Crafted from a combination of vinyl and plasticizers, polymer clay is an extremely versatile material used for various artistic projects involving jewelry, sculpting figures, and more. As opposed to other types of clay, you can use a home oven to bake it without requiring any more complicated work. It’s a practical material to work with but choosing the best polymer clay on the market can be challenging considering the large variety of available products with distinctive qualities.
Some brands offer extra softness or added strength while others can focus on user-friendliness or other important details. Depending on the needs of the project, some polymer clays on the market work better than others. However, if you get your hands on high-quality polymer clay, it’s safe to say that it will be versatile enough to tackle different applications successfully. In this article, we’ll explore the best polymer clays out there when it comes to strength when cured, flexibility, and overall manipulation ease. These products are recommended for their overall superior value for the cost.
Best Polymer Clay for Beginners
1. CiaraQ Polymer Clay Starter Kit 36 Colors Oven Bake Modeling Clay
If you’re searching for a great starter kit to enjoy the crafting potential of polymer clay, consider this one from CiaraQ. It contains a total of 36 different colors and multiple useful accessories to get you started. The clay complies with ASTM D-4236 standards to ensure that it’s perfectly safe to use in your projects. Each clay pack is individually wrapped for your convenience.
Although it’s a great set for a multitude of projects, this polymer clay offers great accessories to assist in jewelry making. Both adults and children can join in the fun of modeling the soft clay using various colors. When it comes to curing, the polymer clay can be hardened properly by using your oven. Other methods can also do the trick but the clay is cured ideally in the oven. All the parts of this kit are neatly stored in the supplied plastic boxes.
2. Sculpey III Polymer Clay 10 Classic Color of Oven Bake Clay Non Toxic
Designed with a set of 10 classic colors, the Sculpey III polymer clay represents an excellent choice for the money. It’s suitable for people of all ages who wish to try their hand at this relaxing crafting art. The clay is specially designed to retain its softness to ensure optimal flexibility during modeling. Once you’re satisfied with your project, the clay is easily cured without the need for a kiln. Just bring it into your home oven.
As opposed to low-quality polymer clays on the market, this one doesn’t dry out if you want to pause working on the current project and restart it for later. Cured clay allows for painting and carving to further customize your artistic creations. Whether you have a school project for your kids or just want to put your creativity to the test, the Sculpey III polymer clay is highly recommended.
3. Arteza Polymer Clay Kit for Adults and Teens
An excellent polymer clay kit for adults, this one made by Arteza is designed to appeal to artists or anyone with a strong creative drive. The set offers a total of 42 clay packs in lots of fun color tones to craft some unique projects. Thanks to the high-quality clay used, your projects remain just as vibrant after curing in the oven. The soft clay becomes properly hardened just by using the oven at home for a few minutes.
When it comes to additional supplies, this polymer clay kit has some great accessories to enhance your crafting experience. It provides a nice set of five sculpting tools and extra items that can be used to create custom jewelry. The clay is fairly easy to work with, especially if you’re focused on creating little decorations such as figurines. Children can also have a blast using these colorful clay pieces to exercise dexterity.
4. Staedtler FIMO Soft Polymer Oven Bake Clay
With an assortment of 12 colors and professional-grade construction quality, the Staedtler FIMO polymer clay represents a great pick. It requires no special equipment to be used to its full potential as the clay is easily modeled by hand and cured by oven baking. Although there are no extra accessories provided to assist the sculpting process, this basic pack offers an excellent crafting experience for its cost.
Aside from the basic multicolor set, Staedtler offers the same polymer pack in different color versions including pastel, neutral, and brilliant tones. They can all be mixed together to craft more complex projects. No matter which color style you choose, you can enjoy highly workable clay that’s resistant to breaking after it’s properly cured. It’s strongly advised to use this polymer clay to make jewelry or home décor items.
Best Liquid Polymer Clay
5. Polyform Liquid Sculpey Polymer Clay
Anyone looking for liquid polymer clay should try this made-in-the-USA product from Polyform. While it features a liquid form initially, Liquid Sculpey becomes solid and tough after baking. It’s a perfect solution if you wish to incorporate many decorative elements such as glitter into your artistic projects. Liquid polymer clay is highly recommended for jewelry and decorations.
Artists of all ages can figure out how to put this type of polymer clay to great use. It’s designed with a non-toxic formulation as it adheres to all the important safety standards in the industry. For added versatility, the clay is translucent for easier integration of various embellishments. You can add whatever color you need by selecting the preferred alcohol-based ink. The cap of the clay dispenser has been optimized to provide good precision and control of the liquid flow.
6. DeeCoo Polymer Clay 70 Colors Block Soft Type
The DeeCoo polymer clay modeling kit could be a suitable kid-friendly option if you want an expanded color range. Each block of clay is made from eco-friendly PVC that’s odorless and simple to sculpt with little hands. Children can also enjoy the selection of tools and creative accessories to make lots of fun décor items such as jewelry. The clay is ideal for beginners given its high level of flexibility.
There’s a total of 70 colors provided by this polymer clay kit. Due to a large number of clay pieces, they’re stored properly in the supplied transparent boxes. Shaped clay projects need to be cured correctly by using any home oven. Figuring out the right baking times can pose some additional challenges because you need to take into account the size of the creative projects. Taking into account its affordable cost, the DeeCoo polymer clay set provides great value for the cost.