Toucan Sculpture!

[noooitaremybirthday]

I wasn't so sure this belonged in the poly clay section, because it's technically air-dry clay, and it has inchies on it... and other stuff... So BEHOLD, I'm putting it in the misc topics I made this toco toucan sculpture because it's my dream/10 year goal to have this kind of toucan someday. It's wild, it's crazy, but I need an outlandish goal to keep my head up lately.


I first made a rough form of the beak and body as two separate pieces out of aluminum foil to save some clay and to keep it from being too heavy and slow-drying. I attached the two pieces with stabbed in toothpicks and tacky glue.


Then I covered the outside with a layer of air-dry clay (I used premier brand, it comes in a red/white package) and I tried to make it as smooth as possible... The outside can be sanded when it's dry, but the less sanding the better (and easier!) I say. This picture is before I did any sanding, so it's a wee bit lumpy.


And then I used artists acrylics to paint the toucannish colors I also added a tail, which is made out of thick canvas fabric painted/stiffened with acrylic paint.


The base is a scrap of 2x4 that I had randomly laying around in my craft room. I painted it with craft acrylics and added this quote: "Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."


And then the edges are decorated with inchies of toucan doodles on pieces of vintage children's book page.


I got the mini straw hat at hobby lobby a while ago in a pack of 5, I think, very cheap. Embellished that with a pheasant feather and novelty yarns. AND, if you look close, there is blue glitter glue around the eyes which are round, flat hematite beads Nothing is quite complete without a little glitter, right? Thank you for looking!

[MissingWillow]

I just LOVE this! 

[fiddlegirl8]

Noo - SUPER WOW!  I want this for my own!  YOU ROCK - just as you always do! 
 

[cinnamon teal]

Wow! This is awesome! I bow down to your amazing skills.

[jillybeans]

OMG, Nooo!  What a freakin' awesome toucan!  I absolutely adore him!  He looks like he ready to hop off that block and grab some tropical alcoholic beverages!

[Jinjeet Phoenix]

I had to hit "this rocks" even before responding here. This is just incredible!!! After such a great outcome you sure deserve your very own Toucan!!! Simply awesome!!! Thanks for sharing how you made him. (Cool insight!)

[thisbirdsabsurd]

I saw this on your blog - and it's just as fantastic the second time around!  He is way too gosh darn cute - and that hat is a perfect finishing touch.  LOVE HIM!!! 

[suereal]

heheh sooo cute nooo!  And thanks for sharing your technique.  I have a few things climbing around in my head recently and I can't figure out how to get them out (in other words, material choices are being elusive).  But you may have opened the door.  Thanks

[zaluly]

just gorgeous! so entirely ROCKS!

[microjivvy]

The toucan is fabulous indeed, but I particularly love the details in his "platform".