Clockwork Of The Optimistic

CORE DRILL TUTORIAL

~numbers coincide with pictures~

1) I used Fimo Softclay for this project, as well as most of my other projects because of how it bakes. Unlike other polymer clay, this becomes slightly rubbery after it is baked, and has a little give. Normal polymer clay is extremely delicate and breaks/chips easily.

2) Roll out a small sized ball and shape it into a cone. Be sure to keep the bottom flat! My cone came out to be 1.5 inches.

3) I used a clay needle to make the swirls around the drill. If you follow the core drill picture, make 5 vertical lines across the front to match, then continue the lines around the rest of the cone.

4) Roll another ball and flatten as if making a thick coin. The diameter should be the same as the bottom of the drill. The thickness of my base was 1/4 of an inch.

5) Make a snake out of clay and flatten it. This piece is supposed to be very thin, but for stability we will keep it slightly thicker. Use your judgement (and preference) for how thin you would like this to be.

6) I rolled my snake around the base of my clay needle to get the loop inside. My loop (for lack of better term for this piece lol) is half an inch long. For the sake of stability I made the loops connect with the base on both ends. Simon’s drill is open on one side, but I wouldn’t want to lose this if I was wearing it!

7) Once you find the right length, cut the other end to make a rainbow looking shape. Make sure the bottoms of each end are flat so they attach easily to the base.

8) Connect the loop to the base and bake at 230 degrees fahrenheit for no longer than 30 minutes. If you over bake it, it will become brittle and may break shortly after use. I baked mine for 20 minutes. **be sure to have all the ends flat so when you connect them together they will stick. If you do this right there will be no need to glue anything.**

9) I used Touch ‘n Tone spray paint in silver for this. If you don’t want to buy (or can’t find) silver spray paint, I believe a silver sharpie will suffice. :)

10) OUTSIDE OR IN A VENTILATED area, spray some of the paint onto a paper towel and…

11) Dab it onto the loop and base of the drill. This will make it look like hammered metal. I like my props and accessories to look more realistic, but if you want it to be more cartoony, use a grey-blue for the base and loop.

12) I always use Apple Barrel brand acrylic paint for all of my projects. These bottles of paint were about 50-75 cents each and are a great consistency and opacity. Since I didn’t want the yellow too bright, I added just a tiny dab of black to the yellow and mixed.

13) This is after just one coat, and the clay is still visible, so you’ll need a few coats before it is one solid color, and the brush strokes are no longer visible.

14) This is right after my 5th coat.

15) All done!! This is the dried, finished product! Normally I add a coat or two of Min-Wax to anything I paint or color. It adds a waterproof coating, and keeps your item from turning yellow or fading over time. Although not 100% waterproof, it will protect your item from accidental water contact without ruining it. It especially protects the colors from being worn off if it is a piece of jewelry, or something that comes into contact with skin often.

Feel free to add this to a necklace! I try my best to make all of my jewelry and accessories life size (and appropriately sized) according to the character that uses/wears it. I hate seeing oversized, over exaggerated cosplay accessories, especially when they add unnecessary weight. But if you’d like this bigger or smaller, go for it!

GOOD LUCK!

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