Clay Modeling - with something synthetic

#1

I did clay modeling and sculpture class in the high school, and I want some refreshment.
However, I didn’t really bothered with real clay (wich in fact is some sort of mud), I didn’t want to mess up my entire appartment for it. I bought some synthetic clay, plastiline, and it sais on the bag it’s going to dry. I tried it, and it is a little bit hard, for my taste, so I want to soften it up a little. As I noticed, the drying process is polymerization, witch means basically I will never be able to reuse it. And if I take a longer break, I see it got some crust already
So, here are the questions:

  1. How am I supposed to work with it, actually? Or how do you work with it?
  2. How much time can I work with it, before it gets dry, and how can I slow down the hardening?
  3. How can I make it softer? Can I use some solvents?
  4. Can you recommend something a little less frustrating? (On a sidenote, I think I will go see where can I get some real clay…)
  5. What exactly are the advantages of modeling with this stuff?

Any articles, or anything on this matter would be appreciated.

#2

I thought plastiline didn’t dry. It does get hard if you don’t use it, but it’s not a permanent hard. I read about sticking sculpy in a food processor with a special refresher is a perfect way to recondition it. I also had a classmate once who claimed that he was able to melt his roma plastilina.

The easiest and cheapest option is probably to tear off a chunk and roll it between your hands. Warming and working it will make it softer, if it’s what I think it is.

#3

Well, I forgot to mention I thought the same. This is not ordinary plastiline. as I said, it hardens on contact with air. and it does nothing if I warm it up…I bought it in an art supply store, but the old man there couldn’t really tell anything valuble. I thought you guys might be working with stuff like this…

#4

Based on the exact name of the product (on its packaging) and manufacturer if available, search the web for information on its usage and reconditioning.

You can also search for sculpey and super sculpey. There are many web sites dedicated to model making using these polymer clay. Many of these sites provide tips for beginners.

#5

Plasticine is the good stuff. Here’s a Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasticine

#6

Theres tonnes of different types

Super Sculpey and Sculpey (used in the film industry a lot) – is expensive — takes fine detailing well and you bake it to make it hard. It can then be painted etc.

NSP plastiline - a tad more versatile comes in 3 grades — soft, medium and hard — used in film industry too — does not dry out easily as it is oil based – usually green, but you can get grey and red color. Expensive too. it cannot be baked and you will have to make a mold and cast (quite involved process)

try using google for sculpture tutorials or whatever - theres tonnes around and the guys usually recommend what materials to use.

hope that helps

#7

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