Which Clay is Right for You?

In the hands of masters!

When it comes to the art of sculpting, the techniques, materials, and styles are as varied as the artists who create them! We spoke with three Breyer sculpting artists to learn more about their go-to mediums.

Kathleen Moody - Sculpey Clay

Sculpey is my favorite clay. Produced by US company Polyform Products, the Sculpey line of polymer clays make it fast and easy to create virtually anything quickly. It is not difficult or messy to use, and doesn’t require any special equipment. It can also be carved and sanded when hard, and even painted! It is also easy to come by, as almost any hobby shop carries it, and relatively inexpensive. Believe it or not, a lot of professional model makers use it in their work.

Why this medium?

I love it because once you soften it up with your hands and model it, you can put it in any conventional household oven and bake it hard – giving you a firm model that is easy to ship out for molding and casting in resin. This is something that is more difficult to do with other non-hardening clay types. With Sculpey, you do not need to mold the figure to have a finished piece that can be shipped. We mold the clay pieces in resin to be able to work with them without altering the sculpting.

There are three favorite “varieties” of Sculpey clay model sculptors like to use: Regular, the easiest and fastest to manipulate; Super, a firmer more crack-resistant clay; Firm, for tiniest detailing and a clean, smooth surface.  I’ve used all three, but have settled on “Super Sculpey”, as it has the consistency that puts it right in-between the “too hard” and “too soft” versions. I’ve found that the firmer the clay, the more it stays where you put it- unless it’s too firm and you can’t move it at all, or so soft, it won’t hold its form. Super Sculpey takes tools well and leaves very little “drag” in the clay. It is fairly easy to soften by kneading, and smooths to a nice surface. Sculpey, like most polymers, has a “shelf life,” meaning that it is workable for about 6 months before it starts to dry out and crack.

“Regular Sculpey” has usefulness as the perfect “kid” medium. Being a little cheaper, it is the easiest to work with your hands – no tools needed. It is too soft for detailing, but is great if you have to bulk up a horse quickly.

Challenges

“Sculpey Firm” is the hardest (for me) to use. It works better for smaller areas that need more fine detailing, like the head, legs and feet. However, softening it up to work with is time consuming and difficult for older hands.

Regular Sculpey tends to be more prone to cracking after it's baked. Super Sculpey will as well, but not as much, and it’s more a matter of what temp you bake it at and the ambient temperature and humidity of your environment. I use it for everything because I don't need to mold it like you do for oil-based clays. 

There are wonderful clays out there that are far superior to Sculpey in many ways, but Sculpey has worked well for me. Every Breyer horse I have built over the last three decades has always started out in Sculpey.

Kylee Parks - 2-Part Epoxy

2-part epoxies have been in the model horse hobby for decades, and customizers have altered many a model horse using the different products available. They are easy to use, come in a variety of colors, and most clean up with soap and water. The product is activated by simply mixing equal parts of A and B, and will fully cure within 24 hours - no baking necessary!

Why this medium?

When customizing the plastic model horse, 2-part epoxies are ideal because once parts A and B are thoroughly mixed it will cure on its own without baking (which would melt or damage the plastic horse beneath). It will begin to get firmer within an hour while remaining somewhat workable. This is my favorite stage of the curing as I can begin to add the crisper, fine details. I will often sculpt the general shape and topography of my piece and set it aside or even under a heat lamp to let it firm up, then go back and add the sharper details as it hardens. 

A 2-part epoxy can also be used to create original works of art by building up the piece over a wire armature. This is my preferred method of making my original sculptures. While oil-based clays are commonly used, they often require a silicone “waste mold” to be made in order to create a resin piece to work off of for the finished master. Using 2-part epoxy eliminates this step. Once I’ve finished sculpting, I’m left with an already cured master that can be sanded, primed, painted and/or molded! I usually work in small areas (such as an eye or a shoulder) area at a time. It’s easier to mix up more epoxy in smaller batches than racing the clock trying to do too much at once. 

My go-to epoxy is called Magic Sculpt in the Natural color. It mixes with ease, smooths with water and holds crisp fine detail. Other brands that I use less occasionally are the Aves Apoxie Sculpt and Rezolin A & B Epoxy putty. 

When I can, my preferred solvent for smoothing or softening the epoxy is simply water. Most can work well with water but some artists prefer using isopropyl alcohol. I have found that alcohol will leave a slight sheen on the epoxy once it's cured, and water leaves the matte finish - so it is all about preference!

Challenges

The biggest downside is the time crunch! Also, many hobbyists have developed skin allergies to the various epoxy products. It is recommended that you use gloves when mixing and sculpting. My least favorite part of using epoxies is the dust. It is inevitable that at some point in my sculpting it will require removal of cured epoxy. This is when I gear up with my goggles, ventilator mask and hat and go outside to Dremel away. Perform this step in a well-ventilated space (preferably outdoors) and with the proper safety precautions.

No matter what issues the 2-part may epoxies present, it is still my favorite material for my creations. I love the instant gratification and the different stages of sculpt that the curing process presents. It forces me to finish by holding me hostage a few hours at a time to CREATE!

Magic Sculpt Epoxy (light grey) works great on multi-media pieces like this medallion (left) which features wood, polymer clay and embroidery floss. This other sculpture (right) was aside for an hour to harden, and then I came back to add some refinement and details.

Morgen Kilbourn - Non-Hardening Oil-Based Clay

Most of the Breyer horses I’ve sculpted were created in soft non-hardening plasticine-type traditional modeling clay before being molded into resin and sent to Breyer to be made into plastic! These sculptures never dry out or firm up because they contain waxes and oils. They can be easily reworked or totally reused, and the clay comes in hardnesses from very squishy to very firm. 

Why this medium?

Some sculptures, such as certain breeds or poses, can be created easier in softer or firmer clays. I’ve used a different firmness for each Breyer so far! For example, I wanted a very soft velvety hair coat surface texture for True North, so I used very soft clay that allowed me to blend and feather out details lighter. For Wyatt and Bobby Jo, I used extremely rigid clays that I could hardly blend at room temperature. These allowed me to get rounder, more plumped-up muscles that didn’t blend so smoothly away – as very fit stock horses often can have in those high-tension poses. 

Ideally you work on a horse from big to small changes… until you can’t possibly think of any more details to put in! For me, most of the precise fine details really come in the last steps in a hard copy. Wrinkling in clay is the exception, so I blend these in with a brush in seconds rather than spending days to get it just “so” (like when sculpting in epoxies).

One benefit over air or heat-hardening polymer clays is that there are far fewer health concerns with oil-based clay. Air or heat-hardening polymer clays can give off fumes, and some people develop allergies to certain types. It’s important to use safe practices with all of these materials.

If you’re not afraid of the molding process, sculpting in oil clay is a lot faster. This makes it pretty great for learning to sculpt, especially if you might make a lot of changes to your pose or to the anatomy. A huge benefit to working in non-hardening clays is that you can make adjustments in minutes - need to tuck the head more? Just push it around a little! Pose looks a little stiff and unnatural? Move the legs a bit here and there and see if that helps it be a bit more dynamic and interesting! 

Challenges

Sometimes I’ve used a softer or firmer clay than I might have liked, and it can make more work or require more careful effort to keep detail plumped up and crisp. Or conversely, if the clay is too firm, it’s hard to blend natural curves and I’ll have to a do a lot more final detailing work in the next step when I cast my hard copy in resin.

The biggest challenge to non-hardening clays? What to do when you are ready to call the clay phase of the sculpture “done!” If you want to keep your sculpture permanently, you’ll need to mold it – encapsulate it in rubber, then remove it the firmed-up block – to create a hollow mold, and then you have to “cast” the sculpture in a material to make it permanent – model horse artists typically use polyurethane resin.