I had no prior sculpting or miniature making experience and have created truly amazing pieces with this type of Sculpey. Here are some tips I've found for beginners: Make sure your hands and surfaces are clean; Any clay like this picks up fibers and dirt easily. If you plan on sanding and painting the baked item this will not affect it, but if you are airbrushing or leaving it as is, cleanliness is key to prevent the clay from graying. I like to hold a small clay "scratch" ball in my hands when I go out to collect loose fibers from my hands. Don't underestimate the importance of warming up your clay before molding! You have to roll it in your hands, knead it with your fingers and really make sure it's very pliable to get the best sculpting quality, especially when working with details. While it is true that this clay does not air cure, store it. in a fully sealed container to keep it long term. I made the mistake of not storing it properly and the tone became more difficult to process. Now I like to keep it in ziploc packaging in a Tupperware container. The variety of tools is crucial, especially for beginners. I like to learn on the go and having lots of tools to experiment with and get a feel for has helped me exponentially. You don't have to spend a lot of money on tools, I found a wide variety of kits at Revain for less than $15 that come in very handy. My final piece of advice, which I always keep when planning new advanced sculpts: While it's true that you can re-bake items you've already baked, you really want to limit the number of times a baked item needs to go in the oven again, minimize oven, you never know when it might crack. When I first baked a human-shaped sculpture, I baked the head and torso, then the arms, then the legs, and then baked everything together with clay. I had two cracks on my legs and one on my arms, which showed up later even though I followed the baking time exactly. I'll plan differently next time to minimize the amount of re-baking as it really is a risk you don't need to take. Hope that helps!
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