A beginner's guide to polymer clay

Polymer clay has become extremely popular over the last few years, mostly due to how versatile it is and the plentiful variations of colours available. Polymer clay is widely used for sculptures, pottery, jewellery making and a variety of other crafts, by beginners and professionals alike. Unlike air dry clay, you have an almost unlimited amount of time to work on a piece and if you don’t like your creation or make a mistake, you can just ball it back up and start from scratch. You will find polymer clay readily available in most craft stores and across the internet, making it an accessible craft for most people to try.

What is polymer clay?

Polymer clay is a polyvinyl chloride base modelling clay, a plastic like material that remains pliable until baked. Available in a variety of colours, colour effects and firmness options.

Where do I start?

There are so many variety’s and makes of polymer clay it can be intimidating to know what to get to start. If you have never used polymer clay before, I would recommend picking up a small starter pack in any make or brand, with a variety of colour blocks. They can be reasonably priced and a great way to have a play and experiment with what it’s like to work with and to see what you like to make before you choose your preferred clay. Some clays are more firm than others and may need more conditioning to make the clay workable. Depending on what your creating, can determine what firmness level is preferable. You will also want to decide if you want to work with coloured clay or get a base colour and paint it after baking.

My personally preferred clay is super Sculpy. It's a softer clay, making it easier to work with but will show fingerprint marks more than firmer clays.

You may also decide to get some tools to work the clay. I have found the tools I get the most use out of are firm silicone tools and detailed metal tools. Both of these you should find are readily available and inexpensive.

What does clay conditioning mean?

Some clays can be quite firm. Conditioning the clay by warming and kneading it can make it much more pliable and easier to work with. Some people like to run the clay through a pasta machine to condition it as it can sometimes be harsh on the hands if you have firm clay.

How does polymer clay harden?

Unlike air dry clay polymer clay needs to be baked to harden it. All polymer clay will come with its own baking instructions. Different clay may vary in cooking time or temperature, so always check the instructions. Oven thermometers can be useful to check your oven is holding the correct temperature. Cooking polymer clay should always be done in an oven not microwave.

Is Polymer clay toxic?

Cooking polymer clay can release fumes. The fumes are not dangerously toxic but can cause some irritation to eyes and mouth. Do not put in the oven with food and follow baking instructions.

Painting and colouring clay.

When it comes to colouring polymer clay you have two main options. Either you can use coloured clay and then bake it, or you can paint it after you bake it. Polymer clay comes in a variety of colours so if you want pre coloured clay you can usually buy the colour you want but if you are after a particular colour, there are other methods of colouring clay.

Blending two or more pre made colours can give you a whole colour chart of options or you can add pigments or dyes to colour you clay. Be aware that alcohol based dyes can affect the curing process when baking.

If you want to colour clay after baking, you can use acrylic paints. Make sure you have fully cured you piece and that it has fully cooled after baking. A lot of people will paint directly onto the clay without issue, but I find sealing the clay gives a better, longer lasting result. To seal the clay I use either gesso or mod podge but you can always experiment to see what gives you the best result.

Removing fingerprints

Unless you’re working your clay with gloves on, which can be tricky, you may notice fingerprint marks covering your clay. These can be removed easily with polymer clay softener or acetone. A small brush can be used to brush the softener or acetone over the clay surface to remove the fingerprints before you bake it.

What do I make?

Use your imagination and get creative. Remember, if you don’t like what you make in polymer clay, you can start all over again with the same clay. If you need inspiration there are some extremely talented people who use polymer clay to create all kinds of things, a quick internet search will bring up a vast amount of ideas.

Helpful tools

There are hundreds of tool variations to help you work with polymer clay. Wooden tools, silicone tools, metal tools, then you have knives, wires and rollers. I always recommend starting with just a few basic sets and learn what you like and need as you go, but the only tools you really need to start are your hands. There is so much you can create without any tools at all or from using items you may already have in your house, like toothpicks, popsicle sticks or an old toothbrush for texture. Once you have more experience you will find out what is useful for what you want to create. If you want to emboss a pattern onto your clay, you may want to try patterned rollers or if you just want thin sheets of clay, you may find a pasta machine useful. If you make sculptures, you may need an armature using wire and foil or for jewellery making you might want to get shape cutters or a hand drill tool. The possibilities are endless so pick up some clay and get creative.

Hopefully this beginners guide to polymer clay helps you or inspires you to give it a try.