Hello dear sculpting lovers!
Sometimes it is not at all profitable to buy polymer clay of a color that you do not use at all. After all, some products require very little clay, but you can’t do without this color at all! Some clay is sold at 100 grams. from which you will spend a small part of it, and where is the extra?? After all, it is not needed….and will dry out over time…it’s a pity!!! So what should we do??? In the article you will see a short video that clearly shows how clay is colored in different ways.
Painting clay with acrylic and oil paints
To prevent this from happening, in this article I will tell you how to very simply paint clay, the amount that you need. This method can be used to paint both polymer clay and cold porcelain.
We will need:
- Polymer clay with which you will work;
- acrylic or oil paints
It can be oil paints, acrylics, pastels, anything that has dye, even lipstick)))
Let's get started!
We take the required amount of plastic (you can use a little more, because if there is not enough, then it will be very, very difficult to achieve exactly the same color).
To get delicate tones (light), then add a small drop of paint, but if darker, then without sparing, add a lot of paint. I prefer to paint with acrylic paints. It is advisable to buy bright colors, then the finished products will look very beautiful.
If you apply paint to the clay and knead it quite a bit, you will get clay with dark tint stripes. This color is also very often used. Well, to obtain a uniform shade, you need to knead the clay well enough. Some types of clay become very soft after coloring and begin to stick to your fingers. In this case, you just need to wait until the clay hardens (dries) a little.
When painting, other incidents are possible - for example, BEBIK brand clay begins to crumble if you add a lot of paint to it.
Mixing two different colors of clay
For this method, you need to have several different colors of polymer clay of the same brand. Mixing occurs as with classic mixing of paints. Below I will give a small cheat sheet.
It is very important to use the same type of clay with this coloring method, so that after mixing you can end up with a material. which will differ in its properties from mixed types.
Adding dry pastels to clay
I use this method most often to color white clay. First you need to rub or scrape, for example with a scalpel, pastel powder of the desired color. Don't scrape off a lot of pastel at once. First, take a small amount of powder and mix with clay. You will see what color you get and, if necessary, you can add more and get the desired result.
In this video you will see all the methods described above.
Pastel tinting
Oil tinting
Painting with acrylic paints
Now you can easily make polymer clay of any tone and shade.
Polymer plastic is used for sculpting small sculptures, products and decorations. With the help of self-made sculptures you can add uniqueness and exclusivity to any interior.
Ceramic products help to complement and dilute the interior with elegant figures or decorations in any color scheme, emphasizing the individuality of the room or space. And to create unique polymer clay products that would perfectly suit your style or fit into the interior, you need to know how to use paint to add an attractive look, because the plastic itself is white.
Clay for interior decorations made at home is divided into two categories:
- the first option hardens by air drying;
- the second option is a material that needs to be exposed to high temperatures; it is baked.
However, any type of work requires accuracy and caution in the manufacture of the product.
Rules for working with plastic
To ensure that the creation process delivers only pleasant sensations, follow these rules:
- It is advisable to wear gloves when working with clay.
- Upon completion of use, plastics, hands, tables and other objects that were used must be thoroughly washed.
- It is not recommended to use plastic or polymer boards.
- All additional tools for working with plastic cannot be used for other purposes (boards, knives and other tools should not be used for cooking).
- When working, take into account all the rules and advice from the manufacturer regarding the storage, hardening or baking of clay.
Using paints to work with clay
Despite the fact that there is polymer clay in the desired color, and you can do without additional coloring compounds, it is the paint that allows you to make the product brighter and improve the quality and appearance of the product. Several types of dyes can be used for coloring:
- acrylic;
- oil;
- ink;
- aerosol;
- crayons and pencils;
- powder.
The amount of paint used depends on the desired color. In order to give the product a delicate and pastel color, it is necessary to use a minimum amount of material, and in order for the color to be bright and saturated, the amount of material can be safely increased.
After adding the coloring material, the clay must be kneaded thoroughly, otherwise the product will end up with uneven, colorful stripes; such variations are also used in jewelry and products.
When using several color options, paint must be selected from the same type and manufacturer in order to avoid combining different densities, colors and different characteristics. Manufacturers provide tables that help achieve the desired color by combining and mixing available paints.
Characteristics of coloring compositions
Paint products are distinguished by their light resistance, which the paint labeling will help you understand. The lightfastness of paints is indicated by asterisks. The most suitable dyes are those with two or three stars.
For the base of the product, markings with a black square or a half-filled square are suitable - such colorful materials can get rid of the transparency of polymer clay. The white square indicates transparency, which will give the product the properties of cold porcelain. A crossed out white icon indicates that the colorant is translucent.
Preparatory stage
Before working with polymer clay, you need to prepare all the tools you will need to paint the material:
- palette for paints;
- brushes;
- container with water;
- napkins or paper;
- sponge.
Before applying coloring materials, a primer must be applied to the clay. Priming the surface will allow you to achieve a more uniform and high-quality color when applying paint.
Acrylic paints
Painting with acrylic products has the widest application. As a material for painting, it is necessary to use high-quality artistic acrylic paints. It is better to take them for working with clay that does not require baking. However, if such material is available, several staining experiments can be carried out.
It is important to take into account the peculiarity of acrylic paint - darkening after drying. When you first experience working with plastic and paints, you need to practice using dyes on paper, paying attention to the color and the time spent on drying.
The main disadvantage of acrylic painting is that it dries quickly. However, there are options and work opportunities to help avoid this:
- The first option is a drying retardant. Additional tools for the job can be purchased along with the paints.
- Using a small amount of pigment on the palette to save drying material.
- To prepare more color, it is recommended to use jars that can be closed for the next use.
Oil paints for polymer clay
Oil paints are great for working with any type of polymer material. When choosing a paint, you need to pay attention to reviews of this product, the paint base (oil) and test results. To experiment, you can apply a small amount of paint to baked clay and leave the material to dry. A positive result will be the absence of stickiness of the paint a month after application.
Oil painting options allow you to create amazing details and jewelry elements:
- A small amount of material is used to make products in bed and delicate tones;
- Using a sponge or cloth, you can create the appearance of an antique surface. To do this, you need to apply paint to the product and remove most of the material using a cloth;
- The paint will help create an imitation of precious stones in the product;
- To create a “marbled” product, a colorful substance is mixed with clay before baking the decoration.
The main disadvantage of using oil-based dyes is the drying time. The complete period can take up to six months, depending on the size of the product and the amount of material used.
Ink for coloring clay
To color polymer clay, you can use special colored inks. A wide range of inks allows you to paint the product in a translucent or transparent color, draw designs on the details, tint them, and give them a marbled look.
When using ink for coloring, it is necessary to study its properties, rules of use, drying time and interaction with clay. Reviews or independent experiments will help you with this.
Powder, crayons and pencils
You can create a metallic effect and additional colored elements that highlight the product using powder or crayons for coloring polymer clay.
Pearlescent powder gives details the effect of radiance and shine. Powder dye can be mixed with acrylic or oil paint base. The big advantage of using powder is its quantity, and you need to use very little material to get the job done.
Crayons and pencils are also used in small quantities. However, they require additional work. To use them, you first need to grind the coloring materials to a powder state. Pencils are used to create additional drawings and decoration elements.
Aerosols for coloring clay
Aerosols as dyes allow you to paint clay in a variety of colors with smooth and neat transitions. Before using the aerosol, the clay is polished and coated with an acrylic base.
The main disadvantage of this coloring option is the price of aerosols. Therefore, this method of painting a product is used only by professional firms and specialists.
Working with polymer clay requires extensive preparation and time. To do this, you can study video tutorials and understand the basic rules and features of clay products.
The effort and time spent will reward the “sculptor” with exclusive jewelry, original accessories and unique interior details.
» article about clay based paints. Why about them? Many of today's paints are either toxic or their production is harmful to the environment. Whereas for complete happiness you want something more environmentally friendly.
Clay-based paints are best suited for natural construction from natural materials (for example, frame and frameless straw houses, adobe, etc.). They are also suitable for any hall, living room, nursery (where safety is especially important), etc. The main benefit, if we do not take into account environmental friendliness and health safety, is low cost clay paints.
How are clay-based paints made? Easily. Two different paints are needed - a primer and a paint coat. The purpose of the soil is to have good adhesion to the base. The task of the coloring layer is color :)
Well, we'll start by creating a clay-based primer.
Basic clay-based primer is very simple to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 part of clay (regular soil, colored, white koalin - any).
- 1 part fine quartz sand.
- half a piece of wheat flour paste.
- pigment (optional; but if the base is painted, it is better to add).
Primer creation procedure:
- Prepare pasta from wheat flour:
- mix a cup of flour and 2 cups of water until there are no lumps;
- boil 6 cups of water;
- pour the flour mixture into boiling water, stir until thickened (the paste becomes slightly transparent);
- cool, dilute with water (2-3 parts per 1 part paste)
- Then + clay and sand, mix well.
You should end up with a primer that is similar in consistency to heavy cream (or regular acrylic paint).
The procedure for making clay-based paint.
Paint for the coloring layer is done in the same way, only adding
- crumbs of mica, straw, etc. (for texture)
- coloring pigment.
The coloring pigment is the key. Most often this is iron oxide (aka rust) from hardware stores. There you can also buy other dyes for concrete of various colors (the range is not very wide, but the dyes are purely natural). Dyes for acrylic paints are also possible (test with small amounts of paint).
Koalin clay is responsible for the white color. The more dye, the brighter the color.
Painting with clay-based paints
Clay-based paints are applied with brushes or rollers. The paint layer is placed on a DRY primer. Repeatedly rubbing a brush over the primer can dissolve it and weaken the color of the top coat (= stained wall).
If you need to remove brush marks: rubbing with a damp sponge over the painted surface (20-30 minutes after painting, when the layer has hardened but is still wet). You can also use a sponge to create patterns from solid filler (chopped straw, mica, etc.).
Before applying the bulk of the paint, test it on sample surfaces.
When testing, pay attention to the following details:
- After drying, the paint should not fall off with dust from the walls, hands, clothes, etc. If it crumbles, it means there is not enough clay or flour paste, or a lot of sand.
- The paint surface should be uniformly smooth. If there are lumps, protrusions, accumulations and other manifestations of graininess, then there is excess sand in the paint.
- If the paint layer is cracking, there is too much clay, not enough sand, or the paint is too thick.
Accordingly, the paint composition is corrected based on observations.
Paint coverage: 1 liter per 6-7 m2.
This is how easy it is to make clay-based paints.
Based on materials from http://www.dirtcraft.ca/content/diy-clay-based-paints
Some craftsmen prefer white self-hardening clay. This is very convenient, first of all, because it does not need to be baked. What is the easiest way to paint small items made from such clay? In this master class we will look at how to paint polymer clay at home with acrylic paint.
We will need: 2 jars of yogurt, a nail.
Yogurt containers must be selected according to size and one must be completely inserted into the other to the very bottom. It is very important. This way the coloring will work better and you will need much less paint.
We take a smaller container and use a nail to make holes along the entire surface of the bottom.
This is the mini sieve we have.
Now everything is ready for painting. We insert our sieve into a large one. We take our small ones. We dilute 1x1 acrylic paint with water and make the color we need.
We place a small amount of parts in our homemade sieve.
We fill our bowls with paint; it is advisable that the entire surface of the products is covered with paint. Let's shake our paint cans for a couple of seconds. The main thing is not to overexpose the clay in the liquid, otherwise it may begin to melt.
We take out our sieve from the main jar. The paint should all flow into the large one.
Now we turn our sieve over and pour our products onto polyethylene or foil. This must be done to allow our crafts to dry.
After drying, use a thin brush to paint over the folds.
This makes painting very convenient and quick.
Now you can make all kinds of beauty.
So, the answer to the riddle is in the last post. There are people who like to paint polymer clay BEFORE baking.
The phrase “alcohol-based ink or alcohol ink” is often used in such posts. Until some times, such Pinata color inks were supplied to Russia. But... now supplies have stopped and, therefore, there is nothing to paint the plastic with. Water-based paints bubble, flake on the gel, and bleed onto hard plastic. In connection with this, I conducted a series of experiments with household dyes.
I liked the experiment and will continue it further. And I’ll share with you the results I’ve accumulated over the week.
All dyes were mixed with liquid gel. This is Fimo.
This is a banal “touch”. Alcohol-based correction fluid...
The comma is drawn with paint for nail design.
This is an alcohol ink for refilling Copic markers. In the first cases - undermixing. If you get the same result on the sample. Just mix better.
Same additive. Only red and better mixed. WARNING. Yesterday in the cafe Liva and Larisa said that this ink is not suitable. Because they come in bubbles, just like water ones. When I came home, I saw that the sample from the master class had exactly the same garbage. If you press with a fingernail or a pencil, a mark remains on the surface. My version is this - either this is the property of liquid plastic after baking, or a thick layer of the mixture. Today I deliberately tried to cover the plastic with a thinner layer and managed to avoid this drawback.
This is Fimo again. Pebeo water-based stained glass paint is designed for high temperatures. Forms bubbles even without gel. And with fimo gel, the result was simply a porous surface.
Further without photos. I tried ordinary domestic alcohol ink for a printer (unlike Japanese ones, they cost 300 rubles, not 20, but 200 grams). A thin layer lays down well and withstands baking, a thick layer forms bubbles that can be pierced. WARNING. You need to take them either with a needle or a thin knitting needle. Printer ink gets very dirty. It is better to work with gloves. I knitted a ceramic palette, which I immediately washed with a damp cloth to its original cleanliness.
The ink could be mixed with Japanese ones.
I also tried nail polish. It turned out beautiful. In terms of beauty, surface evenness, shine, and opacity, it is most similar to enamel. WARNING. It will take time to understand whether this varnish is suitable for this plastic.
Conclusions.
Even in the absence of proven alcohol-based inks, there are dyes that can be used on raw polymer clay for baking.
If you like some of the results, you can start the experiment.
If not, let my experience tell you what not to waste your time and money on.
The effect of staining raw plastic depends not only on the presence of the dye base - alcohol or water. All other components are no less important - plasticizers, biocides, surface tension regulators. You have to try EVERYTHING.
No less important are the thickness of the dye layer, the quality of the batch, and the ratio of different dyes in one mixture.
In general, I prefer to paint already baked plastic.
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