How to create a sculpey statue, figurine or maquette

Create your own sculpey statuette! No kiln required.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• A kitchen oven
• Newspaper
• Paper towels
• Paper clips, needles or x-acto knives
• Armature wire - 14-6 Gauge, aluminum.
• Aluminum foil
• Sculpey III clay or equivalent
• Photo references
• Metal cooking pan
• Sandpaper
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brushes (soft brushes sized tiny to large.)
• Spray-paint
• Spray-varnish

1. See it from all sides. Prepare your sculpting area. Gather your photo references. You will need images of your piece from as many angles as possible. Prop up the images up or tack them to the wall so you can easily view them as you sculpt. Tape down some newspaper over your work table to protect the surface and place your aluminum foil, armature wire and other materials close enough to reach while sitting. Make sure you have plenty of light to work by.
2. Baking sheets work great. Now that your work area is prepared, pre-heat your oven to the temperature stated on the package. (This varies by brand, so make sure you check the instructions.) Find a metal cooking pan that is larger than the piece you will be creating.
3. Looks like a stick-figure...good job! Take a look at your references. Bend the armature wire into a basic frame, based on your desired shape. For human figurines, twist three pieces of armature wire together to form the legs, head and arms. Tuck the extra limb into the chest area to add support. Twist the head into a tight spiral to shape the skull. Secure all angles with extra wire. This frame will be the base for all of your Sculpey application, so make sure it’s good and solid. Add a few extra twists (just like a twist-tie,) to unstable areas.
4. Don't foil these plans... Once your armature is properly framing your piece, (human figurines should look like a stick-figure at this point,) you are ready to bulk it up! Using aluminum foil will keep your figurine light, and save you money on Sculpey. Lightly ball up the foil and wrap it around the armature wire. You can wrap several layers around until you get the desired thickness. Be careful not to add too much foil-you don’t want your figure to be wider than you expect when you add the Sculpey. Secure joints and twists with extra layers for added support.
5. Smoosh it on there! Your piece should now resemble a thinner version of your final figure. Now that you’ve got a more detailed shape, it’s time to add that sculpey! Take a small hunk from the larger block and knead it with your fingers to soften. Once you have kneaded and folded the sculpey into a malleable (silly-putty consistency) chunk, squish it onto the foil. Use your thumbs to spread the sculpey around on the foil. Apply enough pressure so that the sculpey will stick, but not enough to crush the aluminum foil. You want to have at least a 1mm thick surface of sculpey covering the foil. Try to keep the layer thin to save sculpey and keep your figure light. Use thicker layers in places where you will be adding a lot of detail, such as a face. For human figurines, keep one armature wire extending beyond one or both of the feet. You will need this extra wire to mount the figure into a pedestal, unless you want a freestanding figure.
6. Fine detail work. Once your sculpey is properly covering the foil, your piece should really start to look good! Now it’s time to add some detail. Take paperclips, sewing needles, x-acto knives or any other sharp, fine-detailed item to bring in the detail. Use short, precise jabs of the tool to depress the sculpey. Try not to cut too deeply, you don’t want to reach foil. For eyes, try creating hollows with your finger first, and then use the sharp tool to poke and pull out eyelids. Try not to add more sculpey at this point. The sculpey you add to the surface will not be as securely fastened on to the main figure. If you do need to add sculpey, knead the connecting parts together before shaping. This will help them “stick” together.
7. Watch out- it's hot. Time to bake! When all your details have been added, your sculpey figure should look like a rough imitation of how you want the final product to appear. Bake the sculpey for the full length of time as quoted on the sculpey package. When the sculpey is done baking, remove it carefully from the oven and let it cool completely. The sculpey will seem soft while it’s still hot and needs to cool down before it hardens fully. Don’t worry if your figure seems a little “toasty” in some areas. Light sculpey tends to brown a little under the oven’s heat. Let the sculpey cool at least 1 hour.
8. Fine-grain sandpaper Next, you’ll need your sandpaper (fine grain works best.) Smooth out areas that are showing fingerprints, seams, rough patches and anything else you want to feel ceramic-smooth. If you have a dremel tool, you can carefully dremel the piece to smoothness as well. Use a circular brush-head to smooth out extra rough areas. I would not suggest using the sander tool…it is just too rough for sculpey. You can use very tiny drill bits to shape the details if you have a steady hand. If a piece breaks off (oh no!) or you find an area that needs more sculpey, you can add more fresh sculpey to the surface at this point. Roughen the area that the sculpey is to be attached to with the x-acto knife. This will help the sculpey adhere to the surface. Bake the entire figure again, with half the cook-time as the original baking. Let it cool completely. Be careful with these other pieces-they will not be as sturdy as the original figure.
9. Stick to neutral colors for detail. When your figure is smooth in all the right places, brush it off carefully. You don’t want any traces of “sculpey dust” on your piece’s surface. Use a can of compressed air to dust out the details, or a dry paintbrush. When your piece is clean, take it outside and spray a layer of spray-paint all over the surface. Make sure you do this outside, or in a very well ventilated area. Protect your clothes and eyes while spraying. Choose a color that is closest to the final color your figure will be painted. White or grey is a great color if you will be using many colors. Let the figure dry, then spray another light coating. Let the figure dry completely again. This may take 1-2 hours.
10. Kamar varnish is great! Details! Paint your sculpey as if it were any other figurine. Use acrylics or enamels. When your figure is exactly as you want it, let the paint dry completely and spray a few light coats of varnish all over. Let the figure dry fully between varnish sprayings. For human figurines with extended armature wire on the feet, drill a hole in the pedestal surface (usually a piece of carved wood that can be purchased at any craft store,) and thread the wire feet through. Twist the armature wire underneath so that it pulls the feet tight, being careful not to place too much stress on the legs. Apply cork circles or pegs to the bottom of your pedestal to clear the height of the wire. Paint the pedestal, or use a wood varnish to offset the colors of your figure.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a subject that is easy to start with. Your next one can be more challenging as you become familiar with this medium.
• If your sculpey figure should break, glue it back together with 2 step epoxy. This is the strongest glue out there, and can be dremeled when dry to recreate details.
• Be careful with that x-acto! They are very sharp and can slip out of your hand and into your finger. Ouch!
• Do not touch your sculpey for at least an hour after baking. The sculpey will be very hot, and still too soft to handle safely.
• Brace the figure carefully when sanding. Applying too much sandpaper pressure can force cracks into the figure. Fill cracks with more sculpey and re-bake.
• Do not bake again if you have painted or glued your sculpey. This can cause dangerous toxic fumes-nobody wants that!
• Don't leave your sculpey out for too long. If it gets too much oxygen, the sculpey can become brittle and difficult to shape. Store unused sculpey in an air-tight container.