- 1). Find a nonporous surface on which to work your mold prototype--a table or kitchen counter is often a good choice. A nonporous surface is made of materials such as metal, smooth plastic or stone. If your table is made of wood or otherwise porous or bumpy, lay down a sheet or two of wax paper for your workspace.
- 2). Lay the clay out on the work table. Add a teaspoon of water and begin to work the clay until the clay works easily and the water is absorbed into the clay. If the clay is still too tough to comfortably work, add another teaspoon of water and work the clay again.
- 3). Fashion the clay prototype in the shape that you want for your final product. If you want the bottom to have a flat surface, use a block cutter to level the bottom of the form. A block cutter is a wire connected at a level height between two blocks. The wire is held taut as you slide the blocks and cut a level surface on the prototype form.
- 4). Use ribs to shape the surface of the form and smooth the wire-cut bottom. Ribs are small shaping tools used to make a prototype mold. Once the prototype form is what you wanted and the flaws are smoothed out by ribs, the prototype is ready to help shape a mold.
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