Polymer Clay: Qilin

Affectionately dubbed "Squidges" because very detail of her was so delicate (including several re-dos of her antler/horns, scales and eyes) also in that she's for my dear friend whom when we meet we always hug (I'm not usually a huggy person IRL) and we call them "squidges" instead of hugs

All very dopey but full of affection, this is my first Qilin sculpture and I'm really pleased with how she's turned out. There's a nice balance of simplicity as well as complicated detailing which I think works really well

I tried to capture all the glitter and shimmer that she has over her body but I don't think I've succeeded I'll be attempting to upload a video that might show it better, just got to download a program that allows me to edit videos

Techy stuff:
Squidgies is the first Qilin I've made, she's also the first one to have an aluminium core for her body and head, *DragonsAndBeasties every so kindly uploaded a video ([link])of her sculpting one of her signature style dice-dragons and I've taken quite a bit of information from that (without directly copying Becca's designs, unlike soooo many >.>) Becca uses aluminium foil (regular kitchen foil) to bulk out the cores of her sculptures to give them strength and save on clay usage (let's face it you can buy 25 metres of aluminium foil for what 1 block of polymer clay costs -.-').
First I sculpted her head and body, added legs, ears and tail then part-baked (10-15 minutes in the oven at 130) to give me a firmer base to add details to. Repeated this method of detail > part-bake until I'd added everything, then baked for a final 20 mins, it's likely that she's spent about an hour in the oven total.
Onto painting, used a variety of acrylics and glitter glues:
Daler-Rowney System 3 magenta, black and silver. DecoArt Dazzling Metalics 'Festive Red'. Hobby Craft's own brand of glitter glue (picked up a pack that has 24+ tubes of all different colours for £5.99, I couldn't believe how expensive glitter is! So I settled for own brand, not to humble to go for what I need over how much I've paid ).
Left her paint to dry for a couple of hours, though acrylic dries SUPER fast in the humidity we've been having, I didn't want to smudge any of her details.
Finally, she's been glossed with Americana DuraClear Gloss Varnish (Polyurethane Gloss Varnish. I've TRIED to find this damned water based polyurethane but everywhere I look they're asking staggering prices or it's in massive quantities. I figure when I start using coloured clay to make stuff if the gloss eats it (might do some test pieces...) I'll have to bite the bullet but until then (and while I'm enjoying painting the sculptures) I'll live with this stuff

Sorry for the long description, I've learnt a great deal while working on this one, she's a bit bigger than my previous sculpts (which isn't a bad thing) still only 2.5" tall though ^^

I'll be making my new Qilin character (designed by the lovely *Chocostars ([link]) and revealing his name

Until then, enjoy the summer

{{Artwork and character design are ©SDJ. Any resemblance to any existing characters is purely accidental and in no way intended as a copyright infringement. This piece has been made as a gift to a dear friend, no theft was committed and no offence is intended.}}

Ingredients:
Aluminium foil. Polymer Clay (Super Sculpey). Acrylic paint. Polyurethane gloss varnish. Love and affection.

Art Status & Commission Info: [link] (This qilin sculpt falls into the high-detail, due to a) more detail () and b) larger size).