Face Mug

My teacher assigned a project to make mugs in class one day. While thinking of a design for my mug I stumbled across face mugs and fell in love with them. So I decided to make one.

-Basic Sculpting tools

-Sponge

-Water

-Knife

-Paper

-pencil

-Rolling pin

Take a sketchbook and sketch out different types of a mug faces you would like to try. It will be hard to make your mug the same as your faces but it will help have an idea of proportions while sculpting. Also, decide the size of the mug you want and cut out a paper rectangle in those measurements. Mine was 5 by 12 inches.

Wedge clay and make a ball.

Roll out the clay evenly. I used thick wooden rulers to help my clay be even.

Take the paper rectangle, place it on top of the clay, and cut out the shape of it. Then form the clay into a cylinder, cut out a bottom for the mug and join all of them together.

Then make the handle of the mug using a thick coil, but don't join it to the mug until after the mug is done (or close to it).

Start this step by lightly tracing all the facial features onto the mug, to make sure the proportions are right and well aligned.

taking pieces of clay and shaping them into what would look like specific facial feature.

-First, for the eyes:

• I pressed my finger where the eyes were to create little dents to mimic eye holes (you can see that dent on the third picture).
• Then I created tiny ovals that I slipped onto the hole as eyeballs.
• Then I rolled some clay flat, cut it (curved the direction of the cut depending on whether is was the upper or bottom eyelid).
• Then I placed them onto top of the iris and blended the edges into the face as shown in the picture.

-For the nose and mouth

• I just created little shapes that to me would look like the shape of nose or mouth I wanted.
• Then I attached them and started trimming off clay if it was too much, or added some if it want too little.

After creating the basic shapes, blend the edges to the mugs and begin the process of adjusting. Adjust things out in areas where you think they should be blended or add creases where it looks right. If any part doesn't look right, it's okay to scratch it all and start over. I myself started each of the features more than once.

A big part of the project will just include adding clay, removing clay, fixing certain features, and making the proportions look right. It is important to have 1 or more reference pictures of a human face while sculpting so that the mug will actually resemble a human face as you sculpt.

For example, I made the lips open because I liked that part in a picture of a model I found online and for the nose, I modeled it after my own. The eyes I just tried my best to make them look like actual eyes because of how tricky they are.

Once you get a face you like, you can add the handle to the mug, and then continue to add any additional details.

*Tip: I often used a sponge during the project to make the mug smooth. I did not realize how helpful sponges are until after this project*

This step is super easy. Just let the mug sit out dry while loosely wrapped in plastic for a few days. It is important for it to dry slowly, because different parts of the mug were put on at different times(Especially since sculpting takes very long).

I did not carefully dry mine enough and the handle broke after it got baked, but luckily it did not fall apart.

Carefully plan which colors you will use to paint your mug so it doesn't end up looking crazy(unless that is intentional).

I mixed different colors of underglaze for the skin and facial features. I also used underglaze for things like the handles, inside of the mug and etc. After the mug was baked I added three coats of clear overglaze to make the cup shiny all over.

Try to stay away from realistic skin tones unless experienced with glazing because they are challenging to achieve. I tried it in mine and it didn't look so great in the end.

Here is the final mug I Created.

It is also possible to use any other kind of clay such as airdry, but you would not be able to us it as a kitchen tool. Colorings for airdry clay or non ceramic clay could be acrylic colors.

For assistance during the mug, I looked up various YouTube videos for each part that I struggled with, so If I wasn't clear enough you could always do that. I am also always ready to answer to any questions you may have.

I hope this tutorial was helpful for you and that you may be able to create a beautiful face mug if you were to try it out.