Making Perch from Polymer Clay
- Difficulty: Very easy
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I got an idea to make a country boy-fisherman. Well, fishing rod is more or less clear, but I was puzzled with fish. I immediately began so search the Internet to find how to model fish from polymer clay. What about the result? Alas! There is nothing. No simple explanations for beginners.
That's exactly what was the main motive for me to create a tutorial on modelling perch from polymer clay.
I was beating around the bush for a while, and then began to sculpt.
Guess what, with simple polymer clay skills the result exceeded all my expectations!
Therefore, my friends, I am ready to share my experience.
So, let`s begin.
You'll need the following materials:
- acrylic paint. Silver is the major one. I also used green, black, red and yellow. So you don't need the whole set;
- polymer clay itself. It is better to take light shades;
- sponge for colouring. Since my perch is very small, I cut my sponge into narrow strips;
- disposable plastic knife;
- toothpicks. I use them to mix paint. Again, because fish are small. You can use something else. An ordinary knife;
- office knife.
Take a piece of clay, depending on the expected size of the fish and knead it well, so that the clay becomes soft and plastic. Not a quick process.
Roll out canes and cut into pieces. Everything depends on the expected size and number of fish. I will have three of them and my perch is very small (3.5 cm long, including the tail).
I use excess for fins.
From one cut part form the body.
Flatten the place where you will have a tail.
Now take office knife. Form a beautiful fish tail with it. At the same time, if necessary, cut a little, thin the junction of the body with the tail.
That's what I got.
Next cut the fish in halves along the back and abdomen. Almost like cutting herring.
Yes, my friends. We try to make our fish as real as possible, so at this stage, before modelling fins, I decided to prepare a small sketch. For clarity.
So, sculpt the fins. Flatten a part of the clay (you can roll). Approximately 1 mm thick.
Take the office knife again, comparing the result with the sketch, cut out the upper, dorsal fin.
Insert the resulting fin into the cut on the back.
Similarly, cut and insert the next fin into the cut.
Now smooth the edges of the cut a little, very carefully, without pressing, with office knife.
Repeat the same with the lower fins. That's what you should get.
All three.
Now you need to make tail and fins relief. To do this, I used a plastic knife (its edges are serrated — this is exactly what you need). Put a fin on the surface, lightly pressing, to make (squeeze) the pattern.
That's what you get.
Perch looks even more realistic.
Now draw heads and other parts (eyes, mouth) with any suitable instrument (I did it with a long needle).
You can do it in more detail than I did. I drew simply as it is very small perch.
Ufff, the first hard stage is finished.
Bake the fish according to the instructions on the packaging.
Meanwhile, you can relax, drink tea or coffee. Ahead is a pure creativity.
Well, the perches are baked, cooled, and you may proceed to the most interesting colouring.
Of course, if you want realistic perches, it is best to have a colour scheme and paint, matching the original.
When mixing paints, silver paint is the main one. That's what I did. First, I mixed paints. For example, for orange mixed I yellow and red, and then the resulting orange paint mixed with silver.
The first layer is the base layer. Mix silver and green paint. Darker green is better.
Applying, in my opinion, is better with sponge, almost dry. Rub the paint with a sponge on a sheet of paper and apply with rubbing movements on the fish.
Paint dries very quickly, while I was painting a third fish, the first was already dry and ready to be further painted. Very convenient.
Choose colours yourself. Here it is a matter of tastes and preferences. And how you imagine fish.
I added a little of black to the second coat. For green to be darker.
I almost forgot to say. You don't have to paint the abdomen. Or paint it with a light shade in advance. The fish bellies are pinkish. I used natural colour of the clay.
Next, add a little more black and draw the characteristic dark transverse lines for perch.
With the same colour, paint the upper dorsal fin.
Now proceed to colouring other three fins.
The main colors here are yellow and red. As a result, you have to get orange. Mix it with silver and paint the fins and tail.
Well, it's almost real perch! A few stages are left.
Add a little more red to orange and darken the edges of the fins and tail.
Draw eyes with black paint.
The perches are ready. You may even cook them.
I also made holes, because my boy will carry them in a bundle. This thing is called a fish string.
Here comes a happy kid with his fish.
I will be glad if my tutorial is useful for someone.
Enjoy creating!