Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay by Katherine Dewey is a great addition to a doll maker's library, for so many reasons. The photo on the cover grabbed my interest immediately, I love Fairies and very lifelike figures.

As I paged through the book it got better and better. I'm a professionally trained artist, but sculpture is not my field, never was. After reading through the book I am encouraged to give it a try, I think I can do it, and I think you will feel the same way.

The first three chapters are basic information about polymer clay, sculpting the figure and basic tools needed. The amazing thing about the chapter on tools is that most can be made by you and the instructions are easy to follow. The step by step instructions are accompanied by close-up photos which really show the way to create.

Ms. Dewey assumes that the reader is not a professional sculptor and has no idea of body proportions. This is very helpful because she has a great system in place for how much clay to use for each part of the figure. There is no guess work to set you up to fail. She starts at the beginning and shows you how to do a complete figure, from hair to toes!

There are sections on different body types; male, female, heroic and overweight. You will see how to add fabric, paint and even wings for your fairy. I love this book and recommend it very highly for anyone who finds OOAK figures enchanting and would like to try their hand at creating one.

Details
Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay by Katherine Dewey
published by Watson-Guptill Publications, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0-8230-1503-0 $21.95 U.S.A.

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