Tricks of the Trade

This is the technique I use for making armatures for my polymer figures. The inside structure is an important part of an art piece and it is essential in keeping the sculpture as strong as possible.

After I decide what size figure I will sculpt I make a simple copper wire armature that fits inside the proportions of the planned figure. I put the wire armature in the middle of my figure … leaving plenty of room for added coatings and clay.

For my 8-12 inch figures I use a 12-10 gage wire as the basic figure wire. I findit in the hardware store in the electrical wire section. I look at the ends of the plastic coated wires to see which ones I want to buy. Sometimes there is more than one wire in the wire I choose. I strip the plastic off of the wire before I use it. I'm sure there are other ways to get the wire in uncoated ways but I find this is easy and it is always available at the hardware store near me. I have used several different ways to form the wire for the figure. I don't think it is really important to do it just one way.

If the figure I am sculpting will need to stand, I consider leaving one leg wire a bit longer so I can add an interlocking tube to it. Generally, These tubes are square or round tubes and fit inside each other. They come in brass or aluminum. I find them in model airplane and car hobby stores. I use the smaller of the two tubes on the leg of the armature and the large one fits in the base. I slip the smaller tubing on a leg wire and glue the tubing in place with a two-part high heat epoxy. You can see the square brass tubing in the picture on the left leg. The position of the figure helps me decide how far up the leg the tubing will need to go for strength. If the tubing goes up the leg for strength I bend it to fit the design of the wire armature.

After the basic body is formed in wire I twist a smaller wire around it. I use 24 gage copper wire for this second coating. It holds the first wire in place and it helps give the next layers something to grip to so they don't roll off the wire. There are times I also use a bit of hot glue to hold the arms or legs in position so they don't move too much where they connect.

After the armature has been posted and it has been wrapped with the second wire I "flesh" it out a bit with tinfoil. I keep the tin foil to a minimum inside the body. I don't want to bump into it later when I am sculpting in clay. The tin foil is a bit like muscles so I will not have to use as much clay as I sculpt. It also helps in the baking process. Hot tin foil will help bake the piece from the inside out later. Many polymer artists don't bake their pieces thoroughly. I try very hard to make sure mine are completely baked on the inside as well as on the outside.

A note here about unbaked polymer clay:
When there is unbaked clay inside a figure it will not be structurally strong. Gradually the unbaked clay will lose the liquid that holds the clay together. Eventually unbaked clay will become powder. If the outer crust of a piece is cracked by jarring for some reason the piece will only have powder in the inside. For this reason it is very important to bake the clay all the way through.

If a figure is on one foot or it has the arms out so it could break easily I will add a layer of Magic Sculpt over the tin foil to give it extra strength. Magic Sculpt is a brand name for a two-part epoxy clay. There are several epoxy clays to choose from and they set up very strong in about 24 hours.

Remember to keep this inside structure on the small side so you have plenty of room for clay. I try to have at least ¼ inch of polymer clay over the armature of my figures. The armature is a very important part of the finished product and I spend a lot of energy and time trying to do one that will ensure the strength of the finished piece.

I hope that helps you understand what is on the inside of my work. Feel free to email me with questions.

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