About Air-Dry Clay

Self-hardening air-dry clays have been around a long time, but these were mostly 'school quality' clays intended for children and not suitable for detailed sculpting or fine art.    In recent years, many "new" clays have become available that are a much finer quality.   Many polymer clays users are turning to air-dry clay because of allergies or other reasons or just because it's fun to use, durable and very versatile.   People with arthritis find the softer air-dry clays much easier to work with than polymer clay.

Aside from being a no-bake clay, one of the big differences between air-dry clay and polymer clay is that the characteristics of the clay can vary greatly from brand-to-brand.   The stiffness of various polymer clays may vary a little from brand to brand but essentially the different polymer clay brands are very similar.  Not so with air-dry clay!

  Read more about how Air-Dry Clay is different from Polymer Clay at the New Clay News.

Many people have been disappointed the first time they tried air-dry clay.  Maybe they just picked the wrong brand to use for that particular project.   There are a zillion brands to pick from and it can get very confusing.  Some are soft and best suited for simple shapes and clay flowers.   Some are stiffer and better suited to sculpting and doll making.

With some exceptions, most air-dry clays are available in white only (or off-white) but all are easily tinted with a variety of colorants (or painted after curing).   The resin or polymer-based clays are often available in a rainbow of colors.

Most people seem to agree that the best air-dry clays for making flowers are the "soft" clays such as homemade cold porcelain and brands like DecoClay, Hearty Clay and similar soft clays.