I recently made a Thor-inspired dragon for @pureartcollab’s current theme, Marvel. I thought this would make for a fun opportunity to break out a tutorial and show you how I made the mini Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer) that is an accessory to this piece!
Thor, his Rocket “plush,” and Mjolnir will be available as part of a special event @gethammereddesigns is hosting, so if you’re interested in finding out how to get this little guy, be sure to follow her so you won’t miss out!
Supplies:
- Toothpick broken in half (we’ll only need 1 half per hammer)
- Brown polymer clay
- Needle tool
- Silver polymer clay
- Long blade
- Roller (optional)
- Exacto knife
- Tools for texturing (needle tool/toothpick, small dotting tool, whatever you prefer)
- Small brush
- Black acrylic paint
Step 1: Create the handle
Starting with your brown clay, wrap a small piece around your toothpick. If you’re having a hard time getting it to stick, you can use a little bit of liquid clay (like TLS) to help adhere it. A little goes a long way, so be careful! If you use too much, your clay will slide around even more.
Once you’ve wrapped your clay, roll it against your work surface to even out the handle. Trim off extra as needed.
I kept part of my toothpick uncovered since that will be the part that I anchor into my hammer head.
When the clay is looking even, it’s time to add a little detail! I used my needle tool to add a spiral groove. Holding my needle steady and at an angle, I carefully twisted my handle around until a spiral was made along the entire length of the handle. It’ll be easy to squish your handle here, so hold it gently as you twist.
You may want to go over it a couple of time to touch up any areas that may not quite be what you want.
Step 2: Block out the basic shape
Step 3: Carving the hammer edges
You will have much crisper edges if you place your hammer head in the freezer at this point. Ten minutes should be long enough, but you could wait a little longer.
Once it’s solid, I like to place the hammer head on its side so I can start at the top and cut down toward the surface. You’ll want to carve all of the edges (on both the long and short edges) so every edge is trimmed to become a side.
Step 4: Texturing the edges
After the overall shape of the hammer head is finished, it’s time to add the texture. I know this this actually a design, but since this particular hammer is so tiny, there’s no way to make the design. Instead, I use a small dotting tool to create some patterns on the carved edges on the left and right parts of the hammer head. You could also use a needle tool.
You can create any kind of design you’d like; I kept mine simple by doing a combination of swirls and stippling to just have a base texture.
Step 5: Making the details pop
To help make these sides stand out from the rest of the hammer, I added some watered down black paint and absorbed any extra.
I did choose to do this before the hammer was baked up, so if you do the same, be careful not to squish the texture as you’re painting or wiping off the paint. I gently dabbed a paper towel to the painted areas to wipe it off.
You can also do this after baking, but I since I’ve gotten the question about painting before baking before, I thought I’d share an example of painting before it goes into the oven.
Step 6: Attach
At this point, you’re ready to attach your handle to the hammer head. You may choose to use some liquid clay to reinforce the bond between the handle and the hammer head.
Otherwise, you can just push the handle (carefully so you don’t squish the handle) into the hammer head. The uncovered toothpick will be what goes into the hammer head, and make sure that the clay from your handle is at least coming into good contact with the head, especially if you are not using liquid clay, so that everything cures nicely.
Step 7: Bake
After that, Mjolnir is ready to bake! Since the hammer head is solid clay, even though this is a small piece, it does have a thick area to it, so make sure you bake long enough according to your clay’s package instructions.
Looking to add some more detail? You could try painting the recessed area of the handle with silver so it has the silver swirl going around it.
Step 8: Glaze
Finally, I recommend finishing this up with a coat of glaze. It will protect the paint on the hammer head (and handle, if you used any), and it will also deepen the colors of your clay.
Here’s the Mjolnir all finished up!
