9/27/2023 0 Comments Translucent polymer clay canesFinish your projectĮven after you’ve baked your clay there is still plenty that you can do with it – sand it, carve it, varnish it, file it, paint it, drill holes in it – the list goes on. If you are planning to paint anything over your baked clay, make sure that it has cooled down completely first and then clean off your sculpture with alcohol – this will help your varnish or paint stick. Once the clay has been baked, it becomes stronger and resistant to scratches and breakage, but it’s important to make sure the clay has been baked for long enough to ensure that it’s fully cured. Translucent colours will probably become more translucent after baking. The clay holds shape and texture well and won’t shrink during baking, but you might notice a slight shift in colour – this depends on the colour and brand of clay. This keeps them from sticking or browning. A great tip when baking is to place your pieces on a silicone baking mat, or even normal baking paper. Polymer clay can be baked in a regular oven following the baking instructions on the package. Colours can be mixed to create unique, custom shades as well as interesting marbled effects. Place a heavy book on top and leave for a few hours until the clay consistency is how you want it. If your clay does get too oily and soft, you can put a rolled-out layer of the clay between two sheets of white paper. If your clay is particularly dry or hard, clay softener can be added to get it to a more manageable consistency, but don’t add too much or it might make the clay sticky and difficult to work with. Gently warming the clay in your hands can help soften it too. – An extender for when I want more of a colour clay than I have on hand.Polymer clay can start off quite firm – to soften it you can work it with your hands or roll it through a clay press (similar to a pasta machine). – Canework, particularly (a) ghost canes with geometric designs that I can overlay on other designs, (b) kaleidoscope canes (also great fun!), and (c) background/filler or to provide “windows” in more traditional canes. I often use the same techniques that I’d apply when reproducing “real” semi-precious stones, but with different colours, and make up my own kinds of stones. Faux semi-precious stones are great fun to make and there are almost infinite possibilities. – Faux semi-precious stones such as faux marble, faux opal, faux agate, faux jade, etc., or to help things like faux lapis lazuli look more realistic. I mainly use translucent clay for three things: Or I just use Kato Clear Medium instead! D) (If I really need something clearer than Kato translucent, I sometimes bake a base Kato item at its preferred higher temperature, then add a finishing layer including the translucent bits in Premo Frost, and bake the whole thing again at Premo’s temperature. Kato is noticeably whiter, Premo Frost is noticeably clearer, so the brand (or mix) I use depends on what I want to do.Ī complicating factor is that Kato is much, much stronger when baked at a higher temperature than that recommended for Premo, so I can’t always just use Premo Frost for the translucent bits. I use Kato for everything except for translucent where I also use Premo Frost. So which brand of translucent polymer clay do you prefer, and why? Also… please share your stories about cool stuff you have made using translucent polymer clay. I once said, that if I was stranded on a deserted island and could have only three polymer clay supplies, they would be a blade, a pasta machine and a HUGE block of translucent clay! I guess I’d have to do my baking on a black rock in the sun, or over the open fire… Survivor style HeHe! You can also use translucent clay to create some pretty cool tinting and illumination effects using alcohol inks and powdered pigments. Translucent clay can also be used for making: Just look at the variegated sculpted Rose bead in the photo above and you can see just how much light can penetrate even a 50:50 mix of translucent and regular opaque polymer clay. This adds a ‘depth’ quality that you simply can’t achieve using other types of non-polymer clays, such as earth-based ceramic clay. However, when using translucent for filling in polymer clay background spaces in flower canes and ghost canes, you can get close-to-invisible by cutting your cane slices very thin.Īnother feature to translucent polymer clay is the ability for light to penetrate the surface. Some comparison notes are posted in this article: Translucent Sculpey Clay, Fimo Clay, Premo, Cernit, KatoĪt this time, none of the manufacturers make a totally clear translucent polymer clay (not sure if that would even be possible). Although each one is similar, there are some differences too. Whether It’s Fimo, Kato, or Premo Sculpey… Translucent Clay is an Essentiality!Įvery brand of polymer clay has a their own version of translucent.
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