Home Forums Explore Media Sculpture Plastiline vs Plastilina vs Plasteline vs Plastalina vs Prima Plastalina vs Plasticin

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  • #485893
    jin098
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        Hey all,

        Would like to know why there are so many names for the same type of product?
        As I understand it, all oil based clay are derived from the invention of William Harbutt which is called plasticine.
        https://barbarareid.ca/students-and-teachers/about-plasticine/

        Yet when I search for oil based clays there are a ridiculous amount of variations on the word plasticine like the ones in the title…And with it comes many price differences

        So I would like to know what is going on?

        Also, why are “plasticine” clays like Chavant and Monster Clay so much more expensive than a plastcine clay like…

        https://www.dickblick.com/products/van-aken-plastalina-modeling-clay/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=33268-7261&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6_vzBRCIARIsAOs54z7Z5DcpiZiwDkdQNhsYqSLd2Vv6e15FPEdShUDKwRYz-T0vZbmLkE4aAstcEALw_wcB

        Are they really that much better? If so how?

        #966753
        ArtsyLynda
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            Chavant and Classic Clay (which I use, as does my foundry) are professional-grade plastilenes (and yes, the words are interchangeable, I don’t know why there are so many). Clays like Jolly King and other cheap plastilenes are more stiff to the hand even when softened and don’t take detail as well. For instance, if I pull a sharp tool through Jolly King (which I started with) to make a deep cut, there will be a LOT of crumbs along the edges, which are harder to clean up and just not as nice to work with as Classic or Chavant. With Classic, I can make the same kind of cut in the clay and get smooth ribbons along the sides that are super easy to clean up and leave the edges of the cut pristine. I use Classic instead of Chavant because I’m asthmatic, and when I was starting out in sculpting, Chavant had a sulfur smell to it even in their non-sulfur bearing clay. I talked to the president of Chavant about it when I met him at a show in Loveland CO. He was unaware of the problem and shocked that the smell affected my asthma even if someone in a workshop was using it all the way across a big studio from me. The problem was, the non-sulfur clay was put through the same presses as the sulfur-bearing clay, so it picked up the smell. He didn’t change things for years that I know of, but perhaps he has now. Mold materials don’t like sulfur-bearing clay, that’s why non-sulfur clay (NSP for non-sulfur plastiline) was invented.

            Professional clays are more expensive also because of all their capabilities, which you can’t do with cheap clays. With Classic, I can melt it and paint it on, I can soften it and use it like you saw in the video, it can be sprayed on to a life-size horse armature (I had that done for one piece), or you can freeze it to carve really crisp detail. You simply can’t do that with cheap clays, they aren’t made with the same quality as the professional grade. That said, cheap clays are made for people to learn with. You can keep reworking a piece for years with the professional clays. With the student-grade clays, the plastilene will get stiffer over time. For now, student-grade should be fine for you. If you want to try Classic Clay (which has no odor!!!), you purchase from the JMac company in 10 lb. bricks. I usually buy a case (50 lbs) at a time.

            Hope this helps.

            #966754
            ArtsyLynda
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                I see I missed one bit of information. Prima is also student-grade clay.

                #966757
                jin098
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                    I see I missed one bit of information. Prima is also student-grade clay.

                    Thank you very much!

                    Btw I see you mentioned “spraying” the clay….do you literally mean spraying it like a water spray or mist spray?

                    I had no idea clay could do that?? Nor have i ever seen a video of something like that being done?

                    #966755
                    ArtsyLynda
                    Default

                        Spraying clay is done to cover a Styrofoam armature after a piece has been enlarged, either digitally or by pointing up. (look it up). You need a special sprayer to do it. It is not for amateurs to do – it’s a foundry job. And Classic is the only clay I know of that can do every stage of what plastilene can do.

                        #966756
                        noodlecake
                        Default

                            Hey all,

                            Would like to know why there are so many names for the same type of product?
                            As I understand it, all oil based clay are derived from the invention of William Harbutt which is called plasticine.
                            [url]https://barbarareid.ca/students-and-teachers/about-plasticine/[/url]

                            Yet when I search for oil based clays there are a ridiculous amount of variations on the word plasticine like the ones in the title…And with it comes many price differences

                            So I would like to know what is going on?

                            Also, why are “plasticine” clays like Chavant and Monster Clay so much more expensive than a plastcine clay like…

                            [url]https://www.dickblick.com/products/van-aken-plastalina-modeling-clay/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=33268-7261&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6_vzBRCIARIsAOs54z7Z5DcpiZiwDkdQNhsYqSLd2Vv6e15FPEdShUDKwRYz-T0vZbmLkE4aAstcEALw_wcB[/url]

                            Are they really that much better? If so how?

                            I think if you’re into sculpting and casting, buying something like Monster Clay is a must. I don’t sculpt much but bought I bought some on a whim and it feels incredible to use. The way that you can melt it into a liquid and pour it into moulds, and then cool it till it gets so hard that it’s carvable, or have it pliable in your fingers is fantastic. It’s really light too, and you can make quite thin, delicate parts and they wont droop.

                            It’s hard to explain why it feels so great to use but it does. It doesn’t really rip or crack very easily like regular plasticine.

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