Sculpting Mythical Creatures out of Polymer Clay

registration post

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:07:00 PDT

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Polymer Clay Central

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:47:00 PDT

It is time that I start mentioning some of my, and I believe the same goes for Dinko, so I am going to make a correction - some of our favorite polymer clay sites. At the top of the list is the absolute polymer clay site - The Polymer Clay Central.

I thought for quite a long time how to describe this wonderful site and the best I can come up is the following. Imagine that polymer clay and everything polymer clay related is the world of Star Wars. You did? Great. Now, in this world Polymer Central would be the Jedi Temple. The place where the young polymer clay apprentice and the polymer clay master feel comfortable. Where knowledge of the polymer clay is shared, possibilities explored and opinions exchanged.

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Believe it or not...

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:14:00 PDT

Believe it or not these are dwarf variations. I agree that it is a far fetched statement, but nonetheless it is true.

Instead of explaining how and why these are dwarf variations, I am asking you to carefully review the Dwarf chapter. Please do it once again. Now, do you have the answer, can you explain why these are dwarf variations.

My guess is by now you are acutely aware that these are dwarf variations. They are also an example how the polymer clay can lead you to ideas of appearance, character, type of clothing and other things. One idea triggers another, one concept ot stereotype leads to another and the creative process starts with making a dwarf face and end somewhere in the wild, wild west where a sheriff keeps the peace. I have to admit I like the sheriff, he never made it to the book, but he has a good posture and obviously enjoys life.

It is a good thing but I rarely do it.

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:50:00 PDT

Recently I reviewed some of the posts of my 'How to make a chess set blog' and I think some of my ramblings deserve to appear here in connection with the 'variation' theme.

To cut the long story short it is always good to take a pencil and draw the ideas of the creatures you are going to make. It doesn't matter if you are good at drawing or not. Think of the drawing as a general outline of what you are going to make. This helps to get clear ideas. Though I have to admit I personally rarely do it, but whenever I had done it gave better results that starting right off with the polymer clay.

And one other thing. When you make the creatures it is not a bad idea to take notes what colors do you use (writing down the polymer clay manufacturer number: for example FIMO soft, color catalog number 0). I have often regretted not to be able to reproduce some color mixtures because I was too lazy to take notes of what colors have been mixing. If you have a good idea and a good sculpture comes out of it, take notes of how or where you got the idea, this helps a lot for future projects.

Funky old projects

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:21:00 PDT

Here are four of the classic Dinkos creatures. The how to projects are hosted on Dinko's site http://www.funclay.com . Here are only the links to the tutorials.

I must say several things about these project. First one is that the bird with teeth is one of Dinko's concepts that I like the most. No bird to my knowledge has teeth. Adding them to the creature's smile makes the creature unusual and funky. I am sure that if you think along these lines you may come up with your own funky creature. And if it is a piglet with wings or a snail with hands it would hardly matter.

The other thing that I would like to mention is that the purple dinosaur and the green lizard projects are variations on the reptile theme. So even if you decide not no make those creatures take a look just to see how by varying some of the work steps the final result is different.

Sphinx variation

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:01:00 PDT

These are pictures of a sphinx. It is rather apparent that this is not the image that first appears in our minds when the sphinx is mentioned, but still this is a sphinx. Every once in a while when you decide to make a mythical creature you might have the time (that is usually not the case) to make some research.

The result often is that things are not the way you thought them to be. As it turns out there are several interpretations as far as the appearance of the sphinx goes. There is a very nice wiki article about that here. Once you have decide what tradition of representation to follow hurry up and make the sphinx. Ah, and don't forget to make a riddle for the sphinx. The sphinx here was inspired by an Attica sphinx statue and a Delphi sphinx statue. Here are pictures of them.

Don't be afraid to experiment with less popular ways of representation of a mythical creature. You can also come up with one of you own that is completely different than anything you have seen or heard of. This won't mean it is not a valid representation of the particular mythical creature you are making.

On the other hand it is always good to make something and have people recognize what it is at first glance. So you have to decide on your own what to do.

How to make an Easter bunny - summary

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:20:00 PDT

This is a summary of How to make an Easter bunny video tutorial. The entire project takes 21 min. to complete. (excluding the 30 min. baking time). It is separated in three videos: part 1, part 2, part 3. It is one of my favorite creatures to make. If you decide to make one, please feel free not to adhere to the color scheme. Any colors work fine. f you have any questions please feel free to mail me or post a comment. I have been making some of those since February this year for my friends. Pictures can be found here and here.

There is one other thing that I found out yesterday. I was working at my day job - a telecommunications company. We have various brands of test mobile phones for all kinds of reasons... Anyway, the point is that I tried to play one of the 3G I phones and it worked great.

So if you are looking for an excuse to buy a new I phone here is one for you. 'I need it for polymer clay educational purposes!' Can't say no that. Can you? Oh by the way - all the other how to polymer clay videos from youtube worked just great too.

How to make an Easter bunny - part 3

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:09:00 PDT

How to make an Easter bunny - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:32:00 PDT

How to make an Easter bunny - part 1

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:34:00 PDT

The Vampire Variation

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:13:00 PDT

This is a classic wizard. Instructions on how to make one are available in Dinko's book. The reason he appears here is again a variation comment. Making the wizard is essentially a variation of making the Vampire. Although it may not be apparent at first glance it is so. At this point you may review the Vampire instructions in the Gorgon chapter of the book. Or even better - if you have Dinko's book review the Wizard instructions too. I am guessing you will come up with a bigger list of similarities and differences, but here is my list:
- the skeletons are much or less the same
- faces are different
- ears are different
- the vampire doesn't have any facial hair
- the vampire's shoes don't show under his coat
- the clothing of the wizard is much more elaborate
- the wizard has a hat
- the collars of the wizard and the vampire are the same
- their teeth are different
-colors are different
Please, feel free to post any additions or comments on this list.

Facebook widget and photo albums

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:59:00 PDT

Just added a facebook profile badge on the right side of the blog so that you can reach me easily with any questions or comments. Also another facebook activity - started to add pictures of my work to profile here and there. Hope to get more comments that way. Also hope to find time and make another figurine today.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 9

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:00 PDT

This is how the sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza came up in the end. A few things that I have to add. It is baked twice. One - the horse and the donkey are baked separately. Two the two riders and the stand are baked.

The variations in human figurines are subject to an entirely other and mighty big discussion which will be probably added later on.

The choice of theme for this figurine was made by the person who ordered it. For that matter choosing to make a popular literature or movie character is a very good idea. Such a choice gives the possibility to check how other people before you have treated the subject and get some ideas for our own work.It has a downside too - it is hard to come up with something really new and interesting and different.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 8

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:02:00 PDT

After the animals are made the saddles have to be installed on their backs. As you will see in the finished sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza the donkey's saddle is a different color than the one shown here. The reason is obvious - I changed it. The blue saddle seemed to be much better than the green one you see here.

Oh, I am forgetting - the animals are baked at this point. Before installing the saddles. Basically this is it as far as the variations from the Centaur and the Unicorn projects of the book. The rest is just two simple human figurines.Human figurines will be discussed later. Especially the knight and the variations of the knight which can be used in creating numerous other creatures and characters.

I hope the comments on variations have been helpful. Please if you have a question or need more info just post a comment.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 7

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:00:00 PDT

These are he pictures of the finished (not entirely but 90% finished animals). Again the pictures include the working surface in order to give an idea of their size. My guess is that the reader would now expect me to enumerate the variations.
I am not walking this path this time. My expectation is that at some point anyone who has read the book would be able to look for and find the variation, even create one of their own.
My expectation is that you would make comments and suggestions as to what the variations are from the Unicorn project and the Centaur project. There are at least 5 variations.
I do realize that there will be supporters of the 'scientific' approach. A leads to B, B leads to C.
It doesn't work that way when we talk about ideas. Generating ideas does not follow logic. Variations may appear by accident. Defects become effects.
Speaking of which there is a very nice effect when some of the mythical creatures are over baked slightly. Especially fire breathing dragons. But later about this, since it is a theme with 'parental advisory' and 'do not do this at home' tags attached to it.
For now I am interested in whatever comments you might have about the variations from the Centaur and the Unicorn projects in the book, that are used to create the animals on the pictures.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 6

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:40:00 PDT

These are the fine animals of the project half covered with polymer clay. There is nothing particular, nothing different than what is shown in the Unicorn chapter of the book. Steps 1 to 11 are the same, most of the following steps are identical too. The variation here concerns step 35 of the book project - the skin of the donkey and the horse will be one color only. White, gray, brown and you can choose any color. But only one color. Why is that. Well... Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and their rides are a concept rather than a reality, so no need to be super precise and make everything lifelike. The important is the concept - skinny horse, skinny rider. Normal donkey, fat rider. Again there is no rule on variation. You can make your own variation. Fat horse, skinny rider. Dwarf donkey, fat rider. You can even make Don Quixote fat, provided you find the way to make the original concept show.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 5

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:06:00 PDT

These are the tools I use for this projects. These basically are the tools I use on 90% of my projects. Over the years I have been fortunate enough never to catch the TAD ( tools acquisition disorder).

The TAD symptoms are piles and piles of tools that never get used. Or get used rarely. Say once every year. TAD can be dangerously costly too. It also takes every available space. It is my personal opinion that there rarely is a sculpting project that would require more than a clay shaper or two and a pointy needle like tool (the one I have is a dentist's tool). Dentist's tools are great for working with polymer clay, and most of the other types of clay for that matter.

My way of thinking goes like this ( it is not necessarily the right way) - Keep as much tools and as much polymer clay stored, as you can put in one bag (big or small it doesn't matter). Pretend you have to put all the polymer clay related stuff in one bad and go to another town to show someone what polymer clay is about. So this is my toolbox.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 4

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:54:00 PDT

At this point where the skeletons have to be covered with clay a work surface is required. I am going to use one of my favourite ceramic tiles. For two reasons: one - it is one of my favourite ceramic tiles (they are all the same tiles by the way), and second, as you see it is a square 6x6 inches. The size of the tile might also serve as a reference point to the highly scientific terminology I use - 'smaller', 'longer', 'bigger'.

The choice of working surface depends on ... mainly your personal preferences and the available space you have. But it is nice to have a flat, temperature resistant working surface. I prefer as small working surfaces as possible, because this enables me to turn it around and work on all sides of the creature or whatever I am working on.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 3

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:40:00 PDT

After the skeletons are done with the wire and the baking foil for filling is wrapped around the wire it is time to actually start the work with the polymer clay.

FIMO and CERNIT are the two brands that are sold locally, so they are the ones I use. The selection of polymer clay sold locally is the most important factor that will determine what brand one will use. Don't be afraid to use local and less popular brands of polymer clay. Although their qualities may be inferior, there are particular usages where they are better than the well known brands. Experimenting with the medium often gives very good results.

I'd like to comment a bit on my personal clay shopping habits. First let me say that every time I enter a crafts supply store I feel like a child in a candy store. And second ( and probably the more important ) I am horrified every time I hear the expression 'scrap clay' - this implies unused polymer clay, the same polymer clay I love as much as children love candy. 'Scrap clay' sounds to me a bit like 'abandoned candy'.

So what I do is try to roughly estimate how much clay I am going to need for a particular project that I have in mind and only buy as much as I need. Less is fine for me. I go back and buy more. This is a good strategy if your polymer clay supplier is close ( in my case 15 min. drive). I am not prepared at this time to speculate on the possibility of not having a polymer clay supplier close by. If the brand of clay you use is an import it might be a good idea to buy directly from the importer.

Anyway... the pictures show the white bar of clay I am using for the Don's horse and the colors I am mixing for Sancho Panza's donkey. It is inevitable that some pieces of clay will remain, the so called 'scrap clay'. If those are clean put them in an air sealed bag and try to find a usage for them as soon as possible.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:35:00 PDT

The following four pictures are of the donkey skeleton. The donkey Sancho Panza rides. Even though the skeleton is the same as in the Unicorn project of the book there are several variations to be illustrated. Variation 1 - the legs of the donkey are shorter compared to the legs of a horse/unicorn. Variation 2 - the neck of the donkey is longer than the neck of the horse/unicorn. Variation 3 - the body of the donkey is longer than the body of the horse/unicorn. Variation 4 - the body of the donkey is fatter than the body of the horse/unicorn.

Again there is a picture of the skeleton of the donkey next to a six inch ruler - just to give a reference point. And another picture of the two skeletons next to each other - for comparison.

It doesn't really matter how tall/big are the skeletons/finished pieces on their own. What really matters is how big they are in relation to each other. I believe the last picture gives a pretty good idea of that.

How to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - part 1

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:13:00 PDT

I have a custom order to make Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Since they are popular enough characters and basically a variation of the Unicorn and Centaur projects of the book I will document some steps of the making, because I think they might be of interest.

Essentially I have to make two riders. The Don who rides a horse and the servant who rides a donkey. So there are going to be two horse skeletons - Dinko explains that in the Unicorn project of the book. What I'd like to comment is the wire used. I like the most the type of wire shown on the picture it is a 0.8 mm diameter stainless steel wire. The roll is 50 meters long, so it should be enough to work with on a pretty good number of projects. This type of wire is a bit sturdier than the one sold in arts and crafts suppliers' shops. It can be easily obtained at any hardware stores for the approximate price of 9 $. I prefer this type of wire because for me it is easy enough to work with and at the same time sturdy enough to be used on bigger projects (long necks for dragons, sines for leviathans) too.

The next thing I'd like to discuss is the usage of wire, when making complex (well, fairly complex) skeletons for the creatures. It is good to always make sure that the piece of wire you are working with is long enough. It is visible on the right hand side of the picture how I left the tail part of the skeleton long. This is because I started with a really long piece of wire. On the next picture is the cut tail.

Sure it is possible to adopt the 'scientific approach and make exact measurements. And if you are inclined to do that, go ahead and do it. As for my own work I don't use that approach. I find it too time consuming and fun ruining.

The size of the skeletons you make depends on several factors: how big you want the creature to be, how big is your oven (you will have to bake the creature at some point), how much polymer clay you are willing to spend for this project, where will you place the creature once it is baked.
It is probably possible to make exact calculations but with time and experience one is able to make very quick rough estimations and combine all the mentioned factors. So I am going to stick with the rough estimates and comparisons. But for those who have a scientific approach the best I can do is take a picture of the Don Qixote's ride next to a six inch ruler. I would lake to apologize in advance for the obscure terminology I am going to use, which will include the 'scientific' terms: smaller, bigger, more, a bit, a bit less, small, big, tall, fat, bony and alike. I believe that the picture with the rules must be a good reference point for all the 'scientific' terminology.

Please note that in this project the horse skeleton has two main differences from the one shown in the Unicorn project in the book. Variation 1 - the space between the front and the hind legs is significantly smaller. The aim is to create an impression that the horse is tall and bony. A starved specimen of his kind. Variation 2 - the tin foil used on the body is significantly less than in the Unicorn project, again in order to create the impression that it is a tall, skinny horse - not the type you'd expect to win races or to stampede the enemies in battle.

How to bring a polymer clay character to life

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:55:00 PDT

How do you bring a polymer clay character to life. The obvious answer is - you imagine it and you make it. But this is a logical sequence of events and life doesn't always go that way. Well, sometimes it does, but mostly it doesn't. As far as the making is concerned it is the making of the eyes that brings the character to life. And then you bake it. This is where the hard part begins. People come to you and ask 'Who is this?'. Not a simple 'what is this?' that can be answered quite easily 'This is a knight.' But 'who'. They want to know who and that would include background, history, character and so on, and so on.
After I made this knight I had to answer the 'who' question. Well... He is not special in any way, he is rather ordinary, but ordinary is such a boring word. A few hours later I thought of the word 'moderate'. So I tried to do some rhyming - not very successfully I have to say, but here is what I came up with.
This is Sir Dorian - the moderate warrior. He is moderately brave, his war strategies are moderately safe. He is moderately fat, sometimes his temper is moderately bad. Overall he is a nice lad. His nose is moderately small. Dorian is moderately tall. He is nice to all fantasy folk - he even has a friend who is an orc. Dorian's armor is moderately strong, his sword is moderately long. His life is moderate in all, except a bad habit, that is too small to be called a habit at all - Dorian likes to dance at every ball.
And even though the story does not cover a life from the cradle to the grave it gives some idea of 'who' this is. So in my opinion what brings the polymer clay characters to life and makes them complete are the stories you have about them.
Boris

Inke Tinke art gallery

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:39:00 PDT

Inke Tinke art gallery is a place that also sells only hand made stuff. It gets a lot of good reviews in the local press too. There are people who don't shop for gifts anywhere else. Or at least I know some people that do that. It has an atmosphere that makes you feel at home. It is in the center of Sofia so it has a pretty good exposure. I personally shop there quite often. But for some reason it seems like businesslike the place doesn't do that good. When I went there yesterday they told me they are going to close next week and use the premises to make a coffee shop. I am wondering - after Cat&Cat now Inke Tinke closes. Is there something wrong those places did - bad marketing, bad business practisess or people just don't buy hand made any more? Probably is is a combination of factors that I would never understand. But the fact that they close makes me a bit sad.

Cat&Cat or Kotka&Kotka (in bulgarian)

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:04:00 PDT

Sadly it is time to write about places that no longer exist. This post and the next one are about two of the best places in Sofia that sold only hand made arts and crafts. There are two post simply because the shops are, or should I say were two. The first one is Cat&Cat - a lovely place that moved to two different locations in town, trying to find the right place, but for some reason it never did. They sold hand made lamps, figurines, hand made scrapbooks, limited series of young musicians' CDs. The owners are the friendliest people in the world. One was always welcome to look around, have a chat, may be drink a cup of tea, even meet some of the artists who sold their work there. They also sold flowers. After they closed the shop in Sofia they moved it to the seaside. For one year it was there and on the next year it disappeared. It is sad when the good things disappear.
The picture here is taken by Kafene.bg. And here is an article about Cat&Cat - unfortunately in bulgarian only.

The 3 little piggies experiment

noreply@blogger.com (bormarbor) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:09:00 PDT

A few weeks ago I had some time to spend and I entered one of Etsy community chats. People discussed each others work and while talking to fellow craftsmen someone asked me if I could do a funny pig sculpture. I thought the idea was intriguing so I made a little pig experiment. A sculpture of a pig holding an apple - about three inches tall. (largely using the same technique I use for my Easter/not easter/funky bunnies. Turns out it works pretty good for a pig too. Then I made a small piglet - a really simple one to make, about one inch tall. And finally a magnet that looks like a pig. I am not particularly interested is pigs, so I put them on sale.
Anyway the one thing that was really interesting for me, or should I say became interesting is the magnet/polymer clay weight ratio when making a magnet. The piglet magnet holds easily one a4 piece of paper on my fridge. But it wouldn't hold more paper. The magnet I used was bought from a craft store. It had no description, so the only way to determine how much clay to use in order to have a functional magnet and not one that is useless was experimentation. I wonder if there is another more 'scientific' way to tackle this issue. Please if you know of one tell me.
Boris