TLS Store...Actually...Maybe?

[trash panda]

Well, so this was a colossal failure.

BUUUUT, buuuuut, I'm finally getting the hang of things.

I finally figured out when it's best to put the eye pin and I'm starting to wrap my head around colors and whatnot.
(I still hate these, but I'm making progress at the very least. ;__; )

 

[Flare]

Practice really does make perfect. The more you do it, the more you learn and the better you'll get!

 

[trash panda]

Aaaand I'm going to go ahead and buy some clay now.
I basically brought one of these keychains to work to show my coworker and as I took it out of my bag, the eyepin came out of the resin heart and the little carbuncle went flying across the room. NOT IMPRESSSSS'DDDD. >_<

Next I'll be trying clay+resin.

 

[Mayo Master]

Hey Howl,

I'm very interested in what you could do with the Gengar I've seen on this page (Gengar is the official nickname of my gf). Could you make a keychain like you did for the carbuncle, for instance? Potential commission coming your way - although I'm not sure I appreciate all that's possible for you to do.

EDIT I meant "appreciate" as in "grasp/understand", I didn't mean it as "like"

 

[Flare]

With the eyepin thing, I've been thinking of ways to make it less likely to fall out of clay stuff, myself. I've never had it happen, but I've been able to twist them around in the baked clay before (elmers glue works to fix that thought, thankfully). I think if you had a long eyepin and mayber a smaller resin piece, you could stab the pin all the way through until a small bit of it sticks out the bottom, and then bend that part sideways so that it's like an anchor.

And I wonder if you can sculpt something then pour a thin layer of resin over it to keep it more durable? Hmm....not sure about resin since I've never used it, you'd know more about that then me.

 

[trash panda]

Mayo, the little Gengar that you saw on the last page has sadly met his end.
I will be making a few more Gengar charms. (My coworker asked for one, which is why I made the little guy in the first place). If you really want one, I'll let you have the pick of the litter. I should be doing these in the next few weeks. (I also figured that pokemon themed items would be a big hit).


Flare, what's boggling my mind is that I jammed that silly little eyepin in there with gorilla glue.
I think the anchor idea that you mentioned will work a little bit better.


Sculpting with clay then coating in resin is what I had in mind. I also have spherical molds now so I could sculpt something and float it inside of a clear sphere. Hm...

 

[Flare]

Well, the gorilla glue should've helped, but I guess not. I use Elmers glue after I've baked my stuff sometimes to stop the eyepin from spinning. The next charm I'm making will have the anchor idea and the eyepin will be a part of the armature; it's a simple armature so it should work great.

I've seen people sculpt, say, a little underwater scene before in an altoid mint tin, and then they'll pour resin into it to make it look like water and sell those. It's a pretty good idea; let me know how the resin things works with the sculptures!

Spoiler: Example of clay and resin in an altoid tin

 

[trash panda]

^ On a similar note, there's something I've REALLY been wanting to do:

It's all paint and epoxy. Basically, the artist pours a layer of epoxy, paints a layer, pours another epoxy layer, paints some more....and so on and so forth until they have a 3d painting. SO RADICALLLL!

(I'm sure if I do it it'll look like a kindergarten student did it )

 

[Flare]

Whaaaat?! That's PAINT? That is awesome. I thought they were sculpted, but the fact that it's all paint is so impressive. That must take so many hours to do! If I did something like that and made it look that good, I would feel so accomplished.

 

[trash panda]

Soooo I'm still working on this. :]
I'm purchasing some more schtuff this week (clay, silicone for custom molds, etc...)

If anyone's interested:
Mold making

I'm thinking I'll try making something relatively basic like a moggle for my first mold. 0.0

And if I come into some more birthday money I'll think about getting the glow powder for the white materia.

I'm also making another (hopefully more successful) batch of keychains starting...last night.

 

[Flare]

Making molds sounds complicated. O.O good luck!

What kind of clay are you getting? I think I'd recommend oven bake clay (polymer clay) or an airdry clay to keep it relatively cheap. That way you don't have to take it to a kiln.

 

[trash panda]

Well right now I'm looking at getting Fimo Soft. I've read some different reviews on the different brands and Fimo Soft is recommended for staying pliable the longest and for being the easiest on...er...soft hands like mine.

Have you ever used Fimo soft?

 

[Octo]

I saw some Fimo soft today, I was really tempted to buy some, but it was like 13 quid for a set. Might treat myself next time.

Sorry, that was totally irrelevant. I haven't used Fimo in years, so it may have changed but as I recall it was harder to handle than plasticine but not too bad.

 

[Flare]

I haven't personally used any of the Fimo products, but I've seen others use them and they seem to like them a lot. A nice thing about them is they come in so many different colors so you don't really have to paint the clay afterwards, unless you wanted to. Because of the colors, I've thought of buying them before and I probably will sometime in the future to see what they're like.
I use Super Sculpey, which is pretty nice, it holds a ton of detail when you're sculpting it. It only comes in beige or gray colors though, meaning you have to paint them. XD which can be tedious, but also fun if you don't mind taking some more time to do so.

I've heard you can mix Sculpey and Fimo, I think, together, giving it the Sculpey consistency and the Fimo colors.

Edit: do you have to bake Fimo clay for it to harden/cure? Not sure how long the clay will stay pliable, but with super Sculpey, it stays pliable for a reeeeeally long time, since it only cures after you bake it.

 

[trash panda]

^According to the internet, it has to be baked. And...as you mentioned in your own art thrad, it doesn't take some paints...likewise you can't put silicone on it (molding material) without sealing it first because of some sort of reaction between silicone and the sulfur that's in clay. I already have some sealant lying around though so I'll be sure to douse it well before making molds...This is all starting to seem rather complicated...

^ I started a new batch of heart charms last night and applied a layer of paint/etc. today. Here we have: Golden brand Pearl Mica; Golden brand Gold Flake; Pebeo Fantasy Prisme; Pebeo Fantasy Moon; PH Martin Iridiscent Silver Caligraphy Ink mixed with glitter (I hate glitter).

^ Top left is Fantasy Moon. Top Right is iridescent purple (for a Gengar charm). Bottom left is Fantasy Prisme (immediately after pouring). Bottom right is Fantasy Prisme about 15 minutes after pouring.

 

[Flare]

Polymer clay can only have water-based materials on it; so, acrylic paints, water-based sealers, that sort of thing. To be honest at first it seemed like a lot more work than I imagined, but really, I've been able to keep my sculpting very low on cost, and have gotten the hang of it.

The only supplies I really need are these: The clay, some 18-20 gauge wire and aluminum foil for the armatures, pliers to twist the wire with, wire cutters, a needle for detail work, and an oven to bake the finished piece in.
After that, if you need to paint it, acrylics work great, so you'd really just need some primary colors and a few paintbrushes. Krylon clear matte finish/sealer is what I use after the paint dries, but this only protects the paint. It doesn't protect the sculpture itself.

I started off as small as I could, and the only things I actually had to buy starting off was the clay, as I had the other supplies here and there. I've ended up buying some more wire, another pair of pliers, and some paint and brushes since then.

It seems complex I think, especially compared to some other art mediums like drawing, but it's really pretty simple if you want it to be. You don;'t need all those fancy tools to sculpt things.

Er, anyway, hope that helps?
Also, that paint you use looks awesome! I love how they're turning out!

 

[Octo]

I just bought myself some Fimo soft and some modelling tools Dunno what the hell I'm going to make.... a mess probably.

 

[trash panda]

^ Poste pictuars.

Also...how is the Fimo Soft?

 

[Octo]

^It hasn't arrived yet I got it off ebay, the same set I saw in the art shop for £13 for £6.99.

I've been watching youtube vids obsessively. I wanna do gradients!

 

[Flare]

^By the way Octo, I'm now working on that Octorok you wanted.

 

[trash panda]

So I'm taking Kionae's advice and I'm looking for some crushed crystals/gemstones for this little white materia project...She recommended opal but I'm already halfway down the rabbit hole looking at other stones.

I also found some reasonably priced phosphorescent gel...

.....So much for buying myself a new electric piano.

 

[Octo]

Guys, I think we're going to need a polymer clay nerdgasming thrad.

 

[trash panda]

MAEK EET!
Seriously though...let's have a clay craft club.

 

[Flare]

Should we make a thread in the creativity section or the clubs section?

 

[trash panda]

Well I mean...it's a club....but it's also creative...
I don't think it matters where it's at.

MOSTE importantly....what's the name of this club?