u/Life_Personality3415

So, I did a bake to save progress, and I'm not enjoying this as much anymore.

I spend a lot of time reworking the clay because I'm figuring out how it's supposed to look as I go. And I like building bits up, not necessarily adding 2 finished bits together if that makes sense.

I think I underestimated how much I'd be adding new clay to baked clay, and the process is horrible.

I'm scoring the baked clay, adding a bit of liquid clay, then a layer of fresh clay to build off. But it's long-winded, and I'm not convinced I'm going to get a strong bond when it's baked again.

Does anyone have any tips to make it easier or more enjoyable?

... sculpting a dragon is 200% harder than I thought it was going to be.

I've always done art things. I'm ✨️creative ✨️

What I'm apparently not good at is planning.. So, I've been building this from reference photos and vibes. And no, I haven't been consistently looking at my reference photos.

But what I really needed to say is that polymer clay is actually amazing. I have reworked every bit of this stupid dragon no less than 4 times. When I'm finished working on it, I don't have to think about packing up. He gets a little tin foil tent that actually does nothing to protect him from dust, fluff, and cat hair. And then I put him somewhere he won't get knocked. And that's it. No clean up, no "omg I forgot to wash my brushes." And it's ready to work the second I pick it up again. What a dream!!

I baked the teeth/horns - watching my old non-fan assisted oven try and maintain any temperature was the most stressful experience. But I haven't baked any other part of it. I know I need to bake the head before starting on the wings, but im anxious about baking something I realise later doesn't work. Or burning his head off. Or that nothing will ever stick to the baked bits - even though I do have clay-adhesive.

Any reassurances about reworking bits you've already baked? Also, clay-adhesive takes 3 billion years to stop being a liquid????