Curious Brown Bunny Polymer Clay Sculpture

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Branden Bruno Williams
6 years ago
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1 Curious Brown Bunny Polymer Clay Sculpture Brought to you by: MagicByLeah.com 1 P a g e

2 Inspired by the wild bunnies in my backyard, I ve decided to sculpt a series of bunny rabbits in honor of spring. Having grown up in the city (Brooklyn NY) the idea of wild rabbits simply amazes me. As a kid I d only even seen pet bunnies and zoo bunnies. Planning the Bunny Sculpture My curious brown bunny is not based on any single rabbit breed. Instead, he is a magical compilation of cute + rabbit + imagination. cute creatures come to life on their own, so this little guy began without a proper plan. Or rather, he began with a plan to come to life of his own accord. Tools Needed To follow along you will need the following tool which can be purchased through my amazon affiliate links by clicking the individual items below: Aluminum foil for the armature 17 gauge wire for the armature Premo Polymer clay in brown, white, or other desired colors Dedicated Clay oven (I use the Deni Table-top convection oven) Genesis Heat-Set Oil Paints various Sculpting tools (click to read about what I use) 2 P a g e

Bunny Head The head begins as a blob of brown clay over a foil core.

Add, blend, and add some more until he will look rabbit-like.

One of my earliest rabbit sculptures actually turned into a half-dog due to a few minor

3 Bunny Head The head begins as a blob of brown clay over a foil core. Add bulk to the top of its head, and the side of his cheeks. Add, blend, and add some more until he will look rabbit-like. Rabbits are Not Dogs Feature placement is very important in animal sculptures. One of my earliest rabbit sculptures actually turned into a half-dog due to a few minor misplaced features. He has since been dubbed bunnogie from Bunny-Doggy and proudly sits on my shelf, unique and bizarre, a happy reminder of attention to detail. 3 P a g e

gave the bunny a large set of wide curious eyes with distinct eyelids. Rabbit Body and Legs The body begins as a foil core covered in a layer of polymer clay.

4 The Bunnogie Taught Me the Following: Rabbit eyes are placed more to the side of the head, dog eyes are more forward Rabbits have a rounded facial profile, dogs have a rather protruding snout Dog ears are placed to the side of the head, rabbit ears are towards the back, just behind the eyes The rabbit nose does not protrude that much from the profile I gave the bunny a large set of wide curious eyes with distinct eyelids. Rabbit Body and Legs The body begins as a foil core covered in a layer of polymer clay. Add a few extra pancakes of clay to bulk out the chest and rump. Since this bunny will be seated, his front paws are decorative rather than supportive, so they were each formed from a simple log of clay. 4 P a g e

This will allow the bottom of the wire to run the length of the legs while the upper portion will be inserted into the foil body core for

5 The hind legs will be the only source of support. Sculpt it with bent wires for stability. For this project, I chose 17-gauge wire, over inch in length, and bent each at a 90 degree angle. This will allow the bottom of the wire to run the length of the legs while the upper portion will be inserted into the foil body core for maximum support. Give its hind leg a basic shoe shape and measure the wires against them. Bend the heels backs slightly and force the wires in towards the tip of the shoes. Mark and shape the heels and front toes using a tapestry tool. 5 P a g e

6 Using a long needle poke 2 holes into the foil core of the bunny and inserted the feet. Form the hind legs/thighs with 2 large pancakes. With the major abuse complete (picking up, poking, squeezing, shaking, turning), it is safe to add the final fragile details like the ears and tail. 6 P a g e

7 Texturing the Bunny Create the rabbit fur by stroking the clay with a tapestry needle following the natural hair-line. Fur can be a little tricky since the slightest pressure will flatten or undo the previous texturing. To avoid having to redo any area, hold the bunny securely by its upper thighs. This allows you to texture the remainder of the rabbit without any movement or shifting. Once satisfied with everything else, place him on the baking tray and reach in with the needle tool to texture the upper thighs. Already on the baking tray, you don t have to touch the bunny when moving him into the oven. Baking the Bunny Unlike humans, bunnies have dark eyes. Using genesis heat-set oil paints, add a thin layer to the eyes before the long bake. Set the timer, position the 2 oven thermometers (OCD/burn fear) and wait. Let him sit in the oven overnight to cool slowly and evenly for added durability. 7 P a g e

8 Painting the Bunny In the past I have used acrylic paint to add color detail to my sculptures with less than satisfactory results. Having recently acquired Genesis Heat Set Oil paints I set about to experiment. Genesis oil paints require high temperatures to set (250 degrees F) which is a good thing if you don t want the paint to dry, but it can be a problem for large or fire-hazard projects. Another concern is that the genesis paint is very thick, whereas fur-texturing requires a thin/runny consistency. My Newest Brainstorm Many artists use tinted liquid Polymer Clay to add transparent color to their projects. However, TLS (liquid clay) is very runny and too transparent. And so. I decided to mix the TLS with my genesis paints (Note: this is an EXPERIMENT; I don t know how advisable this is. Once more confident in my results I will try to create a more detailed tutorial) 8 P a g e

The First Paint Coat Even dark colored bunnies have a short light layer of fur in white/gray. Achieve the first coat by using a thick mixture of white paint with a little bit of TLS.

9 The First Paint Coat Even dark colored bunnies have a short light layer of fur in white/gray. Achieve the first coat by using a thick mixture of white paint with a little bit of TLS. The goal is to paint the tips of his fur rather than the in-between crevices created by texturing. This layer will later show through the dark clay for a realistic underfur appearance. Add a more opaque layer of white paint to the nose, cheeks, and chest. Add another layer of brown was added to his eyes. Semi-bake the bunny for just 5-10 minutes to prevent potential scorching. While TLS does require 15 minutes, I think it s ok to do just 5-10 minutes knowing that he s about to go back a few more times. I will ensure a proper bake time for the final round. 9 P a g e

10 The Second Coat The goal with the second coat was to give the bunny back his brown coat, while still allowing the white base-coat to show through. This can be achieved by using a high TLS to low paint ratio giving a nearly transparent brown color. Give the bunny a generous layer of this brown wash letting dark pools settle in between his needle-stroke texture lines. Use a dry brush to remove excess paint from the lighter areas by the cheeks, chest, tail, paws, and toes. Add another layer of brown paint to his eyes and a thin white layer of paint for his eyelids. Set the bunny back to the oven for 5 minutes. 10 P a g e

The Final Paint Coat Use the same mix as the second coat but with high ratio of TLS to low brown paint then followed by a thin white wash to the lighter areas (chest ).

11 The Final Paint Coat Use the same mix as the second coat but with high ratio of TLS to low brown paint then followed by a thin white wash to the lighter areas (chest ). Perfect the details with a very thin brush such as the whites around the eyes, the faint pink in his nose, and the tips of his ears. Add a small amount of sculpey gloss mixed with paint to his eyes, to be followed by the final bake (15 minutes). 11 P a g e

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