Plasticine tools

Sometimes, looking at the creations of the masters, created from plasticine, you are simply amazed: how do they manage it? Why do even gifted children get just cute crafts, while others manage to create true masterpieces? The secret, as it turned out, is simple: the authors of the best models of sculpting do not work with bare hands, but arm themselves with a whole set of various specific tools that help to give a piece of material any shape or texture.

Actually, the transition from an amateur to a professional level occurs exactly at the moment when a child begins to learn to confidently use modeling tools, so more attention should be paid to this moment.

Choosing the right material

The use of various sculpting tools is necessary in order to make figures of such a complex shape that this cannot be achieved with bare hands. Although the auxiliary tool certainly simplifies the task, it is a priori more complex, since it requires special tools. This puts forward two main requirements for the material for modeling:

The ability to keep in shape well. There will be no sense in the fact that the mass, which was given the believable features of the inspiring object, will not “flow” or settle even in ordinary room conditions. For this reason, some especially liquid types of materials, which can be conditionally called plasticine (the most rarefied types of children's modeling dough, liquid polymer clay), do not require the participation of tools. In principle, the same can be said about “smart” and ball clay, as well as kinetic sand: the former is not used at all for crafts, the latter is used more for applicative crafts, while the third is afraid of the slightest breath of wind.

Ready for processing for a long time... It takes a long practice to master the skill of using special tools, but even if a child already knows how to work with them, he is not always able to create a complex work of art in an extremely short time. In children's art, there are rarely cases when children create truly full-scale large figures, but it is still better to choose a type of plasticine that by itself does not harden to a too "stone" state.

This is necessary so that an unsuccessful product can be corrected or altered into something else, as well as for more successful subsequent attachment of parts.

Based on the above, for complex machining using sculpting tools, classic varieties of plasticine, elastic polymer clay and denser types of dough are best suited.

Which ones are needed?

The answer to this question is possible only if we proceed from the specific tasks that the little master sets himself, because some of the tools used by real professionals for large-scale sculptural modeling are simply not needed. In fact, children's sculpting tools should be acquired gradually, as the baby masters more and more new creative skills. We will try to systematize this category a little to make it easier for parents to find everything they need.

Board or rug

This is the very first device that is necessary not only for masters, but also for beginners, and even for those children who abandon modeling on the second day of classes. It's no secret that most types of plasticine are quite easily soiled; modern varieties are often advertised as devoid of this drawback, but in practice they are often simply worse molded, and therefore mediocrely suitable for creating three-dimensional figures. A board or oilcloth designed specifically for such needs would greatly simplify the cleaning of the room for a mother of young talent.

Besides, there is another point. A specially selected base is usually different perfect smoothness, which is not always possessed by a well-worn table or other surface on which the baby sculpts. This allows you to create "sausages" and "balls" without the slightest deformation, which increases the aesthetic pleasure of the result.

Naturally, when cutting material on such a board, the surface of the table will not suffer.

You can buy a modeling board in a children's art store, or you can adapt the tools at hand for this, for example, a cutting board or a piece of thick linoleum. The size can be any: A5 - for the smallest children who sculpt tiny crafts, A4 - for a little older kids, A3 - for modeling the whole family or creating huge play areas from plasticine.

Since we are talking about cleanliness, we will immediately mention the rags that will help keep the workplace and hands clean. So that the remnants of plasticine from past works do not interfere with the creation of new figures, after work, the board should be wiped with a piece of hard cloth - for example, a piece of old jeans.

A soft flannel napkin is much better for cleaning delicate children's hands.

Stacks

Stacks are the most popular type of sculpting work tool. There are a huge number of them, but in general they are intended for two things: to cut plasticine and to give surfaces a certain characteristic shape (waviness, perfect smoothness, small dotted dents). In this case, the stacks are usually made of plastic, which allows them to be light and safe for the child.

You can prick a little with such a tool, but you definitely won't be able to cut yourself. Stacks are rarely replaced with improvised items, because most modern manufacturers usually put at least one in each set of plasticine, or you can buy a whole set of different tools at once.

However, for the same cutting of material, stacks are not always suitable. They may lack sharpness due to their plastic nature, and they often produce too ragged and sloppy cut. For the manufacture of thin parts, experts advise using small paper scissors with rounded edges, an ordinary knife or even thin fishing line.

It should be noted that some children's ready-made sets for working with plasticine include plastic cutting scissors, but it is not difficult to predict that they are more likely to disappoint and repel from the enthusiasm for modeling, rather than give a decent result. Also on sale are special molds that allow you to "stamp" flat figures of a certain type.

To give a complex shape

Theoretically, all the tools described in this article can be attributed to this category, but we will include here only what we have not yet talked about. A striking example is rolling pin, which is a frequenter of any sculpting kits. When there is a need to cut out parts from a perfectly flat "sheet" of plasticine, the material must be rolled out by analogy with the dough, because you cannot make such a "sheet" with your bare hands.

To do this, you can use a plastic rolling pin from the sets, a classic dough rolling pin, or any object of a similar oblong shape. Of the improvised means, various bottles and other containers are very popular, because you can pre-draw water inside: a warm one will immediately soften the material, a cold one will make the finished form harder faster.

An ordinary pharmacy syringe with a missing needle will allow the production of thin "sausages" to be brought to a completely new level, however, for such operations you will need a mass for modeling with very high plasticity.

To add texture

Figures molded from plasticine usually have a relatively smooth surface, regardless of whether it was done with bare hands or using primitive devices. If you want the surface to be rough or similar in appearance to some other material, certain tools are also used.

Particular attention should be paid to texture sheets... This product is a kind of sheet with a texture applied to it, mirroring the surface of one or another material - stone, wood, fabric. Since many varieties of plasticine turn out to be quite soft in the process of work, such a textured sheet leaves an imprint on the surface without any effort, giving the product an additional resemblance to the intended result.

At home, you can also use materials at hand - most often it is fabric that acts as such.

There are also special molds on sale that imitate not so much the surface of the material as a certain volumetric pattern (although textured sheets can also be such). This will allow you to achieve a complex interweaving of relief lines on the surface of the finished product, which could never have been achieved manually.

Ancillary funds

Of great importance for the creation of real masterpieces are various plastic containers and resealable buckets, in which it is very convenient to store unformed plasticine, afraid of fresh air. In combination with water of different temperatures, this simple device can take on a completely new role, as it will help create. For example, it will not be easy to cut small parts from a thin plasticine "pancake" - it will wrinkle and tear at the cut, leaving uneven edges.

To solve the problem, you just need to dip the "pancake" into a container of cold water! In a similar way, you can achieve the opposite effect by filling the container with warm water and waiting for a few minutes.

Although individual plasticine parts are usually well connected to each other, when creating too complex, and especially "skewed" shapes, it is not always possible to achieve the correct position of the parts in relation to each other. To fasten large parts, matches or toothpicks threaded into both parts are used - in this way, for example, you can attach the head to the body of the figure.

In other cases, the connecting element can be a thread at all, although the latter is often used not to connect parts, but as a separate external part, "mounted" with one end inside the plasticine base - this is how, for example, tails for animal figurines do.

Finally, don't forget about the ordinary thick cardboard, which can become an excellent basis for both a small figurine and for applique work and even for a full three-dimensional composition.

This material does not add weight to the product at all, but it allows you to put the craft anywhere without fear that it will stain the surface underneath.

Terms of use

Since we are talking about children, the most important requirement for any sculpting tool is safety. Specially made devices are usually made of plastic, and even when designed for cutting material, they do not allow cutting, but at the same time they can have a rather sharp end that is highly undesirable to get into the eye. For this reason, modeling classes for young children (especially group ones) must be carried out only in the presence of an adult who observes order.

At the same time, the use of improvised means, in particular, for cutting the same material, should be limited at least by age. You should not use real scissors for cutting at least before going to school, and even then they should be special, with non-sharp ends.

It is also worth paying attention to the size - the child is unlikely to need a half-meter pruner, but the danger from it will clearly be greater.

As for a real knife used for precise curly cutting, it is even better to leave its use to children who have already reached at least the age of 8-10 years, and even then provided that they are distinguished by great accuracy of movements.

In general, sculpting tools should be connected gradually. Having dumped two dozen different devices in front of your child, you will only stun him - he will start trying everything in turn, and in the end he will not learn to use anything and will be disappointed. You need to start simple - a stack and rocking chairs in combination with a board, and only then gradually introduce more and more complex instruments, gradually expanding the range of creative possibilities of the kid.