In today’s video I show you not so much a project, but a technique. Combining translucent polymer clay with oil paints in shades of blue to give a gorgeous marbled, watery effect. Adding a touch of gold leaf lends a bit of nice sparkle.
Of course, you can use any colors you like for your beads. Just be sure to use a very small amount of paint to preserve the transparency.
In real life these beads have a lovely depth to them which is hard to capture on camera. You can see down through many layers.
A more patient person that I would have sanded and buffed these to really bring out the shine. Instead, I glazed mine with a satin finish Varathane. Another option would be to put the clay into a bezel and cover with a crystal clear dome of gloss resin.
If I were still making weekly dragons this technique would make a great dragon veneer.
Whatever you decide to do with the idea, happy creating!
Tools & Materials:
- Pardo Art Clay, Transparent
- Phthalo Blue oil paint
- Prussian Blue oil paint
- latex gloves
- paint thinner
- clay blade
- bead roller
- bead piercing needle
- water based satin finish Varathane
Enjoy the video. 🙂
Watch the Oil & Water Beads-Polymer Clay Video Tutorial at YouTube.
Aren’t they beautiful! Love the different shapes as well.
Glad you like them. They’re even prettier irl.
Great tutorial Sandy. Thanks for sharing! I recommend Poly Clay Play as a much cheaper place to purchase Pardo Translucent clay and you can get the bead roller there too. https://polyclayplay.com/pardo-translucent-art-clay-transparent/?aff=4 and http://polyclayplay.com/tri-bead-roller/
Oh, wow! Their pricing for the Pardo is less than half of what I was ready to pay on Amazon. Thank you!