How to Paint Air Dry Clay Using Shading Techniques

Today Mauricio Siqueira takes us on a walkthrough of painting a completed air-dry clay or cold porcelain figure using craft acrylics.  Step by step photos take us from a cured completed figure (as shown below) to the finished detailed bunny shown above.   Using the same techniques used by tole painters, the artist shades and antiques the wrinkles in the bunny's body and other accent areas.  Notice where the artist uses thinned down paints to shade some areas.  Blush or pastel chalks are used on the cheeks.

Bunny before painting

How to Make Perfect Ball Joints

Today is Tutorial Tuesday and I found this tutorial on a Russian website to share.  Author describes a great technique for making a perfectly round ball using LaDoll clay.  The artist will use the balls for the joints in her BJD dolls, but I bet there's other uses for a perfectly round clay ball!  This technique may also work for other brands of air-dry clay (such as Creative Paperclay).  You'll have to experiment.

Creating Armature & Body for Art Doll

These are instructions for creating a sturdy wire frame doll armature that is also padded and wrapped to complete the body of an art doll.   This type of art doll body is designed to have a clay head, arms/hands and legs/feet attached and to be permanently covered with clothing.   This body form is bendable and positionable, but, once placed in desired position, it's not usually re-positioned again and again like a jointed doll would be.

Tuesday Tutorials

Sculpting a OOAK doll head with air-dry-clay

Easy Snowmen to Make With the Kids

Beer Bottle Doll

Skinny Doll with Pink Dress

New Tutorials This Week

The newest tutorials posted this week over at my Air-Dry-Clay.com tutorial directory  are:

A bowl made with Creative Paperclay   This is big!  Not a simple round bowl!

A cute little bookmark mouse   Cute, easy and quick.  Makes a great little gift!

Monster face keychain charms    Funny faces with a steampunk attitude!  Also good magnet!

Make a rainstick with Paperclay   Listen to the sound of rain in the middle of Summer heat!