Craft 101: All About Polymer Clay

I am excited to share with you what I know about Polymer Clay. I have attended two polymer workshop last month. One was Basic Polymer Workshop and the other was Chibi Dolls and Souvenir Workshop by two different clay artist.

Polymer is a clay but its not the usual clay that we've known before (i.e. PlayDoh). Polymer Clay is a type of hardenable modelling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It does not contains clay minerals, but like mineral clay a liquid is added to dry particles until it achieves gel-like working properties, and similarly, the part is put into an oven to harden, hence, its colloquial designation as clay. (source: wikipedia)

Below are the lists of clay brands:

1. Sculpey Bakeshop - marketed as children's polymer clay and never dries out. Very soft and you barely have to conditioned it. Good if you're making items that don't hold much detail. They're too soft and squishy for more detailed work. 
2. Sculpey III - Great clay for beginners. Easy to condition.
3. Sculpey Premo! - recommended mostly to those who plan to use clay for business. 
4. Studio by Sculpey - recommended for those who want to get into clay business. Good for caning and sculpting.
5. Fimo Classic/Fimo Soft - Top quality and great for business. Very firm and a bit more difficult to condition. You need some oil or clay softener or a clay mallet. A bit glossy once bake.
6. Nendo Firm/Nendo Flexible - Good if you want to make flexible pieces. It can be more rubbery and plastic-y than other clay brands so avoid leaving this unbake on top of finished surfaces too long. It's also stickier than other clay. There's no need for liquid clay to adhere two clay parts with this clay. Lack of conditioning lead to air bubbles.
7.  Clayzee Polyclay
8. Kato Polyclay - formulated by Donna Kato. Tends to be sticky but rich in color. Good for caning. 
9. Lumiere
10. Pearlex
11. Craft n Bake
12. Dukit Clay
13. Flexi Clay
14. Cernit - perfect clay for making dolls, has porcelain like finish once bake.
15. Pardo - clay for pregnant women
16. Klayola - Good for anything that needs to be strong and bendy. It is also nice to soften old crumbly clay.

Hope you find your staple clay!