Lava Kid - My First Figure

I have now painted my first figure, not much to look at, but the things I had learnt to make him were important.

I had used air drying clay for the first time. It's a bit greasy and binds together in a funny way, however, it's very hard when dry and not at all crumbly, unlike cheddar cheese. I'll never sculpt with cheddar again.

Lava Kid had taught me well.

I also realised that having a plan for the shape and the painting is a good idea.

I love him for the things he taught me, I call him Lava Kid.

I hope you love him too. Don't be too cruel to him, oh cruel cruel world.

How to Make your Own Figures - The Paints

After making some figures from Jovi air drying clay I went out and bought some paints to paint them with.

I decided to buy acrylic paint as this would adhere to most surfaces and seems to be the paint of choice for a lot of custom figure artists.

Acrylics, Red, Blue and Yellow and Gesso. Oh Black and White too.

I also decided to buy some gesso, this is an undercoat primer for canvas painters, but it's also good for clay and plaster. I recommend it, as it gave a great undercoat for the acrylics to adhere to.

Then it was the hard work of finding inspiration for a 'look' to paint my figures with.

I must admit there was no grand scheme at this point and I was just playing around and seeing what happened.

As I developed my process, however, I now doodle out a concept and work out a colour scheme first. I recommend doing this as it will save time in the long run and you will produce better results.

For my planning I use either; pens and felt tips on paper, or my computer. I then mix my paints and start painting.

Top Tip! Don't be a slave to your plan. Sometimes it's good to go with the flow, as long as you know the direction.

How to Make your Own Figures - The Clay

After my research into vinyl figures, buying a DIY Jinny and painting it, I was considering how to create my own figure.

I was at work one day, teaching the kids to sculpt with clay (being a primary school art teacher) and the idea came to me. Forget the plastic for a minute and use air drying clay to make your figures!

Jovi air drying clay is great for home modelling, not just for the kids!

Awesome, I couldn't wait to get out of the classroom and rush to the shops and buy some clay. I bought this suff (see picture) Jovi air drying clay. Jovi website here.

After some playing around with it and getting used to it's texture and properties, it's a little different from ordinary clay, I made a few figures.