How To Make A Turtle Out Of Clay

This clay turtle is and so cute! Information technology'due south so easy to make a turtle sculpture out of air dry clay. No complicated sculpting techniques here! Simply use your fingers and a toothpick to create your creature.

Clay Turtle Sculpting

Turtles are such interesting creatures. Did you know that behemothic tortoises (a blazon of turtle) can live for an average of 100 years?! Turtles are besides ane of the oldest reptile species, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs!

We've had a lot of fun working with clay this yr, and this turtle is no exception. Our air dry clay recipe is really soft and piece of cake to work with. It dries a beautiful crisp white, which makes a overnice surface for acrylic pigment.

This dirt turtle is great for beginners. It's actually piece of cake to brand the parts of the turtle, and no worries if information technology doesn't match ours completely – the dandy affair about clay is that every sculpture is a piddling different!

Check out our Clay Turtle video tutorial:

*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photograph tutorial.

Looking for more than clay craft ideas? Here's some of our favourites:

How to Make Clay

Clay Frog

Dried Blossom Clay Ornaments

DIY Clay Mushrooms

Here's what you lot'll need:

This postal service contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a pocket-size commission, which helps us run this website.

The full printable instructions are at the finish of this post, simply hither's a listing of products on Amazon and Target that are similar to the supplies we used:

Air Dry Clay (check out our mail for How to Make Clay)
Acrylic pigment
Paintbrush
Toothpicks

What clay should I use to make my clay turtle?

I definitely recommend our recipe for air dry clay — information technology has but 3 ingredients and information technology's so easy to brand! It has a really soft texture that makes it easy to work with, and it lasts for a long time if properly stored.

You can also purchase air dry clay if you don't feel like making information technology. Amazon, craft stores, and fine art supply stores all sell air dry clay.

What paint is best for clay?

Acrylic pigment is the nicest for painting on clay. It'southward thick and durable, and the colours stay vibrant after it'south dry.

You can also utilize tempera paint, which is keen if kids are using it, since tempera pigment is washable. Tempera paint isn't equally durable as acrylic, merely it's still a practiced selection.

How practice I dry my turtle clay sculpture?

Air dry clay commonly has less of a adventure of cracking when it'due south dried at room temperature. Air drying this turtle takes 3 to iv days.

Our air dry clay recipe as well dries well in the oven, which volition salvage you a lot of time! Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the turtle on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for ane to 1.5 hours, rotating it a few times. Afterwards the oven is off, allow the turtle to come to room temperature in the oven with the door closed.

What special tools do I need to sculpt?

If you're going to be sculpting a lot, you may desire to buy a pack of clay sculpting tools, simply it's not necessary for making this dirt turtle. Nosotros made our turtle sculpture merely with our hands and a toothpick!

Fifty-fifty if y'all'd like to utilize sculpting tools, in that location are a lot of household items that work. Toothpicks or skewers are great for creating lines. Cuticle or nail tools are actually similar to the sculpting tools you tin buy.

You can also utilise cutlery (forks, spoons, and knives) for creating certain shapes and lines. A paintbrush or toothbrush can be used to add texture to the clay.

How to Make a Dirt Turtle

This clay turtle is cute and SO Like shooting fish in a barrel to brand! Made with air dry out clay and painted with acrylic paint, it's perfect for beginners working with dirt.

Air dry out clay (link in tips section below)
Acrylic paint

Toothpicks

Pace 1: Make the turtle's beat

Class a brawl of clay and flatten information technology down to exist 2-one/2 inches long and 2-1/4 inches wide. Shine out the edges to create a dome shape.
Use a toothpick to carve trounce markings into the clay.

Step ii: Brand the turtle's trunk

Take another piece of clay, slightly larger than the vanquish, and form the turtle's trunk. Have ane side of the brawl and class a head nearly 1/2 inch wide and 1 inch long.
Flatten out the rest of the clay and make a torso and four flippers/feet.

Our turtle's body was near one-1/two inches across. The front flippers were 1-i/2 inches long and ane/2 an inch at the widest office, tapering down to 1/4 inch.

The smaller back flippers were most 1 inch long and ane/two inch broad, tapering down to 1/iv inch.
At the bottom of the turtle form a picayune tail around 1/2 inch long, 1/two inch broad at the peak and 1/4 inch at the cease.

The turtle should be effectually 3-one/2 inches long from head to tail.
Now that the turtle'south body is formed, smooth out the edges with your fingers.
Printing the turtle shell down on acme of its body.

Stride iii: Make the turtle'due south eyes

Curl a ball of clay a bit less than 1/ii inch in diameter.
Brand another tiny brawl and press it down flat. It should be around i/viii inch in diameter. Add it to the middle of the 1/2 inch ball.
Make some other middle and adhere both to the elevation front of the turtle's head.
Allow your turtle to dry out. If using store bought clay, follow the directions on the package.

If using our air dry dirt recipe (see link in tips section beneath) this will have 3 - 4 days at room temperature. You tin can too place the turtle on a parchment lined blistering tray and bake information technology at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for i to one-1/2 hours.

Step 4: Paint the turtle

Use a darker green (or whatsoever color y'all'd like!) to pigment the turtle's beat out.
Use a lighter or contrasting colour to paint the turtle's body, and add a dot of black to the turtle's eyes.

Allow paint to dry before handling.
Your clay turtle is complete!

We made this clay turtle using our Bootleg Dirt Recipe!

If y'all're having trouble getting the clay to stick to itself, put a modest dab of water on one of the pieces earlier attaching it. This will aid the pieces stick to each other.

Turtles fabricated out of clay are the perfect trinket for turtle lovers, and our 3 ingredient dirt recipe makes information technology and so like shooting fish in a barrel (and inexpensive!) to brand. Working with clay and sculpting a clay turtle is such a fun fine art project that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Here's fifty-fifty more than dirt craft ideas:

How to Brand Clay

Dried Flower Clay Ornaments

How to Brand a Dirt Frog