Armature alternatives

[ryesnatcher]

Hi all! 

I'm making a figurine model from air dry clay, whilst my figurine will only be around 20cm tall, I've read that if I create an armature and use thin(ish) layers of clay it should dry more evenly and have less chance of cracking.

However I don't have any wire so I was wondering if in place of a wire armature I could use something else? I have paper mache in mind where I use a paper mache 'skeleton' as my base. I've been told that foil is also a good option, but that I would need wire. 

 Any help or tips is much appreciated!! Thank you (: 

[Bill Kielb]

14 minutes ago, ryesnatcher said:

Any help or tips is much appreciated!! Thank you (: 

Here is a nice do it yourself video. Might give you some ideas

 

[neilestrick]

The issue is the type of clay. If it's oil based clay then it doesn't dry and shrink, and you can use any type of armature you want. That's what's usually used for sculptures. They make a mold of it, which is used to then cast the final product. With regular clay or air dry clay, it shrinks as it dries. If the armature doesn't shrink, too, then the clay will crack. You can get away with a thin wire armature, but if it's thin enough to avoid cracking then it's probably not strong enough to support anything. One method that works is to build an armature from loosely crumpled newspaper, lightly taped together. The paper will compress as the clay dries.

[Bill Kielb]

2 hours ago, neilestrick said:

You can get away with a thin wire armature, but if it's thin enough to avoid cracking then it's probably not strong enough to support anything.

@ryesnatcher
You can use Thick wire and regular clay, many do it. They create their sculpture and keep it moist during the build so not a huge shrinkage issue. Later you will slice the armature out before it dries anyway and rebuild your sculpture. So can be done and for many something they do everyday.  Often these sculptures are fired to lowfire temps like cone 04.
 Oil based clays obviously work well and have a different non fired use. Paper is very popular as well and burns away if any is missed during removal. Lots of ways this is done, depends on your finish intention and preference. Sculptors are creative, just google and you will find many methods from many famous sculptors.

[Sorcery]

Because I have flexible, bendy microphone stands around, I have thought of using them externally as a "third hand" if you will.

There is a heavy desktop base that the gooseneck can attach to, then you can fashion any kind of "holder" for the other end to rest your extremities in or on.

This way there is nothing to remove.

 

Sorce