hello~🌼 have you ever known what you wanted to craft, but you weren't sure what shapes you needed to get there? here are 5 basic polymer clay shapes that I find useful for many of my projects. if you're a beginner crafter or just curious, then this video is for you! 💐 i hope you find this helpful! 💛
💐 in case you're new here 💐: i'm yeppenny, an illustrator and miniature clay crafter. my mission is to add a bit of brightness to your day through my art. 🥰
Sometimes you know what you want to make but you're not sure what shapes you need to get there.
Here are five basic clay shapes that I find useful for many of my projects.
Stick around to the end of this video where I'll show you a real-time example
of how to break down a sketch into these basic shapes.
Number one, ball.
To some this might seem very fundamental but we're going to break it down
and explain how these basic shapes really are the foundation for much more complex pieces.
The ball is the base for most of my projects and for other shapes later in this guide.
Roll the clay between your palms until it's smooth on all sides.
You can roll it into a perfect ball or an oval.
For example, I use it as the body shapes of my clay bunnies and my mushrooms.
Number two, cylinder.
Roll a ball or oval back and forth on a flat surface.
The longer you roll the more noodle-like it gets.
You'll often see me cut the longer noodles into uniform pieces to serve as eyeballs.
I also flatten some long cylinders to create the scarf for my autumn ghostie or for a dog collar.
Oh by the way, this guide is based off of one I created for my patrons a long time ago
so shout out to my Patreon where we share little insider tips, creative inspiration,
and where I share exclusive art prints and stickers that you can't get elsewhere.
Number three, the pancake aka the coin.
Gently flatten a ball with your finger or a flat object into a coin shape.
Smooth the edges as needed.
I use this shape as the base for a lot of my classic clay miniatures.
I've also used it as the paws for my clay cats.
Number four, cone.
Flatten one side of an oval. This will be the bottom of the cone.
Then roll the clay on its side until the other end is pointy.
I've used this method for hats on some of my clay pieces
as well as my happy mountain ring holder design.
Number five, cube.
Starting with a ball, press one side down against a flat surface and keep turning it
to flatten the other sides. Keep doing this until you have six flat sides like a dice.
It's also useful if you like to use the slicing method in order to get
shapes like rectangles and squares, which I have used for my miniature clay bookworm mushroom.
But I also know a lot of people use this slicing method for polymer clay jewelry.
So I'm going to show you exactly how I utilize these sketches
to break them down into basic shapes and understand what I need to do
in order to make this 2D idea come into life in 3D.
This is actually a clay commission that I'm working on.
It's actually more of a reward for a charity stream that I ran
a few weeks ago to fundraise for children's cancer research.
And if you donated a certain amount, you could get a clay commission.
And so I'm making Pixelated Soul's dog named BB.
This is very rough and basic on purpose. It definitely does not need to be refined.
But if you can see here, see the head is a basic circle there.
And all I need to do is make sure I have this extra piece out here for the snout.
And then for the neck, it's sort of a cylinder.
If I just remove the circle here, you'll see that that's a cylinder right there.
And then for the body, I just think of it as one really big oval
that I'll kind of shape to be a little less perfect and a little bit more like the body.
And then I think for the back legs, it'll just be a circle and then
a little bit of a foot protruding out.
And then the legs will probably just honestly be two long noodles,
two long cylinders with a little coin shape for the paws as well.
And then the tail is almost like a cone plus a cylinder.
And that's pretty much it.
Don't worry if your clay shapes aren't perfect the first time.
With some patience and practice,
you'll be able to create a wide array of shapes with your polymer clay in no time.
I can't wait to see what you create.
Till next time!
This dog actually isn't finished yet.
It still needs to be painted with the spots, but isn't it so cute already?
When I'm done, I'll probably post it somewhere on the socials.
