From my experience there is a vast difference in the amount of effort that is required to smooth out wax sculptures versus sculptures sculpted with any of the polymer clays. The underlying principles and concepts are the same but wax, when cooled, is a much harder medium and thus requires quite a bit more work to achieve the desired result. Keep in mind that this is under the assumption that you smooth out your polymer clay sculptures prior to baking, which I have always done in the past. Some sculptors will bake their polymer clay sculptures and use wet sanding techniques for the final smoothing stages (this process will exponentially increases the amount of work needed to smooth out the sculpture).
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Sculpting with Wax vs Polymer Clay
On July - 31 - 2008
Stop the press, isn’t this site suppose to be about polymer clay sculpting, after all the name of the site is Polymer Clay Fan! Yes you have read the title to this post correctly, I’ve started playing with wax lately and although I’m still wet behind the ears I thought why not put together a little post to compare the two mediums. I’m sure a few diehard polymer clay artists may snub their nose at this post but I recommend reading through the entire article before jumping to a conclusion. This isn’t an article about discrediting wax or even polymer clay, it is just my observation of the positives and negatives the two different mediums have to offer.
Polymer Clay History
On September - 9 - 2009
What is Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is a material you can sculpt. It is based on polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material. It usually contains no clay minerals and is only called “clay” because its texture and properties resemble mineral clay. Polymer clay is sold in craft, art and hobby stores. It is used by artists, hobbyists and children.
All polymer clay brands include PVC and one or more liquid plastic. Pigments may be added to the base to create colors along with small amounts of kaolin or white china clay. Mica may also be added to make a metallic looking clay.
Sculpting Tribal Scars
On September - 4 - 2009
There are several different ways that I could approach sculpting the scars on my sculpture and no one way is really better than the other. Since I’m working with polymer clay, Super Sculpey to be specific, the easiest approach in my opinion is to roll out snakes of clay and remove the unwanted pieces. If I was working with wax I may take a different approach such as adding small balls of wax one at a time but I would have to experiment first before confirming.
* Note: I’ve blocked out parts of the sculpture in case anyone is sensitive to nudity. Once I’m finished I’ll add a link to an uncensored picture of the sculpture for anyone that wants to see the complete design. This will be done at the end of the tutorial and for now I’ll just censor the pics as needed. Read the rest of this entry »
Sculpting Tentacles – Lesson One
On August - 25 - 2009
I’m going to use wax for this tutorial but the same effects can be achieved with polymer clay.
Tools needed:
- Polymer clay or wax
- Mechanical pencil
- Dental Tools
- Soft brush
Welcome – Polymer Clay Fan
On August - 7 - 2009
Polymer clay example
Polymer clay is a unique sculpting medium that offers a versatility unmatched by any other product in its class. Although other sculpting mediums, such as waxes, may allow more ease for sharper details no other medium can duplicate polymer clays ability to easily create a completed work of art. Details are not foreign with polymer clay either, with enough time and practice anyone can create highly detailed artwork using nothing but polymer clay.This site is a collection of information, tips and sculpting tutorials for my favorite sculpting mediums…Polymer Clay.
My name is Gerald Gore and I am a self taught sculptor. The tutorials on this site are a step-by-step pictures of some of the sculptures I have created. You can read more about me and how I got started sculpting on the About page.
FUSE Review
On December - 8 - 2008
Recently I had put together a little article that outlines some of the key differences between sculpting with wax and polymer clays (http://www.polymerclayfan.com/sculpting-with-wax-vs-polymer-clay.htm). In hindsight, the review was more of a comparison between sculpting with Super Sculpey and a relatively new wax called FUSE. I think it is important to point out that not all polymer clays are created equal and the same case could be made for wax. As of the writing of this article, FUSE is the only wax I have ever tried so the chances are that my opinions regarding sculpting with wax could drastically change from one wax product to another.
