2. Most clay animals will be best assembled in pieces. Start with the body. From the clay you have to work with, tear off a chunk and mold it into the shape of the animal's body. Keep the shape loose and flexible at this point--don't worry too much about making it look exactly like the animal just yet.

3. Tear off four smaller pieces of clay and form the limbs. Again, keep the structure loose and don't worry just yet about making them look perfect. If you are using sculpting clay, score the arms and legs on the end where they will connect to the body, and score the body where the arms and legs will be attached.Attach the limbs and smooth down the seams with your thumb or a sponge, or a combination of the two.

4. Tear off a piece for the head and neck. Score the neck where it will attach to the, body and score the body where it will attach to the neck. Mold the two together with a dab of water and smooth down the seams.

5. If you are using sculpting clay, hollow out the animal's body so that it is no more than an inch thick; otherwise, it will explode in the kiln when fired. Depending on your animal's shape, hollow the animal out from the bottom, leaving a large hole, or cut the body in half and gut it from the inside. Reattach the two halves by scoring each side and then smoothing down the seams. Any air bubbles in your clay will also cause it to explode in the kiln, so use your needle tool to make a very small hole leading to the body's hollow middle.

6. Add details to the animal's body. Form the eyes, nose, mouth, and teeth. Give texture to its fur or muscles to its body with your fingers or sculpting tools or run a comb over the body to simulate hair or fur marks. For small animals, use a needle tool or a similar object to create texture. For larger animals, use wider and blunter objects like wood modeling tools, texture blades and ribs. Try not to form one part too perfectly before the other parts are formed.

7. If you are trying to make your animal look realistic, flick your eyes back and forth between the animal in the photo and the clay animal you've created. Look for inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Is the shape of the body distorted or out of proportion? Are the muscles accurately placed?

8. Stand the animal up on its feet and balance it until you are sure it is stable. Make adjustments to the legs as necessary. You may need to widen the feet, hooves or claws, or thicken the legs slightly in order to make the animal stand.

9. If you intend to fire your animal in a kiln, set it to the side and allow it to dry completely. If there is moisture in your clay when it is fired, it will explode in the kiln

10. use your needle tool to make hatch marks along both seams where the clay will be sealed together. With a sponge or your finger, spread on a dab of water over both sets of hatch marks, then attach the two pieces of clay. You can also use baking clay for this project. Follow the directions given on the box.Read more: How to Model Clay Animals | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5038811_model-clay-animals.html#ixzz1V5hl0j00<br />How to Make Clay Animals<br />Instructions<br />Things You'll Need<br />2 cups baking soda<br />1 cup water<br />1 cup corn starch<br />2 quart saucepan<br />Wax paper<br />Mixing stick<br />Making the Clay<br />1 Mix the dry ingredients together in a saucepan.<br />2 Stir the mixture with a stick over medium heat. Be sure to stir the mixture constantly until it thickens. When it thickens to the consistency of mashed potatoes, you're done.<br />3 Scrape the mixture from the saucepan and onto a piece of wax paper. Let it cool for approximately 10 minutes.<br />4 Roll the clay with your hands into a ball and then flatten. Continue doing this until the clay is smooth.<br />Creating the Animal<br />Roll the ball of clay into a tube shape. This will be the animal's body.<br />Break off a portion of the tube and roll into a ball for a head.<br />Break off another piece of the tube for the legs and roll it into a longer thinner tube.<br />Cut the long thin tube into 4 even pieces and use them as legs.<br />Shape the legs so that they can support the weight of the larger tube and attach the legs to the body tube.<br />Place the head on one side of the body tube. At the other end, pinch the clay to form a tail.<br />Make facial features on the head. You may use your fingers or for finer details, use a toothpickRead more: How to Make Clay Animals | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2107204_make-clay-animals.html#ixzz1V5fbo3Sn<br />How do you make an animal out of clay?<br />Objective: To make an animal using quot;
Pinch potquot;
method with minimal tools and equipment. Lakeside Pottery Ceramic School and Studio in Stamford, CT uses this project to provide instant gratification in the first class or two where it increases self-confidence and interest to learn more about pottery. What is needed: 1) Clay 2) Pin tool 3) Slip Step by step: 1) Form two equal sized balls of clay, approximately 1/2 pound each.2) Hold ball in left hand and push right thumb into the middle of the ball leaving about 1/4quot;
- 1/2quot;
thickness at the bottom. 3) Slowly and evenly pinch the clay, starting at the bottom rotating the ball, moving toward the top edge. Leave about 1/4quot;
thickness at edge. 4) Once both pinch pots have been created, score with a pin tool both edges. 5) Apply slip heavily to one pot. 6) Join pots. They might not fit exactly, this is fine. Slide the back of the thumb from one pot over seam onto the other. 7) Once the seam is completely sealed, air is trapped like a balloon and the object can be altered to create desired shape by gently rolling and pressing. 8) To form a head, make another much smaller pinch pot and attach it to body form using the slip and score method described above (not shown). 9) Add legs and feet, always remembering to slip and score everything. 10) To form spines, roll small pieces of clay into approximately 1/2quot;
long coils. Fold in half and press folded end onto clay body, smearing and smoothing as you go. 11) Cut a hole on the bottom to allow air to escape while drying and during firing. Also, create an air passage between the head and the body. 12) Dry very slowly by lightly covering the finished work. 13) High firing (cone 6 or higher) is recommended to insure the spines are not too fragile in the finished product. <br /> Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_make_a_animal_out_of_clay#ixzz1VTLykAQo<br />To see these tips with a video clip and pictures, please visit: http://lakesidepottery.com/HTML%20Text/Making%20a%20hedgehog%20from%20clay.htm <br />