these are the things you need to make friends out of clay
I make handmade animal figurines and have been doing it since 2019. If you also don’t have any friends and have to resort to creating them from thin air like me (haha, joking! totally. i swear.), we can be friends. (please be my friend)
Allow me to show you the materials and tools I use to make these fun-sized friends. To be transparent, this post contains affiliate links and as an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You don’t have to click on any links though, feel free to just read through and soak up the knowledge you yearn for, you little sponge.
Polymer clay
The heart of my creations! The only polymer clay I use is Fimo Professional and I use it specifically in shade dolphin gray. Since I paint all my figurines you could argue that color of the clay doesn’t matter but I say it does. We could get deeper into that someday, but today we must continue before I bore you to death with very niche information that’s probably not relevant to you.
Silicone brushes & stylus Tools
I just can’t live without them and you won’t be able to either. I do most of the general sculpting with my hands but these are an extension of my fingers (imagine me like edward scissorhands but with these things). All the little details, the blending, the screaming frog mouths… The Silicone brushes & Stylus tools are an absolute must in everybody’s sculpting kit.
Electric nail drill
I know it’s weird, but stay with me, okay? Yes, you could probably use some kind of a high-end rotary tool like Dremel, but we really don’t need to be fancy with this. An Electric nail drill has all the different tiny bits that you’ll need to get to those hard-to-reach places when sanding.
I do light sanding on the figurines after baking to get rid of any dirt or dust particles that got stuck in the clay. If (unlike me) you can keep your hands and work area super clean, you might not even have to use this thing.
DETAIL BRUSHES
Sadly, I go through a lot of brushes. I’m lazy and mean and I will leave them in paint water until they get sad, ugly and unusable. That’s why I like the Set of 15 Detail Brushes from Arteza. It takes a while to destroy that many of them and they are also great brushes for all my needs. I make a lot of dots. Like, a lot.
ACRYLIC PAINTS
I’ve been using Liquitex Basics for a long time and I truly love them. They have an insane range of pre-mixed colors, they are pretty opaque and don’t cost a kidney. However, I always struggled with achieving vibrant yellows and oranges without having to apply many coats of paint, plus they are a little hard to get in Slovakia.
That is why I recently tested Vallejo’s Model Color and let me tell you… I didn’t think it could get much better but they are so good. As I run out of Liquitex, I’m slowly replacing them with Vallejo but they are both amazing and honestly if you don’t plan on painting almost daily like I do, Liquitex will definitely do the job.
Varnish
A very important step in making a little friend is making sure it can weather the storm. Literally and figuratively. My personal favorite is Cernit’s Matte Transparent Varnish. It’s more of a satin finish than matte - I prefer that look over the glossy finish. I let the varnish air dry - I don’t bake it even though the instructions say to do so because I find that it reacts with my paints and discolors some of them. Cernit is a little hard to get, which is why I wanted to include an alternative that also works well with Fimo Professional and that is the Holy Grail of most polymer clay artists - Varathane’s Glossy Polyurethane.
CAMERA
Obviously taking nice photos is a big part of my job, but it might not be yours. I do occasionally get asked about my photos and I don’t know what you’re up to so I wanted to include it in this list. I use Sony Alpha 7 II and I have no complaints. It’s a great camera that checks all the boxes and even though I’m not a photographer I think it does my little friends justice and captures them quite nicely.
Whoa, you really made it all the way to the end. You rock! I don’t think I could do it, it’s such a long article. Anyway, I hope you found your answers and if you’re still not sure whether sculpting is for you, just give it a go! Being able to make a real thingy out of clay is extremely satisfying. There’s something ancient about it. I think your ancestors will smile upon you.