series baking...why?

[vegeta]

hi.

- I know that many artist bake an S. Sculpey sculpture
several times before the piece is finish, i wonder why?

-I also want to know please, how can i add and blend new
unbaked clay to baked clay?....is necessary to add something
to the baked clay before add the new unbaked clay?..

THANKS IN ADVANCE
Vegeta

[cblakey1]

Originally Posted by vegeta

hi.

- I know that many artist bake an S. Sculpey sculpture
several times before the piece is finish, i wonder why?

-I also want to know please, how can i add and blend new
unbaked clay to baked clay?....is necessary to add something
to the baked clay before add the new unbaked clay?..

THANKS IN ADVANCE

It helps firm up the sculpt (armature) and sometimes lock in detail that could otherwise get messed up by handling the sculpt to work on other areas. When I do it, it is usually under the prescribed temperature for like, 5-7 minutes, not the full 15 for the first bake, then after adding other parts, clothes, etc.. I will do a final baking for usually close to the recommended time.

I would probably not bake it more than 2x because it is prone to cracking and overbaking in thin areas. Lots of folks use a heat gun, and though I have one, I haven't completely gotten the hang of it yet.

As far as introducing new clay to the baked sculpt, I recommend Liquid Sculpey (bakeable transfer and color medium). Just brush a litte on the area you are attaching the unbaked clay to and it helps hold and blend nicely.


disclaimer
As you work more with Sculpey, you will pick up tricks that work for you and apply them. What works for some isn't necessarily the ticket for the sculpting populace.

[vegeta]

thanks cblakey1!!!

[DaddyVader]

A cheaper alternative to Liquid Sculpey is good old fashioned Vasoline. It helps bond the new Sculpey to the baked surface and it helps to smooth it out as well. I've baked my pieces multiple times to preserve details I didn't want to get messed up. Some sculptors also like to hold their sculpts while working on them. Baking them makes this possible while not damaging a section you've already worked on. I personally find it easier to add wrinkles and such details to an already baked surface. Hope that helps!

Daddy V

[vegeta]

Originally Posted by DaddyVader

A cheaper alternative to Liquid Sculpey is good old fashioned Vasoline. It helps bond the new Sculpey to the baked surface and it helps to smooth it out as well. I've baked my pieces multiple times to preserve details I didn't want to get messed up. Some sculptors also like to hold their sculpts while working on them. Baking them makes this possible while not damaging a section you've already worked on. I personally find it easier to add wrinkles and such details to an already baked surface. Hope that helps!

Daddy V

Thanks..of course it help!

[Mugsy]

You guys rock! I was just about to ask this question and I can see the logic and physics of the answers! Excellent!

[occulum]

rather than start a new thread on the same topic I thought Id try to sneak in more questions on this older one.

are there any problems to try to avoid when series baking?

-is it difficult to seamlessly blend an already baked piece into unbaked sculptures? like say, attaching a hand thats already been baked to an arm thats still being worked on?

-I also recently found a heat gun at my local hobby store and was wondering if this would be a better option as opposed to series baking? would it be better to just hit areas I dont want to mess up with a heat gun rather than baking the entire piece? any pointers/problems when using a heat gun?

working with SuperSculpey

thanks in advance
-j

[Hsoj]

If you mix up your super sculpey with a color cube of black and white Premo your baked pieces will be a tad more flexible (and not as fragile as plain SS or SS + Sculpey/sculpey 3).

I almost always series bake every sculpey (or aves epoxy) sculpt I do. It does lock in details and I believe it actually allows for fewer cracks because your layers are not nearly as thick. Ill do the armature with basic anatomy and pose and bake, then do the surface anatomy and face then bake again, then the first layers of clothes or costume, bake , next layer, bake, and so on. I've baked some things more than 10 times and they're still fine and uncracked.

If you have a lot of cracking another consideration is getting an oven thermometer from the grocery store to see whether you're really baking at roughly 250*F - 275*F or actually 350*F. I set my oven at 200*F for sculpey and aves projects which is actually 265*F according to the thermometer, don't trust that dial!

j:
Other than keeping proper porportions on individual pieces the hardest part will be making the join seamless (there will invariably be a slight bump at the join). But you can sand the join perfectly smooth after it bakes and cools before you prime & paint or mold it. If you are intent on preserving the natural hue of flesh colored sculpey then beware that series baking will cause a hue shift with each baking, the more you bake a flesh colored piece the darker/redder it may get. I use grey mix of SS and premo so it's not as noticable.

Heat guns are nice for a variety of uses but you must be careful that you don't leave it in any one place on your sculpt for too long or you could boil the sculpey black (with actual bubbles) instead of just slightly curing it. If you want to get a heat gun try and find one with a variable temp but always keep the heat moving around. Hardware stores like home depot have a huge assortment of heat guns in the painting deptartment.

[Knight-templar]

reading what Hsoj said about baking i use super sculpey but i tend to bake mine between 75 & 100 degrees but for a longer period of time, switch the oven off after baking but leaving the sculpt in the oven untill it is cool, to avoid cracking...does anyone else bake at a low temp?

Simon

[occulum]

thanks for the input!
Ive definitely read about baking at lower temps, but thats the lowest I've seen so far.