Introduction: Morgana (League of Legends)

Morgana AP Mid with a passion & a touch of anger.

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Step 1: Starting Items

"Do not dally!"

Time: 16 hours, 3x baking + cooldown (3 x 2 hours), Modelling (4 hours), Painting (6 hours or ALL DAY)
Big-O Notation: DAYS

Materials:
1) Fimo Classic Polymer Clay (4 x 2 oz)
2) Paper clips
3) Pottery shaping tools
4) Clean working environment (printer paper, clean hands)

Fimo Classic Polymer Clay
I originally got "Original Sculpey" but it turned out to be too soft.  Being about 33 degrees Celsius outside didn't help either.  Also I did not want to wait for the plasticizer to soak out (layering it between pieces of paper, adding a weight on top, waiting a few hours), so I went to Michaels and got some Fimo.

Paper clips
Any brand will do.  Make sure the clip size matches the skeleton height you want to use.

Pottery shaping tools
$10 from amazon for a decent set

Clean working environment
Plasticizer can leach from the clay itself so it is important to protect all surfaces and to wash your hands before eating/using the computer.

Step 2: Early Game

"You too will be judged."

Figure out how you want to pose Morgana.  Keep in mind that the structure MUST be free standing or else it will a) fall over while baking, b) fall over in your display case.  Scenario (a) is a nightmare and happened the first iteration of this project.  The oven initially heats up the clay (Sculpey in this case) and the clay droops and falls over before actually getting a chance to harden.

There are a bunch of poses to take inspiration from, just google search "Morgana League".  (League is required or else you will be inundated with pictures of some actress that makes you realize you have no idea who this and should watch more TV shows.)  I chose the older Morgana splash art with slight modifications to the hands.  One hand is holding an hourglass (almost always bought), the other is in the shape of a fist that is saying "OH U" but with more passion (and anger).

Wings:
If you have an protruding objects that are OP and will make the structure IMBA then put in paper clip placeholders and bake the base first.  That way you aren't trying to balance the entire figure at once and put too much stress on the unbaked clay.  Just be sure that your base is stable enough to handle the additional weight once you add it on.  

Hair:
Make hair by rolling small balls against the paper from one side to the other.  This will allow you to create very thin and even strands.  Drape them across the top of the head, preferably long enough to cover two sides with one strand.

Hourglass:
Two cones place tip to tip, roll some hair and place them on the sides.  Use an appropriate pottery tool to push them into place and shape it to look like an hourglass.  Don't press too hard, you don't want the cones to flatten.  Just the tip.

Bake!
Form the base of your figure by using paper clips as your skeleton.  Wrap the clay around the clips and shape to your liking.  Bake @ 220 degrees farenheit for 30 minutes, then 265 for another 15 minutes.  Let it cool to room temperature in the oven.  Keep the door closed.

Step 3: Mid Game

"Not all angels are good."

Assemble the clothing of your figurine.  Roll out flat sheets and wrap the appropriate body parts.  Add any details you want.  Remember the texture will show even after painting so make sure it looks close to your final product.  Flesh out the hair by adding long strands.  Bake again at 265 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let it cool down in the oven for another hour or two.  Don't blast it with room temperature by opening the door right after it is done.

Notice the different colors in the main picture.  The slightly darker/browned white is already baked clay while the pale white (wings, hair strands, clothing) are all unbaked.  It's OK to rebake clay, in fact it is supposed to make it harder and more resilient to breakage.

Step 4: Late Game

"Share in my torment!"

Paint!

If your clay is a lighter color, you'll have to paint darker colors in a few coats.  I use basic acrylic paint.  This is the most time consuming step b/c you realize that you should have gotten clay that is already close to the color of hair/clothing/wings that you want so that you only have to add highlights at this point.  Next time you'll know better ^________^


Step 5: Victory

Scratch head and wonder how you will ship this.  Instead, send pics to your favorite Morgana player (<3 Jagiya).


NOTE: I still have not figured out how to do all the details and the border lines between different colored parts.  Any suggestions would be helpful.  For now I have ordered gel (GLITTER) ball point pens to make the final touches & draw the face.  Will update the cover picture once done.