How to Make Xerneas Out of Clay

Hi everyone, as most of you know both Pokemon X and Y have been released a while ago. Unfortunately, I can't buy either of them because I have no 3ds so instead I decided to make my very own clay Xerneas. I tried my best to take as many photos as possible to better explain the steps. As for the wire armature, I am planning on adding a video on to the 'ible later on to better explain it, so bare with me :)

For this project, you will need the following materials:
- Super Sculpey(you can use precolored clay if you want)
- Super Glue
- Wire(for the armature)
- Pliers
- Acrylic paint
- X-Acto knife or blade
- A photo reference of Xerneas

Grab the sculpey and fill out the armature with it. It doesn't have to be very detailed yet as there is still a lot to add on later, just make sure to get every little crevice you can.

For this step, only the top halves of the legs will be made. Form the legs with the armature to guide you and blend them on to the abdomen.

When making the head, I came into a dilemma as soon as I realized that if I made the head I wouldn't be able to attach the horns without turning it into a mess. So I decided to only make half of the head and add to it later on as I progressed.

Flatten out some clay and cut out the spikes from it using the X-Acto knife, then when they're cut you can just smoothen them out with your fingers. Be careful not to make them too thin though. Once you are done making the spikes, gently blend them onto the base of the neck.

For the tail, grab a piece of clay and try to copy the shape of Xerneas' tail as if it had no ridges, cuts or creases. Then, lay it out and with the X-Acto knife, cut out a few thin triangles from the tail. Once you have gotten rid of the pieces of clay you cut out, pinch the edges of the tips and edges of the tail to give it the appearance of fur. Once you are done, add it on to the tail part of the armature and blend it on to the abdomen.

To make a horn, get a piece of clay and role it out until you feel its enough then bend it at 3 different points like in my photo, Once you are done, bend the horn at the middle point to the side to almost a 90 degree angle. Once that is done just blend it into the jaw. Be careful not to make it too thick. I made it a bit too thick and it made the jaw look broader than it should've been, I didn't realize it until after I baked it so I had to cut some of it off with the X-Acto. 
                                                                                         

Since the Xerneas that I made has a leg raised up,I decided to finish it then partially bake the body to be able to work on the other legs. To make the legs wrap what is left of the wire with clay, After you have wrapped it with clay, add two balls to the front and back of the tip of the legs and blend them in, Once those are blended in, run a thin strip of clay along the leg and pinch it in to make it sharp. Finally at the kness at two balls to the sides and pinch them in, only the front legs need these.

Once the leg was done, I tried to bake it partially so I could place it upside down to work on the other three legs.

                                                                                         **NOTE**
Before you bake it, make sure to add the details on to its chest and underneath the jaw.

Take some wire and make the armature for the horns. When you are done making the armature, cover it with clay while making sure not to make the horns to thick, also make sure to leave a bit of wire visible at the base of the horn. After you have covered it, you will add two lumps of clay on to the bottom and top parts of the horn like in my picture then once those are placed, you can add the final piece which is a second horn that pops out of the main horn then bends to the direction of the main horn. When you have made them all, get 4 for each side and gently squeeze them at the end so they will stick together once they are baked/

Once the horns are out of the oven, get a small piece of clay and round it out. After that gently stick the horns into it and then take them out and bake the small piece of clay. When its done baking put super glue in the holes and stick the horns back in. Now they won't move for anything.

Now that all the horns are held together, glue the base on to the back of the head. Once they are glued to the back of the head you can start making the face and slowly start blending the horns into the head and neck. When you are done send it off to its final trip to the oven.

Now comes time for the new pokemon to finally be painted. This Pokemon almost has the whole rainbow in his antlers so get your paint and paintbrush ready.

Well I hope you enjoyed my instructable, I'm sorry if I couldn't explain it in the best way possible but if you need anything feel free to ask in the comments and I will make sure to answer as quick as I can.