How to Make Miniature Animals From Clay & Fiber

Add fiber to small clay animals to give them a personalized, furry touch.

Clay is a versatile crafting supply; you can use it to make ornaments, figurines, pottery and jewelry. Use regular clay and paint it, or find colored clay and sculpt it into new and bright creations. To make animals out of clay, add pieces of fiber to give furry details to your miniature creations.

Things You'll Need

• Modeling clay
• Pencil or stick
• Fiber
• Paint

Instructions

1. Shop for your clay and fiber. Use clay that will dry on its own rather than the kind you have to bake; this way, you can add the fiber right into the clay instead of having to glue it on later. Find some clay in a color you like, or choose traditional modeling clay to paint later. Then locate a collection of fiber from animals; sheep's wool comes in a variety of colors and is relatively inexpensive. You can even find some that has been dyed in a rainbow of colors; shop online at sites like etsy.com or dye your own using Kool-Aid or acid dyes available at yarn stores.

2. Sculpt your animal by starting with the body. For a clay sheep, for instance, make a fat, oval-shaped body. Add small legs out of clay directly under the body to support it.

3. Sculpt the head of the animal; in this case, a sheep's head is a long oval. Sculpt tiny round eyes and carve nostrils and a mouth using a sharp stick or pencil. Add small ears and a tail to finish out the details.

4. Stick the fiber into the animal creation. Use a pencil or a stick to push the fiber slightly into the surface of the animal, leaving the rest of the fiber to poof out around the animal. In the sheep example, stick the fiber into the sheep's body all around the midsection, and add some to the top and back of the head as well.

5. Let the clay animal dry completely, and then paint it if you like.

References

• Magnificent Thinker: What Can You Make Out of Clay?