I made a basic armature using sculpting wire, bending it into shape with pliers and my hands. I used hot glue to affix it to a foam board base to give it some stability. I then built the clay around the armature. From this experiment I learnt not to use foam board as a base. The moisture from the clay soaked into the paper of the foam board, causing it to peel away. I will have to think on better materials to use to give my models stability. The air dry clay worked quite well, the finished model is very sturdy, but it is difficult to achieve any level of relief detail on a model of this size using this material.
I've also experimented with oven hardening clay, testing small amounts of Fimo and Sculpey for comparison. I tested the materials by making of my fauns' ears.
Oven bake clay is not as easily molded as air dry clay, with a texture more like modelling clay than ceramic clay. You have to handle it for a few minutes for it to pliable enough to sculpt. I found that the Sculpey was easier to shape, but the Fimo held its shape better. So far I have only fired the Sculpey. As this is the first time I have tried oven hardening clay, I was unsure as to whether it had been fired for long enough, as it was still had some give to it when I took it out of the oven. It has hardened up after cooling, but I am usure if it is as hard as it should be.
The last experiment that I am working on at the moment is using newspaper around a wire armature to make a model. The armature was made in the same way as above, but I have bound newspaper to it with tape. I am unsure how I will progress with this, whether by covering it with a layer of masking tape or kitchen roll and PVA, as a base for paint. This is definitely the least refined outcome of my material experiments and I am unsure it will produce the results needed to make models for practical lighting due to the lack of sculpted form.
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