Polymer clay suggestions- need help please

[moniee]

Hello everyone,
Im pretty new here, but ive been in sculpting for some years and love it. My themes are art dolls, and figures from movies, stories etc. but mostly the human figure.

At first i worked with air-drying clays, tried 5 or 6 kind of it but i found that this is just NOT fo me...i really don't like work with it.

Then i had the chance to get a polymer clay called Fimo Puppen and loved to work with that. But its really expensive, it comes in 500g packages and one of it costs about $18-ish at the local store...

But now im planning a brand new project and im searching all over the internet for the right clay.

My plan now is to make a 60cm tall woman figure what i will be make a ball jointed doll from.

So i will cut and kinda reshape the body parts, add ball joints, etc.
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Then i want to spray the master with a surfacer to smooth the skin as even as i can.
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And i'd like to make silicone molds of the parts and cast them in resin.
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Im searching for oil based ones because unlike at the air drying clay, i'd want to push the clay rather than carving.




My question is, what kind of oil-based clay would you suggest?

The ones ive found so far:

Polymer clays in skin tones:
Fimo Puppen, Prosculpt, Sculpeys, cernit, etc etc

The are very good, but the problem with them is that they are utterly expensive. As i told with the fimo, most of these clays also come in 500g packs and theyre quite costy.
They also has this skintone thing, what is a great thing if the master will be the actual sculpted object, and will not be taken a mold of.
They also are flexible and hard and durable so they can last long on a shelf as an art doll.


But in my case the color really doesn't matter, and the clay also doesnt need to long last till the world's end...so im searching for clays that

*are similar to polymer clays in behavior (the pushing thing)
*can be sanded
*can be baked (or at least can be made to be hard somehow)
*are cheaper than the average art doll clays (or the price is the same but the package is bigger)
*can be taken a silicone mold of


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I've found some modeling clay suggestions here on the forums such as Roma Plastilina or Chavant/NSP/, Monster Makers Oil based clay...these so far. But ive heard they actually cannot be hardened...?
It would mean that my master would be ruined when i want to take it out from the silicone mold. I..i really wouldn't like that.

You could say i can still cast it in a material i can continune to work with, and you most likely would be right, but if its possible, i would be really really happy if i found a clay i can bake or somehow make it hard and can make the master of it directly...

If you have an advice please tell me. I very muish appreciate it
Thank you really much in advance.

 

[wolff]

I don't know where you live - I'm thinking not in America, by your use Kilograms - but I was recently at a Michael's craft store where a lot of the Fimo clay was on clearance. It seems Fimo is coming out with new packaging, so the current clay is on sale!

This web site http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/fimosoft.html has 300gm White Soft Fimo for $5.50 -- but you'd better hurry, that's the last color/size left!

Regards,

brad

 

[moniee]

Geez i forgot the location...I live in Hungary.

Whoa thanks for the link! Yeah ive heard Fimo's now changing to have a different factory and the first series they made was horrible..but i just heard these...:/

I've sent an email to the company about the cheapest shipping method's cost, this will decide the whole thing i guess...thanks again

 

[moniee]

Update...Shipping again kills the whole thing.
I ended up realizing that if i ordered from the site you adviced it would be the exactly same price (shipping included) if i ordered Sculpey Grey

And well if i can choose i'd rather choose that. So far its the most promising option, yet i will keep searching..

Thanks much though.

 

[parabellum]

for sculpting human figures, you will get more information from this web site.

http://www.theclubhouse1.net

 

[moniee]

Registered on there, thank you. : )
My current option is Sculpey grey so far...i have a feeling i have to save up really fast.

 

[wolff]

I just realized your figure will be almost 2 feet tall! No wonder you're looking for lower prices -- that's a lot of clay:eek

If your goal is to end up with rubber molds (silicon) made from your sculpt, have you experimented with a medium or soft carving wax, like you use to carve jewelry - or sculptures? It may not be perfect for your style of pushing, but you can probably get some for free - or cheap - from a jeweler. Even "Victory Brown" wax could work, I think; not expensive and the classic wax used by sculpters and foundries for casting (bronze) sculptures... In fact, maybe you could even sculpt the figure in wax, then use investment plaster for lost-wax casting. Burn the wax out, then pour in your plastic; the whole project would be very inexpensive; but that would also only give you one casting - not a set of molds.
If you want rubber molds I would not suggest silicone if money is tight! I poured a small mold - 6"x6"x1.5" - yesterday, it used about 20oz. of rubber. My next project - I'll use a brush-on Urethane and back it up with a plaster "mother":cool much much less $$ per mold.
If your heart is set on a polymer-type clay, there are recipies for homemade clays: http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...lay&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

It sounds like you make some sort of 'clay' then add a plasticizer to keep it...well, plastic-like.

hope something here helps!

regards,

brad wolff (Farkas)

 

[Mostly Fantasy]

Have you considered using Aves epoxy putty? That way, you'd have a more durable master.

 

[moniee]

Hehe, köszönöm Farkas

Yeah i should have think about that not everyone uses cm...
Thank you so much for hte great advices! I will try the rubber mold thing first instead of silicone. And I think i cant help it but i must get used to air drying clay really fast...:/ We'll see.

I tried the homemade polymer clay too as my last chance- its awesome that you can make yourself clay! D: I wouldnt had this idea.
So i tried but well it isnt really good for detailed modeling..no wonder It loves cracking when you sculpt it because its dry, even if you add oil. /and also it becomes extremely sticky./
But! My mom works in a day care and asked the receipt of this clay so the daycare teachers can make imprints of the children's hands as a present

So i suppose i really have to save money, horray for summer work! A ha ha ha...


Mostly Fantasy Thanks! I dont know much about that, but i checked it out. Sadly i found that its air drying (though with a longer curing time...) and its hard to sand, and if i remember well and this is the stuff i saw weeks ago, then the price is also horrifying... (of course this is just my research, maybe i dont know well)
Though i think i must check it out once. Its a good material for the wire armatures to strenghten them in my one of a kind sculpts.

 

[Ember]

I love du-kit: http://www.dukit.co.nz/ and used it to sculpt my Slave Leia bikini.
It's a polymer clay that only hardens when baked, and will stay soft for literally years if kept away from heat, so it's good to use on a long-term project.
Once baked and cooled, it can be sanded, filed, sawn etc. It also retains a very slight bit of flex to it, so it won't easily snap, and isn't brittle.
It doesn't expand or contract once heated, and you can put very fine details into it without detail getting lost (some fingerprints were visible on my bikini after it was baked!)
Pieces can also be partially reshaped by reheating the clay (though this did change the colour slightly)
Best of all, it's quite affordable, and available in over 20 colours, including 'flesh'