Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay: Tools and Techniques for Sculpting Realistic Figures
by Katherine Dewey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Katherine DeweyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN: 0823015033
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Potter Craft
Book Reviews of Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay: Tools and Techniques for Sculpting Realistic Figures
Book Review: Find Your Artist With This Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I only recently discovered polymer clay, and had so far only made a few beads, and a few failed attempts at simple animal sculptures. I wanted to attempt figure sculptures, but I had absolutely no experience with anything like that. After looking through all the books available, I chose this one, primarily because the figures were more realistic and life-like than some of the other books available.
Choosing this book was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I got the book on a Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday sat down with it and began working on my first face. In a few hours I had a figure head completed that amazed me - it was incredibly realistic and life-like. It looked like a real person. Even I hadn't expected such advanced results on my first project.
Don't get me wrong - it's not perfect, and I still have a lot to learn and practice. I expected that - but what I didn't expect was for my very first piece to be that good. While it's possible I have some previously unknown skill for sculpting (though it's certainly never shown up before this), I give most of the credit to this book - because the instructions are so incredibly detailed that if you pay attention, do what it says, and take your time, you can't go wrong. You CAN learn to make beautiful, life-like figures in clay.
The book starts out with a good overview of different clays, so you can make an informed choice in that regard.
Then the author shows you how to make every tool you'll need to complete a figure as she describes the process. You would need to buy only a few simple and inexpensive things, some of which you might already have on hand. It's wonderful to be able to create such beautiful things without having to spend a fortune on specialized tools.
I was too impatient to make all the tools before I dived into attempting the sculpting, so I made my first head and face sculpture with nothing but a couple of knitting needles, a craft knife, and a needle which I already had on hand. Astounding what you can do with clay using a knitting needle. But having gotten that out of my system, I do intend to make the simple tools she describes, as I can see how valuable they will be.
After those chapters, the author gets right into the meat of the book - teaching you how to make the figures. The instructions are incredibly detailed and precise, even down to measuring exactly how much clay to use for each part - which may seem tedious at first, but getting proportions right is one of the hardest parts of creating a realistic figure, and this takes the guesswork out of that, until you build your skill enough to be able to 'eyeball' proportions on your own.
But none of that means you're going to turn out cookie cutter figures that all look alike. The author also gives you the information you need to customize and personalize each figure you create. She gives a lot of information about the differences in sculpting male and female figures, and different ethnic features, creating figures at different ages, and giving the face different expressions, from happy to sad or angry. This combined with your own creativity and willingness to experiment would enable you to make any type of figure you could imagine.
The book is filled with detailed pictures and diagrams, so you don't have to guess at what you need to do for a particular step. The background information on anatomy is just enough to make sense and help you, without getting so detailed your eyes glaze over and you give up.
The book also provides detailed information to make figures in 4 different sizes, and plenty of information on clothing your figure, adding hair, and other embellishments for a beautiful, complete finished figure.
To sum up: Sculpting is a skill that takes time to learn, but with your own patience and willingness to work at it, this book will give you all of the foundation information you could ever need to make beautiful figure sculptures.
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Summary of Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay: Tools and Techniques for Sculpting Realistic Figures
Polymer-clay crafters everywhere can learn how to sculpt realistic 6"-8" figures using the author's simple techniques. A well-known polymer clay teacher and sculptor, she shares a wealth of information that's accessible even to beginning sculptors. She covers the essentials, the fundamentals of figurative modelling and how to make the tools that will ensure success. She shows readers how to recreate faces and expressions, torsos, legs, hands and feet, all using simple techniques. Then there are finishing touches like clothing, costumes, paint and fibre plus the author demonstrates incredibly realistic butterfly or fairy wings. Topics herein include: selecting clay, making modelling tools, proportioning figures, posing, ethnic and gender subtleties, facial expressions, costumes in clay and finishing touches.Sculpture Books
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