Clay is a popular sculpting medium because it is malleable, responsive and can easily take on many forms. You can use it to create a wide variety of three-dimensional objects, including figurines, ornaments, jewelry, accessories and home decor items.
There are several types of clay used by beginners, hobbyists and professional sculptors alike. These clays have unique properties that make them suitable for different projects. Below, we discuss the different types of sculpting clays you can use for artistic expression to help you select the best option for your projects.
The Difference Between Sculpting Clays
Sculpting clays exist in natural and synthetic variations that vary in terms of handling and finishes. Here's a breakdown of the primary sculpting clay categories to help you make an informed decision for your next project.
1. Oil-Based Clay
Oil-based clay, more commonly known as modeling clay or plasticine, is made from oils, minerals, fillers and waxes. It's ideal for sculpting and modeling because it remains soft, pliable and workable for long periods. The pliability of oil-based clay depends on heat, and different brands offer varying hardness and melting points. You can use a heat lamp, heat box or microwave to warm the clay before you start sculpting.
It's non-drying, meaning it can't be cured or hardened from air exposure or oven baking. As a result, it's not the best option for creating permanent clay sculptures. However, it's easy to work with and suitable for kids, beginners and professional artists.
While it's less durable than polymer clay, it's appealing because it's safe, non-toxic, reusable and repositionable. It can be continuously repurposed for new projects. Some brands can feel waxy and sticky, but you won't experience that with Sculpey Non-Dry™ modeling clays.
2. Water-Based Clay
Water-based clay, also known as pottery clay or earthenware, is a responsive medium that creates complex shapes and takes on intricate details. These clays rely on moisture to be soft and easy to manipulate. They dry into firm and permanent sculptures that hold their shape for a long time.
Most water-based clays will air dry to some degree. However, some must be fired in a kiln to remove any remaining moisture and harden the clay, resulting in permanent crafts. Professional sculptors prefer water-based clay because it offers an amazing tactile sensation and can create loose and impressionistic sculptures. Some examples of water-based clays include:
- Water-based WED (Walter E. Disney) clays: WED clays were originally developed for Disney's animatronics models and are widely used to create animatronics, masks and theme park attractions. The formula includes glycerin, which gives it sculpting qualities similar to those of oil-based clay. WED clays take longer to dry than other clays, allowing crafters to make adjustments and refinements.
- Ceramic clays: These are manufactured from natural fibers, fine sand and other raw clay materials, such as terra cotta, porcelain, stoneware and earthenware. Sculpey Air-Dry™ Clay is an example of ceramic clay with a smooth, porcelain-like finish and is perfect for use in mixed-media projects.
3. Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is a synthetic sculpting medium made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), pigments and plasticizers. It's available in various colors and finishes, including metallics, glitters, granite, glow-in-the-dark and translucent. Polymer clay can be molded to mimic materials such as stones, faux stones, porcelain and wood.
It's soft and pliable at room temperature and does not dry as you work on it, so you can take your time sculpting your objects without the risk of them hardening. Because polymer clay doesn't air dry, you must bake it in an oven to permanently cure or harden it. The polymer clay brand and your craft's thickness determine the right baking time and temperature. After baking, it becomes hard and durable while retaining its color and shape.
You can store your unbaked polymer clay in polypropylene (PP) plastic containers to prevent it from drying or gathering dust. Sculpey manufactures premium polymer clays in different formulas that you can use for many crafts, including jewelry, home decor, figurines and sculptures.
Here are the different types of Sculpey polymer clays:
- Original Sculpey®: This soft and easy-to-condition formula combines the look and feel of ceramic with the convenience of polymer clay.
- Sculpey III®: This is the most popular Sculpey polymer clay. It's easy for kids, beginners and hobbyists to work with.
- Sculpey Premo™: The Sculpey Premo formula is suitable for more advanced or experienced players. It holds fine details well and provides premium strength and flexibility.
- Sculpey Souffle™: Sculpey Souffle is a lightweight and pliable clay with a firm consistency and suede-like finish.
- Liquid Sculpey®: Liquid polymer clay is a multifaceted medium that cures into a flexible form. In addition to crafting unique polymer clay crafts, you can use liquid polymer clay to attach clay pieces, glaze finished products and paint on clay.
- Super Sculpey®: Super Sculpey is a soft yet firm polymer clay formulated for professional sculptors. It's available in gray and semi-translucent beige, making it ideal for tooling and detailing.
Which Are the Best Clays for Sculpting?
Super Sculpey is the top choice for realistic and freehand sculpting. The semi-translucent beige color captures fine details and allows the sculpting of realistic-looking faces with wrinkles and facial expressions. Mix it with other clay colors to achieve the desired effects and colors.
It's also the best medium for special effect sculpting, like figures with posable limbs, growing plants and repositionable animals. With Super Sculpey clay, sculptors can take their time perfecting their creations because it won't cure or harden even with days, weeks or months of air exposure.
Which Is the Best Clay for Sculpting Large Figures?
Super Sculpey is the best polymer clay option for crafting large, detail-rich figures. The Super Sculpey Living Doll™ Clay comes in realistic colors that mimic realistic skin tones, namely light, baby and beige. This professional-grade material is formulated for smooth blending, tooling and fine detailing. After baking the large figures, you can sand, drill, carve or paint them.
Air-dried clays are the best for large figures because they fully cure without being placed inside an oven. The drying time of air-dry sculptures depends on the brand of clay you choose. Sculpey air-dry clays are typically cured in one or two days, with larger figures taking up to a week to dry completely.
However, air-dry clay does not produce detailed sculpts and is especially suitable for large projects with an earthy finish because it dries to an opaque white or terra cotta color. You can hasten the drying process by placing the figures in an oven at temperatures not exceeding 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Pay close attention when curing air-dry clay in the oven to prevent melting or burning.
Which Is the Best Clay for Sculpting Small Figures?
Polymer clay is best for sculpting figurines because it can be baked easily into finished artwork. Sculpey has specific clays that produce detail-rich miniature sculptures — Sculpey Premo and Souffle.
These Sculpey polymer clays are incredibly flexible, which makes them easy to manipulate when making charms, beads and pendants. Translucent versions of either option allow you to achieve even greater detail and colors, making your small figures more realistic.
Which Is the Best Sculpting Clay for Beginners?
Original Sculpey clay is the best sculpting clay for beginner crafters over 8 years old. Here are some reasons it makes an excellent sculpting medium for beginners:
- It doesn't dry but remains soft and pliable until baked in a home oven.
- The crafts don't easily crack, shatter or break.
- Its unique formula allows you to take time with your creations.
- Extra clay can be stored and reused.
- Crafts can be sanded, painted, carved or drilled after baking.
Beginners can use Original Sculpey clay to craft a variety of projects, including wearable and attractive jewelry, eye-catching plant vases and functional trinket dishes.
Which Is the Best Clay for Kids?
Non-drying modeling clay is a safe, soft, non-toxic sculpting medium for kids. It responds well to small hands in and out of classrooms, and the young crafters also enjoy its feel. It's a budget-friendly option for classrooms and day care centers, where students over three years old can reuse it numerous times.
Depending on the desired learning experience, kids can also enjoy sculpting with Sculpey air-dry clay for projects that don't require an oven. Air-dry clay is usable by young crafters in child care environments for sculptures of all sizes.
Teachers and facility owners appreciate that it doesn't require any additional tools. It is also ideal for mixed-media projects and for creating unique textures on sculptures.
Which Is the Best Clay for Expert Sculptors?
Professional sculptors, animators, Claymation artists and special effects artists prefer Super Sculpey Living Doll Clay for their creations. They can use it to craft realistic figurines with fine details and realistic skin tones ranging from light and baby to beige and espresso.
The semi-transparent nature of Living Doll polymer clay allows it to be tinted with Sculpey Premo clay to create more skin tones. Sculptures crafted with Living Doll clay do not “fill in” after tooling and bake into a ceramic-like finish.
Which Is the Best Clay for Air-Dry Sculpting?
Sculpey Air-Dry clay is best for air-dry sculpting, as it's easy to handle and manipulate and retains its permanent shape after drying. Traditional air-dry clay is fibrous and porous, which results in crafts with slightly rough texture. Sculpey Air-Dry™ Porcelain Clay is the superior choice that provides a smooth finish and a harder, stronger and more durable sculpture.
It can be easily sculpted into slab and coil forms that you combine to create small or large sculptures. Air-dry sculpting is a sensitive process because the clay stiffens over time, so keep a bottle of water nearby to moisten it as you sculpt. You can also cover your sculpture with a moist cloth when you're not working on it.
Which Is the Best Clay for Making Jewelry?
Polymer clay is the most popular medium for making jewelry. It's available in vibrant colors that produce eye-catching jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants. Polymer clay stays true to scale before and after baking so you can accurately visualize your pieces.
It also allows you to incorporate patterns matching your desired aesthetic, including marbling, mokume-gane, bargello, terrazzo and caning. Sculpey Souffle and Sculpey Premo are the best polymer clay types for jewelry because they're lightweight and easily hold shapes and designs.
Sculpey Souffle produces jewelry with a suede-like finish, while Sculpey Premo has a high mica content, giving them a unique metallic finish. These two jewelry clays result in extremely strong and long-lasting pieces.
Which Is the Best Modeling Clay?
Sculpey's polymer clay is the best modeling clay on the market. It has the following advantages:
- It does not harden or dry out until baked.
- It is safe and non-toxic.
- It doesn't contain toxic materials or produce harmful fumes.
- Its unique formula makes it soft and pliable.
- It retains its color after curing.
Which Is the Best Clay for Molding?
Polymer clay is the best tool for creating molds for figurines, jewelry, decor and other embellishments. You can use the same piece of polymer clay to make unlimited creations. It's perfect for shaping around fine and unique details on various mediums, including charms, coins, shells and buttons.
Which Is the Best General-Use Clay?
Polymer clay is the most flexible and versatile sculpting clay option. Even with a small amount of clay, you can produce many small and large objects or mixed-medium objects. You can create a wide range of objects by mixing different polymer clay colors or coloring white and translucent clay to produce unique colors.
Here are some of the many crafts you can produce using polymer clay:
- Jewelry
- Holiday ornaments
- Figurines
- Frames
- Home decor items
- Keepsakes and scrapbooks
Which Is the Best Clay for Oven Baking?
Oven-baking clay is a fast and convenient way to cure or harden your creations, ensuring they are durable yet flexible. Polymer or oven-baked clay is formulated to be cured or hardened in a conventional home oven or toaster oven. It emits a slight odor but doesn't produce toxic chemicals, so it won't contaminate your oven.
You should bake your polymer clay according to the package's instructions. Here are more tips for oven-baking your polymer clay:
- Use an oven hood fan to ensure good ventilation and prevent scorching your crafts when baking.
- Use an oven thermometer because most ovens are not well-calibrated.
- Always preheat your oven for 15-20 minutes to ensure it reaches the curing oven thermometer.
- Avoid underbaking, which results in soft clay crafts, and overbaking, which changes the color of your creation.
Start Sculpting With High-Quality Clays From Sculpey
Sculpey manufactures some of the best polymer clays on the market. Use our high-quality clays to maximize your creativity by molding, baking and carving a wide variety of sculptures, figurines, ornaments and holiday decorations. We have premium oil-based, air-drying and polymer clays you can use to unlock a world of sculpting creations.
Check out our inventory to find the right products for your next sculpting project. You can also explore our blog for inspiration for polymer clay crafts.
