How to make a Fantasy Mushroom

Here's something I've been working on for a while. I was only going to post this tutorial when the sculpture was entirely finished but I may as well put it up. Most of the stages are done and dusted ^_^ I think this little project would be good for those who aren't yet good at sculpting "pretty". Most beginners need something a little absurd looking to begin with and this definitely fits the bill. The fantasy mushroom I'll be making is designed to have something sitting on top.

Let's get started...
First, make loop with fairly strong galvanized wire. This will become the base of the fantasy mushroom. Keep in mind this wire can leave a black residue on your hands, so be careful what you touch.

You will need to have yourself a base for the fantasy mushroom to be anchored to. Bend the loop over so the wire is sticking straight up. This will form the stem of the mushroom. Make sure you have plenty of excess wire at the top. Bend the wire off at the height you want the mushroom to be but do not cut the wire.


With the excess wire you had, curl it around at the top making a large loop. This will be the top of the fantasy mushroom.


Get a good amount of Magic Sculpt and mix it together. Make sure the two parts are even. I coat my fingers with flour to protect my hands. The putty can be very sticky otherwise and actually makes my fingertips burn if I leave it on there too long. The flour eases this greatly. Always wash your hands with warm soapy water after using Magic Sculpt. Magic Sculpt is an epoxy resin/putty. It's an air drying putty that sets as hard as a rock. We will be using this to give the mushroom strength.


When the Magic Sculpt has been mixed thoroughly, start using it to secure the bottom of the fantasy mushroom to the base. Blob it all around armature and blend it into the base.


Work up some more Magic Sculpt up the stem of the armature for added strength.


Start working a smaller gauge wire around the outside rim, leading to the middle like spokes of a bike wheel. Note that I have left some wire protruding out the top. This will go into the bottom of the figure sitting on top, to stop it from toppling off.


Secure all the "spokes" in the center with more Magic Sculpt. Check if it's a sturdy armature, if anything is sliding around or moving, secure it with more Magic Sculpt.


Bulk up the sculpture by wrapping the Armature completely with aluminium foil paper. Squeeze onto the sculpture tightly, making sure the armature is still strong.


Polymer clay won't stick to the foil paper, so wrap up the whole sculpture with masking tape. Make sure it's a good quality masking tape or it won't stick to the foil very well either. We want this to be a very solid foundation for our clay.


Start adding small sheets of polymer clay to the sculpture. Make sure the clay is about 5mm thick evenly, ALL OVER to ensure you cannot see any masking tape through the clay. Really focus on trying to get an even thickness over the whole sculpture.


Cover the sculpture completely and smooth off. Now we're ready to start adding details.


Add small flaps on the sides of the mushroom top to imitate how mushrooms peel. Blend it in.

Continue this step all the way around the top.

Using the pointed spoon dental tool, press in grooves on the underside of the fantasy mushroom top. Make them uneven to make it look more organic.


Ad some peeling flaps down the stem. Try not to make the polymer clay sheets any thinner than shown above or else they can be brittle.


Follow this down the stem and blend in with a tool or your thumb. Try to get it as smooth as possible. Curve the ends of the flaps into a wavy form.


With your pre-made eyes (watch out for upcoming tutorial "How to make eyes in polymer clay") insert them into the clay by pressing firmly.


I've inserted my eyes crooked as I'm going for a "mad" look. Once they're both in, layer a "top eyelid" over top of both the eyes. Keep the clay fairly thick as we'll be carving detail into it.

Do the same for the bottom.

Start pressing in detail work with your thumb or a round tool. Embossing tools work well. We are adding bags and creases around the eyes. Add a long blob for the nose and trail it between his eyes. Blend it in and shape it to how you want most of the nose to look. We're leaving the nostrils until later. Add some polymer clay which is going to form his top lip. Blend in under the nose and around the sides, but do not blend in the bottom part yet. We'll need that to start defining the top lip.

Add some cheeks....


I want the mouth to be fairly wide, so using my pointed spoon tool I'm pulling the corners of the mouth up into the cheek. Don't go overboard with this step though, you could wind up cutting the cheeks in half.


To define the top lip, drag the spoon tool up and across where you want the lip to be. This slightly flattens the area and makes it look like a lip. Don't press too hard though, or you'll wind up with a big recess where the lip was supposed to be.


Form a banana shaped piece of polymer clay and place it just under the top lip. This will form the bottom lip. Only add this piece after you're fairly happy with the top lip as it is harder to get to now you have the bottem lip on. Note that the bottem lip is shorter in width than the top one. People make the mistake all the time with the lips thinking the bottem and top lip are the same size. In reality the bottem lip is shorter and slightly tucks under the top lip.


Smooth and blend the lips until it looks how you want it to. Here I've added some small blobs of polymer clay to start forming the teeth.


Now we're forming the jaw. Add some strips of polymer clay to form the "joules" and and round piece for the chin. Blend it in.

Place two balls of polymer clay where the nostrils should be. Blend them in.


Using a rubber tipped tool (I use a Gum Stimulator) poke some holes into the clay for the nostrils. Remember, nostrils are fairly thin so make a good sized hole. If you want smaller nostrils, start with a smaller ball of clay.


Let's add the brow. Use two thick sausages of polymer clay and line it up where you want the brow to be. Depending how you place these pieces it will determine what expression your character will be pulling.


I decided that the character didn't look "cooky" enough, so I pryed open his mouth with a pointed flat sculpting tool. Blend everything in . Now you're ready to bake. I baked this sculpture for 40 minutes at 130 degrees celsius. Baking times may vary depending what clay you are using. Check the packet for instructions.


Leave the sculpture to cool in the oven. After it's cool, paint the whole sculpture in one solid colour. I want my fantasy mushroom to look a bit dirty, rustic and dark, so I've used a browny-purple colour as the base colour.

Start adding highlights. This part is up to you really, make the paint work as rough or smooth as you want, according to what style you want the finished sculpture to have.


And there you have it! One whacky looking Fantasy Mushroom Sculpture! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Please leave a comment if you have any questions or if you gave the tutorial a try :D