I decided to try my hand at sculpting using a product called Celluclay, It is a paper mache product where the paper has already been ground up and added to the mixture. I used the product to put a face onto a Bucky skull. Previously, I have used Crayola Model Magic for this purpose, but all 3 times I have done this, I have had serious issues with cracking as it dried over the weeks and months. I was also never able to merge 2 pieces of the clay without leaving a seam behind, so I wanted to try something different.
The results of my experiment were mixed. On the positive side, I didn't seem to have the problem with seams when I used Celluclay. After 24 hours of drying, I don't see any evidence of seams. I suspect this is because the Celluclay was wetter than the Model Magic, which made it easier to combine with itself.
However, the surface had way more texture than I wanted. No matter how much I worked with it, I could not eliminate the texture. I'm guessing the texture was coming from the ground up paper in the mixture. The face could probably work for a monster or maybe a leper or some such thing, but it definitely would not work for a normal human face.
My plan at this point is to give it a few more days to dry thoroughly. After 24 hours of drying time in my basement, some parts of the face are fairly hard, but other parts are still somewhat soft and will still take a fingernail pressed into it. Once the whole face is hard, I will attempt to sand out the extra texture. I picked up 220, 320, 400, and 600 grit sandpaper to work on it, so we'll see how it goes. I'll report back in a few days or so, depending on how long it takes to dry.
Page last modified 06/25/2011