r/sculpting

Hello! I read the rules, but im not sure if my post follows all of them, so if it doesnt, please lmk what I missed! :>

Okay, so i usually just draw with mechanical pencils or charcoal on paper. OR, I draw on my Gaomon drawing tablet. But, ive always been interested in sculpting. Im a big realism lover, so my art has a unique style. Its realisti+cell shading comicy? Not sure if i described that well. I can add some photos of my art if that'd help! But, im wondering what clay would be best for a newbie?

I wanna sculpt heads, hands, stuff like that. I take pride in the hands I draw, because I always struggled with them lol.

I know you'll need a skeleton or wire and aluminum foil (ive sculpted small things back in middle school), but i only really know of air dry clay. Its not what I want; its too dry and cracks wayyyy too easily.

Is there any sculptors who know of clay that dries over time? I know about Apoxy Sculpt but its too heavy and too expensive for large projects.

Ideally, the clay would need to:

\-be rather malleable after it starts to dry (in case I wanna add anything, and itll probably help when adding clay)

\-be kinda on the cheaper side, but i dont mind spending more if needed

\-be lighter than apoxy if possible

I know i basically described Apoxy, but are there any other clays that could work? Thanks in advance!

I’m still fairly new to sculpting, and every project teaches me something different. Sometimes I realize there are simple techniques that could have saved me a lot of time if I’d known them earlier. If you could give one piece of advice to your beginner self, what would it be? It could be about choosing materials, improving proportions, adding detail, or avoiding common mistakes. I’d really appreciate hearing what made the biggest difference in your own sculpting journey.

While I’m still learning is monster clay a good option for practice ? Do the skills transfer at all ?

Thank you

Hello everyone! This is my cover of What You’re Made Of. Original by Lucie Silvas.