Top Sculpting Books in Polymer Clay (Not Sponsored)
Here’s my top sculpting books in polymer clay and a few brief recommendations on why they are my favorites. There are a lot of sculpting books for polymer clay. Digging through the masses of sculpting books to find your favorites can be tough, especially in such a niche market.
I have found sculpting to be fun and relaxing, a great outlet for creativity; I hope you have too.
If you are just getting started, finding a good sculpting book with enough basics to see you through. Finding a book with enough advanced material to keep you going can be a huge challenge. Today I’m sharing with you my top sculpting books for polymer clay. Hopefully this will save you some time (and maybe a little coin). Maybe you may even find just the right sculpting book.
My Top Sculpting Books for Polymer Clay
These books are in no certain order…
I have purchased these books with my own money. I am not sponsored nor have I been asked to promote these books.
How to Make Clay Characters by Maureen Carlson – Initially you may see the cover or price tag of this book and easily dismiss it. Hopefully by now you’ve learned to look beyond a book’s exterior. What I love most about this book is that this book teaches you how to make clothes in clay. It does this using a basic pattern-like design for dolls of all shapes and sizes. This isn’t done in any other book I have, as many dolls combine fabric for clothing. For that reason alone this book is a stand-out book. Maureen is famous for her characters, faces, and personality driven figurines, so this book earns a definite spot on my shelf. Purchase on Amazon here.
Faemaker by Dawn Schiller – Dawn has the ability to reimagine the unimaginable. Not only does she walk you step-by-step how to sculpt them, but she shows you the basics. From basic figurine to how to design and create your own fantasy series. [It is through this book that my ‘Schrume series was born.] She will not only show you how to sculpt the clay portions of a doll, but also how to make clothing from fabric too. If a true fantasy doll with real clothing is more along the lines of what you are after, this book is the one you want. Purchase on Amazon here.
Here Be Dragons by Christi Friesen – This book makes it to my top sculpting books for polymer clay because of the huge amount of tips, tricks, and helpful advice along the way. Sure, it’s about dragons and there are lots of cool dragon-like things inside. But with Christi’s new updated version of her book there’s also a section on Swellegant! Christi is hilarious (as you know if you’ve ever met her) and her hilarity comes across in her writing too. Not only is her book enjoyable, fun, and light hearted, but it’s seeded with tips you’ll be using every day in your studio. You’ll find yourself saying “gee I didn’t know that” and find yourself repeating her tips daily from then on. Purchase on Amazon here.
Fairies, Gnomes, & Trolls by Maureen Carlson – In my opinion, this is singularly the best book Maureen wrote (and she wrote many books) for polymer clay sculpting. [Read a full review here.] This book laden with ideas for fantasy sculptures. It also walks you through different kinds of armatures, assemblage, clothing options, and even some habitats! There is also a worthy discussion on scale and proportion of characters and how they fit together. This portion bears reading and toying with in your own work for any sculptor. Purchase on Amazon here.
Steampunkery by Christi Friesen – Last but certainly not least, one of my favorite top sculpting books for polymer clay … I love to laugh so the unique steampunk figures and styles in this book amuse me. But it’s the way that Christi ties all the steampunk together that makes this book in my top five. Past meets future, meets train yard, meets bolts and time pieces. Just a quick thumbing through the book you can see Christi’s steampunk elements cohesively working together. Her whimsical style and sense of fun are pervasive. And yet there’s an undercurrent of altruism that has been harness in each piece she creates. I love the book and it has long been a favorite. You can read a full book review here. Purchase the book on Amazon here.
Thanks for joining me today,
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Lol I have the last three books mentioned above but have been debating about the first 2 books simple because I was not sure if that was a direction I wanted to go yet I am not very good with faces, I don’t know why I bought “fairies, Gnomes and Trolls” it could be that it was on special as I tend to do that with a limited income but I bought the last book “Steam Pungery” this was the very first book I bought along with a few of her other books, I think I have almost all of the ones I can find written by her. 🙂 as I loved Christi steampunk goldfish this was the very first YouTube video I watched on polymer clay and fell in love with the goldfish lol then a few months later I actually found where I could buy the clay and make the fish which I did as a brooch lol that was a few years ago now time flys when your having fun.
Thanks for chiming in. Faces do take a lot of practice and work, but you will (in time) develop your own style with them. There are LOTS of books on polymer clay. I encourage you to keep trying out styles and books that look interesting to you. These are simply the ones I like, but may not be suited to all and that is okay.
I found Maureen Carlson’s ‘Family and Friends in Polymer Clay’ (companion to ‘How to Make Clay Characters’ ) to be very helpful in recognizing facial features and how to apply them to sculpting.
Oh yes Tom! This too is an excellent book!