Plumage for the clay birb

Putting some clay on the Skyefigure's armature. Also added a wire for attaching the arms later.

Tools currently in use are:

• a round glass jar serving as a rolling pin to make thin, flat sheets of clay
• a sewing needle meant for sewing leather, to poke a hole through the torso for the wire (the same 1mm aluminum wire as previously used in the armature)
• a silicon "brush" tool
• a round-ended sculpting tool that's actually meant for fondant, but it works for clay just as well, and the whole set of them was very cheap
• a sewing pin with a round end
• a small plastic straw

I've added clay to the torso in two layers so far, and textured both because the second one doesn't completely cover the first one. I used the silicon brush, the fondant tool, the round end of the sewing pin, and also just fingers, to smooth the seams on the sheets of clay wrapped around the armature.

For texturing, I cut a piece from the straw. I cut it into a shape where only one edge leaves imprints, and made the curve on that edge a bit pointed in the middle, and that makes for a pretty good stamp for making feather outlines. I drew details with the sharp end of the sewing pin, and patted the lines a bit softer with a finger. Then I baked what I'd made so far.

Next I added clay to the legs, with a bit of aluminunm foil as filling. I used liquid polymer clay as glue where I added new clay onto the already baked layer.

Tools were otherwise the same, but I used a toothpick to apply the liquid clay, and replaced the round-ended fondant tool with this other one from the set:

It was good for getting the clay tightly to the small space between the leg and body.

I textured the legs, both with the straw tool, and by adding individual, more 3D feathers (and both kinds got details with the sewing pin). I added the individual feathers by pressing a small ball of clay onto the surface, and smoothing one side, then layering them so they overlap a bit like feathers do.

After baking a second time: