I decided to embark on making a clay head, so naturally, I chose Lionel Richie (circa 1984) as my model. For the uninitiated, Richie's video for the 1984 blockbuster hit, "Hello", features his clay head molded by a blind art student, Laura.
I am not blind, but I do wear glasses and love Lionel Richie. Perhaps most importantly, my name is also Laura. As you can well imagine, given all these similarities, I felt a psychic connection with the Laura in the video and wanted to make this tribute to Mr Richie.
If you've never molded a clay head, don't worry. I am going to give you all the secret tips and tricks to doing this and GUARANTEE you will have a well formed head when you are done with this Instructable.
I am not blind, but I do wear glasses and love Lionel Richie. Perhaps most importantly, my name is also Laura. As you can well imagine, given all these similarities, I felt a psychic connection with the Laura in the video and wanted to make this tribute to Mr Richie.
If you've never molded a clay head, don't worry. I am going to give you all the secret tips and tricks to doing this and GUARANTEE you will have a well formed head when you are done with this Instructable.
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Signing UpStep 1: Gather your materials
I did an incredible amount of research in order to figure out how to sculpt Lionel. You can read more about that HERE.
Point is this: if you don't know how to sculpt, you need to build off of a base. In my case I decided to build my head off of a foam head. This can most commonly be found in your local neighborhood hair weave emporium.
In addition to your clay head, you'll need air drying clay, a sponge, assorted clay sculpting tools (typically sold in packs at a art or pottery store), a protected surface to work on and a bowl of water.
Finally, I chose to buy a small sculpting wheel to mount Lionel on so that I could easily swivel his head around. This is entirely optional, but it made it easier to sculpt around his head.
Parts List in detail:
Foam head ~ $10
Air drying clay roughly 8 pounds ~$25
Clay sculpting tools ~ $10
Sculpting wheel ~ $10
Point is this: if you don't know how to sculpt, you need to build off of a base. In my case I decided to build my head off of a foam head. This can most commonly be found in your local neighborhood hair weave emporium.
In addition to your clay head, you'll need air drying clay, a sponge, assorted clay sculpting tools (typically sold in packs at a art or pottery store), a protected surface to work on and a bowl of water.
Finally, I chose to buy a small sculpting wheel to mount Lionel on so that I could easily swivel his head around. This is entirely optional, but it made it easier to sculpt around his head.
Parts List in detail:
Foam head ~ $10
Air drying clay roughly 8 pounds ~$25
Clay sculpting tools ~ $10
Sculpting wheel ~ $10
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