anybody who could tell me the materials used in making ceramic figune?

Question

I want to make snakes replicas for different decors, miniatures, actual size or giant size. I am thinking about ceramic as material, but I do not know the row materials in making ceramic, and also where to buy them. Thanks.

Answer 1

If you use clay (ceramics) there are several things to consider.

First: Material- there are many types of clay. Do you want to glaze it or keep it's natural color, for example terra cotta's natural colors are yellows, oranges, and reds. You should also consider texture, some clays have more grog ("grit") than others. Porcelain is very smooth and feels like butter when wet, stoneware isn't as smooth but it's much stronger and easier to work with.
Second: size (yes it does matter :) small pieces can be made solid if under 1 in. thick, if you make it any thicker ( uniform thickness walls, try to stay at 3/4 in) it needs to be hallow so that it won't crack when fired. The larger the piece gets the greater the chance for collapse,so you will need some sort of armature (a internal structure for support). This can be made of wads of paper which can be left in place when fired, but you can also use wood, wire, or galvanized pipe (these will need to be removed before you fire it.
Third: do you have access to a kiln? If not then you still have a few choices. 1. Air dry clays, they will not do well outside or overtime. 2. Use the clay figure (unfired) to make a plaster mold, but caution, no under cuts! 3. Use a different medium. If you do have access to a kiln make sure your pieces will fit in it, if it won't then you will need to cut it and fire it in pieces then assemble them after they are done.
-----there are other technicallities so I recomend reading up on the subject----
Suppliers:
www.baileypottery.com
www.axner.com
bennettpottery.com
www.montoyasculpture.com
kickwheel.com

Answer 2

Hi Erica! An airplane needs to be covered by something very thin and light, but also strong. Imagine a paper-airplane, then imagine that same airplane being made out of thick cardboard. While the cardboard is stronger than the thin paper, it won't fly nearly as well. So, to come up with better aircraft materials, thin, light and strong are the best attributes to consider. Ceramics may be strong, but they aren't all that light, and if you make them thin then they are brittle. So, ceramics aren't a good material for aircraft. When talking about real aircraft, aluminum is a good choice because it has those three attributes. More expensive, but better in most cases, is titanium, because it's even lighter than aluminum. But it's so expensive, you rarely see it used except in military aircraft.

Answer 3

ceramic clay is what you are looking for. You have to fire the clay to get that shiney,or glazed look to it.