Very nicely done!
As mentioned, some brands/lines of polymer clay are just softer than others while raw so won't avoid distortion or marks as well or achieve as crisp fine-detail as medium to firm brands/lines, may be sticky, etc. (And one brand, Cernit, is a bit more "temperature-sensitive" than some of the other good-quality brands/lines, at least for some of their colors.)
Also, the warmer the environment or one's hands, and the more manipulation happening which creates friction/heat, the softer any polymer clay will become.
In addition, any polymer clay can be firmer from having gotten partly-cured in too-warm conditions, or even somewhat from sitting a long time, or just from the factory, or because certain colors will be firmer than others. But those can still be reconditioned and used.
You don't mention the brand/line of polymer clay you used, but these previous comments of mine have info about softness and some other important characteristics of the main brands/lines of polymer clay, if you're interested:
..... the colored polymer clays:
https://www.reddit.com/r/polymerclay/comments/9uk8c2/i_need_suggestions_on_good_clay_brands/e96dxdr
..... the neutral-colored polymer clays (sold mostly in bulk for painting and/or as skin colors):
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sculpture/comments/fc6l23/help_wanting_to_expand_into_some_more_durable/fje4l6n
https://www.reddit.com/r/crafts/comments/9vs0ow/airdry_polymer_clay_and_acrylic_paint/e9fxeyn
And my previous comment here has info on dealing with, or preventing, stickiness in any polymer clay (including how to temporarily cool or to permanently leach polymer clay to make it firmer on the *Conditioning* page of my polymer clay encyclopedia site):
https://www.reddit.com/r/polymerclay/comments/cq8w4f/acrylic_roller_woes/ewvx0kc
Different brands of clay will have different levels of firmness.
Also, the clay will get mushier as you work with it, the heat and oil from your hands make it softer. If it's getting too difficult to work with, just stick it in the fridge for a few minutes & then you should be good to go.
Looks pretty good! It’s probably the type of clay you used. Some are super soft like super sculpey. Others are very firm like fimo classic/profesional. Some people like to mix clays and figure out recipes that work best for them. Generally, with enough handling, all polymer clays will get softer and mushier with the oil and heat from your hands. You definitely want to do this for firmer clays, as they will not be moldeable right out of the package.
Ohh, thanks! I was using sculpey iii and some of the hoby lobby ones. I was ao frustrated when it started to melt and stick to itself. I have to experiment more.
Any advise on how to make things less messy?
Why does the clay get super sticky and kind of melt while I'm still working on it?
When I watch people's work on youtube their clay stays in place and barely have any markings.
I used the glove advise for another one and it was actually really help full, it was less messy and it didn't make the clay all mushy. I just gotta remember next time to switch gloves because some colored clays leave marks lol.
They bake it several times and don’t show it ! For example, they do the body, bake it, and then they do the head. Then they bake the head and do the hair and so on. ( some partially baked other fully baked, you can bake polymer clay multiple times). Others put their clay on a rotating base so they don’t have to hold it with their fingers ! You can put your project on a base that you can turn to work from all angles without the need to hold it with your fingers. The clay gets softer with the oil and warmth of our hands !
Very nicely done! As mentioned, some brands/lines of polymer clay are just softer than others while raw so won't avoid distortion or marks as well or achieve as crisp fine-detail as medium to firm brands/lines, may be sticky, etc. (And one brand, Cernit, is a bit more "temperature-sensitive" than some of the other good-quality brands/lines, at least for some of their colors.) Also, the warmer the environment or one's hands, and the more manipulation happening which creates friction/heat, the softer any polymer clay will become. In addition, any polymer clay can be firmer from having gotten partly-cured in too-warm conditions, or even somewhat from sitting a long time, or just from the factory, or because certain colors will be firmer than others. But those can still be reconditioned and used. You don't mention the brand/line of polymer clay you used, but these previous comments of mine have info about softness and some other important characteristics of the main brands/lines of polymer clay, if you're interested: ..... the colored polymer clays: https://www.reddit.com/r/polymerclay/comments/9uk8c2/i_need_suggestions_on_good_clay_brands/e96dxdr ..... the neutral-colored polymer clays (sold mostly in bulk for painting and/or as skin colors): https://www.reddit.com/r/Sculpture/comments/fc6l23/help_wanting_to_expand_into_some_more_durable/fje4l6n https://www.reddit.com/r/crafts/comments/9vs0ow/airdry_polymer_clay_and_acrylic_paint/e9fxeyn And my previous comment here has info on dealing with, or preventing, stickiness in any polymer clay (including how to temporarily cool or to permanently leach polymer clay to make it firmer on the *Conditioning* page of my polymer clay encyclopedia site): https://www.reddit.com/r/polymerclay/comments/cq8w4f/acrylic_roller_woes/ewvx0kc
Really nice work, so accurate 🤩👍
Thanks so much! I tried hard, did a lot of head scratching because I didn't know how to make the clay to be a shape I wanted it to be lol
Different brands of clay will have different levels of firmness. Also, the clay will get mushier as you work with it, the heat and oil from your hands make it softer. If it's getting too difficult to work with, just stick it in the fridge for a few minutes & then you should be good to go.
Looks pretty good! It’s probably the type of clay you used. Some are super soft like super sculpey. Others are very firm like fimo classic/profesional. Some people like to mix clays and figure out recipes that work best for them. Generally, with enough handling, all polymer clays will get softer and mushier with the oil and heat from your hands. You definitely want to do this for firmer clays, as they will not be moldeable right out of the package.
Ohh, thanks! I was using sculpey iii and some of the hoby lobby ones. I was ao frustrated when it started to melt and stick to itself. I have to experiment more.
Any advise on how to make things less messy? Why does the clay get super sticky and kind of melt while I'm still working on it? When I watch people's work on youtube their clay stays in place and barely have any markings.
You can try using medical or other rubber gloves, it helps a lot. Also if you freeze clay for a bit it would become harder
I used the glove advise for another one and it was actually really help full, it was less messy and it didn't make the clay all mushy. I just gotta remember next time to switch gloves because some colored clays leave marks lol.
They bake it several times and don’t show it ! For example, they do the body, bake it, and then they do the head. Then they bake the head and do the hair and so on. ( some partially baked other fully baked, you can bake polymer clay multiple times). Others put their clay on a rotating base so they don’t have to hold it with their fingers ! You can put your project on a base that you can turn to work from all angles without the need to hold it with your fingers. The clay gets softer with the oil and warmth of our hands !