Many polymer artists, especially those who are making series or duplicates of items, rely on color recipes to make uniform pieces. For those of you who have been with me for awhile now, you know that I rarely use recipes. Why? Because I like that all my pieces are different in color, that I don’t repeat colors, and that nothing I make is ever identical. To me it adds to the special nature of my sculptures. But I’m not the norm when it comes to polymer artists… However, that’s not true in all aspects of my sculpting. Especially when it comes to one thing … skin color. For that I do have a recipe, a base recipe that I rely on over and over again. This is my favorite recipe and I rely on it often, it’s how I like to make my skin for my figurines that you can see in The Adoptables.
Polymer Clay Color Recipe for Luminescent Skin
I don’t like to make my skin color perfectly matte. I know that sounds odd, but being a whimsical sculptor, I like my faces, people, and items to look a little different and special almost like they have a glow from within. In order to do that you have to add that into the clay. I like my skin color to have a bit of metallic luminescence and over the years I have relied on this recipe to achieve this slightly glowing look to the skin. This super easy recipe is easy to duplicate over & over again. And as an added bonus it helps to hide moonies/plaquing in the clay that may otherwise be other.
Luminescent Skin Recipe Worksheet
IDEAS FOR VARIATIONS:
- Adding pinches of other colors to the main recipe (get the recipe here) will alter the way it looks.
- For example for making an ogre I can just add a little green to this main recipe.
- If I want a deeper skin tone, I still begin with this main recipe and then add a bit of brown or alizarin to the mix.
- There are dozens of ideas for variations depending on what you a making.
Download FREE Polymer Clay Recipe Cards Here
Sculpting Blessings,
I am making clay fairies. When I paint them the skin still looks rough. What makes the skin look soft and realistic?
You have to make sure that when you sculpt your creations that all your seams are blended and that there are no blemishes to the skin. Also, the recipe for your clay and the type of clay you use makes a huge difference.