Sculpting a Tiny Baby

I've been wanting to make one of those tiny cute babies and excitedly, I started my first baby the other day. Basically, the first thing I do before creating something is research [which actually takes a long time]. I visit numerous websites, and You Tube tutorials to look at different images and techniques for inspiration.

Morezmore is just one of the websites I visited before starting my baby. Though the materials used were different - polymer clay, wire for armature, 'real' clay tools (because I only use my toddler's plastic knife for sculpting), the tutorial pretty much gave me the idea on how to do the basics.

Sealants: Which One to Use?

If you're going to create things out of cold porcelain, you have to be aware that even when fully dry, they're still not resistant to damage. They can be easily scratched and water will melt them (bear in mind that most of the ingredients used in cold porcelain are water soluble). If you want them to last, you have to use a sealant.

There are many sealants that you can use, but there are three easily accessible (they can be bought in any hardware store) products you can use, namely waterproof primer, polyurethane floor varnish, and clear gloss varnish.

All three do a good job when it comes to protecting your work from weather damage (and scratches, to some degree), but they differ in a few things, and you may want to read on if you want to know which ones will work best for your project:

Project of the Month July 2015: The Walking Dead's Michonne and Her Bodyguards *UPDATE*

85% finished. Just need to finish painting the walkers' clothes, Michonne's katana, shoes, and headband. I also need to polish the paint a little bit as it looks splotchy and uneven in some places.

This will most likely be finished by the next update, so I need to think of the next project. I'm thinking it's either something from One Piece (because One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 comes out for Steam next month) or Dragon Ball Z, because Dragon Ball Super just launched and it's all sorts of awesome in ways that make GT look extremely awful by comparison (I mean, even more so than usual.)

Cold Porcelain and Polymer Clay: What is the Difference?

The thing about cold porcelain and polymer clay is that it is not an "either/or" case. They have specific pros and cons and choosing which one to use will depend on your specific needs or situation.

As far as quality is concerned, take a look at Little Bane and Little Shawn Michaels below:

Can you guess which one was made with polymer clay and which one was made with cold porcelain? Exactly. After painting and sealing, you won't be able to tell the difference. They're also equally durable (my kid has thrown and dropped both figures numerous times and they're still intact.)

Making Your Own Homemade No-Cook Cold Porcelain

Most of the mini-figs I create and feature on the site are made with cold porcelain. It is a great alternative to polymer clay because the ingredients are inexpensive, readily accessible, and require no baking/cooking. There are a number of trade-offs, but I'll get to that in a future article. For now, the affordability makes it worth trying out, especially if you're just starting out.

With that out of the way, if you want to try your hand at whipping up a batch of DIY cold porcelain, you can follow the step by step instructions below:

1. First, you need to gather the ingredients. As mentioned above, these are all inexpensive and readily accessible (in fact, there's a huge possibility that you already have them in your kitchen):

• 130grams white glue, 2-3 cups corn starch, 
• 5 tablespoon mineral oil/baby oil, 
• 4 tablespoon lime, juice/white vinegar, 
• cling film/zip lock bag

Once you've prepared the ingredients, you can start:

Project of the Month July 2015: The Walking Dead's Michonne and Her Bodyguards

This month's project is from AMC's The Walking Dead, Michonne and her two walker bodyguards.

It's currently 70% finished, I just need to add more details to the face and paint everything.

This one took a lot longer than expected due to the fact that there's three of them, and I had a bit of trouble with the hair. It came out looking well, I think.

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Related post: Making Your Own Homemade No-Cook Cold Porcelain