How to Make Shaded Polymer Clay Colors

You are not limited to the basic colors that polymer clay comes in for your projects. Simply blend your colors to develop new ones for your creations. The following steps will show you how to make shaded polymer clay colors that you can use to make jewelry beads or for other clay projects.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Polymer clay in various colors

1. Select the color you would like to create and shade. Green will be color for this example.

2. Pinch off a portion of the green clay and a portion of yellow clay.

3. Knead these two colors together. Roll them in your hands and on the table, mixing the colors as thoroughly as you can to create a new shade of green.

4. Experiment with different colors to create new shades. Combine white with red, blue with yellow, use any colors you want.

5. Roll the different shades into snakes and lay them side by side. Squish these snakes together to make flat rectangular shapes and fold them in half.

6. Roll the rectangles to mix up the shades. Your final piece will again have the snake shape but instead of one uniform color, it will be composed of various shades.

Tips & Warnings

• Use this shaded polymer clay snake to make colored beads for necklaces or other jewelry.
• Instead of rolling, fold your clay shades over and over to create a different design.
• You can mix your shades of colors to make solid, uniform colors as well.