Polymer clay Lion Completion

Happy New Year!! I have a feeling this will be a great year for me since I love what I’m doing and have a clear direction and goal for myself. I’m loving how this Lion is coming along although I should’ve taken a few more shots for you before I moved on. It’s hard to stop the process and take pictures but I’ll get better at that on the next one.

Ok, so yesterday I made the head and added some highlights and then baked it, which means the mane is next. I tried to carve the mane out of a lump but didn’t like the look that way. Instead, I chose to use little ropes of clay and attached them to the back of the head.

: Polymer clay Lion

I took out some acrylic paint and dabbed it all over the mane before adding a sprinkle of glitter in a copper color. Actually, I added the eyes (which are black rhinestones) a little too soon in the process and would suggest waiting until you are happy with the rest before adding them.

Now back into the oven to bake a bit more. 275 degrees for about 15 min this time, just to set the paint and the tendrils in place.

He’s looking pretty good so far but I think it needs some more tendrils between the ears and a little more blending on his face.

: Finished Polymer clay Lion

Now, that looks much better. I did end up removing the eyes and replacing them with new stones because I noticed some glitter on them and didn’t care for it. Like I suggested, add the eyes last! This is still new to me and very much a learning process. I love the way it came out in the end and actually have learned alot by just creating and fiddling around with the clay until I got it looking just right.

I would tell anyone wanting to try this to just jump on in and don’t worry about any mistakes( happy accidents). Sometimes they work to your advantage. You can always just ball up the clay and start over if you aren’t happy with it.

Now it’s time to turn this piece into a beautiful art necklace. I’ll probably just get that done and share a finished photo with you sometime today.

I plan on making another clay creation soon and already have the idea drawn out. I’ll try to get a better step by step progression on the next one so maybe you can follow along and make one too if you’d like.