NEEDLE TOOLS & CURVED TOOLS
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Needle tools is one of those tools that you would probably be okay if you don't have it, but it's nice to have! I use it to make textures on clay by "poking" holes, and using the sides to make straight lines (figurine's hair, for example)
HANDMADE NEEDLE TOOLS
The first five tools from the left in the photo above is actually just normal needles, and I mold clay around it to make a handle.
I make sure I built the clay nearer towards the other end of the needle so that I can use the sides of the needle too. However, the more needle is being covered by the clay, the stronger the clay will be. Hence, getting the longest needle you can find is the best when you want to build you own needle tools.
I basically got this packet of needles from Daiso, used only one or two and there's so many left haha. Best thing about making your own needle tool is that you can get the thickness you want, and you can blunt the needle if you want with sandpaper!
I find blunt needle tool easier to use than sharp ones, they're much easier to control somehow 😀
I also took a block of clay, put the needles through and voila! - a neat needle holder 😂 Quite shabby but it works fine hahaha.
I just stuck it to my workspace like this at the side, so as long as it works it's all good hehe.
1st Handmade Needle Tool:
This is the thinnest needle tool that I made, and it has been with me since the beginning! Because it's thin, it's actually really bendy. Hence, it's the best tool to be used to sculpt hair for figurines.
I also like the fact that it's blunt, so I don't accidentally poke myself (happens more often than you think haha)
I use this needle tool the most! Hurhur 😀
Here's how I use the exact same tool to sculpt the hair for this (and most) of my figurines 😊 (The video plays the part directly!)
2nd Handmade Needle Tool:
This 2nd needle tool is a little bit thicker, still blunt, but less flexible. I sometimes alternate with this needle tool for the figurine's hair for different depth and "thickness" in the "hair strands".
3rd Handmade Needle Tool:
This third needle tool which is also blunt and NOT flexible at all, and to be honest, I rarely use it! I always feel like it's good to have more tools around than have less, so I do keep it around hurhur. It also makes bigger holes than the first two tool which comes in handy sometimes!
4th Handmade Needle Tool:
The most sharpest needle tool I have! Like I said it's always nice to have different variety of tools.
As you can see, because it's sharp, you can make reaaaaally tiny holes with it and thicker ones.
5th Handmade Needle Tool:
This one is a little bit special, as it's kind of curved. It's mostly blunt, and I realised that BECAUSE it's both blunt and curved, it's very nice to use this to "draw" on clay!
You can see how I use it here ⬇︎
Aiclay's Needle Tool:
This needle tool comes from Aiclay's Pocket Kitchen I bought quite some time ago!
It's thick and has a proper handle hahaha. Again, you can sharpen or blunt it with sandpaper, but I think I kept it half and half.
I don't use it a lot, although it is very good to use it for textures (etc for side of the cake etc).
I forgot to film how to do that, but basically you hold the tool so that it looks like you're making a hole, and then you "scratch" the clay in random circles. (Now you know how to texture a cake! 😉)
Whenever I get tools with textures, I will make sure to try it out in ALL WAYS POSSIBLE hehe.
I haven't done anything with this texture though....maybe scales on reptiles? 🙃
By the way, you can also use toothpicks as a needle tool too! I've never really tried it, but I do know of some crafters who use solely toothpicks to make everything! 😱 I like metal tools too much though hahaha, and toothpicks seems like it will break or get dirty all the time, whereas a metal tool you can shape it the way you want and it will stay that way!
Then again, I've never really tried to use only toothpicks to do everything...maybe in the future I can do some kind of experimental projects with it!
CURVED TOOLS
I think curved tools are the best, somehow...it's just easier to navigate with them. Especially in tiny spaces!
Thin Curved Tool:
I got this curved tool when I visited Japan. The packaging is the one on the bottom left!
I use this tool THE MOST hahaha! It somehow makes really nice lines, so I use this for my figurine's hair too. The metal part actually makes it really nice to blend clay too (will show that in another post).
One of the most common uses for this tool for me is also to move tiny pieces of clay onto pieces, which I do most of the time.
See how the clay stays on the tool!
Clay sticks on metal quite well somehow, but if I try to use a needle tool, there's a high chance that I might poke a hole during the process of placing the clay. The curved part of this tool eliminates that problem!
Aiclay's Curved Probe Tool:
This tool is the from Aiclay's Pocket Kitchen too, and this was the first curved tool I have, which made me realised how great it is and prompt me to get the slimmer curved tool above 😆
It's thicker which makes it harder to go to tight places (that's why I use the one above more), but the evenness of the thickness it great for certain things too!
I use this tool mainly for the blunt blade here though. It's very good to "squish" clay with, so it makes making coloured liquid clay quicker and easier! (More about that in another post)
And of course, textures!
Okay that's all I have for all the pointy tools. I'll keep things updated and link accordingly when I write about the other tools! 😀