I love both water and oil based clay for sculpture (relatively small free standing animal figurines). They both have smooth texture and workability. If there was a way of making a one-off durable piece with oil based I would probably go with that. Oil based is definitely more convenient. Your comments about the “robotic” quality of oil based are interesting. I’m just getting back into it after a long hiatus and your channel is just what I need thank you!
@@SculptSome I have tried it (tho not extensively) and it just doesn’t have the same “feel” that oil based and water based clay have. And my dream is to do serious sculpture of animal figurines. A friend told me there would be no market because of Chinese knock offs, but I don’t care. I once saw some wonderful detailed classic terra cotta sculpture on exhibit once at the Getty Museum and I couldn’t believe what they could do with it.
i personally think Oil based clay is much better. If for example you're doing some painting and have several pieces going together progressively, would you want to enter your studio and begin unwraping? which you aint sure which or which you feel like working on, unwrapping which also may take too long due to delicate details and cover again if you just got something urgent to attend to? NO way. With oil based clay you enter your studio and feel motivated to work in any of all your pieces since they are not covered, and can walk out any time without worry of clay drying and breaking due to loss of moisture.
I guess we work differently. I always work on one and try to finish it quickly. But there is no doubt the oil based clay is much more convinient, but the water clay has an advantage that you don't have to make a mold and you can fire it and make at least 1 copy that is permanent.
Yeah you can do a mold. You can also leave your sculpture unbaked, but it's fragile but won't disappear unless you drop or put water on it. You can also build your own kiln, many people make kilns with just a few bricks and a propane torch or even wood, but those are harder to control. I'm sure someone in Mallorca has a kiln, have you looked for ceramics shops or even a school?
I love both water and oil based clay for sculpture (relatively small free standing animal figurines). They both have smooth texture and workability. If there was a way of making a one-off durable piece with oil based I would probably go with that. Oil based is definitely more convenient. Your comments about the “robotic” quality of oil based are interesting. I’m just getting back into it after a long hiatus and your channel is just what I need thank you!
Have you tried polymer clay? I haven't had much experience with it but you can bake this clay in the oven i believe.
@@SculptSome I have tried it (tho not extensively) and it just doesn’t have the same “feel” that oil based and water based clay have. And my dream is to do serious sculpture of animal figurines. A friend told me there would be no market because of Chinese knock offs, but I don’t care. I once saw some wonderful detailed classic terra cotta sculpture on exhibit once at the Getty Museum and I couldn’t believe what they could do with it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, very informative.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I learned a lot from this video, thanks very much 👍
I learned a lot from this video, thanks 😊
glad to hear that, thanks for watching
Just starting with water based clay. Been sculpting with oil based clay for more than 20 years and it is possible to overcome that robotic finish 😊
Thats a good point. Oil clay does give you a bit of a robotic feel
Loved this vid
i personally think Oil based clay is much better. If for example you're doing some painting and have several pieces going together progressively, would you want to enter your studio and begin unwraping? which you aint sure which or which you feel like working on, unwrapping which also may take too long due to delicate details and cover again if you just got something urgent to attend to? NO way. With oil based clay you enter your studio and feel motivated to work in any of all your pieces since they are not covered, and can walk out any time without worry of clay drying and breaking due to loss of moisture.
I guess we work differently. I always work on one and try to finish it quickly. But there is no doubt the oil based clay is much more convinient, but the water clay has an advantage that you don't have to make a mold and you can fire it and make at least 1 copy that is permanent.
What if i dont have access from kiln at all? I live in mallorca small island. Can i still do some mold?
Yeah you can do a mold. You can also leave your sculpture unbaked, but it's fragile but won't disappear unless you drop or put water on it. You can also build your own kiln, many people make kilns with just a few bricks and a propane torch or even wood, but those are harder to control. I'm sure someone in Mallorca has a kiln, have you looked for ceramics shops or even a school?
I wish I was in Mallorca right now, it's freezing in DC
I did a search on google, there are a bunch of ceramic places in Mallorca. You are in luck.
Does a glazed statue look better or does it take away the details?
I havent seen anyone ever glaze a sculpture. The glazing would seal the ceramic with a glass. Maybe a project for the next ceramic sculpt i do.
It dry fast. it is the major problem.