How to Make a Human Figure Using Clay

Any kind of malleable clay can be used to practice making a human figure.

Soft clay is a malleable medium students can use to learn how to sculpt a human figure. Knowledge of the proportions of human anatomy help make the sculpture look realistic. The length of the head is used to measure certain proportions. For example, the height of the entire body is about eight heads; the bottom of the knees are about two heads from the ground; the distance between the chin and the belly button is about two heads.

Things You'll Need

• 6-inch diameter ball of clay
• Clay-shaping tool

Instructions

1. Make a smaller, 2-inch diameter ball from your main piece of clay. Add more clay until you form a ball of the correct size with no visible seams.

2. Press the ball into an oval shape for the figure's abdomen. Since people's abdomens are not round, the side-to-side width should be three times greater than the front-to-back depth. Shape one end of the oval to be broader for the shoulders. The more slender end will be the lower abdomen. Cinch the waist if you are sculpting a woman, adding shapes for the breasts. Make the back flat until it curves out for the buttocks.

3. Form another piece of clay into a 1-inch ball. Shape the head from this ball. Gently elongate the ball slightly, since the head is a fairly round shape. The abdomen should be about 2 1/3 to 2 1/2 times the length of the head.

4. Form a piece of clay into a ball 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the ball in half so that you can form two legs of equal size. Set one half aside and roll the other between your palms until you reach a length that is between two and three head lengths, depending on how long you want your figure's legs to be. Shape the leg to be wide at one end for the thigh, taper it to half that width for the knee and then taper it further to the ankle, which should be about 1/5 the size of the thigh. Repeat this step for the other half ball.

5. Roll two 3/4-inch balls, then cut them in half the same way you did the legs to create the arms. The figure's arms should only taper slightly from shoulder to wrist and should measure about two head lengths.

6. Form the neck from a small piece of clay and roll it into a cylinder shape. Set the neck on top of the abdomen and then set the head on top of the neck. Use your sculpting tool to smooth the neck connections.

7. Attach the arms and legs to the body, using your sculpting tool to smooth the seams. Bend the arms slightly at the elbow, which should be at waist height.

8. Use tiny pieces of clay to make the hands and feet. Form the hands to be about the same length as the upper arms. The feet should be about the same length as the lower arms. Attach the hands and feet using your sculpting tool.

References

• I Draw Digital: Tutorial: Anatomy and Proportion
• Figurines Sculpture: Clay Sculpture Tutorial