Sculpting a Dog in Air Dry Clay

• 2 min. video (modeling tools)
• 3 min. video (styrofoam armature)
• 2 hour, 33 min/ video (tutorial)

• Armatures playlist
• 3D art supplies playlist
• Compleat Sculptor playlist

• Cutting up a piece of styrofoam for the inside of the sculpture is a way to not have to make the sculpture entirely out of clay, and is therefore more cost effective.
• Any wooden board will work, plywood is more affordable than other woods.
• Many air dry clays are typically sticky and lack body; Sculpey Air-Dry™ has a substantial body to it and isn’t sticky at all.
• Sculpey Air-Dry™ can be sprayed with water before wrapping in plastic to keep it hydrated.
• Acrylic paints and pigments all can be mixed into air dry clays to change the color.
• The air dry clay stayed fresh for about 90 min, by the time 2 hours and 30 min. had past the surface of the clay had started to set up.
• Air dry clay is a great option if you don’t have access to a ceramic kiln.

• When sculpting in 3D, it’s important to keep turning your sculpture around to different views.
• Avoid sculpting from one view for too long, as the form can look entirely different from another view.
• Shooting reference photos for a 3D sculpture is entirely different from shooting photos for say a 2D drawing.
• When shooting reference photos for 3D, you to to shoot photos from above, and all around the sounds to get every view, including detail shots of various parts.
• Sculpting from reference photos is not ideal, but often necessary in the case of an animal who is not going to stay still!
• The sculpture process is largely sculpting with your hands at the beginning, while tools can help you get into the smaller nooks and crannies.

Art Supplies

• Sculpey Air-Dry™
• Sculpey Tools™ Essential Tool Kit
• Sculpey Tools™ 8-Inch Acrylic Clay Roller
• Styrofoam

Materials provided by

• Sculpey

Reference Photos

Sculpture Tools

• lazy Susan
• fetling knife
• wood sculpture tool
• metal Kemper tool
• plastic sculpture tool
• Utility knife