Learn To Sculpt
a Head & Face
From Polymer Clay
with Tony Rice

Close-up images of materials needed
Enlarge picture of basic supply requirements.

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1. I bought a plastic model of a skull to study the bones of the head. It is very helpful (to me anyway!) to have one of these to look at when sculpting a head.
Enlarge picture of skull for study




2. Take a bamboo skewer or a lollipop stick and make a ball of aluminum foil on the end of it. Crush it down as tightly as you can. You are making a skull shaped: rounded back, flat sided, tapered front.

The foil skull should be about 2/3 the size of the finished head you intend to sculpt.
Enlarge picture showing how to create the foil skull
3. Wrap the foil skull with paper tape or masking tape. This is done to give the clay something to stick to and to conceal the dark foil!

Be sure to go down the "neck" to secure the head onto the stick.
Enlarge picture showing how to wrap foil with paper tape
4. Press a dent into the face half way between the top and the bottom. You can use any of your tool handles to do this, just lay it across the face and press in. You can lay the head on your work surface and push down with your weight, if you need to.

This process may flatten the back of the head, like I did to mine. If this happens you can plump it back up later by adding more clay to the back of the head.
Enlarge picture to show where to make the indents




5. Make a pancake of clay and cover the skull starting at the front. Be sure to get out all of the air bubbles! Trapped air bubbles will wiggle around and hinder you as you sculpt, and if you leave them in they will typically expand and burst the clay when you bake it.
Enlarge picture showing where to start applying clay

6. Make another pancake for the back of the head. Make it thicker in case you deformed your skull pressing the groove into it. Smooth it all uniformly.
Enlarge picture of applied clay to the back of the skull

7. Next you will be using the blunt side of the blade on your craft knife; you will need to divide the face up. Start by drawing a line across horizontal dent from left to right to indicate the line the eyes will sit on. This line should be about halfway between the top of the head and the chin. Make one line dividing the face in half vertically. Make tick marks half way out on the horizontal line to note the center of the pupil. A mark half way down the vertical line will indicate the bottom of the nose. A mark half way between the nose mark and the chin will tell you where the mouth will be. This is a map of where the features will go.

Making the map will make it easier to get the proportions right than not, but it will still take practice! Don't worry about proportions to much if this is your very first head sculpt, just have fun.
Enlarge picture showing how to map the face




8. Make a thick pancake of clay that fits between the chin and mouth line and place it on the head. Blend it into the face left, right and down, but not in an upward motion toward the nose.
Enlarge picture showing how to build up the chin
9. This picture came out blurry, but I edited it so you can see what you need to do. Make an oval pancake of clay and place it on the face just above the last one you made. Blend it in left, right and up, but not down.
Enlarge picture to show nose area build-up
10. There should be a gash where you didn't blend the last two pancakes together. This is the mouth. Make a rounded dent under the bottom lip to give it shape and fullness. Press up at an angle on the inside of the top lip to give it the approximate shape of a Cupid's bow. I use a spatula tool for the top lip and any small round tool handle for the bottom lip. Draw in the philtrum with a ball stylus. Apply a small round ball of clay to the center of the face. Your nose line is probably obliterated by now, but guesstimate where it was. Smooth the nose out in all directions away from the center, but most steeply at the sides and top.
Enlarge picture showing how to create the mouth
11. Using a round tool, like a large ball stylus or the end of your little finger, make an indent where the eye sockets will be.
Enlarge picture showing where to create the eye sockets




12. Be sure to allow a mound in the middle between the eyes, where the bridge of the nose will be. Smooth the edges around the eye sockets so that you have a gentle indentation, not a pit.
Enlarge picture showing smoothing steps
13. I added a tiny ball of clay to the end of the nose and smoothed it into the face because my nose was too small. Using a stylus, draw in the wings of the nose, then press the nostrils in. Using the stylus, make a slight dent at each corner of the mouth. Don't be too aggressive with the nose and the mouth corners.
Enlarge picture showing how to refine the nose
14. Before you move on check your profile. How does the nose look? Do you need more clay at the bridge of the nose, between the eyes? If so add more. If the nose is too long, trim some off with a razor knife. How's the chin look? Too long? Trim it, too short? Add a ball of clay and blend it in.
Enlarge picture showing what to review before continuing




15. Now, using a needle tool or a small ball stylus make 4 points marking the outside and inside corners of the eyes.
Enlarge picture showing how to create the eye corners




16. Using a needle tool or a ball stylus connect the points with lines. Getting the left to match the right is a struggle! Take your time and don't worry too much if they look a little "cockeyed" on your first sculpt. Practice will make perfect! Right now, just worry about the technique, not getting it perfect.
Enlarge picture showing how to connect the lines
17. Moving on! We're almost done!!

Draw a line over the top of the head from ear to ear. This will help line the ears up. You can also draw two lines across the back of the head even with the mouth and the corner of the eye to help line the ears up. Roll a little sausage of clay and put it on the side of the head.
Enlarge picture showing how to place ears
18. Blend the little sausage into the head toward the face. Use a ball stylus to create the swirls and cavities inside the ear. Repeat for the other side. Give the head one final smoothing over to remove any fingerprints of tool marks.

Bake and enjoy!
Enlarge picture showing blending effects of the ears





© 2007-2012 Tony Rice



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