What is the best paste?

Hello,
I was tempted to start some day making my own figurines since a kind member here talked about WePam paste and even made a tutorial for making figures.
But I discovered that there are a lot of pastes for sculpting. WePam, Fimo, Milliput, Sculpey, Monster Clay....
I would like to know what is the best, which one allow finest details, what of these needs baking and what not, which ones reduce a bit in size after drying and which not, if the final result is more fragile in ones than others, etc etc etc... What would be the best for making animal figures (mostly small and fragile with thin parts, such as birds and fishes)?

Thanks!

I am absolutely no expert, but looking through some of the topics here, I see that many recommend supersculpey

As far as I remember, there are two kinds, a soft kind and a hard kind, and I remember that Anne ( who is one of our experts and makes models for Mojo) , wrote a whil ago that she mixes the two.

But I hope that many people will ansver you, because we have a lot of fantastic artist among the members

I use Sculpey III with moderate success (it works, I am just not good at 3D art LOL)

Thanks to both! Maybe I will choose Supersculpey then, if it's not much more expensive than other pastes :)

The same subject was discussed in this topic but just with a single reply that may be of use.

I am sorry, yes, I use SuperSculpey too, not Sculpey III.

Roger wrote:

The same subject was discussed in this topic but just with a single reply that may be of use.

Sorry, I searched in the first page of Tutorials for an already existent thread but I was too lazy to search in all the remaining pages
Anyway that reply also points to Super Sculpey. So looks like things are clear here
I see that it must be baked in oven. Then, is WePam the only paste that don't need baking?

Pardofelis wrote:

Roger wrote:

The same subject was discussed in this topic but just with a single reply that may be of use.

Sorry, I searched in the first page of Tutorials for an already existent thread but I was too lazy to search in all the remaining pages
Anyway that reply also points to Super Sculpey. So looks like things are clear here
I see that it must be baked in oven. Then, is WePam the only paste that don't need baking?

That's a topic from more than 7 years ago. There is no problem that you open a new one. I may merge both eventually. If you search using the word clay instead of paste, your results may be more successful.
About your last question, maybe this topic is of help.

Thanks a lot Roger! It's really overhelming the variety of clays and pastes for sculpting available, they're more than animal figurine brands I think that finally I will choose the Fimo Air Light recommended by Fisva, it don't need baking nor mixing, it allows tiny details, it seems more resistent (no crackings) and it's recommended by a very competent sculptress that makes magnific figures :-)

There are a lot of materials you can use. You just need to find a clay that will be convenient for you.
I tried many kinds of clay, including natural clay.
First, there are three types of materials at all:

1) Air drying
2) Epoxy (consists from two pieces)
3) Baking ones

1) Air drying
You can divide them into two groups: like-natural-clay and velvet clay.
I NEVER use like-natural-clay (and natural one too) in my works. If you want to spend a lot of time on your sculpture and then just see the dust instead of it, you can use it. It is very fragile. All materials like that. Anyway you can do all the possible details (teeth, fur, claws), but they may be easily broken.
Example: DAS, white and red natural clay

DAS


Velvet clay is much more nice choice, but it is a very specific material. It reminds a bubble gum, but very soft and not clinging to hands. It allows to make a lot of details that may be tiny. Small details become dry about 15-20 minutes (to become full dry they need more time, of course), thick layers harden in 1-2 days. After full drying you can even change the pose of figurine a bit. If you use carcase, figurine may be easily repaired in case of break.
Example: velvet clay from "Amos" (I-Clay)

Amos (I-Clay)



2) Epoxy
Basically used on customs or to repair broken figurines from many types of materials. But it is still possible to create a full sculpture, just as you want to do. It consists from two components that you need to mix before starting to work. I don't really know how it feels in hands, but I used Epoxiline to process one resin cast. Epoxiline reminds placticine and baking clay, it clings to plastic very well. It allows to do a texture. After drying it is very, very, very hard. You even can't bend this thing, not that break.
As I know, other epoxies are breakable (if to drop a sculpture), but still hard.
But you should be careful while using: it's toxic (anyway, I worked with it without gloves and hadn't got any allergy on my skin).
Example: MagicSculpt, EpoxySculpt, Milliput, Epoxiline

MagicSculpt


ApoxySculpt (grey)


3) Baking clay
It is almost the same thing as regular plasticine in hands, but after finishing you need to bake it. Allows to do everything that you want (it DOES depends from that type you choose).
I would not recommend you a Super Sculpey. It is very convenient in work but after baking is pretty fragile. Small details can be broken pretty easily.
Personally I like Cernit better. It is a very flexible material, if you do a little sheet from it, you can bend it in half, and after that the sheet becomes the same as you created. As I know, Fimo is close to Cernit, but more available.
Example: Fimo, Cernit, Super Sculpey, Craft&Clay

Super Sculpey
While creating the texture, the material goes with squama.



Cernit



Russian baking clay "Tsvetik"
Pretty fragile.



Craft&Clay
Hard, but may be broken.



Good luck in finding your favourite clay and creating sculptures!

What a complete guide!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! I'm amazed!!!!!!! Million thanks for that long and exhaustive guide with all the details needed and even illustrated!

I think that velvet air-drying clay would be the most fitting for me. I'm not interested in material that becomes fragile after finished such as natural clay or Super Sculpey. The most resistent material according to your guide seems to be Apoxiline, but I'm not much convinced because the need of mixing both parts in the right proportions plus the fact of being toxic. Squamation with Super Sculpey is also an issue.

P. S. these hedgehog-haired wolves are incredible, THAT's patience for making a figure!!!!!!!

Thanks a lot for your lovely sculpting paste guide!

Pardofelis wrote:

What a complete guide!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! I'm amazed!!!!!!! Million thanks for that long and exhaustive guide with all the details needed and even illustrated!

I think that velvet air-drying clay would be the most fitting for me. I'm not interested in material that becomes fragile after finished such as natural clay or Super Sculpey. The most resistent material according to your guide seems to be Apoxiline, but I'm not much convinced because the need of mixing both parts in the right proportions plus the fact of being toxic. Squamation with Super Sculpey is also an issue.

P. S. these hedgehog-haired wolves are incredible, THAT's patience for making a figure!!!!!!!

Thanks a lot for your lovely sculpting paste guide!

Nice to hear I could help you!
I also forgot to type that velvet clay is very lightwight. Little figurines without wire inside can weigh just 1 gramm. And as it reminds to bubble gum as a material, it might to seem that joints between layers can not be invisible. But you just need to add some water Also it can be broken, but usually sculptures just bounce without break (if to drop).

The other highly recommended from my point are Fimo and Cernit. After baking they seemed to be a normal plastic that looks like Schleich or other brands (I'd say like Chap Mei more, which is pretty flexible).

Wow, what a great, complete guide, Anasta! I wouldn't add anything. I'll just say I like to use Apoxie clay, Apoxie sculpt (both being epoxy type clay) and Super Sculpey medium blend.

Fabulous contribution from Anasta to this topic!

This now turned into a very valuable topic

Hello forum!
I know that a lot of excellent pastes was recommended in this topic, but I would like to know if a more readily available one is enough good to use. The Jovi air dry clay ( https://www.jovi.es/es/productos/modelaje/pasta-endurecible/ ) is for sale in local stationeries and supermarkets near my home, while the other pastes mentioned I must buy online. Please, is the Jovi clay enough good for make figurines, in the next senses?
-a) it allows tiny details? (fur, teeth, etc). All photos that I've see made with this paste are undetailed things.
-b) it's very fragile once dried?
-c) it's easy to keep useful during long time once open?

I ask this because currently I have 96 figurines in my collection, and I want that the number 100 will be something special, so I tought that nothing can be more special than an attempt of sculpt my first selfmade figurine (tough I'm not faithful with the results haha)

Pardofelis wrote:

Hello forum!
I know that a lot of excellent pastes was recommended in this topic, but I would like to know if a more readily available one is enough good to use. The Jovi air dry clay ( https://www.jovi.es/es/productos/modelaje/pasta-endurecible/ ) is for sale in local stationeries and supermarkets near my home, while the other pastes mentioned I must buy online. Please, is the Jovi clay enough good for make figurines, in the next senses?
-a) it allows tiny details? (fur, teeth, etc). All photos that I've see made with this paste are undetailed things.
-b) it's very fragile once dried?
-c) it's easy to keep useful during long time once open?

I ask this because currently I have 96 figurines in my collection, and I want that the number 100 will be something special, so I tought that nothing can be more special than an attempt of sculpt my first selfmade figurine (tough I'm not faithful with the results haha)

I don't really remember if I used Jovi, but you should pay attention that it is an air drying clay and I'm afraid it won't be better than others clays I've written previously As I remember, it is close to super fragile DAS. Plus it will be dry in some time after opening (but you may close it in a plastic packet, it should help).
You can use it to train if you don't want to pay more for other materials. But if you sure that you will sculpt regularly, I can advise you to save money for baking clays.

That's the most part of my clays:



By the way, I tried an EpoxySculpt and also haven't any problems with my health. Anyway allergy to such kind of material as an individual thing But it's pretty good in work, but yes, still fragile. I hate horse's ears and tails.

Thanks a lot for the kind advice, Anasta

Since this will be my first sculpt, and I've been said that I want to sculpt something some day since more than a year... so I will not sculpt regularly... I think that I will try first with the Jovi paste.

Knowing that the result is fragile, I will think in figures that are robust and compact without fine appendix.

Then, if I get an enough decent first result, I will swicht to a better, more resistant paste for continue the trend some other month :)

I've worked with ApoxieSculpt, though only to repair damage on gypsum sculptures. I never had any sort of bad reaction to it. I can't speak for durability, since those sculptures are very fragile so the repairs aren't subject to stresses.

I'm absolutely a horrible sculptor myself, but I have made a couple mostly small pieces with original Sculpey. It's really very easy to bake. And it's fairly sturdy, I've used it to repair broken china. I find it quite stiff and difficult to work for that reason, though this may be largely due to my lack of talent. (the ApoxieSculpt is very soft and tacky when first blended, and difficult to work until it's started to stiffen. No happy mediums lol) But it will stay workable for months if necessary, until you bake it.

I have not tried it myself, but I have been told that with the baked clays especially and with sculpts of any size, that it is best to make a wadded tinfoil endoskeleton to lighten and support it, and to try to keep the clay roughly the same width everywhere. Otherwise thin parts like ears and lower legs may be baked to crumbles before thick parts like the torso are baked through. If it's air dry clay, perhaps a stiff wire endoskeleton is enough.

Thanks for these advices :)