Sculpting tools overview
Plasticine sculpting can be a fun activity not only for children, but also for adults. Any figures can be created from this material due to its elasticity and softness. If you want to try to do something with your own hands, you will need not only plasticine, but also different tools that expand the range of possibilities, which you can learn more about later.
Knives and stacks for work
There are professional tools for sculpting, and there are helpers if you want to do this for yourself. During such a process, it is impossible to do without a special knife, which is compact in size, while it is not very sharp. This is not a cutlery, but a clerical one. Sometimes, along with the plasticine, a cutting tool is included, which is very convenient. If you are going to do this with children, it is better to choose stacks with which the child cannot get hurt. Stacks are designed to work with plasticine blanks, in which you need to make grooves of different shapes. Entire sets of these tools can be found today. And as improvised means, you can use a coin, button, cap from a pen or felt-tip pen. With the help of such a unit, you can create beautiful drawings, make textures, which is important in the manufacture of original products.
Stacks come in a variety of shapes and are available from art stores and craft departments. If you want, you can make the tool yourself; use a metal wire as a loop that is attached to the handle. Stacks should be of different shapes and sizes, this is the only way to create original ornaments and grooves, giving the blanks the desired design. Thanks to the tool, you can create a perfectly smooth or wavy surface, create pinpoint dents and much more.
It is better for the child to use plastic stacks that will be safe.
What else is included in the core set?
Scissors
It is an integral tool in a set for working with clay, but for children, you should not take metal scissors, it is better to cut the blanks yourself. This unit is required to give various textures to the material, and in order to make cutting easy, it is recommended to pre-cool the plasticine cakes.
Scissors are the best choice. with rounded tips. However, they can be replaced with a clerical knife or the knife that comes with the plasticine. It is often made of plastic, as it is intended for children. There is a decorative cutting tool that is suitable for working with plasticine.
Molds
Such a set of tools is intended for children who still cannot make different shapes with their own hands. Thanks to such template units, you can work not only with plasticine, but also with soft wax, clay and dough. Often they are made of polymers, they come in a set of 6 pieces or more. There are kits with animal figures, contours of various fruits and vegetables, and others.
Before work, the mold must be soaked in cold water so that the plasticine is easily separated. As for the sizes, there are quite a few of them, depending on the manufacturer and the features of the set.
To create flat figures, special molds are intended, which can be found in any stationery store. Often they are made of iron, if you wish, you can cut them out of a regular can.
Molds
Sculpting plants and textured objects requires a tool such as a mold. Molds can be silicone, plastic or metal. With their help, you can create blanks with the same pattern.
What additional accessories are needed?
To keep your work surface clean and tidy, you need to use a sculpting board. Instead, you can take cling film or cardboard sheet. The board is most often made of plastic and comes in different sizes depending on what you are going to work with. It is recommended to wrap it in foil so that you do not have to clean it every time... If you are going to sculpt something oversized, and you need a large work surface, then you can cover the table with oilcloth and be happy to do what you love.
A rolling pin is also an integral unit for rolling out plasticine, because it is completely inconvenient to do it manually. It can be replaced with a plastic pipe or bottle. If desired, you can pour warm water inside to make the material more malleable. If we are talking about an imprint of the texture, it is better to fill it with cold liquid. A leatherette ornament is easily glued to a tube or rolling pin.
Another tool that comes in handy for work is a simple ruler, with its help you can make even workpieces. You can choose an ordinary school one made of plastic, or use a metal one, which at the same time will perform the task of a knife, which is convenient. It is not always possible to work with plasticine neatly, so there should be pieces of cloth at hand to wipe the remains from fingers and the surface. As mentioned above, for easier cutting of workpieces, it is recommended to cool the material, for this it is enough to put a bowl of water near you.
All of these devices can be found at home, you do not have to buy anything. But if you want to do modeling professionally, you have a lot of creative ideas that you would like to implement, you can stock up on special tools. For the manufacture of flagella, it is recommended to use a conventional syringe without a needle, from which blanks of the same size can be squeezed out.Some people use a garlic press for such purposes, but it is difficult to clean it, so you can purchase several syringes for multi-colored plasticine.
Texture sheets and stamps, which can be found in art departments, can help with impressions. But if this option does not suit you, you can take macrame lace or hard textured fabric, which will be perfectly displayed on the surface of soft plasticine.
For professional sculptors and sculptors, we offer sets of texture sheets, on which a surface in the form of wood, fabric or stone can be applied. Due to the properties of plasticine, any prints can be used to achieve the most similar effect. With the help of such tools, beautiful leaves with different veins, ornaments on garments, and much more are made.
After the end of the modeling, it is recommended to put plasticine products to a cold placeto harden the material and become more durable. Tools should be cleaned of material residues and stored as a set so as not to lose anything. Plasticine, on the other hand, must be kept in a closed box or box so that it remains pliable until next time.... Now you know everything about what tools are required to sculpt from this material, how to use them, so you can get to work. This is a great opportunity to do something with your children, as sculpting develops creative thinking.