Basics: 3 Methods for consistent results when mixing Polymer Clay

If you have a recipe for mixing polymer clay colours, this is usually given in proportions. This is also how we handle our mixes. For example, to mix the colour "dark chocolate", as described in the blog post "Quick Tip: Recipe for Miniature Chocolate made from Polymer Clay" the colours chocolate and black are required in proportions of 4 and 1/2 respectively.

But how exactly can the ratio best be determined in practice? I, at least, am not able to get it right by feel.

There are basically three ways in which you can determine the ratios as accurately as possible:

• Method "Block" — the reference for the quantity here is the entire block of modelling clay as it comes out of the packet
• Method "Clay Cutter" —here, the clay must first be rolled out and then cut using a cutter
• Method "Scale" — in this case you simply weigh the individual colour

Block Method

As you have probably already noticed, the polymer clay blocks are usually not "smooth" on at least one side, but have indentations. You can use these as a guide for the division.

In the case of the dark chocolate version, you would need four chocolate polymer clay blocks and half a block of black. A bit much if you're not producing for a whole horde of miniature lovers... The row is a better reference. 4 rows and 1/2 rows. Of course, you can break this down even further with a little maths. If even 4 rows are too many, just pretend that a row consists of four parts. So you would need one row (= 4 parts) of chocolate and 1/8 of a row (= 1/2 part) of black.

Clay Cutter Method

When using the clay cutter method, all colours must be rolled out to the same thickness. Then take a clay cutter and cut out each colour in the required ratio. So at a ratio of 1:0.5 1x colour A and 0.5x colour B ("half" cutter).

For our dark chocolate example, you need 4 parts in chocolate and one part in black. The black part must also be divided in the centre so that only half a portion is used.

Scale Method

A scale with a digital display is your tool of choice here. First weigh the first colour, e.g. 10 g - this corresponds to 1 part. If you now need 0.5 parts of your second colour, simply calculate 1⨯0.5 or take only half the amount, i.e. 5 g.

For our chocolate example, you would need 1.25 g of black for 10 g of chocolate. Here I have simply used the well-known rule of three:

10 g ≈ 4 Parts
? g ≈ 0,5 Part
Rule of Three Calculation: 0,5 ⨯ 10 g / 4  = 1,25 g

Below I have a small graphic for you that shows the mixing ratio 4:0.5 again using all three methods.

Conclusion

Personally, I always use the ‘scales’ method. My clay is often old and crumbly and if I had to condition and roll out a large amount first, only to realise that it was far too much, it would drive me mad sooner or later. I also love numbers and maths and I just love fiddling around with a precision scale and calculating.

What is your favourite method of mixing polymer clay? Is there perhaps one that I haven't thought of yet?