2. 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<br />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.<br />7<br />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?<br />8<br />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.<br />9<br />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<br />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.<br />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<br />Mix the dry ingredients together in a saucepan.<br />2<br />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<br />Scrape the mixture from the saucepan and onto a piece of wax paper. Let it cool for approximately 10 minutes.<br />4<br />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 />1<br />Roll the ball of clay into a tube shape. This will be the animal's body.<br />2<br />Break off a portion of the tube and roll into a ball for a head.<br />3<br />Break off another piece of the tube for the legs and roll it into a longer thinner tube.<br />4<br />Cut the long thin tube into 4 even pieces and use them as legs.<br />5<br />Shape the legs so that they can support the weight of the larger tube and attach the legs to the body tube.<br />6<br />Place the head on one side of the body tube. At the other end, pinch the clay to form a tail.<br />7<br />Make facial features on the head. You may use your fingers or for finer details, use a toothpick<br />Read more: How to Make Clay Animals | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2107204_make-clay-animals.html#ixzz1V5fbo3Sn<br />