Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay: Tools and Techniques for Sculpting Realistic Figures

I only recently discovered polymer clay, and had so far only made a few beads, and a few failed attempts at simple animal sculptures. I wanted to attempt figure sculptures, but I had absolutely no experience with anything like that. After looking through all the books available, I chose this one, primarily because the figures were more realistic and life-like than some of the other books available.Choosing this book was one of the best decisions I've ever made.I got the book on a Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday sat down with it and began working on my first face. In a few hours I had a figure head completed that amazed me - it was incredibly realistic and life-like. It looked like a real person. Even I hadn't expected such advanced results on my first project.Don't get me wrong - it's not perfect, and I still have a lot to learn and practice. I expected that - but what I didn't expect was for my very first piece to be that good. While it's possible I have some previously unknown skill for sculpting (though it's certainly never shown up before this), I give most of the credit to this book - because the instructions are so incredibly detailed that if you pay attention, do what it says, and take your time, you can't go wrong. You CAN learn to make beautiful, life-like figures in clay.The book starts out with a good overview of different clays, so you can make an informed choice in that regard.Then the author shows you how to make every tool you'll need to complete a figure as she describes the process. You would need to buy only a few simple and inexpensive things, some of which you might already have on hand. It's wonderful to be able to create such beautiful things without having to spend a fortune on specialized tools.I was too impatient to make all the tools before I dived into attempting the sculpting, so I made my first head and face sculpture with nothing but a couple of knitting needles, a craft knife, and a needle which I already had on hand. Astounding what you can do with clay using a knitting needle. But having gotten that out of my system, I do intend to make the simple tools she describes, as I can see how valuable they will be.After those chapters, the author gets right into the meat of the book - teaching you how to make the figures. The instructions are incredibly detailed and precise, even down to measuring exactly how much clay to use for each part - which may seem tedious at first, but getting proportions right is one of the hardest parts of creating a realistic figure, and this takes the guesswork out of that, until you build your skill enough to be able to 'eyeball' proportions on your own.But none of that means you're going to turn out cookie cutter figures that all look alike. The author also gives you the information you need to customize and personalize each figure you create. She gives a lot of information about the differences in sculpting male and female figures, and different ethnic features, creating figures at different ages, and giving the face different expressions, from happy to sad or angry. This combined with your own creativity and willingness to experiment would enable you to make any type of figure you could imagine.The book is filled with detailed pictures and diagrams, so you don't have to guess at what you need to do for a particular step. The background information on anatomy is just enough to make sense and help you, without getting so detailed your eyes glaze over and you give up.The book also provides detailed information to make figures in 4 different sizes, and plenty of information on clothing your figure, adding hair, and other embellishments for a beautiful, complete finished figure.To sum up: Sculpting is a skill that takes time to learn, but with your own patience and willingness to work at it, this book will give you all of the foundation information you could ever need to make beautiful figure sculptures.

I will start by saying I actually see this as 4 1/2 stars. But the two 1-star reviews unnecessarily drag the rating down so I chose to rate on the favorable side to help offset those two. For any conspiracy theorists out there, give up on the government stuff and start focusing on sculpture books. There so few good sculpture books out there that it has to be conspiracy. I have found only a couple worth owning and this is the best in my collection. It gives excellent instruction on proportions and locations.The author's use and description of Basic Units and Modeling Units is brilliant (don't know if she created it or borrowed it, but who cares? Its here and that's what counts). Its devised in a way that allows you scale your projects up or down. The base sculptures presented are 1:6 scale (6' model is 12" tall). Using Base and Modeling Units, I successfully sculpted a baby to go with the adult by scaling to 1:24. The book is loaded with diagrams showing legs, arms and torso in direct proportion to the size of the head (the first element in understanding human sculpture).The book begins by showing how to hand-build the essential tools using readily available items and clay for the handles. Whether by design or not, it gives the fledgling artist a starter in clay use without creating the intensity that may accompany the actual sculpting. The author then uses these tools and refers to them by name each step at the beginning, then less so as it moves along. This gives the artist the chance to experience most of the tools early, but lets them go with their natural extincts as it moves along.Also of benefit in this book and the unit system is how the author breaks down the differences between men and women's bodies, and those of average vs. large (i.e. fat) bodies. Her system of foil armatures is in some ways superior to wire armatures (the armature decision is based more in what the project is intended for though, as full wire armatures is not very practical for figurines like this).The downside of the book (why I would actually give 4.5 instead of 5.0) is that a few of the photos are either from a poor angle or there is one photo where there should be two or three. This is not only common in sculpture books, its almost epidemic. But the number and quality of photos in this book outshines any other sculpting books I currently own. The other negative of this book is the chapter on clothing. I would call it almost helpful. In the beginning of the chapter, it brilliantly shows how to attain texture in clay clothing. But the clothing choices the author makes for the book is either simplistic or antique. Great for those wishing to make characters from the past or fantasy realm, but I haven't a clue how to make T-shirt and blue jeans after studying the chapter. I had to learn that on my own (although not always a bad thing).I still highly recommend this book for fledgling clay artists, even if figurines are not your ultimate goal (mine is bronze sculptures). I also recommend the author's other book, "Creating Life-Like Animals in Polymer Clay", though I would work through this book first. It offers tools and clarity that the animal book lacks. Together, they make an excellent pair for new artists.