super sculpey clay

[Tanika]

I saw threads on this a while ago I know, but unfortunately I don't remember them, so I'm making a new one.
I took on a challenge, again...silly me. Someone mentioned that regular (muddy) clay could be just as detailed if not more than super sculpey clay when it comes to making figures. So I decided to make something out of this super sculpey clay to find out detailed it can be, and see if I want to use it for future projects, it seems a lot less messy.
I was wondering if anyone has any tutorials, tips, tricks, or suggestions? I found one that mentioned a heat gun to dry the clay as you finish certain parts. Couldn't you just use a hair dryer or do you -need- a heatgun?
Also, I know how to do the wire figure, I got the wire (thank god for home depot) but I noticed in one tutorial I found the wire sculpture was mounted on a wood base before it was baked. X.x are you really supposed to do that before you bake it?

Anyways, any tips, tricks, suggestions, or tutorials would be of great help. I'm used to the muddy clay, so I'm kind of lost when it comes to a few things. I'll be working on the wire forms for now anyways. But if I could get some help it would be greatly appreciated! :3

[geoffd]

check out Smellybug's (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18287) tutorial. he uses super sculpy and has worked on moves like dragonheart, jurassic park, etc. etc. that tutorial should show you how detailed you can get with super sculpy. good luck

[McNallyism]

yeah, to temporarily set the super sculpey, you DO need high heat (an oven or a heat gun). A hair dryer isn't hot enough to melt and fuse the polymer clay. But even if you use a heat gun, bake the whole thing in an oven when its done. a heat gun will only set the sculpey on the crust, but will leave the insides all mushy. clay works fine for the larger scales, but seems a little too granular to be effective on small maquettes...

-Sean

[Tanika]

Thank you for the tutorial. It is very interesting, I still have a few unanswered questions, but the tutorial is a big help. I don't have every tool listed but the few I don't have I can make by bending wire over a pencil. ^^'

The figures are only about 10 inches to 12 inches high each. There are two of them, I've thought of running polls up and out of the base then putting them on, but it doesn't seem like it would work to me. I picked up one tip, in order to use less clay (it's expensive x.x) Make a wire figure and wrap the wire figure in foil, like you're making an undetailed sculpture of it. I thought it was interesting since I've only got two boxes of the clay.