How to sculpt figurines from plasticine with their own hands. How to make figurines of animals from plasticine

Figures from plasticine, many remember from childhood, when under the strict guidance of parents or caregivers in a kindergarten they tried to create a knob, a bowl for an imaginary dog or a caterpillar with unruly fingers. Time runs very fast, kids grow up, the love for creativity in the majority is replaced by other passions. However, not all. Among quite well-established and very serious people there are those who at leisure still like to create figurines from plasticine with their own hands, helping children or just for fun. This activity perfectly calms the nerves and gives an opportunity to show oneself from the creative side.

Types of plasticine

In Soviet times neither children nor adults had much choice. And plasticine, and many other materials for creativity bought as they were in stock. Now, with a huge selection of the most diverse shades, shapes and types of this mass, the eyes just flee, and sometimes it is completely unclear what exactly it is worth buying and what is not.

The answer to this question depends on the purpose of the acquisition. If plasticine is needed for children's creativity at home, in the garden or school, it is better not to take too bright (it may have toxic dyes) and not very hard to be easy to stretch.

To perform panels and mosaics (they are sometimes also created from this material), the softest variant, from which thin thin elements can be made, is suitable. Those who create models of plasticine or engaged in sculpture, useful solidifying (this also happens). At work it is soft and pliable, the color range is very rich. The finished figures freeze in the air for an hour.

What you need to stock up for modeling

During work, especially creative, it is extremely important that everything you need is at hand. Therefore, in addition to the plasticine itself, you must always stock up with wet wipes to remove its leftovers, a special lining board (something like a work surface). On it you can roll balls and other figures, cut pieces. Still need a special knife. It can be both metal and plastic. Those who plan to create small but complex figurines of plasticine (flowers, animals), you may need a toothpick or wire for drawing small elements.

Why it is better to start creativity

Those who decided to do modeling, do not immediately try to create masterpieces. Practice should be on something simple. And it concerns not only children, but also adult sculptors. Before sculpting figures from plasticine is more difficult, you need to understand how soft it is, how to work with it better. So for starters, you can dazzle something quite simple, like a snake. What could be easier? A piece of green, marsh or brown plasticine is kneaded and then rolled out of it "sausage" on the board in such a way that one edge (the head) is thicker, and the second (tail) is thinner. After that, form a muzzle (with a knife gently make a mouth), eyes - toothpicks or small black dots. From the red plasticine mold the language (you can do without it). Further on the entire body of the reptile, using a needle or a toothpick, a pattern is made that turns it into a snake. If desired, you can collapse the tail, then it will turn out to be asleep.

Kolobok

Another simple character, which even a small child can create. It would seem that the difficult thing is to roll the ball and stick his eyes on it? But if you manifest a fantasy, then this hero of the popular children's fairy tale can turn out to be very unusual. Rolling from a plasticine ball is really not so difficult (although it will be ideal after quite long manipulations with both hands). But he still needs eyes (from simple beads to complex designs with eyelashes and other details), a smile (of red plasticine) and legs with handles. To create the latter, a strong base in the form of a wire is usually used. And already clay is attached to it, forming palms and feet with shoes. In the end, it does not turn out to be a "ball with eyes", but quite independent spectacular fairy-tale character.

How to sculpt animal figures from plasticine

Having trained on koloboks and snakes, you can start more difficult heroes. For example, fairy (and not so) animals are quite suitable. To begin with, you can make a hedgehog (after all, it's the same ball, but with an elongated muzzle). A piece of black plasticine is well kneaded and forms a semblance of a kolobok. From another fragment (smaller) make a muzzle, and then gently join them, carefully covering the pads of the fingers with the joint site so that it can not be seen. It remains to make eyes, nose and needles. They can be made from toothpicks, wire and even sunflower seeds. When creating figures from plasticine, the main thing is the diligence and the ability to fantasize. After all, the details of the composition sometimes make literally from improvised means. And it turns out very effectively.

More complex sculptures

Having learned to cope with easy tasks, you can start to create serious compositions. For example, fashion an entire farm out of plasticine. There will be a sheep, a cow, and a horse. And all this - figures from plasticine. The schemes of their creation are approximately the same. Separately form the body, paws, head and connect them together. At this stage it is extremely important to make the points of contact the least noticeable. This is achieved by painstaking coating with a small amount of material. And in the end they leave small details: ears, horns (if any), tail.

To make the horse come out more fun, the mane is made from plasticine of a different color. Mixing a few shades, you can achieve the most approximate to natural. Similarly come with a cow, attaching a pair of spots on its sides or forming an "asterisk" on its forehead.

Wild animals

As a rule, they are a bit worse than home ones. Perhaps this is due to the fact that not everyone can clearly imagine what a deer, squirrel, fox, wolf or wild boar looks like. After all, they do not get to see every day. Therefore, before dazzling figurines of a fox, wolf or bear from plasticine, it does not hurt to even look at these animals in the picture.

As for the scheme of their creation, it does not differ from the one described above. Similarly, separately mold the body, head, tail and paws, connect them and make the silhouette as smooth as possible. To keep animals firmly on their feet, they can be strengthened by means of matches, toothpicks or wire. And it's even better to use a hardening clay. Then, a couple of hours later, they will not differ in any way from clay sculptures. Unless they do not need to decorate.

Panel from plasticine

In addition to sculptures of animals, people and various items, other souvenirs can be made from this material. For example, frames for photographs (only from hardening material) or various panels. In the latter case, the material should only be used very soft. The panel or mosaic can be created by the same principle as the figures from plasticine, but they are made by forming on a plane. As a basis, cardboard or plastic sheet (PVC) is used. To ensure that the structure does not bend under the weight of plasticine, it is thinly rolled out, each element (leaf, petal, stem, stamen) separately formed and attached to the background. The panel thus obtained is framed and covered with glass.