The polymer clay brands that I use are Fimo Classic, and Sculpey III. Fimo is my favourite, since it’s fairly hard, and takes a lot of handling without losing it’s shape. Faces, arms and legs need to keep their shape until it’s oven time.
Sculpey, on the other hand, is much softer. This comes in handy for larger shapes, such as bases and backdrops. Flattening out a large section for a wall, for instance, is so much easier with Sculpey.
Both products come in a various colours, and styles, and cost between $2.50 and $3.50 (Canadian). The styles include translucent (more like candle-wax translucent), pearl, metallic, luminescent and even glow-in-the-dark! You can mix Scupley and Fimo together, despite the differences in baking times and temperatures. (If you like, take an average, but I find there is a lot of latitude in the baking specifications.)
A necessary part of my process is internal reinforcement. For this, I use wooden skewer sticks, paper clips and sometimes a much stiffer wire that I get from taking apart a common hand mixer.
Acrylic paint is important for detail, colour texturing (as opposed to physical texturing), and other special effects. With this, of course, you need a selection of brushes, some of which must be very small - 00 and 01. A glass or cup of water is handy for washing brushes and watering down paint… but do NOT use the same style cup as your tea/coffee…
I have found a modeling medium called Black Lava Texture Gel, and this is great for adding outward texture. I use it for grass, and bark on trees, etc.
For the finishing touch, I apply a matte acrylic-based varnish. This keeps the paint protected, gives a finished, consistent look, and even helps hold things together. It still has a slight gloss, and if anyone out there knows of a matte varnish that actually IS matte, I would be grateful to hear about it!
A good, all purpose glue is needed to hold various elements together, sometimes even the hardened clay - I can’t think of a project where something hasn't broken during the process. (note - it usually is a clean break, and the fix can be invisible). What I use is crazy glue. Also, I will drip a smooth layer on tricky bits like figures, just to add strength… Be careful with this stuff, it may not dry as fast as you think!
Finally, there are any number of materials that can be used to enhance the look of your piece. For the figures displayed in my galleries, I have used paper, colour prints of photos, string, fishing line, plastic beads and clear plastic packaging material (from the flat area on the back of most bubble packs). I test the material in the oven, and most will stand up to 250 degrees F. If it doesn’t, I find a way to glue it in/on the final sculpture.
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