SCULPY CLAY PROBLEMs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

kk, i'm trying to carve little almond shaped eyes into a ball of sculpy (think that's how you spell that) clay, and I don't know how. I want them to go in at about 1/8". Help???

(Because now i'm trying to carve in by drawing the shape of the eyes with a toothpick and then carving in with that)

Any good ideas???

Answer 1

Here's how to do it:

DO NOT draw in the shape of the eyes and dig clay out.

You should have a wooden tool that has one end shaped like a knife. Rounded, but comes to a point.

Hold the edge flat against the "head" with the point of the "knife" where you want one "edge" of the almond shaped eye to be.
Then, press inward. Now you will have a rounded edge to an eye.
Flip the knife around, and do the same thing to the other "edge" of the eye. Now you will have a rounded almond shape.
Basically, you shouldn't dig any clay out. You're pressing it all in.

Answer 2

My best advice is: don't use a toothpick (also - don't use wood - it is too sticky - use metal). You need to use a tool that resembles the effect you wish to achieve. For instance: a flexible exacto blade, or dental tool of some kind. I am guessing you don't have anything specialized for this purpose, and if you can't go and purchase a tool from an art shop, the next best thing would be a dull knife or a piece of aluminum can cut into a shape that resembles a cake frosting knife. If you go this route, you can actually flex the metal to resemble the shape of the eye as you push the edge of the tool into the sculpey. Or, (I just thought of this) do you have a metal manicure tool, like a nail file or a cuticle pusher or nipper? Those might work. Last, if you have different gauges of wire you can take a heavy one, and wrap it with finer wire. Then, shape the wire into a shape that resembles the eye shape you are going for, and wrap the ends of wire with tape so you don't poke yourself. The best thing is to put the ends of the wire into a wooden dowel, and voila! you made your own tool. Then use the wire to dig out the eye shapes.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Look in the kitchen or in a tool box and see what kind of sharp pointy type objects you have.

You want a tool that has like a flat wedge at the tip. Think of a caligraphy pen's tip. That will help you shape it better.

Experiment with the different objects you find, each will give you different kinds of textures.

Good luck!

Answer 4

if you plan to do more sculpting, i suggest you invest in sculpting tools or clay tools. if this is the only time you doing to do this, you can a small knife, a nail or a paper clip. most sculpture tools are made and looks similar to dental tools. most sculptors used these tools for small detail work, like eyes, ears and noses ...etc. if you know any dentist, you can ask the dentist of his used dental tools that he going to throw away. when you got the dental tools, boil it first to sterilize it before you are using them. you can also buy those tools for about $2 each.

have fun creating your masterpiece.

Answer 5

You should probably use a screwdriver or get sculpting tools (be sure it's for clay if you get tools).