Baking help

[Gonzossm]

sup guys. i have a question to ask you guys. well my first sculp i made was about 5 inches talk and about half an inch thick and i put em in the oven, but i forgot at which degree and wut time, but he came out good. my next sculp i made was about 6 inches tall and was about 1 inch width. and i put him in for 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. when i pulled him out he looked good, but like 2 days later he started getting a couple of cracks. nothing big i fixed up em up with super glue. it happened around the upper legs and the elbow parts in the arms. i thought it had to do with the degree and the time i put em in it. so i just wanted to ask you guys.

what degree and for how much time should i put my next sculpture in?

hes roughly around 5 inches talk and aproximently 1 1/2 thick.

what degree and how much time do you guys recommentd me to put him in for?
i dont want him to crack and stuff because it disapointed me to see my sculptureto start cracking.

[TheTigerLily]

You don't provide enough information here. What kind of clay are you using? If it's Sculpey, Super-Sculpey, Premo, Fimo (really, most brands of polymer clay) you will be safe in the 250-265 range. It says right on the packaging what temperature to bake. The general rule of thumb is to bake 15 minutes per 1/4" thickness. I recommend baking at a slightly lower temperature if you plan on baking thick pieces for a long time, as they might burn otherwise.

What kind of armature are you using? It could be responsible for the majority of your cracks. Make sure to use strong, heavy gauge wire and build up thick parts like torsos with tinfoil or plumber's putty. A weak armature puts too much stress on the clay to support itself.

Hope this helps!

[Gonzossm]

thnx for the degree and time. ill put this guy in for 265 next.

the armature im using is some strong metal wire.

thnx for the tip on how to stop cracking