Welcome to the 3rd tutorial in our new series, Polymer Clay Magic: From Concept to Character. I'm Liz Morris, artist and founder of Peppermint Rose Productions. In this lesson, we'll cover all you need to begin sculpting characters with polymer clay, along with some key tips to help you avoid common pitfalls and set you up for success. Accumulating this experience took several years, and much of the credit goes to a handful of skilled and amazingly talented pro sculptors who freely shared their artistic expertise. Whether you’re trying polymer clay as a hobby or want to pursue a career, sculpting characters and figurines takes both patience and passion - but the reward of seeing the physical fruition of your own work is like nothing else! I hope you enjoy not only the serenity and joy of sculpting, but the inspiration and motivation that comes from watching your work evolve and grow.
My first recommendation is to read this tutorial in full before buying any supplies. I know all too well the desire to dive in! But before you go down that rabbit hole, please check out the whole guide. Depending on what you want to do, you may realize as you read which tools and techniques will likely work best for you. And you certainly don’t need to get everything on these lists. (there's a lot) We'll provide non-affiliated supply links throughout for you to peruse as well.
Now without further ado, let’s get you on your way!
Tools & Materials
Most sculpting tools and supplies can be found at your local craft store or online, but here are the basic ones you’ll need to get started, categorized by each step:
Armature | Base |
Character concept design (printed to accurate scale) 16 and/or 10 gauge Armature wire Aluminum foil (optional) Sculpey UltraLight (optional) Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive Jewelry nose plier Jewelry wire cutters | Wooden craft base Craft hand drill or electric drill 5 minute quick-set epoxy glue Toothpicks Paper towels Gloves Safety Glasses Disposable dust mask or N95 mask Wood stain or acrylic paint |
Sculpting | Baking |
Glass cutting board with gridlines Clay cutter Acrylic roller with size guides Polymer clay (see chart below for details) Liquid Polymer clay Clay softener or baby oil Baby wipes 70-99% Alcohol Modeling Tools (silicone & rubber tools, dental tools, metal ball tools, wooden tools, bamboo skewer, metal needle, poker tool) Toothbrush Clay pasta maker or acrylic roller | Convection oven (preferable), conventional or toaster oven Cotton quilted batting Parchment paper Aluminum foil |
Modeling Tool Sets
There are an infinite variety of modeling tool sets online. The cheapest are made of all plastic. They're ok but I'd recommend sculpting tools made of metal or wood. The exception being ball stylus and silicone tools, which may have plastic handles. A metal dental explorer tool and needle/poker tools are wonderful for fine lines and adding fabric wrinkles. All this said, keep in mind that typically you don’t end up using half of the tools they give you in a set. A lot of sculptors only use a handful of favorites, so you don't need to spend a fortune on this.
Rubber and Silicone Tool Tips
For character sculpt detailing, both hard rubber and softer silicone tools are an absolute must. Even though they come in sets of different shapes, I find that in most cases I only use 2 shapes for both rubber and silicone - sharp point and flat chisel. They come in different sizes and can sculpt most details. Hard rubber tools can move soft clay with too much force so are best used with medium to firm clays. HINT: Kemper sells a double ended hard rubber tool with a pointy end on one side and a flat chisel on the other. I use it for everything! Silicone tools tend to be weaker, but they’re indispensable when clay is soft or requires gentle detailing and smoothing.
Beautiful Clays
There are soo many polymer clays on Amazon and Temu that choosing the right one can be overwhelming. But let me save you some trouble. Most of the generic clays are not worth the money. They're usually too soft, brittle, or just made for kids, not professional artists or even hobbyists. (Arteza and Sculpey III are good examples of this, which is why they're not listed) Below are the tried and true standards of clay brands and the ones I use the most for character sculpting:
Clay Brand | Color | Firmness | Best Used For |
Baby, Fairy, Brown | Medium | High end art dolls, available in a variety of mixable skin tones. This is my favorite clay ever! Lovely to work with and bakes to a beautiful realistic finish. | |
White | Soft | Bulking out armature | |
Beige | Soft, semi-translucent | Blocking out the body, not ideal for skin detail as it tends to get blister marks during baking or "moonies" | |
Super Sculpey Gray series | Gray | Holding fine details - face, skin, clothing, accessories, etc. I use this for full body sculpts. | |
Baby Light Espresso | Medium | Doll and characters, a variety of mixable character skin tones | |
Large variety of colors | Medium | Clothes, hair, accessories, scenery | |
Variety of colors | Liquid | Adding texture and color, liquid effects, translucent is great for flexible fairy wings | |
Translucent | Liquid | Adding texture to skin and clothing, bonding clay (raw or baked in any combination) | |
Variety of colors | Very soft*, medium, firm, liquid | Clay that stays flexible after baking. Great for hair, hands, clothing and wings |
*A quick note on Cosclay. Their doll and original clays I've tried in the past have been so soft that it's been extremely difficult to work with - like trying to sculpt over-chewed sticky gum. That said, I ordered some of their newer colored clay variety bundles last year and they were the exact opposite - super firm, very crumbly and needed a couple drops of clay softener. Once it was conditioned, it was way, way nicer to work with. Having flexible clay is so great for hair and hands, and it gives it more strength than regular polymer clay, so I hope they have figured out a better formula for their original clays.
Making the Armature
For human or human-ish characters, start by laying the armature wire on top of your printed character concept as a reference. For a 5" - 7” character figurine, you can use 10- or 16-gauge aluminum armature wire. Roll out the wire for one side of the body starting at 3/4" past the left wrist, to the top of the shoulder, down through the torso. Use jewelry nose pliers to bend the wire outward for one side of the hips, then continue the wire straight down to about an inch past the bottom of the foot. For a four-legged animal like a dog or cat, bend out half of the animal starting with 3/4” past the bottom of the front paw, up to the shoulder, through the torso, then bend and curve it down to 3/4” past the hind leg.
Clip the wire and duplicate the other side.
Measure out a long strand of wire and place between the two sides to make the spine and neck.
Use more wire to wrap both halves and the middle ‘spine’ wire together. You should have a complete skeleton now!
Bulking Out the Torso
Now you can bulk out your character’s torso. To conserve clay and baking time, there are 2 ways to do this:
Aluminum Foil Bulking Method
Directly apply or brush on Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive to the armature torso.
Wrap the torso with aluminum foil as tightly as possible while bulking it out, referencing your character concept. Leave ¼” of space around the border where your clay will go.
Brush on more Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive all over the foil.
Add polymer clay and begin sculpting.
Sculpey UltraLight Bulking Method
Directly apply or brush on Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Adhesive to the armature torso.
Apply Sculpey UltraLight to your armature and sculpt the basic torso shape, referencing your character concept. Leave ¼” of space around the border where your clay will go.
Follow the manufacturer’s package instructions and bake the armature in your oven - typically 15 minutes per ¼” (6 mm) at 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wait for it to completely cool down (leave in the oven 1.5 to 2 hours after baking to avoid cracking)
Add polymer clay and begin sculpting.
Which One?
Though it is a bit more time consuming, I recommend using the Sculpey UltraLight method to bulk out the torso. Crinkled foil is uneven, creating gaps between itself and the clay which can cause cracking during baking. Or the foil will sometimes poke through the clay as you sculpt, which quickly becomes super annoying and messy since there's liquid clay over the foil. Polymer clay sticks perfectly to baked UltraLight without adding liquid clay adhesive over it, so you’ll have a nice dry, smooth surface to add your clay to. I learned this method from Ace of Clay, so he gets credit for this cool technique.
Baking Tips & Tricks
All polymer clays require baking to become fully cured. Different manufacturers have different baking directions, so be sure to check the packaging of whatever clay you decide to use. You can also bake lower and longer than the package says, which will make your piece less likely to crack, and result in a harder cure. Technically you can use your kitchen oven, but if you’re going to make polymer clay items regularly, I would recommend getting a separate toaster oven, preferably one with a convection setting. (Regular toaster ovens are notorious for uneven heating, but you can buy an oven thermometer to check for accurate temperatures) If you can only use your kitchen oven, clean the inside thoroughly with soap and water after each bake. Polymer clay is listed as non-toxic, but it does release fumes into the air and you probably don’t want them sticking to your food.
Placement and Positions
I think this is one of the biggest challenges, especially as pieces get bigger. For human characters in a standing position, it’s best to place them horizontally face up on a bed of cotton quilted batting (you can use PolyFill, but I’ve found it leaves tiny strings that leave indented marks in the skin and have to be pulled out later. Not good.) And remember, don’t place your model face down. As the clay bakes, it softens, and if your character is facing down, their nose and cheeks will likely get smooshed.
Preventing Burns
To avoid the faces, feet and hands of your model from burning, always make a tent or arch of aluminum foil to cover your model. Don’t let the foil touch the model directly, but if it is fully covered over the piece with space for air to circulate, you should be good.
Shiny Miserable Pieces
If you are doing an accessory piece, use quilted batting or parchment paper as a baking liner instead of aluminum foil or baking directly on the sheet. Any metal in direct contact with your model during baking will leave a shiny spot which will have to be sanded down later. (We’ll go over repairs in the next tutorial)
Cracks are Whack
The best way to prevent cracking in your sculpt is to wait for it to COMPLETELY cool down
before you take it out of the oven. And unfortunately, that doesn't mean like, watch a quick episode of Ghosts and take it out. Even though your piece is only ¼” – ½” thick, you need to wait ideally 2-3 hours after it’s finished baking before you take it out of the oven (so you could binge Ghosts for a bit - what is my obsession?). This requires some patience, but trust me, it’s worth it. Full disclosure: I actually got so frustrated with my bakes cracking and/or burning when I first started out that I basically quit polymer clay for 20 years. 😑 Had I been aware of this simple concept...well I try not to think about it! 🙀
Base Prep
So now that your awesome armature is done, let’s get the base ready. This step is optional, and you can also follow these steps after your figurine is sculpted and painted.
Place the base on 2-3 paper towels. Position the armature where it would stand on the base and mark out where each hole will go with a pencil.
Use a craft hand drill or an electric drill to make 2 holes (or 4 for your animal figurine) in the base. Ensure the bit is slightly wider than your wire to allow glue in the hole.
If you're using wood stain, put on your vinyl latex-free gloves, safety glasses and a dust or N95 mask. Make sure you're in a well-ventilated area.
Paint the base with either wood stain or acrylic paint. (Wood stain will take longer to dry, but it looks very polished. You can achieve a similar look by using thin layers of acrylic.)
Keep the gloves, glasses and mask on for the glue part (it stinks!). Follow the package directions to mix your 5-minute quick-set epoxy glue and apply to the ends of your armature wire legs using a toothpick.
Set the armature in the base and wipe any excess glue with a paper towel.
Wait 5 minutes for the quick cure, usually several hours for a full cure.
Character Sculpting Techniques
Keeping Polymer Clay Clean
Dust, fur and lint are the absolute bane of the polymer clay artist’s existence. It's everywhere, especially if you have pets. But there are a few ways to prevent it and clean your clay while you sculpt:
Wash your hands before and after working with polymer clay.
Roll your palms with a lint roller.
Wear white cotton shirts while you work, no bulky sweaters if possible.
Wipe lint off clay with baby wipes or brush clay with baby oil, clay softener or alcohol.
Pick lint and dirt out of clay with a craft knife as you work.
Use an air purifier.
Condition the Clay
Huzzah! We’ve finally arrived at the fun part! Go ahead and tear open your package of clay and cut off a piece. Unless you bought soft clay, most good clays will be a bit firm and crumbly at first. If you need to, add a couple drops of clay softener and begin kneading the clay into a lumpy ball. Keep kneading until it stops crumbling and has become pliable, about 1 or 2 minutes. TIP: If you’ve used too much softener or baby oil and it’s got the consistency of over-chewed gum, flatten the clay with your roller and place it between 2 sheets of printer paper for a few hours or overnight. This should leech out most of the extra oil. (don’t use paper towels unless you want lint all over your clay)
Roll Out the Clay Carpet
Once the clay is conditioned, it’s time to flatten it out before applying it to your armature. I keep an acrylic roller on hand for flattening small clay pieces. I recommend one that has a few ring guides on it to adjust the thickness. You can find them in the bakery area of your craft store. Ideally though, a clay pasta roller will give you more thickness options and it's a little easier and faster. Set it on the lowest setting like 1, which should give you a ¼” inch thick sheet of clay. The higher the number setting, the thinner the sheet.
Block in the Torso and Neck
With your 1/4" clay sheets ready to go, start applying them to your armature and shape out the basic torso and neck. (If you used aluminum foil to bulk your torso, brush on liquid polymer clay first to adhere your sheet of clay.) Make sure you compare the shape to your reference design.
Detail the Torso
Use your sculpting tools to add in all the fine details of the torso. Don't forget to reference all those whimsical touches in your character design. If your character has another layer on top of the basic torso, like a jacket, you can add it, but keep in mind additional layers of clay are much easier to sculpt after the first layer is baked. You don't want to accidentally smudge out the first layer's detail while you work on the top layer.
Add Arms and Legs
Brush some clay adhesive on the wire of your armature's arms and legs.
Roll out clay cylinders for each arm and leg.
Use a straight blade to press down lengthwise about halfway through each one.
Wiggle the blade to split it kind of like a hot dog bun.
Apply the split end of the cylinders to the arms and legs of the armature wire, then push the clay together to close the split, sealing the cylinders around the wire.
Use your craft knife to cut away any clay that is covering the ends of the wire. Leave about 1/2" to 3/4" inch of wire to attach the hands and feet later.
Blend the arms and legs into the torso.
Add shoulders, pelvic area and bulk out any other areas depending on your design.
Clothing & Fabric Texture
For sleeve edges or fabric edges like pant legs, add a strip of thin, even clay around the edge of the wrists or legs, blending the top side in.
For clothing wrinkles, roll out thin clay strings and attach them to where the fabric would wrinkle, typically starting at points of tension, like elbows and knees. Search online photos for reference. Use the pointy silicone tool to blend them into the body.
Add fabric texture using the handle of your metal sculpting tools, which often have a micro diamond pattern, perfect for jeans, sweaters or burlap. For extra realism, try imprinting real fabric textures such as lace or corduroy.
Bake the Model
Before we add the head, hands and feet, bake your model according to package directions. We do this bake so it's easier to add everything else on later. Remember to let it completely cool down for 2 – 3 hours after it’s finished baking before removing from the oven to prevent cracks.
Hands, Feet and Shoes
Using Cosclay will make your hands and feet stronger, flexible and more resistant to breaking than regular polymer clay, but you can use any clay you prefer. Some artists use floral wire as a hand armature, but I avoid this as it can be very tricky. You also won't need an armature if you use Cosclay.
Hands
Make a wedge palm shape for each hand.
Roll out cylinders for fingers and thumbs and blend into the palm using a needle or poker tool.
Detail knuckles and nails per your design. I love using both needle and silicone tools for this part.
Apply liquid clay to the armature wire ends and attach your hands, blending them into the wrist.
Feet
Make 2 doorstop looking wedges and use your craft knife to cut 4 slits to make toes.
Use your flat silicone tool to shape the toes and a needle tool to create nails.
Apply liquid clay to the armature wire ends and attach your feet, blending them into the leg.
Shoes
No need to sculpt a full foot, just make a small ball or shape that the shoe will wrap around.
Add clay and sculpt the basic shoe shape according to your design.
Finalize your details.
Apply liquid clay to the armature wire ends and attach your shoes (and foot), blending them into the leg.
Sculpt and Attach the Head
Sculpting faces and heads are my favorite. I love getting into all the fun details. So here we go:
Roll up a tight ball of aluminum foil using your reference for scale. Leave ¼” of space around the border where your clay will go.
Take the bamboo skewer and poke it into the bottom of the foil ball, where the neck would go. You can now use the skewer to hold the head while you work.
Brush a thin layer of liquid polymer onto the foil ball.
Wrap a ¼” sheet of clay around the head armature.
Press in and smooth the clay. Add more clay if you need until you have your head shape, making the face flat.
Take your needle or flat silicone tool and lightly draw a center line down the middle of the face. Make three horizontal lines for the eye line, bottom of the nose and lips.
Use a ball stylus tool to press in the eye sockets.
Put a couple drops of liquid clay in the center of each socket.
Make two clay balls for the eyes and place in the sockets.
Use your character design for reference and add clay for the nose, eyelids, ears, and mouth.
Build up the cheeks, forehead and chin.
Once you're happy with it, attach your head by removing the skewer and applying a little liquid clay adhesive to the inside of the hole.
Place the head on the neck and smooth the clay into the baked neck.
Bake Again
Once your head, hands and feet are attached, bake once more. Don't worry, polymer clay can stand up to multiple bakes.
Sculpting Hair
Now that your head is baked, hair will be easy to sculpt. Hair is wonderfully diverse, and you can use your creativity to capture style and texture. Keep in mind the character's ethnicity if you want it to look authentic. I recommend Cosclay for hair as it will retain flexibility after baking, making it less likely to break.
Add some liquid clay adhesive to the head, then block out the basic shape of the hair based on your design.
Use a dental explorer or needle tool to mark scalp part or fine lines for straight hair.
For curly or whimsical hair, roll out strands of clay and wrap them several times around a toothpick, needle tool or bamboo skewer. Pull out the toothpick or other tool and carefully blend the root of the hair onto the head. Repeat as necessary. (For a Victorian "Dickens" looking curl, flatten the clay before wrapping it. Then add lines to mark texture.) You can also curl or twist floral wire and place randomly to create a stylized look.
For African hair, tap a toothbrush in circular motion on the clay, then poke tiny holes of varying depth with your smallest ball stylus tool to create rich texture.
Add Extra Clothing Layers
After the hair is sculpted, add on any additional layers of clothing like jackets and scarves. I use Cosclay for anything fragile like scarves or in Vincent's case, his waistcoat jacket.
Final Bake
Once you're happy with everything, bake your model for the final time. This is the last step before painting your character. You've come so far!! 🙌
Next Steps
Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson on polymer clay character sculpting techniques! I know this was a lot of information, but I wanted to pack as much advice in as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment below. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, our next tutorial, Repairing Baked Polymer Clay Characters will be posted by Friday, December 13th. Thanks again and see you at the next one!
Artist and Founder
Peppermint Rose Productions
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