I've been plotting a crafty return.
I've been making and filming and editing.
I've made many, many trips to the craft store.
Standing in said craft store, staring at an entire wall of air-dry and oven bake clay, was like visiting a buffet filled with unfamiliar dishes. I had no idea what the differences were between them. So I did what any craft nerd would do: bought a bunch, brought them home, compared and contrasted.
And, because I want to set you up for success, I'm going to share what I've learned with you ahead of my new crafting vids. Here is the list of the products I tested:
• Crayola Air Dry Clay• DAS Modeling Air Dry Clay
• Creative Paperclay
• CalPalmy Foam Clay
• Original Sculpey
• Sculpey III
• Super Sculpey Ultralight
Crayola Air Dry Clay
DAS Air Hardening Modeling Clay
**Please note that I will not be linking directly to these products but I am posting pics of the exact product that I'm using. Amazon pricing is outrageous (eg. Crayola Air Dry is $9.99 at Michaels vs $32 on Amazon) and they're readily available in most craft and art supply stores at a much lower price.**
If you don't want to read though this massive post, you can get the gist on YouTube right HERE
Now, let's gooooo...
Yes, this is categorized as a children's product, but we all know better than to turn our noses up at that sort of thing, right? There are some great finds in the children's art and craft aisle that cannot be dismissed.
This non-toxic material is the consistency of thick cookie dough. It's ready to go right out of the plastic tub with no prep or working necessary. It felt nice to handle and wasn't messy at all.
Sculpting this was a bit... clunky. It's not as refined as some of the other materials I tried. That said, it rolled, stamped and worked well in a press mold.
Once dry is was the most brittle of all the products I tried. The clay also reactivated really easily when exposed to moisture/water. Even applying paint to the surface after two weeks of drying reactivated the clay.
Conclusion: If you want to create something with fine and delicate details, something with durability, you might want to pass on this product. If you just want to play with clay with no illusions of making a long lasting memento, have at it!
This was much more moist than the Crayola clay, and might benefit from being exposed to the air for a few minutes to help with workability. It sculps well, rolls, stamps and molds just fine.
My only real criticism with this product would be that it was the messiest of all the products I used. Handling it left a chalky white residue on my hands. Some might suggest that you should expect to get messy while playing with clay, and others might appreciate a heads up to avoid messy hands. It is what it is.
The product turns from light grey to white as it dries. Once dry the DAS samples were more durable than the Crayola ones. DAS was the heaviest of all the clay.
Conclusion: If you don't mind messy fingers, and have time to dry your masterpieces, DAS might be for you. It has a slight reactivation when wet, but a coat of sealant would probably fix that. Just keep in mind that this is not a lightweight clay, your finished pieces are going to have some weight and heft to them.
Creative Paperclay
Full disclosure, I love this product and have been using it for years.
Compared to the other two air dry clays on this list, this product is a bit more stiff. It does not have a traditional clay texture so it might take a bit of experimentation to get used to. It's sort of a mash up between clay and super fine paper mache.
It sculpts, rolls, molds and stamps fine.
This product does have a tendency to warp and shrink when drying. Once dry it is lightweight and cuts, carves and sands really well. It reactivates when wet, but not as readily as the Crayola product. Where this product really shines is painting. It accepts colour beautifully and you can achieve water colour effects on the surface. And, because of the fibrous nature of the material, it won't smash/shatter to pieces when dropped.
Conclusion: Sure there's a learning curve, but getting the hang of Creative Paperclay has it's benefits. If you want a lightweight air dry option that readily receives paint... this is it.
CalPalmy Foam Clay
One word: disaster.
I've seen people work with foam clay so I know it works for some people. Unfortunately, I experienced nothing but frustration.
I will say, I enjoyed handling the material. It was like a weird lovechild of wet marshmallows and slime. So much fun. But that's where the enjoyment ended.
This stuck to alllll of my tools. Silicone, plastic, acrylic, unfinished wood, metal... stuck to all of it. I would be terrified of getting this near upholstery. What a disaster. Every piece I created slumped and wilted and became a globulous mess after a few minutes.
Once dry it had massive shrinkage, was difficult to cut and, weirdly, absolutely filthy! I was refinishing my floors as this dried so maybe it was dust in the air? No idea, but none of the other clays dried DIRTY.
I did leave the clay in a mold to dry to see if that would improve it's performance, and it did seem to work ok, but I kind of felt like that was too little payoff for the amount of pain in my butt.
Conclusion: There HAS to be a way to use this so that it's lightweight flexible qualities can be best taken advantage of. I feel like I'm missing something. Like there's a trick I'm not getting. A secret key to success perhaps? This is a hard pass from me.
Original Sculpey
I don't work with polymer clay often because my hands run super hot and make the clay too soft and melty in my hands. That said, the initial work up with Original Sculpey is a workout. Getting this pliable enough to work with will take some effort. Something to consider if you have arthritis or diminished strength in your hands.
One of the things that makes Sculpey so incredible is how well it takes texturing, stamping and molds. This quality also makes fingerprints show up on the surface quite easily. This can be frustrating if your concerned about such things. It also picks up on dust and stray hairs. Lupin, my dog, does not care if his fur is imbedded in my work, I however would like to avoid that.
If you're in a pinch and need to finish up a project super duper fast, it sure is handy to be able to pop your work into a oven for a few minutes and have it ready to go in no time at all. But, I did have something odd happen this time, it got toasty. Like, it actually browned. It was sitting in the same dish, at the same time, side by side with my other polymer pieces but the Original Sculpey was the only one to brown.
Once baked it can be carved and sanded, if not as easily as the other clays. It's plastic like texture isn't ideal for painting, kind of repelling the paint on the surface, but I'm sure there's some work around or tips to help with that.
Conclusion: I totally appreciate why some people love this product. It takes details beautifully and is quickly finished in the oven in no time at all.
Sculpey III
I picked up three different Sculpey products not having any idea what the difference was between them. Turns out there was a big difference!
Sculpey III was so much softer and pliable out of the package. There was almost no working time to make it soft and smooth. I also felt that despite it being softer, it didn't pick up on my fingerprints quite so much.
No complaints with the sculpting, rolling, stamping or molding.
Once baked it was lighter than Original Sculpey. Sculpey III was also a much brighter white. Carving Sculpey III was much more plaster-like than plastic-like and it sanded well too. I still found that the surface was not ideal for painting, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by this product.
Conclusion: Sculpey III is whiter, lighter and softer than the OG. It has all of the beneficial qualities of Original Sculpey with the added bonus of being easier to handle.
Super Sculpey Ultralight
Soft and malleable right out of the bag. Cross my heart, it's just a real pleasure to handle.
One of my very few grumbles about this product is that there is fallout. Tiny specks of this product flake/tear/crumble on to the work surface as you use it. It's not completely awful, the specks are tiny, but it's there and it's prevalent.
It sculpts, rolls, presses and cuts a treat. I will add a caveat that you might want to stamp pieces before cutting them out because the material is so soft that pressure to the surface will cause it to squish.
Cutting into this once baked was like carving butter. It was indeed ultralight, so light that baked pieces actually float in water (that's gotta be good for something, right??!!) The Ultralight was strong when baked too. I couldn't break the sample disk that I made and there was a bit of bend and give. Unlike the other Sculpey products, this painted up really, really well.
Conclusion: Bright, light, durable and beautiful to paint. If you want some weight to your project, this isn't it, but if you need a super lightweight something this is for you.
Top Pics
My favourites? As someone who dabbles in every craft imaginable, I feel like these three materials would cover most of my bases.
DAS is kind of the perfect play clay. A bit more grown up and serious than the Crayola. While messier than the others, its durability sold me as being a solid addition to my clay stash.
Creative Paperclay remains a favourite. Yes, it has it's flaws, but it also has unique characteristics that make it stand out. It's lightweight quality and paintability keep this firmly in my roster.
Finally, Super Sculpey Ultralight. I gotta say, I was not expecting a new favourite to emerge from this bunch, and definitely didn't' expect a Sculpey product to leap out at me, but here we are. It's lush to work with, paints so nicely, and I'm determined to take advantage of its insane lightweight quality. A bit of fallout is a fair price to pay for its other amazing qualities.
Did your favourite make the list? Do you have tips for using the disastrous foam clay? What should we try next?
I'm feeling really optimistic about my recent rush of inspiration and I cant wait to share my new projects with you.
Have a great day, you gorgeous human being <3