It's the siblings!
I finished Silksong a few months ago, so I added Hornet to my collection of little video game protag figures. Of course I made the cloak removable so you can pretend to be a Slab fly and steal her things.
Materials used: polymer clay and acrylic paint, plus a toothpick and jump ring for her needle
How do you get the clay so smooth? Is there any tips you have?
I'm glad they look smooth! I will admit some of the smoothness comes from poor camera quality (in real life they do still have some texture), but I do have some tips for getting them as smooth as I do:
Clay choice: I like to choose firmer clays, like super sculpey/super sculpey firm, for these little figures. I find that these clays hold more detail and allow for a smoother finish. They are a bit harder to work with (especially if you want to blend pieces of clay together), so I also keep some clay softener and clay adhesive on hand just in case.
Smoothing the clay: After sculpting but before baking, I try to make sure the clay is as smooth as possible. One way to do this is by taking some rubbing alcohol and a soft paintbrush and brushing over the surface--the rubbing alcohol softens the clay and smooths out finger prints, which saves time during sanding. I especially focus on areas that would be hard to reach with sandpaper.
Sanding: This is the most important step for me! I use this as a chance to refine the figure and finalize the shape, but also to make the surface as smooth as possible. I like to go from ~320 grit to ~2000 grit sandpaper in small increments to get a really smooth finish without major scratches. Sanding pads/sponges are my favorite tool for this step--the added sponge makes it easier to apply pressure in otherwise awkward areas.
Painting: I use acrylic paints to color my figures, but I often water the paints down a bit before actually applying them. Watering them down means it takes more coats to get to full opacity, but it also minimizes brush strokes. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I'll also use a fine grit sandpaper to sand down the brush strokes afterwards, though you have to be careful not to sand through the color.
Varnish: I use a matte/ultra matte varnish for my figures, which helps to hide the texture (similar to how makeup powders can hide skin texture on camera). I also just like the look of matte varnishes, especially for these little guys.
I hope that helps! Thanks for giving me a chance to talk about my process! :D
Thanks so much!! I appreciate the thorough response 😁
My sister makes little things like this and I can't wait to show her
She made me this for Christmas 💙
Oh my gosh that's adorable!! Tell your sister she's doing a great job! ❤️
