Hot Sculpture How-Tos


How To: Turn an old vinyl record into a bowl or platter
Seeing as record players are getting harder to find, here's something useful to do with your records, turn them into serving dishes! What you need to do is get some tin foil, oven safe dishes and of course records. Two different types of dishes can be made, a shallow plate-like dish and deeper bowl-like dish. For the shallow one use a cake pan for its form, you'll need a glass jar or an empty tin can for the other one. Start off by setting your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Ce...

How To: Carve facial features on a wax head
Carve the face of a wax sculpture with the professional artist in this free sculpting video, covering how to sculpt eyes, lips, ears, and the nose.

How To: Sculpt an angel figurine from clay
Sculpt yourself a holy angel from clay, including fair wings, a gown, and glorious hair; learn how to sculpt an angel in this free video art lesson on sculpture.

How To: Make a simple mold and cast liquid plastic and resin
Watch this video to learn how to make a simple mold and cast Smooth-Cast 300 liquid plastic and resin into it.

How To: Make a silicone mold of a toy figurine
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a silicone mold of a toy figurine. First, roll out clay and press the bottom of the figurine into the center. Next, use a plastic bottle to create the mold box. Cut the bottom off of the bottle, then press the bottle into the clay to make sure the figurine is centered. Now, press the bottle down into the clay and make the silicone mixture. When you're done mixing, pour it into the bottle. Pour in a stream to avoid any bubbles inside of it. Let this sit o...

How To: Cast a nude model with silicone
Watch this video to learn how to make a mold of a female torso using Body Double RTV silicone rubber. This is a great technique for sculptors!

How To: Make a surreal paper mache hand
If you're looking for ideas for creepy decorations to make for your next Halloween party, or just want to have a little fun, you can use papier mache, cardbord paper, a little foil and some paint to create a surreal cartoon hand.

How To: Make a silicone mold
Watch this instructional video to make a one part silicone mold. Silicone molding is a simple and accurate process and will forgive many mistakes. You can actually smooth the silicone onto your object as it dries.

How To: Make a cat sculpture
Looking for a fun sculpture project? Why not make your self a cat! In this free online art lesson on video, learn how to make a clay cat sculpture from expert Jorge Benlloch, including tips on shape, details, tools and more.

How To: Make a duplicate sculpture using a press mold
Mary Buckman describes how to create a cast clay sculpture from a press mold. Press molds can be used over and over again to duplicate a sculpture without going through the tedious process of actually sculpting it or without the artistic talent required to. Watch this video sculpting tutorial and learn how to use a press mold.

How To: Sculpt a one part plaster mold
This video sculpting tutorial shows how to make a mold out of plaster. The mold demonstrated is subtractive, requiring an initial sculpture that the mold is based upon. This original clay sculpture can easily be duplicated by making a plaster mold. Watch this instructional video and learn how to sculpt a one part plaster mold.

How To: Sculpt a human head with Philippe Faraut
This video tutorial shows how to sculpt a realistic human head out of clay. Follow along with artist, Philippe Faraut, and learn how to mold, scrape, and design a human bust sculpture.

How To: Create a lifelike silk floral arrangement with rubber
This video tutorial demonstrates how to use Encapso K silicone to create a realistic floral display. Learn how to make a lasting artificial flower arrangement with fake flowers and silicone rubber to mock water.

How To: Spray rubber to make plastic molds of anything
This video tutorial shows how to use Smooth-On's EZ Spray Jr. system to spray mold rubber, liquid plastics and casting resins. Learn how to make molds out of any object out of rubber, plastic or resin.

How To: Make a latex mold to cast a tree branch peg rack
Martha Stewart uses OOMOO 30 silicone rubber to make a mold of a tree branch and make a casting in liquid plastic to use as a peg coat rack.

How To: Make a mold of a face using silicone rubber
Watch this video to learn how to make a mold of a face using Body Double Silicone Rubber. This is a great technique for making masks or sculptures! Watch as he casts a finished lightweight casting.

How To: Make a mold and cast of an arm with alginate
Use alginate to make a mold and cast of an arm. Watch this video for a detailed list of needed ingredients and step by step instructions on how to do it yourself. This is a good technique for sculpture or special effects.

How To: Cast embedments in clear polyesther resin
This video segment will show you how to cast embedments in clear polyester resin.

How To: Make a molded ice sculpture
This is an example how anyone can make their own ice sculpture without having it hand carved! All you need is... a ton of fancy equipment!

The Getty Museum Presents: How to Make Art from Ye Olden Days
Art Babble is a video network for artists and art lovers alike, launched by a group of curators at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The site is divided into channels, series and partners, with a wide variety of top notch videos from institutions far and wide. The Getty Museum has posted some especially fascinating content, most notably their series on modern artisans and craftsmen demonstrating antiquated art techniques.

How To: Make a Deadmau5 charm out of polumer clay
Do you love Deadmau5? Show your love with a charm made of polymer clay. This charm can be used on a keychain, necklace, or whatever else you can imagine to show your love for Deadmau5. Follow this video to learn how to made a Deadmau5 charm out of polymer clay.

How To: Paint eyebrows and hair onto your reborn baby doll
The importance of paint cannot be underestimated when it comes to correctly constructing a reborn baby doll. There are many tutorials showing you how to correctly replicate the hair on your baby doll's head, but what about the eyebrows? This tutorial shows you how to use a variety of paints and fine tip brushes to correctly achieve realistic eyebrows as well as head hair for your next reborn project.

How To: Paint Hair on a Reborn Baby Doll
If you don't have the patience or the tools to root hair, you can use paint instead! This tutorial is primarily for reborn doll artists who want to learn how to use Genesis heat set paints to replicate the look of real hair on their baby doll head. You will need: your doll head, a palette, Genesis heat set paints in your chosen colors, a few paintbrushes and some soft makeup sponges. You will also need a little paint thinner and some water.

How To: Construct an armature out heavy gauge wire
This video tutorial shows you how to make an eighteen inch armature, just out of some basic hardware. You will need some 3/4 inch pipe and a length of heavy gauge wire, as well as some wire cutters and pliers. Construct an armature out heavy gauge wire.

How To: Human Hair Bugs (It's Not How It Sounds)
Hold the repulsion- we're talking art, not lice. Seattle artist Adrienne Antonson makes tiny insect sculptures with recycled human hair and glue, and they're pretty spectacular.

How To: Make a dreamcatcher using only duct tape
Make a dreamcatcher from duct tape and show everybody your creativity and resourcefulness! This tutorial video from Ducttapestuff shows you how to make this object from a roll of duct tape, a hobby knife and a cutting mat. You are limited only by your imagination!

How To: Sharpen your chisel inexpensively
In this tutorial, we learn how to sharpen your chisel inexpensively. This is an art you have to learn if you are going to have to learn to work with tools. To start, you will first need to lay down a piece of paper down on a block of wood. After this, lay a piece of grit down on top of the and grab your chisel. Spray the grit with some water and then use the bevel on the chisel to move it around. Use your body to move the chisel, not just your hands. Continue to do this around the sides until...

How To: Recycle plastic bottles to make hanging art
In this video, we learn how to recycle plastic bottles to make hanging art. First, cut the bottom off of the bottle and then cut it in half. Then, cut the other end off of the bottle as well. After this, you can grab the bottle and start to paint your choice of color all over it. Use different colors and transition and blend with them. Lay these on one side to dry when you are finished. When you're done with these and they are completely dry, you can use them to decorate around your house. Th...

How To: Incorporate Magic Glos to your polymer clay projects
Magic Glos is a fun product that you can add to polymer clay or resin products to make your project glossy and shiny. You can even apply Magic Glos to paper projects, though you'll need to seal it to prevent bleeding.

How To: Melt a vinyl record in the oven and shape it into a plastic bowl
Spice up your next party with some unique party dishes, and we're not talking about food here, we're talking about the actual dishes, specifically bowls. But not just any bowls, vinyl bowls, made from authentic vinyl records. The steps are simple: melt the vinyl record in the oven, then take it out and mold it (safely) into a plastic bowl. Change the shape up each time!

HowTo: Start a Fire With Stuff From Ikea
Apparently IKEA does not sell matches or lighters, so Helmut Smits was forced to improvise. Titled FLAMMA, this conceptual art piece is outdoor survivalism for the resourceful yuppie set.

How To: Work with Polymer Clay for Beginners
Polymer clay is an exciting arts & crafts medium. Actually, "clay" is a misnomer; it contains no true clay, but rather consists of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizer, which is what makes it malleable like clay.

HowTo: Print Cement
Printers are getting pretty high tech these days. Print a building, print some organs... and now, print your own cement sculptures.

How To: Make a simple silicone mold
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a simple silicone mold. You will first need a silicone base, which is an off white liquid. You will also need the hardener, a thickener, and a thinner. To build the mold, cut a paper cup in half, then fill the container with rice. Measure the amount of rice in the cup so you know how much silicone needs to go into the mold. After this weigh your ingredients for the silicone, then mix them and pour into the mold. When the mold is finished hardening, use i...

How To: Make a paper mache baby elephant
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a paper mache baby elephant. To begin, you will need a pattern, which you can find at Ultimate Paper Mache. There is a grid on the pattern that you can use to expand onto a large piece of particle board. This will give you the entire body for the elephant. After you cut the elephant out of the board, glue and nail it together with spacers in between the body parts. After this, crumple up newspaper and then tape and squish it onto the wood until the muscl...

How To: Make your own cookie cutters with Threadbanger
Had enough of cookie-cutter cookie cutters? Make your own! It's easier than you'd think. So easy, in fact, that this DIY guide from Threadbanger can present a complete overview of the process in about three minutes' time. For complete instructions, and to get started a-makin' your own cookie cutters, watch this video guide.

How To: Use daylight lamps and do polymer clay silkscreening
Ray Charles created music in the dark (literally), but somehow we doubt you'd be able to create the same magic while attempting to mold polymer clay in the dark.

How To: Make mini churro charms out of polymer clay
Learn how to sculpt a miniature churro charms out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started crafting your own mini polymer clay churro charms, watch this sculpture tutorial.

How To: Make a polymer clay chocolate frosted doughnut
Learn how to sculpt a chocolate frosted donut out of polymer clay with this free video art lesson. While this tutorial is best suited for those with some familiarity of polymer clay sculpture, novice sculpters should be able to follow along given a little effort. For specifics, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started making your own polymer-clay donuts, watch this sculpture tutorial.

How To: Make Shrek out of clay
Everyone loves that big green ogre, and with the new release of Shrek 4 upon us, why not make some art to commemorate the occasion?