Polymer Clay Tutorials | Clay Caning for Beginners
In this polymer clay tutorial, I walk through how to make some cool feather canes. These are advanced beginner canes, but the steps to compile these cane are relatively simple.
Jennifoo's List of Recommended Tools:
MARCATO Atlas 150 Pasta Machine (this is the machine I use!):
https://amzn.to/3MXd7Pd
Sculpey Clay Blades 3 Set Pack (for general cutting):
https://amzn.to/37wqyW1
Tissue Blades (dedicated thin & sharp blade for cane slicing)
https://amzn.to/3u7odbI
Sculpey Satin Glaze (for sealing surface treatments):
https://amzn.to/3wb2nH2
Acrylic Roller and Tiny Hole Cutter Set:
https://amzn.to/3KMTyqY
Large Circle Cutters:
https://amzn.to/3qeCsu9
Cute Earring Clay Cutters:
https://amzn.to/3u4LyuH
Earring Ball Post with KC Gold (my favorite earring finding!):
https://amzn.to/3wachst
* If you use the Amazon affiliate links above to make a purchase I will receive a small commission. I greatly appreciate your support!
STEP 1: Create gradient blend
Start off by creating a gradient blend. I'm using about 3 colors each weighing about 12 grams each, but I would recommend using a little more like 16 grams if you want thicker leaf sections.
STEP 2: Convert to Roll
Next, you want to convert your gradient sheet into a roll. You want to start at the end where you have all colors rather than a side where there is just one color. Roll tightly to avoid gaps of air, but being careful not to squish the clay.
STEP 3: Transform to Plug
After you've turned it into a roll, the next step would be to transform this into a plug shape. So use a combination of compressing the ends inward, rolling it across the table and continuously compressing. You want to get it around 1.5" with a diameter just under an inch.
STEP 4: Transform to Rectangle
Next, we you want to turn this plug shape into a rectangle. Set your plug on flat surface, get a roller, and roll over each side. Then using your fingers to refine the rectangle shape. The reason why we turned the gradient into a plug, then a rectangle, is so that we would be able to stretch the rectangle vertically to get a tall gradient sheet as opposed to a wide one. Start the reduction process using a series of pinching motions across the entire surface of the rectangle cane. I also like to press it down onto a flat surface to help keep the sides flat. And pushing down any bumps that occur. After you get to about 1.5" in width, you may use a roller to help flatten it a bit more until the clay sheet is about 1/4 of an inch deep. Next, run it through the largest setting of your pasta machine. You can reduce the thickness if you want the sections of the feather to be thinner.
STEP 5: Create Cane Components
Next, grab a sheet of white or black clay and run it through the 6th setting of your pasta machine to get a long sheet of clay. This will be the barbs of your feather. Being careful to avoid air bubbles. Set your gradient blend on top of the thin sheet and cut off the excess clay from the sides. Then you want to grab the main body and place it over another thin white sheet so that the top and bottom of the gradient blend is covered with white clay. Cut off any imperfections from the sides. Next, divide your clay into 8 equal sections.
STEP 6: Compile Cane Components
Set it down on a flat surface. And create a staircase by offsetting the next piece about 1/4 of an inch from the previous piece. And you want to keep doing this for all 8 pieces. Next, you want to turn this into a semicircle. Push the staircase downward and compress the sides. I use a combination of pinching across the entire surface of the cane, compressing against a flat surface, and then repeatedly pinch to blend the edges.
STEP 7: Assemble Cane Components
Now you should have one half of your feather cane. Slice the cane in half so you get two pieces of a circle. But before you connect the two pieces together, you want to add the vein of the leaf. Choose a color for the vein, roll it through the 6th largest setting of your pasta machine, and insert it 2/3rds of the way from the end, then connect the 2 halves together and cut off the excess clay. Do some finishing touches with your fingertips to sharpen the point at the top of the feather and to smooth the sides. After that reduce your cane. Great work!
Contents of this video
0:00 - Introduction
0:09 - Create Gradient Blend
0:35 - Convert to Roll (clay canes)
0:50 - Transform to Plug (clay canes)
1:10 - Transform to Rectangle
2:07 - Create Cane Components
2:54 - Compile Cane Components
3:26 - Assemble Cane Components
3:59 - Cane Reduction (feather cane)
Music:
Music: [uplifting ballad] by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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