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Easy Clay Penguin Step by Step Tutorial: Learn How!

Learn how to make a clay penguin using air drying clay! A fun craft activity for home over winter break or at school!

Winter is upon us as is all the cute winter animals and images! By far my favorite winter animal is a penguin.

You might have been able to tell from my roundup of penguin crafts and our cute glass penguin decoration I posted about last year.

So today I have a step by step guide on how to make a super cute little penguin out of air-drying clay but you can also use polymer clay if you want a more durable craft.

The great thing about using foam clay or air dry clay is that it’s so easy to mold (doesn’t even need a rolling pin!) and it dries on its own in 24-48 hours (no need for an oven!).

clay penguin tutorial

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Shareasale, Cricut, Awin, CreativeFabrica, and Amazon.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

To learn more about the differences between the clays, you can read about it here.

The size of your penguin pottery will depend on how much clay you are going to use! Use small amounts for tiny penguins and a large size if you want a big penguin made out of clay.

clay penguin tutorial

How to Make a Clay Penguin

Yield: 1 cute clay penguin
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated Cost: $2

With a few different colors of clay, you can mold an adorable penguin together in a few minutes!

Tools

Instructions

  1. Gather your materials. We will be using black clay, white clay, orange clay for the beak, and a color of your choice for the scarf (red, purple, pink!). clay penguin supplies
  2. The first step is to make the penguin base. Roll some black clay between both of your hands until it forms a ball shape.rolling clay for penguin
  3. Roll the clay ball back and forward on a flat surface until it forms a cylinder shape.making clay penguin
  4. Make a hole on the wide side of the cylinder shape to help the bottom of your penguin stand up.diy penguin with clay
  5. Roll a piece of white clay in your palms to form a ball.clay craft
  6. As before, roll the clay ball back and forth to form a cylindrical shape.rolling white clay penguin
  7. On a flat surface, flatten the white clay that you just made.penguin craft body
  8. This piece is the top part of the face of the penguin, so use a clay tool to press down the top-middle part of the clay on the narrow side.clay penguin body The eyes will go under this!
  9. Attach the white clay on to the black base pattern.easy clay penguin
  10. Form a ball shape with a small amount of orange clay. Place the orange piece on the head part of the penguin figure.Clay Penguin Steps ()
  11. Then squeeze the orange clay until it's a beak shape.cute penguin
  12. Roll the color of clay you are using for the scarf into a rope shape.clay scarf
  13. Then flatten the rope shape.clay penguin scarf
  14. Place the scarf under the penguin around the neck part.adding scarf to clay penguin
  15. Then wrap the scarf around the neck.how to make clay penguin
  16. Use a clay tool or your fingertips to smooth and adjust the shape of the scarf.Clay Penguin Steps ()
  17. Use a Sharpie to draw the eyes and blush shapes on the penguin's face.add face to penguin
  18. Now, let's make the penguin feathers. Roll a small amount of black clay into a cylinder-like shape.clay penguin wings
  19. Divide the clay into two even parts.Clay Penguin Steps ()
  20. Flatten the two pieces and form wing shapes with them.diy penguin steps clay
  21. Attach the two wings on both sides of the penguin's body and you're all done!Clay Penguin Steps ()

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

If you are a teacher having your students make these clay crafts at school, you might also want to grab our free penguin coloring pages and penguin paper bag puppet instructions to go along with a penguin unit!

I hope these simple instructions helped you make an adorable little penguin craft! If you are a fan of clay crafts, make sure to check out our clay ghost project.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

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Amy selfie

About Amy

Hi There!! Welcome to Leap of Faith Crafting and my little slice of the internet! I am so glad that you stopped by! My mission is to inspire others to be creative and to show you that everyone can be crafty! I am not an expert, I am just like you!! Read more...

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