DIY Network

Dimensional Clay Fish Illustration Visit DIY's Craft Lab to learn how to create a beautiful ocean-theme clay illustration. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-105

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Guest Consuelo Okdie adds seaweed, coral and grass to the illustration.

Making the Seaweeds, Grass and Coral

1. Working on a ceramic tile, make the blades of sea grass by rolling 12 small pea size balls of Sea Green clay. Use your fingers to roll the balls into different lengths and thicknesses, tapering one end down to a tip. Set grass blades aside on a piece of card stock.

2. Using the pasta machine on a medium setting (#3) roll a sheet of Sea Green approximately 3" x 6" high. Place the sheet on a ceramic tile and texture using rubber stamps, texture sheets or tools of your choice.

3. With the craft knife cut 5-7 irregular lengths and shapes for the seaweed fronds. Remove excess clay and then remove fronds from ceramic tile by gently running clay blade under each piece from one end to the other, placing each one aside on the card stock with the sea grass.

4. To make the branch coral, roll 10-12 size balls of Pearl Purple and Pearl Pink into logs of different sizes. Marbleize colors by twisting various size logs of pink and purple together, then bend in half. Roll into log again--if you like the mixture you have made stop there. If not, add more purple and/or pink and continue to twist, bend and roll until you have the two colors blended the way you like.

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The final touches are added to the colorful clay fish illustration.

5. Make the branches by rolling logs of blended clay and attaching smaller pieces to branch off larger ones (just like the branches of a tree). Make as many or as few branches as you like, then use the end of the small paint brush to push impressions on the coral. There is no wrong way to texture the coral with the end of the brush—whatever way you like it is the right way for you!

6. Apply the seaweeds, sea grass and branch coral to the foreground (sand) part of your illustration. Use the main pattern as a guide or use your imagination and create your own underwater world.

7. Using the rest of the yellow sand clay, make some small logs and place in front of and over the bottoms of some of the sea grass, weeds and/or coral. Blend these pieces carefully into the rest of the sand clay using the small tapered clay shaper—this will help to create depth in your illustration. Place your completed background aside.

Finishing Touches

1. Paint a very thin coat of Translucent Liquid Sculpey on the sand area, then randomly sprinkle Mango Orange and yellow embossing powder over it. Heat set the powders and Translucent Liquid Sculpey with a heat gun.

2. Paint the fish with the Lumiere paint according to the pattern and heat set.

3. After the piece has cooled down from the heat setting seal it with two thin coats of the acrylic floor wax, letting first coat dry before doing the second one. For a high gloss finish, apply several thin (4-5), making sure each coat is totally dry before applying the next, then place piece back in the oven for ten minutes more at 275 degrees.

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RESOURCES :

Clay Cutters, Mini Sculpting Tools, Needle Tools and More
Kemper Enterprises, Inc.
Website: www.kempertools.com

Polyform Products
Manufacturers of Sculpey III, Translucent Liquid Sculpey and Premo
Website: www.sculpy.com

Jacquard Lumiere Paint, Neopaque Paint
Rupert, Gibbon and Spider, Inc.
Website: www.jaquardproducts.com

GUESTS :

Consuelo Okdie
E-Mail: woodchuckmuldoon@tampabay.rr.com
Website: consuelookdie.com