Water-Based Clay vs. Oil-Based Clay: Which is Better?
Water-based clay is soft, fast to work with, and really expressive—it’s great for large pieces
3 June 2025
beginners
In his previous sculpting workshops, Javier noticed that students often face common challenges when creating head sculptures and facial features in clay sculpture. Common issues like oversized eyes or misplaced ears frequently appear. To help students overcome these hurdles, Javier developed the Head Studies sculpting workshops to specifically focus on these areas of difficulty.
In these hands-on classes, students gain in-depth training on the structure and anatomy of the head, face, and neck. They learn effective techniques for sculpting the face, using divisions and planes to build the head step-by-step from scratch. Similar to the popular Simplified Figure approach, this workshop incorporates a sketch-like method for crafting the face, making it approachable and enjoyable for all skill levels.
With a strong focus on facial proportions, realistic features, and sculpting techniques, the Head Studies workshop equips students with essential skills for achieving life-like results in clay sculpture. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist, this course offers valuable insights and practical methods for mastering head sculpture and sculpting the face with greater confidence.
Locations
Javier Murcia Studio
41 Percy Cameron St, Lower Hutt, Wellington.
BOOKED OUT
WELLINGTON
September 26 & 27 2026
WELLINGTON
September 27th – 28th
NZ$795
20% Discount until the 31st of August
Material is included in the price.
Armature is supplied during the workshop.
You can buy our tools during the workshop if you like.
Tea, Coffee & snacks will be available.
We do share meals during the workshop.
Refunds are subjected to Terms & conditions
Monster Mouse Studios
7 Sydney St, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia
SYDNEY
February 6th – 7th 2027
SYDNEY
February 6th – 7th 2027
Get a 20% Early Bird Discount
The workshop takes place at Monster Mouse Studios, 7 Sydney St, Marrickville NSW 2204 — in Sydney’s Inner West, one of the city’s most vibrant creative neighbourhoods.
From the airport: Marrickville is just a quick hop from Sydney Airport — around 10 minutes by train (via Sydenham Station) or 6–8 minutes by taxi/rideshare.
From the city centre: Sydney Metro connects the CBD directly to Sydenham Station in under 10 minutes, with Marrickville just a short trip or walk beyond — making it an easy, central base for the workshop.
Where to stay: Marrickville and neighbouring Newtown and Dulwich Hill offer a great mix of boutique guesthouses and budget-friendly stays within easy reach of the studio, while Sydney CBD hotels are only a short train ride away if you’d prefer to be closer to the city’s main attractions.
Material is included in the price.
Armature is supplied during the workshop.
You can buy our tools during the workshop if you like.
Tea, Coffee & snacks will be available.
We do share meals during the workshop.
Refunds are subjected to Terms & conditions
Javier Murcia Studio
41 Percy Cameron St, Lower Hutt, Wellington.
BOOKED OUT
WELLINGTON
September 26 & 27 2026
WELLINGTON
September 27th – 28th
Material is included in the price.
Armature is supplied during the workshop.
You can buy our tools during the workshop if you like.
Tea, Coffee & snacks will be available.
We do share meals during the workshop.
Refunds are subjected to Terms & conditions
7 Sydney St, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia
SYDNEY
February 6th – 7th 2027
SYDNEY
February 6th – 7th 2027
Get a 20% Early Bird Discount
Monster Mouse Studios, Sydney.
The workshop takes place at Monster Mouse Studios, 7 Sydney St, Marrickville NSW 2204 — in Sydney’s Inner West, one of the city’s most vibrant creative neighbourhoods.
From the airport: Marrickville is just a quick hop from Sydney Airport — around 10 minutes by train (via Sydenham Station) or 6–8 minutes by taxi/rideshare.
From the city centre: Sydney Metro connects the CBD directly to Sydenham Station in under 10 minutes, with Marrickville just a short trip or walk beyond — making it an easy, central base for the workshop.
Where to stay: Marrickville and neighbouring Newtown and Dulwich Hill offer a great mix of boutique guesthouses and budget-friendly stays within easy reach of the studio, while Sydney CBD hotels are only a short train ride away if you’d prefer to be closer to the city’s main attractions.
Material is included in the price.
Armature is supplied during the workshop.
You can buy our tools during the workshop if you like.
Tea, Coffee & snacks will be available.
We do share meals during the workshop.
Refunds are subjected to Terms & conditions
Post preview
Creating a good portrait is one of sculpture’s greatest challenges. I’ve completed many portraits throughout my career, and I can tell you that capturing true likeness is difficult. However, I’ll guide you through a step-by-step approach that works especially well for those with limited experience. While experienced sculptors often work more organically and intuitively, like I do in the video above these lines. The method I outline here proves valuable in any scenario.
Before diving into details, remember this crucial point: you must visualize the hair from the beginning. You don’t need to shape it immediately, but you need to see where it sits to get a complete image of your subject. Without considering the hair, achieving likeness becomes significantly harder.
Begin by creating your “blank canvas” using my foundational method. Once you have this base, shape the head using profile views to establish accuracy. First, trace the profile view contour, then the front view contour. This gives you a solid foundation to build upon.
Next, find the lines that will guide you through the work. You’ll need both horizontal and vertical reference lines:
Horizontal lines mark:
Vertical lines define:
With this grid mapped out, you now have a clear system for placing all features exactly where they belong.
Now that you have your grid and contours traced, it’s time to add depth. Study your subject from four critical angles: 3/4 view from left back and from right back, and again 3/4 from front view left and right. This multi-angle approach helps you trace facial contours more accurately.
Define the depth of eye sockets, cheekbones, chin, and lip volume during this stage. For the inner corners of the eyes, refer back to your profile view to determine how much the eyes protrude forward.
After tracing all contours, begin shaping the face while continuously checking your work against the reference. Keep examining the contours from all angles to maintain accuracy. At some point, the face’s likeness should start emerging. You’re still sketching at this stage, but you’re building a solid foundation.
Now you can begin tracing the eye and lip lines into your work. Important note: If you lack drawing experience, practice these lines separately first. They’re crucial for achieving likeness—if executed too loosely, your results will suffer.
Also add basic volume for the ears. Keep this sketchy; you don’t need detailed ear shapes yet, just correct contour and size placement.
With your foundation in place, start recreating individual features. Each feature requires its own approach—techniques I demonstrate in my workshops and courses. Focus on ensuring depth, lines, and forms are as accurate as possible. This attention to detail ensures successful results.
This is where the work becomes both challenging and exciting. Taking time to execute this stage properly will significantly improve your final outcome.
If you can complete this process and create a recognizable likeness, congratulations—you definitely have the skill for portrait sculpture. Keep developing it.
Want more realistic results? If you’ve achieved basic likeness but feel unsure about your technique and want to push further, you’re in a good place. This means you’ve successfully reached this level but want more control over your results.
While practice is essential, learning sculptural language more consistently will help tremendously. Just as drawing is a language that translates perception into 2D format using pencils, perspective, and gradations, sculpture has its own language focused on form control.
In sculpture, light and shadows are real, not recreated. Sculptural language centers on geometry. Take the eye, for example: to create a successful eye, you must understand the eyeball’s geometry, as the eyelids and surrounding skin follow this structure. This ensures proper form and volume. The same principle applies to lips, face, head—every form follows this geometric logic.
When working with the human figure, I always recommend studying anatomy. For portraits specifically, understanding the human head’s structure helps enormously in achieving correct forms. Learning to read the bony structure beneath the skin is probably one of the most important aspects of getting portraits right.
Finally, remember that technical aspects—correct proportions, dimensions, anatomy, and sculptural language—while essential, aren’t everything. Consider this: how can a caricature artist create a drawing of you without any proportionally accurate lines yet still capture your essence so completely that you recognize yourself? There’s definitely something more at work that’s harder to explain.
What do you think that something is? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this guide helpful. Consider subscribing for more tips and advice, and if you’re interested in learning more about the human form, check out my workshops and online courses.
Water-based clay is soft, fast to work with, and really expressive—it’s great for large pieces
My first piece of advice? Simply enjoy the process. Don’t worry about mastering rules or
Once I’ve laid out the basic structure, I start by applying clay in rough volumes.
Schedule to start
October 20th, 2025 @ 6.30 PM NZDT
Schedule to start
October 20th, 2025 @ 6.30 PM NZDT
