When I first started working with polymer clay, the translucent polymer clays were quite a mystery to me. I was asking questions like: Which one is the clearest? What do you use them for? and How do you color them without losing the translucency? There are so many brands of polymer clay out there and most of them have a translucent clay in their range. To make matters worse, all of the translucent polymer clays are completely different. I had to do a lot of research to find out the answers to my questions and some of them were quite unexpected.
In this article I'll do an overview of all the translucent polymer clays I could get hold of. I'll go into the advantages and disadvantages of each brand to give you a broad picture of what the different brands are like and what they are best used for.
Click here for a bullet point summary...
This was the first translucent clay I came across and at first I was a bit confused as to what I was supposed to do with it. After much experimenting I found a couple of things that it works really well for:
Unfortunately, Kato translucent has some pretty hefty problems:
This Kato translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine. As you can see, it is virtually opaque.
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This Kato translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine, and is still quite yellow.
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I love Premo translucent and use it extensively in almost all my polymer clay projects:
There are a few downsides though:
This Premo translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine and is quite yellow.
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This Premo translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine. You can see it is very transparent and the yellow tint is barely noticeable.
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I only started working with Premo white translucent polymer clay recently, but I’ve already learned to love it. It has to be one of my favorite translucent polymer
clays. In my opinion, is one of the best translucents available:
But
as always there are problems:
This Premo white translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine and is far less yellow than its cousin, Premo translucent.
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This Premo white translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine and is beautifully transparent and almost tint free.
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I love Cernit translucent. Here are a few of its advantages:
Now it’s time for those
pesky down sides:
This Cernit translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine and is the most transparent and least yellow of the clays so far.
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This Cernit translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine and is almost completely transparent.
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Pardo translucent is the most translucent of all the
translucent polymer clays. It’s practically see through. So if
you are looking for a ridiculously translucent polymer clay, then this
is the clay for you. You can go nuts with the faux effects and
translucent layering.
Unfortunately there are quite a few downsides:
Pardo can be rewarding if you have the patience to work with it and can afford it, but if not, you might want to consider a different brand like Premo.
This Pardo translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine and you can see the plaques in this photo. It also hasn't got a yellow tint like all the other translucent clays discussed.
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This Pardo translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine. As you can see, this is by far the most translucent polyclay I have covered.
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Fimo translucent is the last translucent clay I came across, as it’s one of the hardest to get hold of. There are definitely some upsides to this clay as well as a few downsides.
Let’s start with the good things:
Sadly Fimo translucent has quite a few downsides to it:
On the whole this translucent is by far my least favorite on the list. I don’t recommend it unless you’re looking for a semi-translucent with no tint.
This Fimo translucent chip was done on the thickest setting on the pasta machine and you can see the plaques in this photo if you look carefully. It is very white, but not at all translucent.
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This Fimo translucent chip was done on the thinnest setting on the pasta machine and you can see it is still virtually opaque.
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All together the translucent clays can seem like quite a muddled bunch with a whole lot of advantages and disadvantages. Let's see how they did:
In conclusion, if I had to recommend one translucent clay over the others to get started with, it would be Premo white translucent. On balance it gives the best results the most easily.
However, each of the translucent clays reviewed has its own strengths and weaknesses. You should aim to try them all out to see which one you are most comfortable using for different polymer clay projects. It will be well worth the effort.
Once you’ve figured them out, translucent polymer clays will change your polymer clay
experience for the better. You’ll be able to reach new heights with 3D
illusions and create faux stones that look more real than ever.
Remember, a little experimenting goes a long way towards improving your finished product. Go and have some fun! Let me know how it goes in the comments below and please don't forget to like and share with your friends.
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