Build armatures for your sculptures.
Many sculpture projects require an armature to support their weight. You can make an armature out of many different materials depending on the type of sculpture you are making. Paper mache sculptures can use basically any material for the armature, but most armatures are made of wire. Wire is strong enough to support most sculpting materials, and it is easily bendable to create the forms that you need.
Instructions
1. Draw a detailed sketch of the sculpture. You need to know exactly where you want every part of the sculpture to be.
2. Make a small armature out of newspaper by wetting some newspaper and squishing it into a shape. You can mold the sculpture over the newspaper. Leave a small hole in the clay on the outside. The newspaper will burn out of the sculpture. Warn the person firing the kiln that there is newspaper in the sculpture, or he might think there is a fire; it will produce some smoke. If you are making a larger sculpture, move on to step 3.
3. Shape a wire armature to match the sketch. Hook the largest portions of wire together first. If you are making a person, begin by placing three pieces of wire on a flat surface. Twist the wire together in the center to create the spine, neck, legs and arms. The center piece of wire will be the neck and head. You will need to use more than just one piece of wire to support any large object. Cut more pieces of wire, and wind them around the existing wire to add layers of strength to the armature. To create large areas add in wire woven together to create a hollow area. Add small parts, like fingers and toes to the armature by wrapping the wire around the existing wire on the armature, and shaping the small parts into the correct position.
