings inspiration, new ideas and mutual understanding.

And a very promising topic Clay crafting. Which not only allows you to occupy your hands with something, but also has a positive effect on well-being, self-awareness, internal balance of a person. It can also help you make money.

Classes in applied arts in general always have a very positive effect on the development of a person, revealing his creative abilities, developing fine motor skills of the fingers (and hence thinking), an eye, a sense of color and shape - and these are exactly the qualities that are very necessary in life. In addition, it has long been known that the best gift is do-it-yourself crafts. Even if not quite a masterpiece, naive, sincere, and from this even more dear to relatives and friends.

As this kind of homemade, you can use any small object that is in the field of view of the baby: household “little things” - nuts, wire, carnations, eggshells and, of course, natural materials - wood, pebbles, leaves. Separately, we can note the topic of our article - clay molding, as most fully providing a person with scope for the realization of his creative fantasies, in fact - an ideal opportunity for do-it-yourself crafts.

Clay modeling means that you can give this natural material any shape you like: from clay you can create both figures of animals and cars, houses, up to entire toy cities. By the way, clay is the most ancient building material of mankind and, quite possibly, the building functions of clay were noticed by people just when watching children play, creating various homemade products on the banks of rivers with their own hands.

Clay is a secondary product of the earth's crust, sedimentary rock, formed as a result of the destruction of rocks in the process of weathering. Clay is different - red, blue, white, yellow. Its color is influenced by the addition of other minerals. Clay can be bought ready-made or in powder form. If possible, you can find natural clay, but not all are suitable for work and require long and careful preparation.

Important - if you want your products to be IMMEDIATELY used without firing - use clay with polymer additives

Before sculpting, the clay must be thoroughly kneaded with your hands, and then beat off by tapping it in your palms. In this way, you can get rid of most of the air in order to prevent the product from breaking during firing (if you will fire your products).

Work should be done with two hands. This will allow you to simultaneously decorate the right and left sides of the product, help to more organically connect everything into a single whole. To help your hands for sculpting, you need to use special tools - stacks.

As a rule, work begins with the largest part of the product, gradually moving to smaller ones.

Before completing the work, the product is “smoothed” with a damp sponge, rag or brush.

What are the options for clay modeling?

You can create a shape from a single block of clay, extruding and shaping it as required. With the help of simple techniques of pressing, pinching and pulling, traditional clay figurines are created, for example, folk whistle toys.

You can carve a figure out of clay using special tools (stacks). Then a piece of clay should be sufficiently dense and slightly hardened so that it does not fall apart in your hands.
You can create a product using plaster mold, into which clay is poured, dissolved in water to a state of homogeneous mass.
If you want to create a clay craft in a shape (for example, make a vase from a cast of a vessel you have), use plastic wrap. She needs to wrap the vessel before sticking a clay base around it. After the clay dries, the film is easily peeled off, and you are left with the finished form.
There is also relief molding, when a pattern of any complexity is stuck onto the clay rolled out in a layer.

A kind of relief modeling - cutting out a pattern on the surface.

How to sculpt from clay?

Always remember that clay is not plasticine. This material is much stronger, but you need to handle it with care. Remember a few simple rules:

First, modeling clay should always be damp. Therefore, after completing the work, cover the mass with a damp cloth, preventing it from drying out.
Secondly, in the process of sculpting, always smooth out the cracks that appear with water or a water-clay mass.
When creating a clay craft, start by sculpting the larger parts, and then attach the smaller ones to them.
Remember that foreign parts, such as pieces of wire, metal or wooden legs, etc., must not be rolled into wet clay. It is better to make recesses for them and put them on glue after the product has dried.

Using buttons, clothespins, magnets or pins, you can make a ceramic fridge magnet, brooch or creative earrings.

What to do with the figure after sculpting - if you do not use polymer clay?

Anything clay must be dried before proceeding with it further. It is better to dry the clay craft in a plastic bag. Do not rush things and let it settle for at least a couple of days. To determine if the craft is ready, carefully examine it: a dry clay product is much lighter than a wet one and a little lighter.

After the craft has dried, you can additionally dry it in the oven or microwave.

To make a clay product more durable, it is fired. It is quite problematic to do this at home, but if you have a stove in your country house or village, you can burn the figurine in it. To do this, put the dried (!) Craft for some time in a not too hot oven away from burning coals.

Also, a clay product can be burned at the stake. To do this, either place it in a tin, or place it on the surface of a brick or stone, then surround it with burning logs on all sides and gradually burn it. Remember that firing must always be uniform, and Clay cracks from sudden changes in temperature!

Before painting a clay product, apply a layer of plain white enamel on it. It dries quickly and creates an even base for painting.

Upon completion of painting, apply ordinary PVA to the clay figurine in an even layer. When the glue dries, you will have a beautiful, shiny and durable clay product on your hands! It is done!

More: site about clay and working with it - http://glina.teploruk.ru/

Successful creativity!

Modeling is considered interesting, but at the same time a simple matter, with which you can create a variety of gizmos.

Such products are great for original interior design, presented as surprises for various holidays.

How exactly to work with the material intended for modeling and what kind of crafts can you create with your own hands from polymer clay?

For beginners

So, polymer clay is a synthetic material, reminiscent of plasticine in properties, but hardening. This material is called plastic, or cernit, as well as thermoplastic.

Beginners who plan to make clay crafts should know that this material can be of several types - one has the properties to harden exclusively during the baking process, the other does not require firing.

Before choosing clay crafts, you need to decide on the material used.

What is required for modeling

During modeling, improvised materials are used in order to facilitate the working process with clay as much as possible and contribute to giving it the required shape.

For those starting out with DIY clay crafts, there is no need to purchase many tools as many of them may not be required.

For work you will need:

special surface for work;
knife, as well as a razor blade;
toothpicks to create holes;
cylindrical rolling pins;
cutters;
gloves, and wipes.

How to sculpt?

After complete solidification, the clay resembles gypsum, which is why the product is processed in a special way. Under the influence of high temperature conditions, the baked material resembles plastic.

Clay is sold in a specialized store. It is preferable to start creating crafts for kids made from clay with buds, as well as jewelry.

Flowers

To create a rose, a ball is initially made, which is shaped in the form of a drop - this is the core of the bud. After that, you should roll up a couple of balls, and then flatten them to turn into petals.

Alternately, they need to wrap the core to create a beautiful bud. Leave the first few petals in a straightened position, while bending the extreme ones.

Bijouterie

Polymer clay crafts are original decorations that are easy to make with your own hands, even if you have no modeling experience. Each beginner can make a bracelet, a ring using a simple technique.

To begin with, it is advisable to choose a simple product, for example, create beads. For these purposes, it is necessary to roll out the clay, cutting out squares of the same size for rolling into small balls. Thus, the beads will be the same size. After that, holes are made in the beads with a needle.

Master class for children

Modeling allows kids not only to know what surrounds them, but also contributes to the active development of finger motor skills.

The scope for creativity in this case is unlimited, however, when choosing a master class for making clay crafts, it is preferable to start with elementary forms. For example, you can fashion food for your favorite dolls or animals with your child.

Note!

Food

It is not difficult for a baby to fashion any fruits or vegetables. Visually show the baby how to create a veined apple leaf with a needle, give the necessary look to the pear.

Gradually master the modeling methods, given that kids always strive to achieve a positive result faster. In order to interest the crumbs in modeling, explain in advance that crafts are created gradually.

Beasts

In order to create animals with the help of modeling, it is advisable to use a variety of pictures with a schematic representation of animals.

Focusing on them, it is easy to choose a craft for future modeling and it is easier to figure out how to give the elements the required shape.

For very small animals, large pieces of fabric can be used, while large figures should be created according to the hollow element method using special molds. To complete the nose, as well as the eyes, use beads.

Note!

Clay products

How to prepare polymer clay for further modeling?

Before starting the working process, the clay should be thoroughly kneaded to give it plasticity.

When using red or white clay, when heated, it is necessary to maintain the required temperature regime, which reaches 110 degrees, since at high temperature conditions the clay often loses its created shape and changes in color. To verify this, look at the photo of clay crafts on the resource.

Can you make your own baked clay? It is possible, however, in order to create it, you will need to find high-quality natural clay, which should be fired as competently as possible without equipment.

Therefore, it is possible to produce this material on your own only through trial and error.

Note!

Photo of clay crafts

Instruction

Familiarize yourself with the proportions of the human body. The more accurately you want to sculpt the figure, the more important this item is for you. This can be done according to the anatomical atlas. Remember the ratio of the sizes of body parts, pay attention to which large muscles create the relief of the human body on the back, legs, arms.

Take prepared, already wet, modeling clay. Keep it a little in your hands and beat it off to get rid of the air in the mass. For clay modeling, a plinth is often needed - the base on which the figure is placed. It can be of any shape, for example, in the form of a stone on which a person sits, in the form of a relief plate, in the form of a pedestal.

Constructive molding. Model individual parts of the body, starting with the largest (torso, head, limbs). Blind the head from a rolled up ball. With the help of a stack (shaped spatula for modeling) on the head, form the eye sockets, cheekbones, nose, mouth, and then bring them to the desired accuracy and perfection. Extend the neck slightly at the bottom of the head.

Sculpt the body from an oval piece of clay. You can make a cone out of a piece of clay, or you can mold the chest, waist and pelvis lines in more detail. In the torso, with the help of a special, round at the end, stack, make indentations for the arms and legs.

Sculpt arms and legs from rolled "". They can not be detailed, but only the palms and fingers can be distinguished. You can even get very detailed by applying clay in the right places, creating muscles (relief modeling). Lastly, sculpt the small details. To create them, use the methods of pulling or pinching clay, pulling out with your fingers a small part from the total piece to the desired size.

Connect the parts as they are made. To prevent falling off of body parts during drying, it is necessary to tightly join the parts or insert them into prepared recesses and cover them with clay using a stack. It is also recommended to pre-slightly scratch the joints with a toothbrush or use small pieces of matches or toothpicks to connect the parts.

Plastic molding method. Sculpt a figure of a person from a single piece of clay, pulling out parts of the body or carving them, removing excess clay. In this case, the sculpture is molded, starting from the bottom up. This method is more complicated, as it requires a developed eye and a clear idea of the proportions of the human body. But you can combine both modeling methods, making, for example, the head and chest from a monolithic piece of clay, and the arms and legs from separate parts.

A figure of a person with a height of more than 10 cm requires a frame, otherwise it will not retain its shape. Prepare the wire frame of the desired position, fix it on the stand. The wire must be both flexible and strong. For a better fixation of clay on the frame, the main wire should be wrapped in not very frequent turns of another, maybe thinner, wire. When the frame is ready, cover it with clay, giving it the desired shape with your fingers and a stack.