Mossy Stone Garden Gnomes

In this Insructable I show how to make realistic mossy stone garden gnomes out of clay.

• Oven-bake clay
• Clay shaping tools (not entirely necessary, but makes it a lot easier)
• Acrylic paints
• Clear matte spray paint

This step is super easy. Before hand, though, note that your gnomes can be any size; I made mine relatively small. Anyway, start out with a lump of clay, and roll it into a potato/oblong sphere shape. This will be the body. For the feet, roll out two more potato shaped blobs, and squish them flat just slightly. Attach these to the bottom of the body.

Pro tip: throughout the entire building process here, continuously make sure your gnome can stand on its feet by itself. This way, when you bake it, it will be able to stay upright.

For the beard, first make a sort of flattened teardrop shape. Then, using a craft knife, cut multiple slits in the narrow end of the teardrop shape. Using your fingers, gently roll these parts into kind of tentacle shapes. I also added a few more tentacles on top of these, as shown in the pictures, just to give it more depth. When all the tentacles are attached, gently pinch the ends together, being careful not to mar the shapes. Next, using a crafting knife, score the whole thing with many lines, always going down towards the tip of the beard. Pictures for reference. Finally, attach the beard to the body, by smoothing the top into the head. Make sure the tip of the beard is just barely above the ground, and the top of the beard should be about 2/3 of the way up the body.

For the nose, roll out a little ball and attach it right above the beard in the center. Fairly easy.

For the mustache, roll out separately two more tentacles, and just like the beard, score these with lines. Attach these on either side of the beard, running from under the nose to the sides of the beard. Again, pictures for reference.

For this gnome's hat, first roll out a large ball. Next, poke a hole in the middle of the ball, going about halfway through the center. Using your fingers, pinch and prod the hole until it is large enough to fit on the gnome's head. I like to put the hat brim over the nose slightly, because it makes him look kinda dopey. Anyway, attach the hat and pinch out the top into a longish pointy tip.

To make the stone look real, it's really important to have a prominent texture. The painting also plays a big role in the realism aspects, but we'll get to that later. For now, while the clay is still soft, use a very thick bristled paint brush to poke and prod every part of the gnome. Be gentle enough not to smush any of the details, but hard enough to get the dotted/stony texture. When this is done, set the gnome aside. Or, if you're only making the one gnome, skip to the baking step.

For the base of this gnome, start with a gumdrop shape. Then, using a crafting knife, cut a slit in the center about halfway. This will be the body and the legs. Gently shape the legs into rounder, more leggy-like shapes. I also added a tunic on this gnome. To make the tunic, roll out a very flat sheet of clay. Attach a strip just above where the legs meet, and smooth it out to look cohesive. Next are his little viking boots. wrap his feet it thin strips of clay, and smooth it out. Then, with thinner strips, attach on top of the boots. Using a sharp clay tool, texture these top strips to look like fur. Reference the photos above.

For the beard, begin with rolling out 3 longish rolls. Press these together at one end, and gently braid the clay. Next, chop of one end to make it flat. Gently smush the braid to slightly flatten it. Finally, using a sharp tool, texture the beard with lines following the direction of each strand in the braid. Attach this to the base about 2/3 of the way up the body.

For the nose, roll out a small sphere and attach it right above the beard.

For the mustache, just like with the last gnome, roll out two tentacles, texture them, and add them below the nose.

Just like the first gnome, to make the hat/helmet, start with a largish ball. Poke a hole into the ball, but not all the way through. make the opening large enough to fit on the gnome's head, and attach it just over the brim of the nose. For this viking gnome's helmet, shape it into a not-quite-point. Next, roll out two little horn-shapes and attach them to either side of the helmet. Make sure to texture the gnome just like the first one--using a thick bristled paint brush. I also added a few lines of detailing on the helmet, but other than that he's done! If you are all done making gnomes, skip to the baking step.

So, I thought to myself. What other kind of gnome would look super epic made of stone and covered in moss? The answer? THE ARGONATH from the Lord of the Rings. So I made them. Argonath Gnomes. In my garden. Yes. If you don't know what the Argonath are, then Google it because they're awesome.

-------------------Anyway,---------------------

For the base of these gnomes, start by rolling out two potato-shaped lumps. Just like with the Viking Gnome, cut a slit halfway down the middle. This will be the body and legs. Roll the legs between your fingers slightly to get them into a rounder, more leggy shape. Do this to both bases. Next, roll out a longish arm-like shape, and attach it on the left, sticking out towards you. Do this to both gnomes.

Now, for the hands, start with a flattened half circle. Using a sharp tool, cut four slits into the rounded end, making five little fingers. squish them together slightly, and attach the hand onto the end of the outstretched arm, palm outward in a gesture of warning. Once again, do this to both gnomes. Pictures for reference.

Make the beards of these gnomes just like the first gnome we made. First make a sort of flattened teardrop shape. Then, using a craft knife, cut multiple slits in the narrow end of the teardrop shape. Using your fingers, gently roll these parts into kind of tentacle shapes. Gently pinch the ends together, being careful not to mar the shapes. Next, using a crafting knife, score the whole thing with many lines, always going down towards the tip of the beard. Pictures for reference. Finally, attach the beard to the body, by smoothing the top into the head. Make sure the tip of the beard is just barely above the ground, and the top of the beard should be about 2/3 of the way up the body. Do this to both gnomes.

Attach a little round nose to both gnomes, just above the beard.

Make the mustaches just like before; Roll out two tentacles, texture them, and add them below the noses.

Just like the first arms, roll out a wormy dealie and attach it to the right side. Do this for both gnomes. Now, this is where we get some variation between the two gnomes. I made the right arm of one gnome kind of spread out more, and the other kind of hugged next to the body. However you position them, angle them in a way that they will rest on the axes.

Next add hands just like before, and then it's on to the axes.

For the first ax, make an... ax shaped ax head? I suggest using reference photos. I made the first one just a single-headed ax. Anyway, now add the handle, and a little bit on the top. Attach this to one of the gnomes' right arms. For the second ax, I made a double-headed ax. Pretty much the same as the first, just add another head, and I also added a small design on this one.

For these guys' helmets, make it same as before, with a less prominent tip and optional detailing. After both hats are on, just add the texture, and voila!

Bake all your gnomes according to the instructions for your clay, and ON TO PAINTING!!!

First step in painting is to cover every part of your gnomes in black acrylic paint. I suggest using paint that is slightly watered down, just to help it seep into all the crooks and nannies. Wait for this to dry completely.

Next, using the dry-brushing technique, lightly cover the gnome in a shade of stony grey.

(Dry brushing is is done by using a completely dry brush, and getting small amount of paint on the brush. Then wipe most of the paint off and gently brush the paint over the raised parts of a textured surface.)

Before the last layer of dry brushing, you could also add a slight bit of color to your gnomes. For example, I added a tint of blue to the hat of my basic gnome, and some yellow in the beard of the Viking gnome. It doesn't show up the best on camera, but it looks really cool for real. I did this by ever so lightly dry brushing the color onto the place I wanted the color. This makes it look like perhaps it used to have color, but age and years have worn it down into plain stone, and all that's left is a faint hint of color.

After all the layers are on, pass over the whole statue with a light, gentle, white dry brush to really bring out the texture.

Finally, gently dry brush on sporadic patches of green to look like moss. With a final layer of matte clear spray paint to protect it from the elements, you are done!

Finished! I hope you are able to take some ideas and techniques from this Instructable to make your own weather worn garden gnomes!