Materials Sculpey Questions

it's a big box under like the little packets of colored sculpey that you want. i'm scuplting a tiny merman doll right now. so i'm not planning on using more that that one box. it's a pretty large box though. i plan to make hands and feet with it too.

 

i made about 15 dolls from sculpy (most of them are about 10 inches or 25 cm) and i find sclpy III works best, even better then super sculpy (comes in very limited colours 2, and has wared half moon marks) and just sculpy (this is fragile and your doll will often brake fingers ext.) to make a doll this size you will need approximately 4 57g packages, but some colours are easier to work with then others,(white being the hardest) and it's best not to play with it too much or it will become incredibly sticky, and don't get it wet as it will also result in stickiness. wash your hands before working with it but let them air dry so you don't get too much dust in the sculpy when you work with it

i can give you a step by step instructions if your interested <.<

 

I like the texture of Cernit better than that of Sculpy, but I am also working with Super Sculpy Firm. The sculpy can be purchased at craft stores. I got mine at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon (they have weekly coupons for different things, you can check their site). Cernit is similar to sculpy and more expensive. Even thought the Sculpy says Firm, I find it still softer working than the Cernit. You would probably have to buy Cernit by mail order (Kemper's carries it, and a couple other places).

 

LauraJ i'm sure it's better; anything is better then sculpy... except air drying clays <.<, but some pointers from sculpy can come in handy with this tuff right? 8D

iraelys after you bake it U.U, not very prity maybe i'll have a picture up or something

 

i'll have a tutorial up or something, it's kinda hard to explain by word, but if i do that it may take a long time so i can maybe pm anyone who is interested with written instructions if your really itching to make a doll out of sculpy...

 

I think there are some consistency issues with Super Sculpey Firm... someone here got a really soft box recently. My box (bought maybe six months ago) is definitely not softer than Cernit.

"Moonies" are a known issue with Super Sculpey, unfortunately. If you want that nice semi-translucent flesh tone, you're better off with one of the polymer clays created specifically for doll artists, like Prosculpt.

 

Moonies are sometimes refered to as plating - little circular flaws that show whem the clay is cured. There's some debate about what causes them, but the most likely causes are either that the clays plastisizers have started to separate out, or that moisture or air is trapped in the clay. They look like little white circles (my camera is not up to taking a better picture ):

You can see a couple of big nasty ones on her cheek.
I've found that fresh, soft clay is less prone to them, you can also reduce the risk by mixing some white clay into the translucent clay and/or making sure that your clay is conditioned properly before you start. The opaque clays don't tend to plate (or if they do - you don't see it)

 

youll deffinitely need more than one box for a doll that size... one box really isnt that much...

and since sculpey lets off toxic fumes while baking, it is best to let the oven self-clean before doing any cooking.

 

if youre baking sculpy don't forget to preheat the oven! and keep a close eye on it so it woun't burn

 

can I ask when using the Sculpey or other polymer clay did you use a foil armature instead of the foam ones, I prefer working with polymer clay , I may have to try both ways
thanks barb

 

Barb, if baking sculpey I would not use the foam as a base, it expands when heated..or maybe I'm just unlucky everytime I've used it. As for tinfoil I hate picking that out of a doll, but its safe as far as I have seen.

I like to wet papertowels into the shape I want, let it dry, then work over that and when I'm done its really easy to wet the papertowels to get them back out of the parts you are working on. (I only do this when baking...if boiling well that really doesn't work.)

 

thanks so much for this help, I know that baking the foam we get here puts off toxic fumes too so I was only planning to use that on an air dry one. but I love working with polymer clay and am going to try your method of the wet paper towels
thanks
barb

 

Something to add, Sculpey actually hardens over time. It's always softest when you first get it unless the store keeps it around for too long. Apparently this isn't an issue with Fimo, but if Sculpey is left untouched for a while it becomes hard and the only way to soften it again is to knead it, preferably with a pasta machine (that you will no longer be able to use for pasta ).

Not sure if this question is quite allowed here, but would anyone happen to know the best polymer clay to work with that is moonie-less?

 

I like regular Sculpey the best for doll making, because once hardened it carves well, especially when still hot.

 

EEEUphoria that would be colours like white, beige, vanilla, tan ext.

translucent may look like the perfect skin tone but when you bake it it turns almost clear D: ivory has moons too

 

All the 'translucent' colours (flesh, ivory, and, of course, translucent ) are likely to develop plating.
If you have your heart set on sculpting in a fleshtone, then mix some white clay into it - you'll get a paler colour, but it's going to cure in a more stable way.
The best colours for sculpting in are the darker opaque ones, flaws will show up much better.

Sculpey sell a dilutent that you can use to rescue older clay, I've also managed to get my clay softer by adding liquid fimo, and for a really soft clay, some turps (I left that for a good week before baking it though!)

 

Thanks for the answer!
I'm actually hoping to use grey Sculpey if I ever do have time to make a dollie , and grety doesn't show plating/moonies right? XD;

 

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192007&page=2 I wrote a quick tutorial on how to make double jointed limbs in super sculpey here if that might help you?

I prefer paper clay to work in, but I cast my dolls in resin so i don't have to worry so much about breakage.

 

Hi all,
I was reading the discussion of polymer clay & moonies. I've been making dolls out of polymer clay for 15 years. Moonies are caused by trapped moisture and air in the clay. Super sculpey can be mixed with a small amount of white premo- which is also a Sculpey product. I usually start with a pea size per oz. It will make your clay a little less translucent, but it will diminish the "moonies". Also instead of tearing off pieces of clay, cut the clay before you condition it. Some polymer clay doll artists use a manual pasta machine to condition clay. By always folding the clay in the same direction, you cut down on the amount of air that's introduced in the clay.
Lately, I've been using Prosculpt clay, it's also made by the Sculpey company, but it's marketed by Jack Johnson. It's very strong and it comes in about 5 fleshtones. If anyone has any questions about clay, let me know.

 

Why does everyone but me and batchix hate air dry clay? *L* I prefer it, hands down... way more versatile. I do seriously want to know though, why everyone reviles it so.

 

Just a question: Would I be allowed to boil the super scupley instead of baking it? I know it's better to bake it but seeing as I live at home and my mum uses the oven alot...

If I do bake the scupley how long would it take the oven to naturally clean itself?

 

I heard about boiling Super Sculpey; apparently it takes a few minutes, but if the Sculpey develops cracks while boiling it might mess up your parts. I would just wait until mom leaves the kitchen first.

 

Probably because most people are used to additive sculpting. It's more intuitive. It took me a while to get used to sanding and cutting and carving instead. X3;; But I like how easy it is to get all my finger dents out of paperclay versus super sculpey. It's also not easy to wait for the paperclay to dry- although you can pop it in the oven at 200 for 30 minutes and it'll dry out real quick. :3

Tsukane: You can boil super sculpey, just be careful. :3 if you look up "boiling super sculpey" you can find some tutorials on it. With the oven... they do sell toaster ovens that are specially made for bakable polymer clays. The joann's ect's carry them pretty often. Just get on Joann's mailing list and you'll get a 40% off coupon once a month. Use it on the oven and it knocks it down to like $30-40. I'd get one but my apartment is too small. XD I barely have room for my microwave in the kitchen!

 

Ah, good for me. Most of the time I was wary about boiling it cause I felt the minimum temperature for boiling and the minimum temperature for baking Sculpey would cause it not to cook all the way. I saw some tutorials and it doesn't seem like a bad idea.

I have one of those ovens. It's smaller, portable, and is easier to cook with cause it preheats really fast and has a setting for distributing the temperature evenly. It was around ~$30 dollars but the good thing is it doesn't take up too much space, and you can carry it away from any closed rooms to keep the fumes from absorbing in your clothes. (Sculpey makes my clothes stink. I have no idea why.)