Artists – Different types of Clay

Artists – Different types of Clay

This article is to give some basic knowledge to Individuals who are keen to experiment with Clay based art and modelling and are Interested to know which product to choose and why. In the below article you will find details of types of clay material and where to best use them.

Clay has been a very interesting product over ages and everyone at every age likes to Play with it. Hand it over to kids and they make wonderful products of them, give it to grown-ups and they make wonderful shapes of them.

Overview – There are numerous types of Clay available for sculpture artist but below are basic 4 which can be used by beginners. Most of the advanced clay material used by professionals are a derivative of the below

• Oil based / Polymer based
• Paper Clay
• Sculpt dry clay
• Polymer Clay

Oil Based – Oil or Polymer based clay are available in packed boxes and in various colors. They stay soft and can be reused till they are kept in packs or boxes. Polymer clay is light weight, very elastic, available in single pouches or sets. If you leave the clay in Open air they become stiff and hard.  These are ideal for kids and new users as they need no knowledge of hardening and are very clean to use and can be moulded easily. 

 

Paper Clay – Paper Clay as the name suggest is made of finely processed paper and missed with water and hardening materials. Its pure white light weight clay, air dry, can be colored while moulding or after drying. You should be careful while using the Paper clay as it hardens once it comes in contact with air and does not need heating or any other hardening methods to strengthen. If your artistic skills are perfect enough, you can create a true piece of art. Paper Clay is versatile, easy to work with stuffs, and can be used by crafters of all kinds. Artists of ceramic art can make magnificent items using paper clay. It goes perfect with your hobby projects too.

Sculpt dry clay – Dry clay as the name suggest is available in powdered form. You would need to add water to the clay before using it. Please ensure you do not over water the clay else it would become slurry and would be very difficult to use. If you over water the clay leave it for few hours to dry before using it.  Mostly available in 3 colors—white, terracotta and peach/skin color. Suited to free form sculpting and can be sanded, drilled, painted or vanished once dry. The clay automatically hardens after you leave it overnight. Clay pieces can easily be painted or varnished after hardening.

Polymer Clay  – Polymer clay as the name suggest is made of synthetic PVC (Poly vinyl Chloride  material which is based on Plastic rather than Clay. Polymer clay comes in various colors and hardening values and it is very versatile to use. It usually is sold in solid moulds and does not need any additive like water or oil before use. Once the clay artefact is made it needs to be heated in an oven before it is finished. Sculptures and artist love the Polymer clay as it gives them lot of options and it is very versatile, super fine and flexible to use. Lot of commercial clay products are mostly made of Polymer clay.

Article contributed by www.PenandPaper.co.in team. Visit Art & Craft section to buy Clay and other Art products.

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YOU BUY ONE, WE DONATE ONE Every product you buy we donate back to our Society

 

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ALTERNATIVES TO SAGE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Being the world’s largest supplier of payroll software to small businesses Sage tends to be the starting point for most business owners. Hey, they are largest for a reason, right? So you pay for the software and its upkeep and generally will be pretty happy about it. Sage software comes with extensive features and where lacking add-ons are usually available. The software company is well known and trusted and your employee data will be in good hands. A programme that corrupts your data for no reason and makes you lose 2 years of payroll information is a nightmare for any bookkeeper.

After a while however you start to realise that you are paying good money for Sage features that you do not need and/or cannot use. With upkeep costs sometimes running as high as buying the software new you start to wonder if there is no alternative. As with most software there of course is, but finding one that works for you tends to be tricky. Sage will always be the “safe” option, but safe does not always mean better. As different companies need different things it really is up to you to figure out what works best for you. We list three alternatives for Sage, but there are plenty more options out there.

Quickbooks is the first alternative we’d like to talk about. At almost the same price as Sage (but still a little cheaper) it’s a great alternative for people that have really had it with Sage. It’s intuitive and easy to use (especially for people who have already worked with Sage) and comes with plenty of features. However, their helpdesk is just barely better than Sage’s and has been quoted by users as “lacking”.

Moneysoft has intuitive payroll software that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. This is the cheaper alternative but gets both good and bad reviews. It certainly doesn’t work for everyone, but still has a lot of followers who wouldn’t use anything else. Their helpdesk seems better organised than most of the others listed here, which is reason enough to try it.

12pay has a free to use ‘simple’ payroll option that might be right for you, as long as you don’t require too many features. If not check out some of their paid alternatives. Their software is generally easy to use and you should be able to find a package you can use. Although their helpdesk is still miles ahead of what Sage offers it certainly is not perfect.

As mentioned there a plenty of other software companies that provide an alternative to Sage, but these three seem like a great starting point. Try different things, never buy without trying the trial version and ask around in your network. There might be a lesser known alternative that is just perfect for you!

Author Bio:

Katy is a small business owner who has found a solution to buying expensive Sage forms. She uses Compatible Forms who offer sage payslips and other accountancy stationary at great low prices, meaning she can make great savings which can be put back into the business.

 

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