Clay Dinosaurs

Clay is perfect for making dinosaur models. How about making a collection of your favourites?

Top Tips:

Not all clay needs to be fired, or baked in the oven; you can leave some types of clay to dry slowly on a windowsill. This is called air-drying or air-setting clay. You can buy it in art or craft shops.

Left: could you make a model of this Nodasaur?
© Philip Eglise.

When you model your dinosaur, be careful not to make any parts of the body too skinny, as they may break when they dry out.

Use 'slip' to join parts of your dinosaur together. To make slip, mix a little bit of clay with water to make a sludgy paste, then smooth it over any joins.

Right: Why not visit a museum to get some dinosaur ideas?
©Leicester City Museums.

Leave your dinosaur somewhere warm to dry for a couple of days.

When the model has dried out you could paint it.

Acrylic paint is best for painting on clay. If you use water-based paints and your dinosaur looks a little dusty or flaky when it's dry, a coat of varnish will seal on your colour.