How to paint polymer clay at home. How to paint polymer clay: acrylic coatings and others than paint, instructions, videos and photos. Basic clay primer is easy

»Article about clay based paints... Why about them? Many of today's paints are either toxic or harmful to nature. Whereas for complete happiness you want something more environmentally friendly.

Clay-based paints are best suited for natural construction from natural materials (for example, "Frame and frameless straw house", adobe, etc.). They are also suitable for any hall, living room, nursery (where safety is especially important), etc. The main benefit, if you do not take into account environmental friendliness and safety for health, is low cost clay paints.

How are clay paints made? Easily. Two different paints are required - primer and paint coat. The task of the soil is good adhesion to the substrate. The task of the ink layer is color 🙂

Well, we'll start by creating a clay-based primer.

The basic clay primer is very easy to do.

Ingredients:

1 part clay (ordinary soil, colored, white koaline - any).
1 part of fine quartz sand.
half a portion of wheat flour pasta.
pigment (optional; but if the base is colored, it is better to add).

Procedure for creating a primer:

Cooking wheat flour pasta:
- mix a cup of flour and 2 cups of water until no lumps are present;
- boil 6 cups of water;
- pour the flour mixture into boiling water, stir until thickened (the paste will become slightly transparent);
- cool, dilute with water (2-3 parts per 1 part paste)
Then + clay and sand, mix well.

You should get a primer with a consistency similar to heavy cream (or ordinary acrylic paint).

Procedure for making clay paint.

The paint for the coloring layer is done in the same way, only they are added

chips of mica, straw, etc. (for texture)
coloring pigment.

Coloring pigment - key moment... Most often it is iron oxide (aka rust) from hardware stores. There you can also buy other dyes for concrete of various colors (the spectrum is not very wide, but the dyes are purely natural). Colorants for acrylics are also possible (test on small batches of paint).

Coal clay is responsible for the white color. The more dye, the brighter the color.

Painting with clay based paints

Clay paints are applied with brushes or rollers. The paint layer is applied on a DRY primer. Repeated rubbing with the brush over the primer can dissolve and weaken the color of the top coat (= stained wall).

If you need to remove brush marks: rubbing with a damp sponge on the painted surface (20-30 minutes after painting, when the layer is hardened, but still wet). You can also use a sponge to create patterns from a hard filler (chopped straw, mica, etc.).

Test on test surfaces before applying the bulk of the paint.

When testing, pay attention to the following details:

After drying, the paint should not fall off dust from walls, hands, clothes, etc. If it is pouring, then there is little clay or flour paste, or a lot of sand.
The paint surface should be evenly smooth. If there are lumps, protrusions, accumulations and other manifestations of graininess, then there is an excess of sand in the paint.
If the paint layer cracks, then there is a lot of clay, little sand, or the paint is too thick.

Accordingly, the composition of the paint is corrected based on observations.

Spreading rate of paint: 1 liter per 6-7 m2.

This is how easy it is to make clay-based paints.

Based on materials from http://www.dirtcraft.ca/content/diy-clay-based-paints

Hello dear lovers of modeling!
Sometimes it is not profitable to buy at all polymer clay the color you don't use at all. Indeed, some products require very little clay, but you cannot do without this color at all! Some clay is sold at 100 gr. from which you will spend a small part of it, but where is the excess ?? After all, it is not needed ... and over time it will dry up ... sorry !!! And what to do ??? In the article you will see a short video clip, which clearly shows how clay is colored in different ways.

Staining clay with acrylic and oil paints

In order to prevent this from happening in this article, I will tell you how easy it is to paint the clay, the amount that you need. This method can be used to paint both polymer clay and cold porcelain.

We will need:

Polymer clay with which you will work;
acrylic or oil paints

It can be oil paints, acrylics, pastels, anything that has a dye, up to and including lipstick)))

Let's get started!

We take required amount plastic (you can son-in-law a little more, because if not enough, then the exact same color will be very, very difficult to achieve).
To get gentle tones (light), add a small drop of paint, but if darker, then without regret, add a lot of paint. I prefer to paint with acrylics. It is advisable to buy bright colors, then finished products will look very beautiful.

If you paint on the clay and wrinkle it just a little, you will get clay with dark tint stripes. This color is also very often used. Well, to get a monochromatic shade, you need to knead the clay well enough. Some types of clay become very soft after coloring and begin to stick to the fingers. In this case, you just need to wait until the clay hardens a little (dries up).

When painting, other incidents are possible - for example, BEBIK clay begins to crumble if you add a lot of paint to it.

Mixing two different colors of clay

For this method, you need to have several different colors of polymer clay of the same brand. Mixing takes place as in the classic mixing of paints. Below is a small cheat sheet.

It is very important to use the same type of clay for this staining method, as after mixing you can get the material. which will differ in its properties from mixed types.

Adding dry pastels to clay

I most often use this method for coloring white clay. First you need to rub or scrape off the powder of the required color with a scalpel. Do not scrape too many pastels right away. First, take a small amount of powder and mix with the clay. You will see what color you get and, if necessary, you can add more and get the desired result.

In this video you will see all the methods described above.

Pastel toning

Oil tinting

Acrylic painting

Now you can without special labor make polymer clay of any tone and shade.

So, the answer to the riddle in the last post. There are those who like to paint polymer clay BEFORE baking.

The phrase "alcohol-based ink or alcohol ink" is often used in such posts. Until some time, such Pinata color ink was supplied to Russia. But ... now the supplies have stopped and, therefore, there is nothing to paint the plastic with. Water-based paints bubble, flake on gel and spread over hard plastic. In this connection, I conducted a series of experiments with household dyes.
I liked the experiment, I will continue it further. And I will share with you the results gained during the week.
All dyes were mixed with liquid gel. This is Fimo.
This is a banal "touch". Correcting liquid on alcohol ...
The comma is drawn with paint for nail design.

This is a refillable alcohol ink for Copic markers. In the first cases, it is undersized. If you get the same result on a sample. Just stir better.

The same additive. Only red and better mixed. WARNING. Yesterday in the cafe Liva and Larisa said that this ink is not suitable. Because they go in bubbles, like water ones. When I came home, I saw that the sample from the master class was exactly the same garbage. If you press with a fingernail or a pencil, then a trace remains on the surface. My version is this - either this is a property of liquid plastic after baking, or a thick layer of the mixture. Today I specially tried to cover the plastic more thin layer and managed to avoid this drawback.

It's Fimo again Water-based Pebeo stained glass paint designed for high temperatures. Bubbles even without gel. And with the fimo gel it turned out to be just a porous surface.

Further, no pictures. I tried ordinary domestic alcohol ink for a printer (unlike Japanese ones, they cost 300 rubles not 20, but 200 grams). They lay down well in a thin layer and withstand baking, with a thick layer they form bubbles that can be pierced. WARNING. You need to take them either with a needle or with a thin knitting needle. Printer ink gets very dirty. Work better with gloves. I knitted a ceramic palette, which I immediately washed wet wipe to its original purity.
The ink can be mixed with Japanese ink.
I also tried nail polish. It turned out beautifully. In terms of beauty, surface evenness, gloss, opacity, it is most similar to enamel. WARNING. It will take time to understand whether this varnish is suitable for this plastic.

Conclusions.
Even with no proven alcohol-based ink available, there are dyes that can be used on raw polymer clay for baking.

If you like some of the results, you can start the experiment.

If not, let my experience tell you what is not worth wasting time and money on.

The effect of staining raw plastic depends not only on the base of the dye - alcohol or water. All other components are equally important - plasticizers, biocides, surface tension regulators. EVERYTHING must be tried.

No less important are the thickness of the dye layer, the mixing quality, the ratio of different dyes in one mixture.

Actually, I like to paint the already baked plastic more.

The words "fimo", "plastic" and "polymer glna" have already become synonyms for today's Internet users, as this brand of plastic is the most popular. Indeed, there is no doubt about its quality.

The manufacturer of this plastic is the German company STAEDTLER www.fimo.com. Fimo polymer clay is available in a huge range of colors, there are even glitters, transparent (light transmitting) and glowing in ultraviolet colors.

Fimo classic is the most popular polymer clay. It is harder than other varieties. This Fimo variety is very tough, but warming up in the hands becomes much more plastic. It is difficult to work with such a Fimo, it requires an effort. Its advantage is that this grade of polymer clay allows you to achieve excellent results for creating combined multi-colored patterns. After firing, this type of clay perfectly holds its shape, does not crack, and is very hard.

Fimo soft is a soft type of Fimo polymer clay. It is more flexible and has a large palette of colors. Fimo soft is perfect for children's creativity, but not suitable for delicate work. Artists have even learned to mix two types of clay Fimo and Fimo soft with each other, while getting excellent quality plastic.

Fimo Effect is also a soft version of Fimo polymer clay. This series includes plastic that has special properties, for example, it glows in the dark or imitates metal or stone. Also very interesting effects when working with Fimo can be achieved with translucent plastic.

Fimo Puppen is a special kind of polymer clay for modeling dolls. It is ideal for detailed modeling: especially pliable and uniformly resilient. This type of Fimo can also be mixed with FIMO soft / classic types. The colors of Fimo Pappen have natural shades and a matt surface when baked.

Fimo liquid - a liquid form of Fimo polymer clay in the form of a gel. It is quick and easy to work with it. Your favorite pictures can be easily transferred to the decorations you create. This gel is the perfect complement to FIMO soft and FIMO classic.

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To protect plastic products from external environment or giving them a glossy shine, it is desirable to cover them with varnish. In addition, varnished works have an additional depth of color.

Unfortunately, not every varnish can be used for coating, some simply do not dry on plastic, while others, although they dry, begin to stick after a while.

Don't use:
Regular nail polishes have a completely different formula and can start to stick over time.
Hairsprays - they are not waterproof, and dust loves to settle on them.
Universal acrylic varnishes that are sold in stationery - they often do not dry on plastic.

What varnishes are suitable for polymer plastic:

1. Specialized, from polymer plastics manufacturers.

Examples:

2. Water based acrylic coating for wood floors. Often on cans they also write “polyurethane-acrylic”.

Examples:

Varnish Varathane Crystal Clear Waterbone- water-based coating for floor treatment, transparent, without yellowness, resistant, high-strength, non-toxic. It happens - glossy / matte / semi-matte.

AND Future floor finish... These two products have been tested by a whole generation of polymer makers.

If it is not possible to buy Varathane or Future Floor Finish, you can look at hardware store any other similar coating for wood floors. The main thing is to pay attention that there is no latex in the varnish - it is not friendly with plastic. Detailed discussion different types varnish you can look at the forum of the site Osinka.

What if you bought the “wrong” varnish and it starts to stick?

You can try to bake the product in the oven at a temperature of 110-130 degrees for 10-15 minutes if the varnish was water-based. If this does not help and the product still sticks, then you need to wipe off the layer of sticky varnish with acetone, rinse with soap and water, dry and apply a new layer of the “correct” varnish.

Some subtleties

You can often hear that even good varnishes begin to stick, peel off with a film or chip. What could be the reason?

The product was not baked for a sufficient time, the plastic did not completely polymerize and the plasticizer reacted with the varnish. To eliminate this reason, you need to bake the product, you can even without removing the varnish layer.

There was too much plasticizer in the plastic, and after baking, a thin oily film formed on the surface of the product, which interferes with the strong contact of the plastic surface with the varnish. This property is possessed in the highest degree by St. Petersburg plastic. What to do? - wipe the surface of the product with alcohol before applying varnish and / or wash it with dishwashing detergent. By the way, a fatty film can also appear from frequent contact of the baked product with your hands, especially if you have worked with raw plastic before.

The first coat of varnish was not dry enough before the next coat was applied. Some varnishes appear dry within 10-15 minutes after application, in fact, many varnishes take several hours to dry completely.

If the varnish is applied immediately after sanding, without removing the dust residues, then the varnish will not lie on the plastic surface, but on the dust “cushions”. Over time, during the operation of the product, this can cause chipping of pieces of varnish in these places. Therefore, after sanding, if polishing is not expected, it is advisable to wipe the plastic surface with a damp cloth and dry before applying varnish.

As a rule, at least two coats should be applied, in special cases up to five. Believe me, the difference is very large, the more layers, the deeper the color and more spectacular appearance, especially for products made of metallized and translucent plastic.

Finally, the varnish is considered dry after a week, but this does not mean that the product cannot be worn - it simply does not need to be wetted. This, by the way, applies not only to acrylic varnish, but also to acrylic paints. If you do not dry it between recoats, or wet it ahead of time, the varnish can come off with a film or bubble.

There are two ways to varnish beads: apply varnish with a brush and dip in varnish. Let us explain the second method. The product on a stick is completely dipped into a container with varnish, then the excess varnish is allowed to drain, twisting for a while around the axis so that the varnish is evenly distributed and put to dry, sticking it into a piece of hard foam rubber or foam. Usually, after a couple of minutes, a small droplet forms at the bottom - it is removed with a soft brush while it is still liquid. After the initial drying of the varnish, you can scroll the toothpick in the bead so that later it will be easier to pull it out. After final drying, the beads are removed from the toothpicks with a twisting motion so as not to break it off and it does not remain in the bead.

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Polymer clay is available in many color variations, but some projects still require paints.

Test your paints: Some paints chemically react with polymer clay. Paints such as enamels, varnishes and conventional oil paints do not dry on polymer clay, leaving a sticky surface. If you have such paint, then test it on a small piece of plastic. In turn, water-soluble acrylic and oil paints are perfect for working with polymer clay.

Dyeing plastic items requires a few basic tools.
Palette. You can buy one from an art store or make your own using any smooth plastic or glassware.
Capacity for water. Any jar or mug that will not be used for drinking in the future is suitable as a container.
Paper napkins or toilet paper.
Newspapers. They will help you protect your work surface, if you do not care about the cleanliness of the work area, you can skip this step.
Brushes. For basic set you will need several synthetic bristle brushes in different shapes and sizes.
Sponge. Useful for creating texture effects.

Surface priming

Acrylic paints do not always adhere well to polymer clay surfaces, so some projects require preliminary priming of the surface before painting. There are two main types of primer application: spraying and brushing. The ground is black and white.

If you need to touch up light or translucent plastic by mixing paint into it, then acrylic paints it is not recommended to add to it (it is better to add ink), because the water in the paint evaporates during the firing process and bubbles and irregularities may appear on the surface. However, some have reported very successful experiences in mixing acrylics with plastics. The best way check it out - carry out a few experiments yourself, using small pieces of plastic.

Acrylic paints dry quickly, and here are some tips on how to avoid this:
Place a small amount of paint on the palette.
If you plan to use the color in the future, then mix the paints in small plastic jars that are closed with a lid (for example, from a gouache).
Add a drying retardant. You can buy it where acrylic paints are sold.

If this is your first time using acrylics, practice on a piece of paper first and learn the basic techniques.

Please note that when dry, acrylic paints darken and the color obtained on the palette will noticeably differ from the final color on the product. This point must always be taken into account when working with acrylic paints.

To give a product made of translucent plastic light colored shade, apply paint, and then blot the excess with a sponge or tissue. To age the surface, it must be tinted in such a way that the paint does not cover the entire surface as a whole, but, as it were, lingers in small irregularities and wrinkles. To do this, you need to apply paint, and then gently, without applying any effort, walk over the surface with a sponge or napkin.

Oil paints

Unlike acrylic paints, which can cause bubbles when mixed with plastic, oil paints mix freely with polymer clay without any consequences.

Oil paints can be used in the same way as acrylic paints, with the only exception that the full drying time of oil paints reaches six months and this makes it impossible to use them in the crackle technique. You also should not varnish them or they will not be able to dry completely.

However, the long-drying property of oil paints is not always a disadvantage and is used in some techniques. Please note that some oil paints can chemically react with polymer clay and the surface will always remain sticky. Therefore, before using the paint, be sure to test it.

A few tips for choosing oil paints:
Ask a friend or find discussions on the Internet about which paint manufacturer they use.
Look for oil paints in the store that have a special oil base, not one that is derived from petroleum.
Run your own tests if you already have oil paints. Apply a small amount of paint to the baked plastic. If after a month or more the surface starts to stick, then it is better not to use such paint. If the surface remains dry, then everything is in order.

Below are a few ways to use polymer clay oil paints:
Both small parts and large surfaces of baked plastic can be coated with oil paints. Bake again for a few minutes to set the paint.
For tinting liquid plastics, add a small amount of oil paints to it to get pastel colors. Use oil paints to create an aged finish. Apply paint to the surface of the product and then gently wipe off most of it.
Paint layers of polymer clay using the Mokume gane technique. Oil paints are successfully used in the technique of imitating natural stones (agate, granite).
Mix oil paint with unbaked polymer clay for a marbled effect.

Ink

Due to the popularity of rubber stamps, there are several types of pigments and inks available today. Some are transparent, some are translucent, others with a metallic or iridescent color. Depending on the manufacturer, ink has different properties, and you need to know these characteristics when using it with polymer clay.

Below are a few ways to use plastics with ink and rubber stamps.

Create texture on unbaked plastic

Drawing with your own ink on plastic

Toning with liquid polymer clay

Toning translucent plastic

Toning of polymer clay layers using the Mokume gane technique

Applying ink on polymer clay layers using the Mokume gane technique

Tinting shaving foam and applying it to unbaked beads for extraordinary texture

Drops of ink onto the shaving foam covering the plastic to create a “marbled” surface.

Metallic paints

Metallic or iridescent acrylics (or inks) are used in the same way as regular color paints. But with the help of them you can create interesting effects, such as aging of the surface or crackle, and can be used in the Mokume gane technique.

If you want to create a crackle effect, you should test the paint first, because some paints do not crack when stretched, but stretch.

Metallic inks can be applied in much the same way as acrylic paints.

Aerosols

The spray method of applying paint allows you to create smooth transitions between colors. This makes the sprayer ideal for puppeteers who need to paint over the entire surface. However, the spray is not a very cheap tool and it is mainly used by professional craftsmen.

For the paint to fit well, the surface must be polished and covered with acrylic primer (by spraying).

Pastel

Using soft pastels (not oil-based) is a fairly popular way to color polymer clay. To fix the pastel pattern, be it on paper or on the surface of plastic, it must be covered with a special varnish.

Pearl powder

Pearlescent powder helps create iridescent and metallic effects on surfaces. These powders can be mixed with acrylic solvents, varnishes, liquid polymer clay, or directly applied to unbaked plastic.

Powders with the "metallic" effect are used to imitate the metallic elements of jewelry, imitate pearls and shells, as well as many other effects. Remember that the spool is small, but expensive: despite the fact that powders are sold in small containers, they last for a long time.

Liquid polymer clay

Liquid plastic can be used as a fixer and applied over paint, or as paint (with pigments added to it). Liquid plastic can also be used to translate images.

A reasonable question immediately arises: why paint polymer clay if it is sold in the store in literally dozens of colors.

Well, first of all, for the present artistic creation and these two, three dozen are not enough.

Secondly, paint provides many more options for decoration made from clay.
Well, and thirdly, when you rush into the creative process, you cannot stop it, you want great impressions, search for something new, experiments, and this is perhaps the most important thing. And I must say that this search more than pays for all the efforts expended.

But before you start working with polymer clay, you need to clearly understand what kind of material it is and what its capabilities are.

About polymer clay

The presented version of clay is nothing more than a type of plastic, which is easily molded directly in the hands like plasticine, but hardens under the influence of high temperature (usually in the oven). It is no coincidence that the material has another name - thermoplastic.

Among the advantages of thermoplastic:

easy sculpting of products of almost any size;
a wide range of colors;
the convenience of mixing samples of different colors and obtaining new shades, for example,

red and yellow will result in orange;
red already with green - brown;
red with blue - purple;
and gray can be obtained by the usual kneading of black and white.

the ability to fix what was done for a long time after baking.

Polymer clay is convenient for working with it with your hands:

soft and
tough.

This material is represented on the market by no less than a dozen companies, but the most authoritative are two:

Eberhard Faber - produces several types of clay under the Fimo brand:

Soft- soft, which does not always suit the master of small parts, which after baking turn out to be too fragile;
Classic- more rigid.

Polyform Products - with Sculpey brand products. Such clay is already more suitable for professionals; beginners can be scared off by too much flexibility of this clay when modeling.

About colors and how to influence them

Thermoplastic is already available in a large palette of colors by itself, and this is most important if you are going to actively work with color, and not stop at one large single-color piece ().

At the same time, the following techniques are at your disposal:

You can mix different colors of clay to create new colors.
You can add acrylic paint, water-based paint of any color to the white clay sample, knead it thoroughly and get any suitable color.

You can also use the above addition, but "play around" with modeling, not particularly zealous, then the paint will not spread throughout the entire volume, creating absolutely amazing stains for new ideas.

Helpful advice! Working with any material for artistic creation is always an experiment. Therefore, we strongly advise you to immediately tune yourself to the search.

Strictly speaking, there are no ready-made recipes for creating works that will be exhibited in the Hermitage literally the very next day. Some do not limit themselves to adding paints to the kneading clay, they even add lipstick and are delighted with the results.

After all, you have acrylic paints at your disposal after creating and fixing the composition.

Acrylic painting

What is necessary

As a matter of fact, you can create such paints yourself, you just have to mix:

acrylic varnish with gouache or watercolor - and you get absolutely incredible delicate colors that you can control by changing the volumes of the mixed components;
acrylic varnish already with PVA glue - as a result, the palette may not suit you too much, but you will get an incredible whiteness of a very high strength paint after hardening.

However, there is no great need to create your own paints. The market offers incredible wide choose ready-made acrylic paints.

To work you will need:

ready product from clay, not yet baked;
acrylic paints - and this is the most appropriate answer to the question of how to paint polymer clay;
brushes, the larger the better, of different sizes and of the highest quality possible, the hair should not come off in any case;
palette - you cannot do without mixing paints and their selection;
an approximate plan, a drawing in the color of your future creation - this is already from the field of creativity and abilities, some of them simply keep this plan, which they dreamed of, in their heads.

Immersion in work

The work itself is both simple and difficult.

Just because:

we take the finished product in our hands, even before the oven, and we begin to paint it, according to the idea, and constantly preparing the necessary paints;
do not forget, after baking the colors will become a little darker;
you can apply paints after the oven, but in this case it is best to pre-polish the surface;
if you want to create a metal effect, you can mix an acrylic solvent with pearlescent powder, apply the mixture to the product, let it dry and varnish;
if clay is supposed to be painted, then it is chosen in a snow-white color, but we advise you to play with flowers here, because artists often do not paint it to create the main background, but simply use a primer of a certain color, on which the necessary strokes of paint are only laid down;
if the work takes place on a flat surface, then it is very convenient to first apply a drawing through a stencil.

But it is difficult, since the world of creativity:

does not tolerate vanity and indifference;
requires the ability to draw conclusions from their achievements and failures;
requires being consistent and patient;
again, it requires learning and grasping new ideas on the fly.

Helpful advice! And again from the category of experiments. We advise you to try using watercolor paints for coloring, but in this case, be sure to apply it on a primer. Let's say - in no case use oil paints, they will not dry out completely.

But on the other hand, it still encourages - experiment! Try using ink, it does. And to give a beautiful gradient, some experienced craftsmen use an aerosol.

Secrets of the masters

Over time, each master develops his own methods of solving the problem of how to paint polymer clay.

Here are some of the most famous ones:

If you want to make a doll or a product of similar complexity, then use Living Doll clay as the leader in the preferences of professional puppeteers. It is expensive compared to other options, but incredibly easy to use and incredibly durable after firing. It is specially produced only in light shades, counting on future painting.

If your goal is colored mosaics, then Premo clay is the best choice. It does not crumble during work, it is often used for decoration. One very useful property of Premo is its competitiveness, it mixes easily with other types of clays to increase their strength.

conclusions

When electrically conductive paint Zinga is in use, fire retardant paints for metal Polistil will not help here. It is common to work with polymer clay with acrylic paints.

But if you are not ready to search, if you are only going to walk back and forth, back, according to the recommendations given to you, then it is better not to take up paints. In the end, clay already has many colors, and beautiful albums entitled "Do it yourself" will tell you how and what can be made of them.

Be sure to accumulate the baggage of your knowledge and experience, which can be helped by the video in this article.

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