A complete guide with 10 projects provides the guidance and tips needed to learn to sculpt realistic figures, from face to feet.

Professional sculptor and instructor Élisabeth Bonvalot provides the guidance and tips needed to—with time and practice—reach realism with your sculpted figures. Begin with the fundamentals, such as the types and properties of clays, the materials and tools, four base techniques, and topics such as roughing out, adding clay, detailing, engobe, firing, and patinas.

The first five lessons teach the elements of figure sculpting, focusing your attention on heads, faces, hands, feet, and the body. The next five projects offer a sequence for effective skills building as you create a bas-relief portrait, an animal, a standing nude, a bust, and a lifesize figure.

This comprehensive approach is perfect for people who love clay and have a can-do attitude, even with limited formal art class experience.