Since introducing 'Harvest Festival' beads as prizes in the annual Halloween Fanart Contest, we've had people express curiosity about the bead-making process. Especially since we don't offer the beads for sale, it seemed only fitting to post up a how-to tutorial - and here it is! This tutorial will help you in sculpting your own beads, but the info can also be used for other types of sculpture. Hopefully it comes in helpful! It's narrated by David, with actual helpful information included by Liz.
MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED:
Sculpey Clay.
This can be found by asking your wife for ‘that squishy stuff’.

Sculpting Thing.
Pick out a nice fork to use, and when you return from another room it will have transformed into this thing.
Paperclip.
Steal it from work. They'll never check your shoe.

Supplies for Paint.
Taste the rainbow,
and you’ll regret it.
The Oven.
Mystery Item.
A secret required material that I will not tell you about until it's too late.
Sculpey (It's a brand name) isn't technically clay, it's a sculpturing compound-basically it won‘t harden or dry out until you bake it and it‘s easy to mold right away, which is why we heart it. We typically pick up a block of ‘Super’ Sculpey, which will run about $12. Smaller quantities are available in $3 blocks, ‘Sculpey III‘- and those come in a variety of different colors, which can be handy. There are similar sculpting products available, the brand name 'Fimo' is one example. As for paint, any water based paint should work. We typically use acrylic. Note that some of the more artsy acrylic brands can be rather pricey - a great alternative is the little 80 cent craft paint tubes-these usually don‘t need to be watered down. Both Sculpey and these acrylic paints can be found at craft stores, like Jo-Ann Fabrics or Michaels. Sculpting tools, such as the one displayed above, can be found in nearby aisles, but you'll probably get roped into buying a whole set when all you really need is one tool. An Exacto-knife is a good replacement. Also, there are more materials you'll need than what Dave listed. For example, you'll want to have a special surface to sculpt on - a square of wood or plexi-glass would be ideal, or even a sheet of paper. If you sculpt directly on furniture like a wood table, the Sculpey leaves marks because of its high oil content. It wouldn't hurt to grab a toothpick, pencil, and maybe some little wooden dowel rods or wire as well.

Yeah, what she said. Note when picking up your materials, that nothing else on this earth can be used in making beads. Don't use any techniques not covered in this tutorial, or you will be meddling with powers far beyond my comprehension. If you don't do precisely as I tell you, I can't be responsible for the chaos that will unfold.

So, you start with a block of Sculpey clay. That's a bit much for our needs, so slice off a more manageable chunk. It will start out hard - you have to work the clay for awhile, so imagine your fingers are curled around the thr oat of someone you hate, and have a good time. Several short minutes later, your imaginary foe is growing cold on the floor, and you've got nice warm malleable clay to work with.

Roll the clay into little balls that are roughly bead sized. Be sure to save some leftover clay for use later. If an alligator makes a surprise guest appearance in your life, you'll need something on hand to feed it.

Next, find a sick, devious paperclip and straighten it out. Beads have holes in them, I forget why, but they do. So use the paperclip to skewer your balls. (That joke wasn't intentional, and you have a sick mind.) Wiggle the paperclip around to widen the hole. When you remove the paperclip, the holes might look a bit ragged. To fix that, stick a pencil into them and work with it to even out the edges into a nice little circle. Googly eyes! ...Yes, I forgot to mention you'll need a pencil - head out to the store now, and then continue reading.


Next, it's time to take our spare reserve of clay, and turn it into a pancake. This is both fun and nutritious.
Actually, a toothpick will work better for putting a hole through your bead. Also, don't go to the store until you're done reading the whole tutorial. Trust me.

I like to add some kind of texture onto my beads. These particular ones are slated to be little pumpkiny things, so I use my sculpting thing to make vertical lines. Once again, I have to stress that this is the sole technique you can safely use for making beads, so if you try anything other than little vertical lines, saints preserve you.

Now we have some little bead-looking things, and we have a flat pancake thing. Flip the pancake, to make sure the bottom isn't stuck to your surface. Then it's cutout time! A great side benefit of cutout time is adding a nice, textured finish to tables, unless some type of cutting board accidentally gets in the way.

I want little jack-o-lantern faces on my beads, so I lightly sketch the shapes I want into the flat clay with the sculpting thing. (Technically this is Liz's sculpting thing, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.) It helps to cut out the eyes and mouth before you cut out the border of the pumpkin, because otherwise slicing those features can squish the whole thing out of shape.
Sometimes, especially if you're in a warm environment, it's easy for your pieces to sag or smudge some detail if you put it aside. If you want to firm your clay up a bit, place it in the fridge and let it harden until you need it. This is also a good place to store clay if you’re working in the summer, and it's not time for baking just yet.

After you've cut out your jack-o-lantern face, carefully lift it free of the surrounding clay and stick it onto the bead. Press it on firmly, but not so hard that you mush anything.

Now you're pretty much finished with the sculpting! Take this time to polish up any details and rough spots on your marbular masterpiece. The next step is baking, so this is your last chance to easily mold.
Set the oven to 275 degrees, and with your beads on a baking tray, pop them in for about 10-20 minutes. (The clay packaging has official baking instructions) Baking time may vary based on the size of your beads, so check to make sure they don't burn. If they start to darken in color even slightly, they've been in for a bit too long and should come out- expect a minor odor while baking. Over-baking your beads can cause their shape to distort.

When perfectly baked, your beads will look just the same, be harder, and taste terrible.

If curiosity gets you: burning your clay happens if you ‘accidentally’ set the oven to 300 or above. The edges turn dark until the entire thing crisps to a semi-gloss jet black. However, the smell becomes phenomenal so I’d like to stick the phrase ’maybe toxic?’ next to ’sorta cool’.
You don't need a special kiln to bake your beads, a regular oven will work fine. (NOT a microwave oven.) Even baked properly, your beads could still shift their shape a bit - especially the string hole can tend to close up. To prevent this, leave a toothpick or paperclip through the bead as it bakes, they'll be fine in the oven. Tinfoil can also be included to help support different shapes or delicate figurine poses, if you're sculpting figures. (Tinfoil can be used in your creation to reduce the amount of clay you used. No, I don’t see this working great with beads.) Also, when you take your beads out of the oven, they will still be soft at first - but don't let this fool you. When the beads cool off, that's when the hardening happens, so be sure not to nick them before then. Once your beads are baked and cooled, you can still do some dimensional work on them. Although you can't smooth and mold shapes, you can go in with a sharp tool and scratch / carve textures into the surface. You can refine detail at this stage with more precision than when the clay is soft.

 

Now comes the fun part - and after that marathon of misery, you must be relieved indeed. Painting!
I like to do an undercoat with most acrylic colors - and once again, there's no way to make a bead other than my way, so pay attention!

Acrylic paints tend to be slightly transparent sometimes - especially if you use water with them. An undercoat of solid color will help conceal gaps and thinness of paint later. One trick is to make your undercoat a bit darker than your final color, so your imminent dry-brushing will stand out better.
Dry brushing is when you take paint on a paintbrush, remove most of it on say, a paper towel, and then thinly brush it onto a surface as lightly as possible. Thiswill highlight the more elevated portions of your sculpture if you use a lighter color, and is especially useful in making textures 'pop'. It helps to use a wide paintbrush or even a small sponge or paper towel. Before you dry brush though, you may want to try the opposite technique - adding a wash. Get your paint saturated with a good deal of water, and then use the brush to sop it onto your sculpture. The watery paint will flow into all the nooks and crannies of your sculpture. Then use a paper towel to the dab the extra paint off. You'll miss the paint that goes into the cracks and low textured areas, which will help highlight them nicely. Add a lighter color of dry brush onto a dried black-colored wash for bonus points.

 

 

On these jack-o-lantern beads, I do an undercoat for the light jack-o-lantern faces, and one for the dark bead background. Put your beads on a dowel to let them dry unmolested, or - if you don't have a dowel - kill a wire clothes hanger and jury rig its corpse to suit your needs.

We're almost finished! Final painting is relatively easy - paint another layer of color onto your dried beads. Try using a slightly off-color from your original, and lightly patting it on with a paper towel or younger sibling. Also, this is the stage where things get shiny. I, like many crows, enjoy shiny objects. Use some metallic craft paints and give your beads that bit of zing that says, 'collect me!'
Be cautious with the metallic paints, it can be easy to get excited and go overboard in their application. In addition to metallic acrylic paints, some paints meant for model cars can have interesting glosses and shines to them. However, you may want to wait on the glossy paint until after the next step...

After your final painting flourishes have dried, you need that ingredient I kept secret: A glossy spray finish. Make another trip out to the craft store, then come back and keep reading. You're welcome. A spray finish will help protect your paint from wearing and chipping off over time, and add a nice sheen to the final look.

Now, these sprays are rather toxic, so for health reasons you'll want to shut yourself into a small, unventilated closet and complete this step by candlelight while hyperventilating. Or you'll want to do it outside with a mask on, something like that. I forget, I think one of those choices is supposed to be bad and such.

After applying a coat of glossy finish to your bead, let it dry overnight in a well ventilated area away from gas leaks and wildfires.

Actually, using a spray finish on your beads isn't required, it's more of an additional option. Before you begin spraying your beads with finish, I would recommend doing a final check for any missed spots that may need a paint touch-up. Also, you don't have to use glossy finish: matte finishes are available if you're going for a less-glossy look...every matte spray I’ve used still left a little shine. If you use a matte finish over top of metallic paint, however, it can significantly negate the shininess of that paint. If you want a sculpture with matte finish but some select shiny areas, you will want to finish your matte spraying, and then paint the shiny colors on top afterwards. This is the technique I use with the Mace and Whip figurines, actually. I don't want their clothes and skin to be shiny, so I use a matte spray. Then I paint their eye colors on top, to impart the gloss effect. The shiny areas stand out better when contrasted against a matte background.
Spray finishes reek of chemicals, and your beads will share that scent for a day at least. It's best to do the spraying and drying somewhere that neighbors won't be subjected to the experience. If you can‘t stand the final smell, I'd recommend a sneaky little squirt of body spray or perfume to fool your nose - vanilla or mango works pretty well. I pretend it helps the smell fade quicker.

The next step involves a slingshot, sequined jumpsuit, crying kids, and free publicity, but we can probably skip over that for the purposes of this tutorial. You're done!

These sculpting techniques can obviously be used on more than beads. If you're sculpting figures, quick additional tip: using some wire or tinfoil as an armature for the pose will give you something to build off from, and have the additional benefit of structural support for the clay so it doesn't have to support its own weight. Your Sculpey creation can withstand being baked a few times if you need to build in pieces. Just remember that your creations are a little delicate and can crack or break if not handled properly. At any rate, we hope this tutorial came in handy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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