Making a stone golem

  I had decided to make a fantasy creature for my brothers Christmas present, i drew inspiration from lots of images on the internet  and from other polymer clay artists; which i I will list at the end. The first thing I consider when making a figure is how big it will be. Small figures can be made just out of clay with no problem, if it's going to be a large one it's best to make an armature with foil and wire. This adds structure and support so it won't break under its own weight, ensures the clay bakes evenly and can save you lots of money of clay.   

 I drew a very rough sketch in the size I wanted it, then started on the armature. Taking bendable wire, just over twice the length I wanted, for the legs i made a loop in the bottom and then twisted the wire back on its self. i left the ends open so i could push them into the body to join them.

 For the body I rolled tin foil into a ball and added extra until i had a rough shape of what i wanted. Remember you'll be adding clay over the top so don't go crazy with shaping it at this stage. I flattened the loops on the feet and added foil to them as well, the arms were made the same way.

 Once i was happy with the shape of everything I covered the foil and wire in masking tape, this makes it easier for the clay to adhere. The head is a ball of foil with a small piece of wire in it to attach it to the body.

 The base was 6mm plywood covered in polymer clay. Looking back i spend too much time adding detail as at the time i wan't sure how I would be covering it. More foil for the boulders. 

Something i always do after baking the clay is add acrylic paint, this adds depth. I work watered down black acrylic over the whole sculpture and wipe away excess until i'm happy with the colour, using a wet tissue to take any paint that has dried.  It's easy to add texture when working with the clay even if you don't have specially designed tools. Tooth picks, foil/ plastic wrap, hard paintbrushes or mascara wands are a few things you can use. Make sure you only use these for clay work.

 The image I'd been most inspired by had moss growing over most of the back and shoulders, I decided not to make that much moss but instead make succulent plants with small amounts of clay moss in the cracks and joins of the stone.The plants are all made from a combination of translucent and green clay. 

Once painted i dry brushed white acrylic over the plants to highlight the shapes . Where the wood was emerging from the stone i added more clay to give the illusion it was it's skeleton. This is also where the plants were most.

      

Below are the images and videos I've been inspired by.

http://andrewmcintoshart.deviantart.com/art/Garden-Golem-501287288 definitely the main source of inspiration, this artist deviant art is full of amazing work and is well worth taking the time to look through it.

http://bayardwu.deviantart.com/art/Guardian-397633848  really magnificent posture and shape

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5LvfEeKSwU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IjDhItMgJA Stephanie Kilgast makes a variety of polymer clay sculptures that inspire a lot of my work. She makes some amazing polymer clay crystals that i will be incorporating into future pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-u8ZAyg-E8&list=PL4EB69999395DEEA7&index=56  and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVGKpbjoorY&list=PL4EB69999395DEEA7&index=58 this youtuber makes amazing art with polymer clay, using soft pastels and paint to really had an extra level to the clay.

When developing as an artist it's important to branch out and find what works for you, by looking at other artist you can find styles and techniques that work for you adding your own touch.