Not so long ago, a new material called polymer clay appeared on the needlework market. In tactile sensations, it is somewhat reminiscent of plasticine. But unlike plasticine, polymer clay can be baked, and then it will become solid and flexible. Plasticine will always be soft. In this article, you will learn how a polymer clay sheep is molded .
Flat blank for fridge magnets or brooches
So, we sculpt a sheep from polymer clay. It is very simple to mold a sheep in the form of a flat blank. To do this, first prepare the basis: roll out a flat cake from a clay ball. Then stick a muzzle on it. Stick black clay eyes. Legs can be made either from clay, or from a chain with beads. Remember to stick the ponytail. Then saddle the hair of your sheep. After you have made up a wool cover, do not forget to make ears from two small pieces of polymer clay.
How to make sheep’s wool
Wool can be made in many ways. For example, to mold many small balls and stick them to the base. To make the balls look textured, take a toothpick or an awl and loosen the balls in a circular motion. It's a long time, but the look of your sheep will change!
The second way to make sheep’s wool is to first make a polymer clay sausage, and then cut it into small circles. Sausage can be cut either after baking, or before. If you cut the sausage after baking, the circles will be more even, but it will be more difficult to stick them to the body of the lamb. If you are cutting raw sausages, then be careful, as they can easily be wrinkled. To make the sausage harder, you can put it in the refrigerator for half an hour or five minutes in the freezer.
The third way is to use a special metal syringe for polymer clay - an extruder. You squeeze a long thin sausage and twist it into several spirals. Then stick the resulting spirals to the sheep. As you can see, a flat sheep made of polymer clay with its own hands is molded very, very simple. You will need a minimum of effort and very little time.
Volumetric figure
It’s already more difficult to mold a lamb from polymer clay. Yes, and you need to spend more materials. First of all, decide if your polymer clay sheep will be hollow or not. If you want to create a very large figure, then first make the frame of wire and foil. It is better to take a copper or brass wire, as it is stronger than aluminum. As soon as you make the base, then begin to gum it gently. Be careful not to bend the wire. Once you have finished, do not forget to make a small hole in the sheep so that when heated in the air grill it does not deteriorate.
If you want a polymer clay sheep not to be hollow, first blind the body without wool. Then bake and, if cracks appear, coat them with clay. Then, with a second layer, blind the lamb's hair. As a rule, wool in bulk billets is molded from balls, and the texture is attached with an awl or a toothpick. If necessary, you can use the stack.
Materials and Tools
To make a polymer clay sheep beautiful, use only high-quality materials. You can use a needle, an awl or a toothpick to add texture. To stick the wool to the already baked blank, you can take a special transparent gel.
If you want to make a sheep’s wool from an extruder, then it’s better to take the tool more expensive. It is desirable that the extruder be with a screw mechanism. In this case, it will be very easy for you to squeeze sausages out of it. To make flat blanks quickly and easily, you can buy a special rolling machine for working with clay. If you do not want to spend money on a typewriter, then you can roll out clay with a simple roller. True, it will take more time.
The best polymer clay is Fimo or Zernit. But for modeling lambs, inexpensive clay is also suitable. You can take "Artifact", "Flower" or "Sonnet". For children, it is better to buy softer clay so that it is easy to crush and roll.
Precautionary measures
When the polymer clay sheep is already in the oven, go to the oven, you must set the temperature correctly. Very often, ovens overstate it. Therefore, use a special thermometer for polymer clay.
If you accidentally exceed the temperature, then a polymer clay lamb can burn. To prevent this from happening, be sure to check for smoke from time to time. If there is no smoke, then everything is in order.
A bulk sheep must be baked for at least half an hour, and a flat one - from fifteen to forty minutes. After the polymer clay sheep has been baked, be sure to let it cool. Do not remove it from the oven. Otherwise, your product may break or crack.