Choose the right kind of modeling clay. Look at the packages and see the labels for porcelain, earthenware and ceramic. Use ceramic clay for sculpting. It isn’t heavy like earthenware clay or very thin like porcelain clay. It holds its shape easily without being too delicate when it dries.
Find the right sculpting tools. A beginning sculptor should have a basic sculptor tool with a flat, curve end and a stylus end, a small cutter with a round loop and a square loop at each end, a scraper tool with a jagged metal end, a double cutter with a circular loop and a curved loop at either end, a curver with a serrated and smooth-shaping curve at either end and a ribbon cutter with a curved and an angled loop at either end.
Cut off as much clay as you need with a wire. To do this, wrap the wire around the slab and pull until the wire cuts through the clay.
Squeeze a damp sponge over the piece of clay you’ll work.
Push, pull and work the clay to remove air bubbles.
Mold the clay into a basic, hollow cylinder with 3/4-inch walls.
Carve out a very rough shape of the end product. Use the round end of the double cutter to remove large swaths of clay. For instance, if carving a bust, carve out the rounded skull and a rough mock-up of the chin, and thin a place at the bottom for the neck.
Smooth and finalize the general shape with the ribbon cutter. Use the tool's angled end to cut and smooth ears, lips and the nose and the rounded end to scrape out areas for the eyes.
Apply linseed oil to both ends of the sculpture tool.
Press the sculpture tool's curved end against the skull and cheekbones to smooth them and use the stylus end to smooth the nostrils, lips and ears.
Wet your hands occasionally to rub water over the sculpture to keep the clay from drying out.
Form the eyes. Roll two ping-pong-sized balls for eyes, and use the scraper to roughen the eye sockets and backs of the eyes. Set the eyes into the sockets and press lightly.
Form two, small semicircles for the eyelids of each eye and press them in place.
Scrape small creases in the eyelids and lips with the small cutter.
Carve tear ducts and the hairline with your curver tool.
Moisten the sculpture for a work break. Soak a cheesecloth in water and ring it out so it still drips but is no longer soaked. Spread it over your sculpture so all the clay is covered to keep it moist and workable until you can come back to it.