Intro to Polymer Clay Sculpting for Absolute Beginners

1. Intro: I first started working with polymer clay when I had just turned 13 years old. I quickly fell in love with the medium. And now as a self-taught sculptor with ten years of experience, I want to share all of the information that I wish was available to me years ago. If you are a complete beginner, this class will guide you through everything you need to know to get started. And even if you have some experience with polymer clay, you can still learn some new things to level up your skills. I'll be discussing how to bake polymer clay, how different Brands compare, what tools you should buy and loads of other tips and techniques that will come in handy for Clay Sculpting. And at the end of the class, I will walk you through two different projects that you can try out for practice. If you're interested in purchasing clay supplies. All of the products that you'll hear me mention can easily be found through the "About" section of this course by following a single link. So let's get started. 2. What Is Polymer Clay?: What exactly is Polymer Clay? Polymer clay is a versatile Sculpting medium that hardens when baked. Unlike air dry clays, polymer clay does not have a time limit, which gives you the freedom to take your time and perfect your design. Not only is it easy to work with, but it's also less messy than traditional clays that require constant moisture, like pottery Clay. One of the best things about polymer clay is that it is non-toxic and completely safe to use and bake at home. It has almost no smell and it won't give off any harmful fumes. Once you've completed your masterpiece, all you have to do is put it in the oven to harden it. Unlike baking cookies or cakes, the Clay won't expand or shrink in the oven. So your finished piece will look just as you intended. And after hardening, polymer clay is waterproof and perfect for making dioramas, key chains, Jewelry and so much more. All of these qualities make it a great choice for Sculpting Beginners, professionals, kids, and even the occasional artist 3. Different Brands: There are so many different brands and types of polymer clay that are available for purchase. Some of the most popular among crafters and artists are Fimo professional, Fimo Soft, Sculpey Premo, Sculpey three, Kato, Cernit, and Cosclay. I know that's quite a few. So let's get into the differences between them. Starting off with Fimo professional, this Clay is firm and strong. After conditioning, it becomes easy to Sculpt with and it holds detail well. This Clay is also known for its strength after curing. Next, we have Fimo Soft. This Clay is just like Fimo professional, but like the name suggests, it is softer. Fimo professional is harder to get in the United States, but Fimo Soft is more commonly available. Premo is widely available and it is a solid option for Sculpting. Premo is easy to Condition and it's Firm enough to easily Sculpt with, but it is also Soft enough that it won't strain your hands. Next we have Sculpey three, this Clay as Soft and conditioning. It can be extremely easy because it's super malleable straight out of the package. However, it is so soft that it may even become sticky after getting warmed up in your hands. So it might not be the easiest to work with. This Clay, although popular, is known for being somewhat weak after baking, and it may not be suitable for items that will be handled frequently. Kato Polyclay is another popular brand. This is a very Firm Clay to Sculpt with, and it's similar to Fimo professional in terms of strength after baking. Kato is great other than the odor, this is the only Polymer Clay I've tried that has a strong smell. And the moment I opened the plastic packaging, the smell filled the room. The scent is similar to vinyl or plastic, and it doesn't immediately go away after baking, but it does less than a bit. Another known brand is certain it after conditioning, this clay is very soft. And like Sculpey three, this may be too soft to Sculpt intricate Art. Although this Clay is Soft while raw, it becomes very Firm and durable after baking. The last Clay is Cosclay. This one that I have is from their deco line. This is a relatively new brand of polymer clay and it's been around for a shorter time than the others, but it quickly became popular because of its flexibility. This Clay was formulated to be bendy and it claims to also be durable so that you don't have to fear delicate pieces breaking 4. The Strongest Brand: I wanted to compare all the Brands after baking. I conditioned everyone. Then I cut to pieces from each type of clay so that I can conduct a strength test. One piece was rolled to a thickness of a quarter of an inch, which is a commonly used measurement in Polymer Clay projects. The second pieces were rolled to less than 1 mm thick to test how fragile the Clay becomes when rolled thinly. I baked each of the Clay rectangles according to their individual instructions. Then to evaluate their strength, I attempted to snap each piece by hand, starting with the thin Clay. The first piece I tested was the Fimo professional. It felt decently sturdy in my hands. And after nearly folding it in half, I was able to get it to snap. Polymer Clay isn't really meant to be rolled this thin. So I'm actually impressed because I expected it to break earlier. Next, I tried the Fimo Soft piece. It felt similar to the Fimo professional but was easier to snap. After that I did Kato, this piece had resistance to it and I had to apply more pressure than before to try and fold it in half. Once I did, the piece broke. Then I moved onto the Sculpey clays and I started with Premo. The thin piece was sort of flexible. I could slightly bend the piece and it would bounce back to its original position. However, it was easier to break than both the Fimo clays and the Kato Clay. Next, I tried to Sculpey three. From experience with this Clay. I expected it to break easily, but I was surprised that it broke before I even tried applying much pressure to it. I wanted to see if it had any flexibility like Premo did. And the corner immediately snapped off. Without much of an attempt, I was able to break the Clay up into multiple little pieces. And even though this piece is fully baked, it is extremely brittle. Then I tested Cosclay. As you would expect, this piece felt the most flexible Out of all the Brands. It was bending and twisting with almost no effort. It folded in half easily. However, when it did, the piece broke down the middle and it happened so quietly and gently that I didn't even notice efforts. Lastly, is Cernit. This thin little piece was impressively strong and I was able to bend the piece quite a bit without any problems. Eventually the piece did tear, but it didn't break or snap like the others. Instead, it was more of a ripping. Overall, this piece performed the best out of all the thin pieces. Now for the thick pieces, we're going to go in the same order, starting with Fimo professional. This block of Clay felt really tough. I tried to snap it with all my might, but it wouldn't budge and I was not able to break it. I then tried the Fimo Soft. Again. This piece was pretty identical to the professional piece. The Clay was really hard and I could not break it. Kato went the same. The piece felt tough and there was no way for me to break it with my hands alone. I then tried the Sculpey Premo piece. I could get it to bend slightly when I put a lot of pressure on it, but I could not get it to break. Other than being a tad more bendy than the previous Clay, is. This piece also felt tough. Now for the Sculpey three Again, I was expecting this clay to be weaker than all the others, but I wasn't sure if I wouldn't be able to damage it with just my hands. However, on my first try, I was able to break the Clay in half. When it happened, it startled me because I couldn't feel the Clay bending. Instead, it literally just snapped. Next, I moved onto the cost Clay. The closest thing I can compare the texture to Is an eraser. A slab of Cosclay this thick isn't flexible per say, but it's got some bounce to it. The piece felt like it was holding up well, but after a few tries, I was able to break it in half. Lastly came Cernit. It's similar to Kato and Fimo professional. This piece felt like a rock in my hand and I was unable to do any damage because I wasn't able to break most of the thick pieces. I decided to see how easily I could cut them with a blade. And I started with Fimo professional. It was taking some time and I wasn't getting very far through the piece, even though I was applying as much pressure as I could, I left it and I moved onto Fimo Soft. And I was able to cut into this much easier than Fimo professional. Kato was similar to professional, and although I was putting a lot of pressure on my knife, it just wasn't going through the piece all that much. Premo was fairly easy to cut through, at least in comparison to the others. It was slightly easier to slice than the Fimo Soft. Then I tested Cernit. The Clay felt Firm and I had to press really hard on the knife, but I was eventually able to cut through it. And the piece I broke off all at once. Unlike the Fimo Soft and Premo, which also had a little shavings or crumbly pieces. Based on my tests, Here's how I would rank the Clay Brands in terms of overall strength after baking. Kato polymer clay is in first place. In a very close second, I put Fimo professional. Honestly, I might even say that Kato and Fimo professional tie because they felt almost identical. In third place. Fourth place goes to Fimo Soft. Fifth place goes to Sculpey. Premo, Cosclay comes in sixth place. And finally in last place, I put Sculpey three. When picking the brand you want to use. Please keep in mind that I am intentionally breaking the Clay in these tests. And just because I was able to eventually damage most Brands doesn't mean that they won't hold up well when used as a charm. The purpose of these tests is to measure the strength of the clay by applying as much force as possible. However, in daily use, the clay will not experience this level of stress. And even the lower ranked Brands can be the perfect choice for you. I'm about to get into what brand of Clay you should buy. But first, let's quickly discuss vegan polymer clay 5. Vegan Clay: At the time of filming this video in 2023, Cosclay and Cernit. claim that their products are vegan. Fimo and Sculpey clays are not vegan. I'd like to point out that many of these Clay Brands have changed their formulas before and they may do so again in the future. Also, questions have been raised as to whether some of these Brands are actually fully vegan. So if non vegan Clay is a deal breaker for you, I'd recommend doing your own research before purchasing just to be sure that you are actually getting a vegan product. 6. How to Pick the Right Clay: With all of these different Polymer Clay Brands and sub-brands, you may be wondering which one you should use. I'm going to get into the brands that I use in just a moment. But first here are my recommendations. If you are a charm maker, a Miniaturist or a beginner, Sculpey Premo or Fimo Soft should be a good choice. These Brands are pretty easy to manipulate and shape, which makes them ideal for professional clay artists and those who are new to working with polymer clay. They also hold detail well and they are durable after baking. When making Jewelry and beads, it's important to choose a durable clay that can withstand wear and tear. For best results, consider using Fimo professional, Kato, or Cernit it as they are known, a further strength and resistance to breakage. That being said, Premo and Fimo Soft can also work well for this. If you want to work on large sculptures, Kato might be for you. This Brand is known for its ability to hold fine details and shapes well, which makes it a great choice for larger and more intricate sculptures. It's also one of the most durable polymer clay Brands on the market. And it can handle more weight and pressure without breaking or cracking. As for kids, the brand you buy will mainly depend on their age. For young children, you can buy Sculpey three or Fimo Kids, which basically just an even softer version of Fimo Soft. These two Brands are really pliable, which makes them easy for a little kid to work with. Kids who are a bit older, should be able to use a Fimo Soft and Premo. But if those two Brands feel to Firm, you could look into Sculpey souffle. Sculpey souffle has a consistency that is in-between Sculpey Primo and Sculpey three. So it softer than Premo, but it is much more durable after baking than Sculpey Three. Those are the brands that I feel will work the best for specific artists. But it is important to note that there are many brands of polymer clay available, and each one has its own unique qualities and characteristics. Ultimately, the best Brand for you will depend on your personal preferences and the type of project you're working on. Everybody is going to have a different brand that they feel the most comfortable with. And the best way to figure out what works for you is to actually try out different Brands. If you can buy one block of polymer clay from each brand that you're intrigued by so that you can get a feel for each one. It can also be helpful to see firsthand how they compare one spake. As for my personal experience, I mainly create Miniature food and after testing out different Brands of Clay over the years, I've found that Fimo Soft and Sculpey Premo work the best for me and I use both on a daily basis. Almost every single piece I Sculpt will be made out of one of these two brands. I also keep around a few different Sculpey three colors. And I have two main reasons for buying this Clay. The first is that it comes in some really beautiful colors that Premo and Fimo don't have. And the second reason is that I prefer to use it when making fake frosting and icing because Sculpey three is so soft, it's so much easier and quicker to mix with liquid clay. So it saves me time and effort 7. Tools + Supplies: The absolute minimum needed for Polymer Clay Sculpting is polymer clay and an oven. You do not need tools and extra materials to start sculpting, but they can come in handy. Here are some basic materials and supplies that I use when I Sculpt. The first is a craft knife. This is my most essential tool and I use it every time I work with Clay. You can also get longer craft blades, which are helpful for cutting clay on a larger scale. Both of these blades can be very sharp, so you can always start out with a plastic knife if that makes you more comfortable. Needle tools are another thing that I use a lot. Needle tools can be used for a variety of tasks, like poking holes in Clay, attaching small details, and creating or carving designs. I mainly use them to create texture on my bread and cake terms by gently swirling the needle on the surface of the clay. If you don't have a needle tool, you can use a toothpick or a sewing pin instead. And they can produce similar results. Is liquid polymer clay. Just like the name states, this product is a liquid version of Clay and it needs to be baked to cure. This material can be used on its own, but it is more commonly used in conjunction with polymer clay. Liquid clay can be used as glue when building onto sculptures. And it can be used when you need your clay to be a thinner consistency, like if you're making Clay frosting or if you want to mimic melted butter. The brand I use most often is translucent liquid Sculpey. TLS (translucent liquid Sculpey) looks white straight out of the bottle, but it bakes translucent. Most brands sell clear or translucent liquid Clay. And that is the color that I find to be the most helpful. But liquid clay is also sold in different colors. The other brands of liquid clay that I use is Fimo liquid. Fimo liquid looks translucent before and after baking, which can be really helpful. However, it can be difficult to find. If you've live in the United States, you probably won't be able to find it in craft stores. I've also heard rumors that it was discontinued and I can't get an official confirmation for that, so I'm not sure if it's true, but either way you can still get a bottle if you buy one online. I purchased this one on Amazon, and I've also seen bottles sold on Etsy and eBay. Another common tool is a Clay roller or an acrylic rollers. These work just like rolling pins, but smaller. It's straightforward and you know how these work, but it's an important tool for me to mention. You can also use them when conditioning your Clay before sculpting. These are the tools and materials that I consider basic, no matter what kind of sculpting you plan to do, but additional materials can be helpful. So here are some extra tools and Supplies. The first is chalk pastels. Chalk pastels can be brushed onto clay for a pop of color. And my favorite thing to do with them is give Miniature food, a baked look. To brush these onto Clay, I use a paintbrush or I'll use this inexpensive eye shadow brush that I have. If you don't have chalk pastels, eye shadow is a good alternative. Just make sure not to waste any expensive makeup on this. There are many different things that you can use to create quick texture. A paintbrush with hard bristles or even a new clean toothbrush can be used to create slightly bumpy texture. I use this technique for the majority of my food charm. Rough sandpaper will produce a similar pattern and it can be helpful for preserving texture while you work on the opposite side. Another great way to create texture is to take a piece of aluminum foil and compress it into a ball, then roll this ball over your clay. To me, this texture imitates natural imperfections on food. And I like using it for things like Clay, cookies, and pizza. These are dotting tools. They come in different sizes and they can serve many purposes. I like to use them to create holes, texture, and find smooth detailing. Blending tools are flexible and made of silicone. They can be used to smooth out layers and create extra structure. Another tool that helps me out a ton is my pasta machine. Pasta machines can be used to flatten and Condition Clay. They have multiple thickness settings and you can count on them too quickly and uniformly flatten your clay. This is a regular pasta machine, but I took the fenders off of it because my Clay kept getting caught on them. And it's also much easier to clean this way. In craft stores, you can find Clay roller machines, which are the same thing, just more expensive and typically lower-quality. I'd recommend avoiding them. And lastly, you can get Clay cutters, cookie cutters, and frosting tips. These can be used to get perfect identical shapes, or they can be used to quickly replicate elements of real food 8. Don’t Know What Supplies to Start Out With?: All of that information can be a bit overwhelming. So if you can't decide what type of Clay and Supplies to get, here's what I recommend. Starting with Clay, I'd recommend getting a sampler pack. Most Clay Brands sell them and they aren't too pricey. Plus, you get to try out a bunch of colors. This way you don't have to buy a ton of individual blocks of clay and you aren't getting so much that you have to be committed to the brand you're trying. You can buy a sampler pack from each Brand you're interested in and test them out to see which works best for you. If you don't want to do all of that, you can also just buy regular blocks of clay in the primary colors and in black and white. Then you can mix more colors using them. As for tools that really depends on your Sculpting method and what kind of sculpting you want to do. But if you really can't decide what to get, all I'd recommend for now is some kind of craft knife. And even that isn't actually necessary. You can totally just Sculpt with your hands and literally nothing else. As you progress through your Sculpting journey, you'll come to realize what kinds of tools would be helpful for your unique process. 9. What to Sculpt On: Polymer Clay can stick to some materials so you don't want to Sculpt On just any surface. Ideally, you'll want to work on something flat, smooth, and glossy. The first and most easily available option is wax paper or parchment paper. They're inexpensive and they can be disposed after every use, so you don't have to worry as much about Dust. This is what I used for many years when I first started working with polymer clay. You can also use a polymer clay mat or a silicone mat. These mats are non-stick, non slip and heat resistant. So you can put the whole mat on a baking sheet and stick it in the oven when you're ready to bake your Clay. Another option is to use a piece of tempered glass. This is the surface that I used the longest. It's solid and smooth, which makes it a great choice for sculpting and liquid clay work. And it's pretty easy to clean off. The main downside to this is that they can scratch easily, which can cause lines and divots in your Clay. Also, please make sure that you are buying tempered glass. Tempered glass is stronger than regular glass and if it breaks, the pieces aren't sharp and dangerous. I have a few pieces of glass that are all from the same Brand, and I foolishly purchased a new one last year, assuming that it was also tempered, a shard of glass ended up breaking off and slicing my hand kinda bad. So please make sure to not make that same mistake. After that glass incident, I was pretty traumatized, so I switched to ceramic tiles and it is now my new favorite Out of all the options. Tiles are just a smooth and easy to clean as glass, but they are sturdy, durable, and they do not scratch easily. As a bonus, they can withstand high temperatures. So just like the mats, they can be placed in the oven. I use these small tiles, but they come in various sizes. Just make sure to avoid tiles with a rough surface or design as they can leave marks on your Clay 10. Where to Buy Clay & Supplies: There are many places where you can buy Polymer Clay and Supplies. The first and most common place to find Clay is in craft stores. Most craft stores carry various brands of Clay and have an entire section dedicated to polymer clay and tools. Michaels and Joann fabrics are to craft stores that I can always find polymer clay and you can also get supplies online through sites like Amazon and Etsy or directly through manufacturers websites such as Sculpey. Though not all brands sell on their own website. I've even seen polymer clay in Walmart before, which can also be a really good option. 11. How to Condition Clay: Some Clay Brands are softer Out of the package than others. But regardless, all polymer clay needs to be conditioned before use. Simply put, conditioning is basically needing and warming up the clay so that it becomes more pliable and ready for use. Polymer clay is essentially a mixture of PVC particles and a liquid plasticizer. Conditioning helps to mix these ingredients more evenly and create a consistent texture. Conditioning also removes air bubbles. Polymer clay can sometimes contain air bubbles and you can always see them. If you don't Condition the Clay, these air bubbles can create uneven textures or cause the clay to crack during baking. To Condition polymer clay, flatten it out, then folded in half and flatten. Again. You can use only your hands for this or you can also use a roller to make the job easier. Keep flattening and folding the clay until it becomes easy to work with. You can also roll it out into a snake and squish it around in-between your fingers until it softens. A pasta machine can also be used to Condition Clay. This is especially helpful if you're working with large amounts of clay or if conditioning puts too much strain on your hands. To Condition Clay with a pasta machine. Start by using your hands or a roller to flatten your clay to about a quarter of an inch in thickness. Then roll the flattened Clay through the widest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the Clay and half and place it through the pasta machine again with the folded edge going in. First. Doing this will help prevent any additional air bubbles. Repeat this step a few more times until the Clay becomes softer. If you'd like. You can also gradually reduce the width of the rollers on the pasta machine and put the clay through each setting several times. Keep rolling and folding the clay until it becomes smooth and elastic 12. Fixing Firm Clay: If your clay is too firm or crumbly, it will be far too difficult to condition it normally. Here are a few ways to fix firm polymer clay. The first method involves oil. And for this, you can use clay softener, baby oil, or mineral oil. I personally use baby oil because it's inexpensive and always available in stores. Start by chopping your clay up into small pieces. This will help make the distribution process quicker and more effective. At a few drops of your oil or softener and start kneading the clay. It's easy to add too much oil. So don't add more unless the clay isn't coming together yet or if it still isn't as soft as you need it to be. Eventually your clay will become a good sculpting consistency and you can now use it. The second method uses water. Water isn't considered as effective as oil, but it can be used as well. To do this, follow the same steps as before. Make sure to use very little water because you can always add more in a tiny amount, is enough to soften the clay too much, we'll make it sticky and difficult to sculpt with. The last method uses liquid clay. Follow the exact same steps here as well. The only difference is that you can be a bit more liberal when adding the liquid clay. You still want to be wary of adding too much, but you'll need a larger amount than you would with the oil and water. When softening firm clay, your hands may get really messy, especially if you're working with a substantial amount of clay like I am here, I highly recommend wearing disposable gloves for this because it can be difficult to wash this off your hands. After any of these methods, your clay will be ready to sculpt with, but you can also store it for future use. And all you'll have to do then is conditioned it just like you would with any regular clay 13. Fixing Soft Clay: Just like crumbly Clay, If you're a Clay is too Soft, Sculpting can be challenging. Here are a few things you can do to Firm it up. The first thing you can do is stick your clay in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Cooling the clay down will make it much easier to work with. However, this is a short-term solution and the Clay will warm up in your hands and become Soft again, fairly quick. If you want a long-term solution, you can leach your Clay. Leaching is a process that extracts excess plasticizers or oils from the clay. To do this, take two pieces of printer paper and sandwich the clay in-between them. Make sure to use white printer paper for this as the ink from lined paper and colored paper can transfer onto your clay. Roll it out as flat as you can, then leave the clay to sit for a few hours or preferably overnight. You can even play something heavy, like a book on top of it to make the process go by quicker. A bunch of those extra liquids will soak into the paper and your clay will be much easier to work with. The only downside is that leaching it can impact the texture of the clay and it may be dryer or chalkier than normal, but it's still much easier to sculpt with than soft clay. Lastly, you can combine your soft clay with some stiffer clay. If you want the color to remain the same, use translucent clay for this. The firmer translucent clay will help the texture become easier to work with. And as long as you don't add very large amounts of translucent, the color will stay the same. Though it will likely look lighter before baking. Add as much translucent clay as needed to achieve your desired consistency, but avoid adding more than your main Soft Clay. Adding too much may result in a less opaque color than normal 14. Ways to Color Clay: Polymer Clay is available in all sorts of colors, but you can always just by white Clay and mix your own. Here are a few ways to do that. One way you can Color Clay is with chalk pastels. Oil pastels, and chalk pastels often get confused and they react differently with Clay. So make sure you're using chalk. Now, there are two methods you can use to Color Clay with chalk pastels. The first is to shave your pastels down into a powder and combine it with your Clay. These colors tend to come out pale, so you may need to add a lot of the pastel to get a stronger color. The biggest advantage to this method is that afterwards you can Sculpt with the Clay like normal. The second thing you can do with chalk pastels is brushed them on top of your clay. You can do this by brushing your paintbrush on the pastel first, then onto your clay. Or to get a more saturated color, you can shave the pastel down, then brush it on top. Brushing the pastels, as opposed to mixing them in, will achieve a stronger color. And you don't have to use as much chalk. But your piece needs to be glazed after baking to seal in the chalk. And depending on what your sculpting, it may be difficult to get a seamless look because you'll have to Sculpt first, then add color. Acrylic paint is another thing you can use to Color Clay. And just like with chalk pastels, you can either mix paint into your clay or you can paint in the Clay. After baking. Mixing paint can work well, but it can possibly create air bubbles that you likely won't notice until after the clay bakes. And you can see how lumpy my piece looks out of the oven. That being said, this won't always happen and extra conditioning could help prevent this. When it comes to painting your Clay after baking, you'll likely need a few coats to achieve a spotless Color. And again, this will need to be glazed to protect the paint from chipping. And lastly, you can add color to your Clay with alcohol inks. To do this, mix, a few drops of ink in with your polymer clay. You may want to wear gloves while doing this so that your hands don't get status. Just for comparison. Here's how all of the different methods and look together 15. Molds: If you create a lot of repeat charms or charms that have a similar base, molds will save you so much Sculpting time. You can purchase ready molds for polymer clay on sites like Etsy and Amazon. But I've made almost every single Clay mold that I have and I use easymold putty to make them. This mold maker is very simple to use. It dries pretty quick and the molds pickup detail very well. The finished molds are also oven safe, so the clay can be baked directly inside of them. And you any kind of silicone mold maker for clay. It doesn't have to be this brand. If you want to learn how to make your own custom molds. I have a course here on Skillshare, all about how to make different types of molds for both Polymer Clay and resin. I also mentioned non silicone options that you can use if you don't have access to silicone 16. Removing Dust: Dust is inevitable and it can be a serious problem when sculpting. But here are some ways to minimize its impact. Firstly, you can prevent Dust by washing your hands before you start sculpting. And it also helps to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer near so that you can make sure your hands are as clean as possible while working. Especially if you're alternating between colors or projects. Make sure that your work surface and tools are all clean as well by wiping them down. I also like to keep some scrap Clay by while I work because it easily picks up Dust and little bits of Clay. Another thing you can do is get an air purifier and have that near your surface. Air purifiers filter the air and they can minimize a lot of that pesky does. Even while following all of these tips, some Dust may still get into your clay if it does, the easiest way to remove it from your unbaked Clay is to take a Q-tip and dip it in a little bit of rubbing alcohol or acetone, then rub this over the dust on your Clay. This will also help remove any fingerprints. Ideally, you want to do this before you add any texture or shading because the alcohol can remove that stuff. I know this may sound dangerous because alcohol is flammable and the Clay will eventually go in the oven. But don't worry, this is completely safe and it will not start a fire. You don't want to be drown in your clay in rubbing alcohol. Instead, you just want to use enough to get the imperfections out of your piece. Within a few seconds or minutes, the alcohol will evaporate and your Clay won't look wet or shiny. At this point, it's safe to put in the oven. If you've already baked your Clay and there are some dust or fingerprints on the surface to take a piece of fine sandpaper and file where the dust is. This won't work for texture charms or shaded pieces, but it will work really great for smooth charms, especially if you add glaze after sanding. Instead of glazing, you can also go over a standard charm with polishing paper. Polishing paper works similar to sandpaper, only finer. To polish the Clay, Start with the most coarse paper and gradually work your way up to the finer grids. Work in circular motions and keep light pressure so that you don't damage the clay surface. Once you've gone through every grit, your Clay will have a beautiful polished finish and it will feel super smooth 17. Findings: Findings are essentially the parts and pieces that make up a piece of jewelry. If you're interested in using polymer clay to make Jewelry, there are many Jewelry findings that can be used to finish off your pieces. Before we get into it, I want to quickly talk about jewelry pliers. Jewelry pliers are specialized pliers designed for use in making Jewelry. These will be vital for cutting and putting together different findings. And you'll need them for many of the processes. I'm about to describe. The first step in turning a Clay piece into Jewelry is to add an eye pin head pin or eye screw. All three are made of metal so they can be placed in your Clay before baking. eye pins are the most popular option because they are small and they already come with a wire loop, which other findings can easily be attached to. Because eye pins are smooth, they don't really stick to the clay. So if you just poke one into your charms, it will easily come out after baking. To prevent this, I like to cut my eye pins shorter and then bend the end of the pin with my pliers. This will help hold the eye pin in the Clay. As an extra step. Once the eye pin is in your sculpture, you can place some clay on the inside of the loop, right where it touches your sculpture. Or if you're making something with liquid clay, like Clay frosting, you can use some of it to fill that tiny gap. Doing this will help add extra structure. head pins, on the other hand have a flat metal edge on one side. This secures the pin to the Clay. However, it means that you have to create your own loop on the other end, both to fully hold the pin in place on your charm and so that it can be connected to other findings. You'll want to poke the head pin through the Clay before baking, but don't bend it until it has baked. Once your piece has fully baked and cooled, you can create a loop, cut the pin down to a manageable size, and use some needle nose pliers to curl the pin into a loop. The third option is to use an eye screw eye screws are a bit thicker than eye pins and head pins, and their loop is usually a bit larger. They're pretty straightforward to use. All you have to do is screw it into the Clay before baking. After baking, you could leave it the way it is. It's pretty sturdy, but if someone were to unscrew it, it will come out. What I recommend doing is to unscrew it after baking, put a little bit of superglue on it and screw it back into your charm. The next step in making Jewelry involves jump rings. Jump rings are small metal rings that are used to connect different parts of a piece of jewelry together. They come in various sizes and metal finishes. To open and close jump rings, pulled them with two pliers and twist one side away from you while twisting the other one towards you. You can use jump rings to attach your charm to anything you want. But I do want to point out another helpful finding I love to use alongside jump rings, and that is lobster clasps. Attaching a Clay piece to a lobster clasp can make it super easy to clip the charm onto key chains, necklaces, and even Earrings. They come in many sizes, but I love these really small ones. If you want to make Earrings, here's how you can do that. For dangly earrings, just follow the instructions listed before for using jump rings and attach them to your Earrings hooks. As for stud Earrings, you can buy earring posts in different sizes depending on the size of your Clay piece. Because the metal is smooth, we need to prep the Earrings before we can attach our Clay to do this, sandpaper to scratch up the flat part of the posts. You can also use a craft knife to scratch the metal, but be careful to not accidentally hurt yourself. Now, we're going to work on the clay portion. Make sure your piece is baked and completely finished before you start this step. Using your knife, gently score a few lines on the back of your Clay piece. This is the side that will be attached to the Earrings. Lastly, use some superglue or E6000 to attach the clay to the earring posts. The scored lines on the metal and the Clay will create a textured surface for the glute to grip onto. And it will help the Clay adhere to the metal posts so that once the glue has dried, you don't have to worry about the Clay piece falling off 18. Baking Clay: Once you've finished Sculpting, you'll want to harden your piece. Let's talk about what to bake Clay on temperatures and times and what to bake polymer clay in. You can bake your Clay on any sort of oven safe dish, sheet or tin. Some popular options include baking pans, ceramic tiles, and Clay baking cushions. Though, you may want to make your decision based on the look you're going for as the side of your clay that touches the pan will look different depending on what it's baked on. So Clay can be placed directly on the baking pans, but it tends to stick and you'll get a much better results if you line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If you use parchment paper, the parts of the clay that touch the paper will bake with no obvious distinctions. As you can see, the back of this piece looks the front, which wasn't touching the paper. However, when using aluminum foil, the side of the clay that touches the foil during baking will have a shiny finish. Similar to aluminum foil clay that touches a ceramic surface while baking will be smooth and shiny. The next choice won't work for everyone, but you can use a baking cushion. I got this one in a Sculpey bead making kit, and it's made of a soft cotton material. Baking cushions are designed for use with rounder shapes such as beads. But it can be used for any project that requires a non-flat surface. Placing round Clay on a flat surface can create a flat spot. These, On the other hand, don't impact the shape of the Clay as much. Because cushions are compatible with round pieces baking flat or 2D shapes on a cushion will cause the clay to become misshapen or uneven. So you definitely can't bake just anything on them. I bake the majority of my Clay charms on parchment paper. But if I want them to be shiny on the back or if I'm planning to glaze them anyways, then I'll use aluminum foil or a ceramic tile. Then every once in awhile when I'm making a really delicate or round charm, I will bake it on a cushion. Now, let's discuss temperatures and times. All Clay Brands will have their baking times and temperatures written on the package. Make sure to preheat your oven before putting the Clay in and make sure that you follow the correct temperature. Most ovens have temperature increments. So if you can't set your oven to the exact temperature required for the Clay, choose the closest temperature possible below the recommended temperature. For example, Cernit can be baked at temperatures as high as 266 degrees Fahrenheit. My oven goes by increments of five, so I would set it to 265 degrees Fahrenheit. As for times, you want to follow the directions provided by the brand. But as long as your temperature is correct, you don't have to worry too much about baking the Clay for too long. In my experience, the only time I've encountered issues with Clay burning is when I set the temperature too high. The first Clay charm I ever made burnt to a crisp because I didn't read the baking temperatures for my Clay. I had it up too high and it Scorched the Clay within a matter of minutes, even a couple of degrees higher will discolor your Clay. These are two pieces made with Fimo Clay. The one on the left, I baked at the recommended temperature of 230 degrees, and the one on the right was accidentally baked at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Burning or discoloration because of over baking has never been a problem for me. I once accidentally forgot a couple of small clay pieces in the oven for nearly 2 h. I know that's reckless. Do not do that, but none of the pieces burned or looked discolored in any way. Also, I actually bake terms longer than the required time because I usually Pre-baking and Re-baking Clay multiple times during my sculpting process. Pre-baking and Re-baking are really helpful for Sculpting intricate pieces. And I'm going to explain how they work in one of the upcoming lessons. First, let's finish up what you need to know about baking. Polymer clay is meant to be baked in an oven. You can use the same oven that you use for food. Just make sure to never have food and clay in the oven at the same time. Some people prefer to use toaster ovens when baking Clay because they're separate from the ones you use for food, and they typically use less electricity than a full-sized oven. However, toaster ovens aren't always accurate with temperature. So if you choose to use one, you may want to get an oven thermometer just to make sure that your clay is baking, right temperature. Polymer clay has a slight smell when baking that you might notice. It isn't dangerous to breathe this end and most people won't be bothered by it. But if you are sensitive to smell, you might want to open a window for ventilation. Once baked polymer clay cools down and airs out, there will be no smell. Kato is the only Clay I've ever noticed to have a lingering smell days after baking, but it will eventually go away as well. 19. Mixing Brands: Mixing different Brands of polymer clay may be challenging, but it is possible to do successfully. In order to test this, I conducted two experiments. For the first, I mixed equal amounts of Fimo Soft and Sculpey Premo. These two have different baking temperatures. So I baked one piece of this mixture at Fimo's recommended temperature of 230 degrees Fahrenheit. And I baked the other one at Sculpey's temperature of 275 degrees Fahrenheit. As expected, the one baked at a higher temperature. It looks slightly darker in color in comparison to the other, but the difference isn't that noticeable. I did a bend test for both by applying a decent amount of pressure with my hands and they both held up well, I don't believe the difference in temperature impacted strength here. For the second test, I want it to mix two different Brands that bake at the same temperature. I mixed equal parts of Premo and Cosclay because they both bake at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for the same amount of time. After baking, I tested the structural integrity of the piece, just like I did before. The piece had some flexibility to it, probably from the Cosclay, but that didn't last long and the piece ended up breaking very easily. Cosclay isn't as strong as Premo. And combining them didn't make for a sturdy clay. So just because to Brands bake at the same temperatures and times doesn't mean mixing them will necessarily be a good idea. Overall, I would say that it's fine to Brands together as long as one isn't significantly weaker than the other. If you aren't worried about a slight change in color, then choose a temperature that is in the middle of the recommended baking temperatures for both brands. If you don't want the color to be altered than follow the lower baking temperature. And no matter what Brands you use, you may want to test a small amount of the mixture before using it for a larger project, just to make sure that the two brands of Clay are compatible and do not cause any issues such as cracking or other structural problems. 20. Pre-baking + Re-baking: Because polymer clay doesn't really burn, you have the option to Pre-bake and Re-bake while you work. Pre-baking is when you bake your Clay for a short period of time so that it isn't workable anymore, but still not baked all the way through. The Clay will be hard enough that you can hold it. And this way you can build onto it without having to worry about smashing or destroying anything that you've already sculpted. Re-baking is when you bake the Clay again after it has already been baked. And you can do this as many times as you need, so long as you bake the Clay at it's recommended temperature. I Pre-bake and Re-bake pretty much every time I Sculpt because it makes the process so much easier, especially if I'm layering and creating texture. When using an oven, Pre-baking times will depend on the size of your pieces. Most of my charms are pretty small and the biggest I make are about 1 " in length. And I Pre-bake and re-bake everything that size or smaller for ten to 15 min. You can also semi bake your clay with a heat gun so that you don't have to keep turning your oven on and off. If you've never heard of a heat gun, you can think of it as a really hot hairdryer. You'll want to be careful when using one around your charts because they get hot enough to scorch the Clay. For example, mine blows out air that is 662 degrees Fahrenheit. So you'll want to keep it a few inches away from the Clay and constantly keep it moving in circular motions. The heat can also impact surfaces underneath and around your clay. So place your sculpture on a ceramic tile, silicone mat or some other surface that won't be impacted by the heat. If your clay is moving around due to the air, you can use a needle tool or pliers to hold it in place. Make sure not to use your fingers or anything that can't withstand the heat. Pre-baking and Re-baking with a heat gun, we'll take a few minutes to do. And it won't be as solid as when you use an oven, but it gets the job done. For me. Pre-baking with a heat gun usually takes 7-10 min, but I just keep heating the clay until it starts to look matte. Raw polymer clay has a slight sheen to it that goes away when baking. So when the clay starts to appear dull, you can assume that the surface has baked enough. After that, let it cool, then lightly tap it to check if it's hard enough to work with. If it isn't, you can heat it up for a few more minutes. Once you've finished working on your sculpture, you can ignore anytime it has already spent in the oven and bake it following the official directions listed on your Clay. This ensures that it bakes all the way through. When Pre-baking and Re-baking, your Clay may look a bit weird, especially if you're working with a color that has translucent mixed into it. Many colors look different before and after baking. And because the piece hasn't baked all the way through, it could look off. That being said, once you bake your piece completely for the final time, the color should look normal 21. Glaze/Varnish: If you want to protect your clay pieces, seal in chalk pastel shading and paint, or give your artwork a more professional look. Glaze and varnish are a great way to do that. Here are a few different types that you can use for your sculptures. The first is Matte glaze. Matte glaze is a type of varnish that gives a flat or non-reflective finished to the polymer clay, depending on the brand you use, it can look almost identical to and glazed clay, which can be great if you need to varnish a piece, but don't want it to look any different. The next is satin glaze. Satin glaze has a Soft, semi glossy finish that provides a subtle shine. This is my favorite kind of glaze to use for food charms because it helps give them some life without looking too much like plastic. Another popular option is gloss glaze. Gloss glaze provides a shiny reflective finish to your polymer clay pieces. It can also enhance colors and details. The next choice is UV resin. Uv resin is a type of resin that hardens when exposed to UV light. It's a popular choice for sealing and protecting Polymer Clay Jewelry as it creates a clear, durable coating that's resistant to scratches and drops. It's perfect for when you want a glossy coating that will also provide a lot of protection. Similarly, you can also use epoxy. Epoxy is a two-part resin that hardens when the two parts are mixed together and then left for a day or two to harden. Epoxy and UV resin are almost exactly the same other than the way that they cure. Because epoxy takes much more time to harden, it isn't as popular for Clay as UV resin, but they produce similar results. If you're interested in learning about UV resin and epoxy, as well as how to use them. I have an entire course all about that, that you can check out 22. Storing Clay: Storing polymer clay properly is important to prevent it from getting dirty or becoming too hard. I typically leave open Clay in its original packaging as long as the plastic wrapping is still intact. But for colors that I've mixed or clay that I've used, most of. I transfer them to small Ziploc bags or plastic containers. I really like using these disposable condiment containers because the clay doesn't stick to them and I can reuse them for different colors. If you live in a dry climate, you may notice that your polymer clay dries out easily to prevent this from happening, It's a good idea to store your Clay in an airtight container such as a Tupperware. This will help to retain the moisture and keep the Clay pliable. Even if you don't live somewhere dry, storing your Clay in an airtight container can be a good precaution to take. Also, if you have young children or pets, makes sure that your clay is stored away and that you don't have it lying around. Polymer clay is non-toxic, but if ingested, it may cause an upset stomach, and it can be a choking hazard 23. Scrap Clay: When working with polymer clay, it's common to end up with leftover scraps that are too small to use on their own. These scraps can be frustrating to work with, but don't throw them away. Instead, every time you end up with scrap, store them in a plastic bag because there are several things you can use them for. As mentioned earlier, you can use these scraps to keep your hands and work surface free from Dust. You can also use it to get bits of clay off your hands when you're working with different colors. Another thing I love to do is use scrap Clay to make the original pieces for my custom molds. Because I only use these pieces to make molds. They don't need to be visually appealing. And using scrap Clay for your molds means that you don't have to worry about wasting your good clay in case the mold making process goes wrong. Plus you save your high-quality Clay for the final product. You can also use scrap Clay as a hidden base for the bulk of your piece, then you can cover it with a layer of regular clay. For example, these cakes are made of scrap clay that I covered with Clay frosting. It would be wasteful to use normal clay because it won't show anyway. Or if you're scrap Clay is free of dust. You can marble colors together or with fresh Clay and use them to create unique pieces. 24. Not Sure Where to Start: It might take some time to discover your own personal Art style. If you're completely new to Polymer Clay Sculpting, it's normal to feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start. I'd recommend starting by making things you like or feel inspired by. This can be animals, food characters, literally anything you want. It can take time to get comfortable and confident with polymer clay and you'll enjoy the process much more if you like what you're sculpting. You can also get all sorts of ideas by looking at polymer clay sculptures made by others. You can find these through Google Images and social media, but in my opinion, the best place to find inspiration is Pinterest. Another good thing to do when you don't know where to start is to work on easiest sculptures and charms. Things that aren't too intricate or don't involve too many details. Starting simple will help build up your skill level and it will help you get an idea of what you prefer to Sculpt. If you want some easy Sculpting practice, you can follow along with the class projects 25. Brownie Project: We're going to work on to class projects. One realistic food charm and one semi-realistic kawaii charm. I'll be mentioning the exact colors and brands of clay that I'm using. But you can follow along with any clay that you have or want to use. Our first project is the realistic charm. If you're interested in creating Miniature food, brownies can be one of the easiest places to start. To make a polymer clay brownie. You will need black and brown clay, liquid Clay, a craft knife, and a needle tool, pen or toothpick. Some optional materials are something to roll the Clay Out With sandpaper, findings and glaze or varnish. For starters, we're going to create the brownie color by mixing black and brown clay together. If you want a fudgy colored brownie, mix, one part black and one part Brown. If you want a cakier and lighter colored brownie, mix one part black and two parts brown. I always go for the fudgier look and I used one part black Premo and one part Sculpey, three in the color chocolate. Once the Clay is mixed all the way through, either flatten it a bit with your finger or use something to roll it out. Use a craft knife to cut out a square. And if you want to turn this into a charm, you can now add an eye pin or head pin. We're now going to start adding texture. So if you have some sandpaper, you can place your clay on top of it. This will help add texture to the bottom of the brownie. If you don't have sandpaper or just don't want to texture the bottom. You can skip this step with a needle tool, lightly touch the surface of the Clay in circular motions. This will give the Clay a crumbly appearance. You want to do this on every side. I combined some more brown clay with a bit of that leftover brownie color, and then I added some liquid clay and mix them together. If the mixture is too thick, you can add more liquid clay. And if it looks too thin, you can add some more polymer clay. You want to keep mixing until there are no more lumps and it resembles frosting. Now, gently frost the top of the brownie. I like to spread the Clay frosting all the way to the edges. Then I take my needle tool and lightly draw a few diagonal lines over the top. If you use sandpaper, now is the time to remove it from the bottom of the brownie. You can carefully bend the sandpaper and this will help the Clay come off easier. Now, bake your Clay according to the instructions on its packaging, I baked mine at 275 degrees for half an hour. After it had fully cooled down, I used satin glaze to coat the brownie and the frosting. This step is solely for looks. So you can use any glaze you want or no glaze at all. And lastly, once that has dried, you can add the findings of your choosing. And now you're charm is ready to be used 26. Kawaii Toast Project: For this next project, we're going to make a kawaii avocado toast charm. Kawaii is a Japanese word that basically means "cute" And these charms usually have faces on them. I like to add some realistic elements to my kawaii charms, but most people don't. So if you'd like a softer look, you can skip the texturing steps. And if you don't want to make a kawaii charm, you can still follow along by skipping the face altogether. For this project, you will need white, yellow, green, and black Clay, chalk pastels, liquid clay, and a paintbrush. Optional materials include translucent clay, sandpaper, find black glitter, glaze, Magic tape, and findings. For the bread, I mixed one part white with a slightly less amount of translucent and a small ball of yellow Clay. Translucent clay helps colors look more like real food, because foods in real life are rarely one solid color. Flatten and shape the clay into a piece of bread. You can use tools to help you out here, I used a large dotting tool and my craft knife. Next, cover each side of the bread with a piece of magic tape. The Magic tape helps protect the clay from getting colored while we shaded the outside edges to make the crust. Speaking of which, take some brown colored chalk pastels or eye shadow and brush it on the sides of the bread. If you don't have any tape, just be careful when doing this so that you avoid getting Color anywhere other than the sides. Now, gently peel off the tape from both sides. Another cool thing about using tape is that it rips off some of the clay, which gives your Toast some texture. If you have some sandpaper, you can place the toast on it so that the other side doesn't lose any of that texture while we work on the front. Now press a dotting tool into the clay to create holes for the eyes. If you want to turn this into a charm later, use a needle tool to make a hole at the top with a small paintbrush and some orangey brown chalk pastels, make three toasted marks. You can now Pre-bake the toast and doing so will make it easier to build on it. I used a heat gun to do this, and it took around five-minutes for the piece to become solid enough that I can touch it without altering the shape. With a small amount of satin glaze, I covered the Toast marks and the crust. You usually want to leave glazing as the last step in your sculpting process. But sometimes I will glaze a shaded piece halfway through my process so that the chalk doesn't move around and mess up my charm. As long as your glaze is water-based, it is safe to put a glaze charm in the oven later. Smashed avocado has more than one shade of green. For the avocado portion, I used two colors, one pale green and one pale yellow. And I mixed each of these colors with some liquid clay. Then I layered the two colors on top of the Toast with black Clay. I rolled to small balls for the is, and I used some liquid clay to help them stick With that same black Clay, roll out a very thin snake of clay and cut a small piece to use for smile at a small amount of liquid clay to the bread so that the mouth has something to stick to, then attach the smile. I like to form the smile before placing it on the clay. Then afterwards I make adjustments. I pre-baked with my heat gun again. But again, Pre-baking at this point is optional and you do not have to do this. To make the egg flatten a small amount of white clay. Then texture the outside edges with a dotting tool. And use a dotting tool to make a whole for the yolk. You can also poke the insight a bit to make the whites look more realistic. Once you've done that, take some yellow clay for the yolk and place it in the whole we made earlier. Shaved down some brown and golden brown pastels. We're going to use these to give the egg a fried Color. Most people take a paint brush and brush the chalk pastel onto the edges. And you can do that if you'd like. But what I do is I add a little bit of liquid clay to each. Then after mixing, I gently add bits of the mixture to the edges of the Clay. I feel like this helps give a strong color without ruining any of the texture. Now, back to the yolk, you can leave it as is, or you can make it look more realistic by mixing some of that same yellow with liquid Clay and then gently layering some of it on top. I then took some translucent liquid clay and put a thin layer over the white of the egg, being careful not to touch the yellow. And you can use fine black glitter for cracked pepper. If you don't have glitter, you can use bits of shaved down black pastels. Use liquid Clay as glue and attach the egg to the avocado layer. Once you're happy with the way your toast looks, bake the whole piece. When the Clay has cooled, you can glaze it. I used Sculpey satin glaze. And once that dried, I added some findings and the charm is done 27. Final Thoughts + My Personal Progress: I really hope you learned some valuable information that you can apply when Sculpting, just like anything else, polymer clay is a process and practice makes progress. The more you work on your skill, the better you'll get. So don't get discouraged if your first clay sculptures don't look perfect yet. I've tried Sculpting lots of different things over the years, but food charms are what I enjoy making the most. And that's what I started focusing on. Working with polymer clay is a fun and rewarding hobby that anyone can enjoy. With practice and experimentation, you can develop your own unique style and create amazing projects that reflect your personal vision and creativity. If you give one of the class projects a shot, you can share it with everyone by submitting a project. I'd love to see your creations. Again, all the materials that I mentioned are linked in the "About" section of this course. And if you have any questions that were left unanswered, feel free to ask away in the discussions tab and I'll do my best to answer them. If you'd like. You can also check out my YouTube channel and my other social media accounts. Thanks for making it all the way to the end. And I hope you enjoyed