When I first started working with clay, liquid clay seemed like magic to me. I had never worked with clay, but I knew the idea – liquid clay though? A total mystery.
Nowadays, liquid clay is the biggest staple in my studio. I thought I’d share a couple of cool tricks with liquid clay that I use regularly in my projects!
1. Mixed Media
The day I realized I could mix liquid clay with non-clay materials, I realized I had a whole new world of possibilities. My favorites are craft sands (mixed with pigment powders to create different colored sands, dirts, etc), and homemade “flocking” made of thinly rolled, underbaked, and then crumbled clay. Always do a test bake, but when you mix sand or other materials with enough liquid clay, the liquid clay creates a durable seal but preserves the texture and color of whatever it’s mixed with!
I have done whole “beach” scenes with this technique, and the result can be stunning! You can add it to a raw or baked clay surface. For extra texture, you can cover the sheet of clay with a thin layer of sand/liquid clay mix, put on a piece of plastic wrap, and then use texture rollers over top!
" "Dark Wash" and Other Painting Techniques
Although painting polymer clay is always a viable option, I love to see how far I can take a project using only clay. And using liquid clay, you can mimic a lot of painting techniques that create more depth to a piece!
“Dark wash” is a painting technique by miniature painters to create natural shadows and “low points.” You use very thinned down black (or other dark colored) paints, covering the whole surface of your project, then use a cloth or paper towel to wipe the paint off of all the high or raised surfaces, leaving the dark color only in the low or shadowed points. It adds significant depth to a project. But you can get this same effect using liquid clay, and it will bake on, so no need to seal!
To do this with liquid clay, make sure you texture, then bake your piece, then do the dark wash. You could technically do it on an unbaked surface, but you have a high risk of either destroying your texture, or not being able to wipe off enough of the dark wash to create contrast.
Water Effects
In my personal projects, I absolutely love combining clay with UV resin. They compliment each other so well, and it’s one of my favorite medium combos.
When Sculpey Clear Liquid Clay came out, I was shocked by how clear it was! And it set my wheels turning. I started creating abstract shapes out of the liquid clay, baking them, and then trimming them down with scissors. Once it was the shape I wanted, I used it as a base for truly beautiful UV resin waterfalls and splashes!
Because of how transparent the Clear liquid clay is, you can’t even tell sometimes that it’s in there, but it’s the only thing allowing me to build up UV resin texture overtop! You can start adding bits of color tinting into the liquid clay for more variety and truly personalize your water effects in showstopping ways.
Keep Experimenting!
I think Sculpey liquid clays are my favorites just for their potential. Besides the techniques we talked about today, you can mix block polymer clay with liquid clay to create icing effects, or to create faux-effects like plaster. The possibilities are truly endless, and I can’t wait to see what new techniques you come up with! Don’t forget to share both your experiments and your final work with #howdoyousculpey!
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