Polymer Clay: Getting Started

Getting Set Up With Polymer Clay
Covered Here:
  1. Clay Choices
  2. Useful Tools
  3. Wires
  4. Color Mixing



an illustrated version of the table included in this section

Clay Choices

Use oven bake clay, not air dry! (And always read the baking instructions on the package - brands may vary!) Use colored clay! Don't try to paint beans.
Clay shouldn't hurt! Try a softer brand if it hurts your hands. You don't need every color! Red, yellow, blue, white, and black will be enough to mix a palette. (But some premade browns and greens may come in handy)



Useful Tools

a flattened clay ball with red lines sectioning it into eighths, with a razor depicted A razor blade is essential. Keep it sharp, change regularly, and use caution.
a wooden rolling pin Rolling pins are useful. Large ones for baking may be unwieldy, but smaller ones are available - or a smooth sided vodka bottle will do in a pinch.
several ball tipped tools Ball tipped tools are highly recommended for bean making - but a resourceful goblin may be able to get by with an unused ballpoint pen.
a clay tool, a fork, and a razor blade. Other tools can be useful for texture or moving small bits of clay around! Clay tools exist. Forks are great. Use what makes you happy.



Wires

two small bits of wire
a piece of wire bent into a curve 		Craft wire is very useful to help keep extra bits sturdy and attached.
two bits of clay with a straight piece of wire between them
two bits of clay with a straight piece of wire between them, being pushed together, with an arrow guide
two bits of clay, joined.
 Things that are being installed straight on, like tails or long noses, will be fine with just a straight bit of wire that goes into both pieces of clay. Helps keep them sturdy, without deforming either piece too much. For larger pieces or better torque protection, use multiple pieces.
a piece of wire bent into a loop
a split sphere with a looped bit of wire in the center
bunny ears on a bean with dotted lines to indicate internal wire 		For shapes that need to be even more firmly fixed, a wire loop is good. Loop the wire over, maybe twist once or twice, then mold the attachment on or around the exposed loop, and install the pointy end into the main body of the bean.



Color Mixing

Polymer clay can be color mixed exactly the same way as paint. Use a paint mixing guide to get colors. Highly recommend mixing every single color except for black and white! It helps get the clay soft and ready to use. Lighten the reds, make nice greens and purples, whatever. Pick a palette.
To mix clay, cut the intended color portions. Smash, roll, rip, tear, squish, and mix, until uniform. Fancy people may choose to leave a little marbling, but this is very hard to keep even. Extra color batches can be balled and stored for later.