How to Make Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Out of Clay
- 1). Lay out some newspaper on your workspace area. This craft is messy and you want to protect your tables. You may also want to wear some old clothes or at least a smock or apron.
- 2). Cut out a chunk of clay for the main part of Rudolph's body. You are going to have to work the clay between your hands to make a sort of rectangular shape, but with rounded edges instead of pointy. This will be Rudolph's body.
- 3). Choose whether you want Rudolph to have four legs or two stuck together in the front and two stuck together in the back (like the picture above). If you want four legs, you are going to have to get four chunks of clay and make them long with flat hooves at the bottom. If you make two chunks of clay, with one set in the front and one in the back, you will need your carving tools to draw a line down the middle to show that there are two legs in the front and two in the back. This is very easy to do and will help your reindeer stand up with less of a chance of falling over.
- 4). Take another chunk of clay for the face. Use your hands to work it in to an oval shape. If at anytime you need to smooth your clay out, dip your hands into a cup of water. Just a tad of water will help you work with the clay a little easier.
- 5). Attach the legs to the body first and then the head. Smooth them together at the seams so they don't come apart.
- 6). Add the small features. You need a small ball of clay for Rudolph's nose. Then two small balls for Rudolph's eyes. The antlers are a little bit trickier, but you can use the model above to give you inspiration. Don't make the antlers too heavy or the head will fall over. Reindeer only have tiny tails, so just take a little chunk of clay for the tail. For a final touch, create a Christmas scarf for Rudolph to wear. Use some carving tools to give the scarf a more realistic look. Attach all of the pieces carefully.
- 7). Set Rudolph out to dry overnight.
- 8). Paint Rudolph. You want his body, head, and legs to be brown. You can paint his hooves black if you want. Make his eyes white with a black dot inside of them. Make his nose red (of course). You can also make his scarf red to match his nose or green because that too is a Christmas color. The antlers look best in yellow, but you could also do them in white if you prefer.
- 9). Set Rudolph out to dry once again. Once dry, you can display him anywhere.
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