Study the main shapes that make up the human body.
A human body sculpture can be hand-built or sculpted into a block of stone or hard clay. Hand-building a clay human is easier than sculpting, and involves using a wire armature, on which you build your figurine. Clay humans may be made for decorative purposes or used in claymation films. Choose your material according to your project. Use Plastilina clay or plasticine for claymation figurines or air-dry clay if you make a decorative sculpture.
Instructions
1. Sketch the human figurine you want to create. Make a cartoon-like human or a realistic rendering of the human body. If you want to make a realistic human shape, use an anatomy book. Establish the size of your human and write down the approximate size of the torso, arms, legs and head.
2. Prepare a wire armature, which acts as a skeleton for your sculpture. Make a loop for the head, a square for the body and place two straight wires with loops at the end for the arms and two longer ones for the legs. Join the pieces using more wire. Wrap the wire in tin foil to cover the areas where you joined the wire pieces.
3. Knead the clay or Plastilina with your hands and a rolling pin. Treat the clay as you treat dough, until you obtain a soft material.
4. Apply clay on the wire loop that stands for the head. Cover the rest of the body in clay.
5. Make a clay slab and cut out a small circle. Cut it in two and attach them to the head, as the ears for the figurine. Make the ears proportionate with the head or, if making a funny claymation human, the ears can be slightly bigger.
6. Create a small pyramid, round its edges and add it as the nose.
7. Roll two small balls for the eyes and press them against the head. Alternatively, carve the eyes.
8. Roll small clay ropes for each of the fingers and attach them to the hand of the character. Form 10 small balls, which are the toes, and attach them to the feet.
9. Add details to the face and body. Use a needle tool or toothpicks to carve and create minute details. Use matches to create indentations on your figure. Keep your sketch at hand and follow it while you add the details.
10. Allow your figurine to dry for 24 hours if using air-dry clay and paint it.
