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Project 06Ceramics

My Clay Army

This is inspired by cheap Chinese animal night lights. I lay clay over one of them to form the main shape, then slowly work it into something unique by adding characteristics, or changing its identity completely.

There are currently three of them, two dinosaurs and a unicorn. I plan on making more.

Enquire about this piece↗ Made to order · Greece only
My Clay Army, finished unicorn piece
Materials
Clay
Dimensions
11 × 9 × 7 cm
Time spent
4 hours shaping each piece30 min sanding30 min painting
Finish
Dinos: colour underglazes, airbrushedUnicorn: colour underglazes, brushedAll pieces lead glazed

The Process

Two unglazed clay dinosaur shapes resting and drying on a counter
01 · The dinos resting and drying.
Unglazed clay unicorn shape resting on an old magazine, ready for sanding
02 · The unicorn, ready for sanding, on an old magazine to catch the dust. iykyk ;)
Two dinosaur figures just after being painted with underglaze from a cheap airbrush
03 · The dinos, just after being painted with a cheap airbrush.
The three finished glazed figures, two dinosaurs and a unicorn, sitting together
04 · The army, finished and together.

Tips &
Tricks

What I would tell someone starting the same army tomorrow. Getting the size and the hollowing right early saves the piece later.

  1. 01

    Get the main body size right before anything else

    Each piece stands on its own, but the group only comes together when every figure is the same overall size. Nail that base dimension first, then add or remove clay to build the details on top of it.

  2. 02

    Hollow it out by splitting the body in two

    To keep a piece hollow, cut the main body into two halves, hollow each one out, then join them back together. Far easier than hollowing a single closed form from the outside.

  3. 03

    Reinforce the inside with a clay coil

    Add a coil of clay to the inside, pressed in as deep as you can reach, to reinforce the joint and keep the hollow form from collapsing as it dries.

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