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Creating an Armature for a Clay Sculpture

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Removable PVC Armature

This armature is ideal for creating sculptures from clay, and can be used for sculptures of any size up to 24" tall or wide. It is also reusable, and you can cut different lengths of PVC so that the armature is adjustable and ready for any project!

Contents at a Glance

New Squidbook!
What You'll Need
Building the Armature for a Clay Sculptu...
Building a Clay Sculpture Without an Arm...
Note -
My Websites

New Squidbook!

To see the full demos for this panther sculpture & the horse sculpture below, as well as info for firing and finishing, visit my new squidbook!

Squidbook: Clay Sculpture Demonstrations by Jen: This squidbook includes demonstrations (full panther sculpture demo & small horse head sculpture demo), how-to's (clay tutorials, info about the clay medium), and many tips for creating clay sculptures and other clay artworks.

What You'll Need

1" Threaded PVC Male Adapter
Metal Female Adapter to fit a 1" PVC Male Adapter
Amaco #5 Decorating Wheel
Plywood

Building the Armature for a Clay Sculpture

building a clay sculpture armature, clay armatures, how to

This illustration shows the setup of the armature. The plywood (I use different sizes for different sculptures, in this case, a 15" x 22" board) has a hole cut in the center to accommodate a metal adapter (a plumbing part which you can buy at any hardware store), which is attached with nails or screws to the bottom of the plywood. A pvc adapter is then threaded into the metal adapter through the hole in the plywood base. A decorating wheel is then attached, upside down, over the bottom of the metal adapter.

The base of the decorating wheel should completely cover the metal adapter and fit tight against the plywood base. Nail it down to the plywood securely.

Place the top portion of the wheel onto the shaft of the bottom section. When you turn the armature over, it will now spin freely so that you can work on your sculpture easily from any angle.

When the armature is finished, sections of 1" pipe cut to fit the size of the sculpture will be used for the main support of the clay. For ease of use, cut sections and have them ready for when you need to use them (my standard sizes are 9", 10.5", 12", 13.5", and 15").

More info about building an armature: This armature works for many types of sculptures, and is reusable. My website goes into more detail about how to build this armature and includes a full demo on creating a panther sculpture (seen at the top of this page).

Building a Clay Sculpture Without an Armature

building a clay horse sculpture, no armature, clay armatures, how to

This sculpture will start out with a very simple armature made of crushed-up newspaper. It will not need any type of support like the larger sculptures, so you will not need the pvc pipes, plywood, etc. You may want to use extra newspaper under the sculpture to protect the surface you are working on.

Using masking tape, make the general shape of the sculpture. Remember to keep it thinner than the finished sculpture will be - you will be applying a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of clay over the top.

Start adding clay to the newspaper, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the head. Use slip to add clay to prevent air bubbles.

Once you have the general shape and all of the newspaper is covered in clay, begin shaping the sculpture. You can twist the clay to turn the head and add a bit more character to the finished work. Add the main muscle structures, but do not focus too much in one area. You want to repeatedly work each section, so that the entire sculpture stays at about the some level of being complete. As the work progresses, you will find small things that need to be changed, and when you do you will not have put too much wasted time into small details.

At this point, I haven't started with tools yet, it's faster and easier to do the initial sculpting with your hands. Notice in the picture to the right that the muscle and skeletal structures are mostly finished everywhere except for the face. At this point I'll mostly finish the neck area, because the face will take some time, and the neck is going to dry quite a bit. You can always use slip to moisten it, and you never want the clay to reach leather-hard while you are still working on the sculpture. If you're having problems with the clay drying too much, mist the clay with water and/or cover the area you're not working on with a plastic bag to keep the moisture in.

Building a Clay Horse Head Sculpture Without an Armature: See the rest of this demo, including information about firing and finishing the sculpture.

Note -

My process of sculpting leaves some newspaper in the sculpture body for firing. The newspaper creates a reduction environment in the kiln, meaning reduced oxygen. A reduction firing can alter glazes that are in the same firing. Without proper ventilation it can also produce a noxious environment in the room where the kiln is and may limit the life of the elements in a kiln (personally I have not noticed a significant difference, if any difference, in the life of the elements in my kiln).

My Websites

Horse sculptures, wildlife sculptures and other artworks by artist Jen Pratt: The official site for all of my sculptures, limited edition drawings, ACEOs, bookmarks, clay jewelry pendants, and other artworks. The site includes pictures and information on each artwork, as well as buying information. *New artworks - pottery sculptures are small, quick sculptures that are available at great prices! Mostly pumpkins and gourds, these sculptures are original, one-of-a-kind artworks.
Clay Sculpture Demos & Horse Art Demos: This portion of my website was designed to illustrate the process of building clay sculptures. This site contains the panther/armature demo above, firing charts, orton cone charts, kiln and firing info, and information about clay as a medium. It also includes demonstrations on how to create horse art and illustrates the process of building horse sculptures out of clay.
Building an Art Website: There are basic concepts to keep in mind when building any website, but a really good art website needs special consideration. I've compiled some helpful information for artists, from general ideas for building a website to taking good pictures of your artworks. Equus Studio also provides web hosting for all types of websites for as low as $4.99/mo.

Links to my artworks!

Original, One-of-a-kind Horse Sculptures, Wildlife Sculptures, & Drawings - Artist Jen Pratt: Artist Jen Pratt, specializing in horse sculptures and wildlife sculptures. Limited edition drawings, ACEOs, and Bookmarks also available. Horse sculpture, wildlife sculpture, figurative clay sculptures
Find me on Ebay!: Check out my ebay store to find all of my artworks, and to find jewelry and other items!
Find me on Bonanzle!: Check out my bonanzle store to find all of my artworks!
Find me on Facebook!: If you like my work and want to see my new artworks when they come out, become a fan on Facebook!

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Dec 31, 2010 @ 11:29 am | delete

Love hearing from somebode talking about theme like this and sharring usefull info

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AddaptAbilities Nov 30, 2010 @ 4:22 pm | delete

Thanks. I'm working on a sculpture project with a student, but I don't have any sculpture experience myself. This was helpful.

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equusstu Nov 30, 2010 @ 8:52 pm | delete

I'm glad that it helped! Thanks for the comment!

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Apr 20, 2009 @ 8:15 pm | delete

Interesting. Good job of explaining this process.

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Marilee Apr 19, 2009 @ 7:07 pm | delete

Hi! I am also a sculptor working on a series of horses. I use the newspaper for an armature. I also work with plasticine for a bronze casting. I have my most recent work on www.artslant.com. you need to click on Los Angeles and type my name in the section for artists under S. I use a little different patina with acrylics making them look like bronze. Using the metallic paint sounds interesting. Good work!!