Using nails and hammers as art allows you to make works with texture and depth that can't be achieved with paint or plaster. Textures and patterns are achieved in several ways. Using the same type of nails driven to the same depth gives a uniform pattern, while driving the nails to differing heights will give depth and pattern variations. Using different sizes and types of nails will create other styles of pattern variations. While learning to master intricate effects may take some practice, simple designs may be achieved by any beginner. The most important requirement of nail art is an idea of what you want to create.
Geometric designs are often used as tabletop art. Orbs are a common display shape. Pyramids and eggs can also be found in many a display cabinet. Making an industrial art display from a geometric shape is an easy project for beginners. Buy a form for your shape. Make sure it is a material that you can easily drive a nail into. Choose the nails you want to use for the project. Paint the base object, and then drive the nails in evenly around the object to make a uniform pattern. The finished orb or pyramid makes an elegant, simple art display.
To make pictures from nails, first choose your "canvas" material. Use a wood type or thickness that will be easy to drive nails into. Draw or stencil the picture using a pen or pencil. Carefully tap nails onto the design with the hammer. Experiment with effects of the nails. You can make slopes by driving a nail in a bit further than the one next to it, then another next to it a bit further, and so on. Lines can be achieved using a nail with a different size or shape of head or simply by changing the pattern of the nails themselves along line points. Be creative. There are no rules.
You can use nails in a number of ways to make sculptures. You can start with a base material in the design you want and then cover the sculpture with nails. You can also use nails as the only material in a sculpture. Doing so may require other materials, such as glue or a soldering iron. You may use a hammer in making nail sculptures predominantly to bend the nails into the shapes you need for the sculpture. You may put your hammer down and just use the nails to complete a work of art. The only limitation to what you create is your imagination.