Highly recommended for people looking to get into figure work. I picked it up mostly to supplement my special effects studies to understand sculpting the body and was blown away.

The proportioning system is straight foreward and laid out in intricate detail. Even better, she shows you all the different genders and ethnicities all in the same section as options. Still better are her how-to's on handmade tools I've spend bundles buying on my own at hobby stores.

Better still how to scale you projects, something that even my high-end sculpting books would barely touch with a ten foot pole, she tackles full on and unabashed. Not only will you make to scale figures, but you can also check out how to make them into miniatures as well! Which is tough as most books reserve scaling for foundry work.

She doesn't leave much to the imagination, nor spares any rock unturned to show you how to use it and encourages you to expand on that knowledge! Wow, where can I find a teacher like that?

All in all, this is a must have for the doll hobbyist or even just the morbidly curious. A big plus is that all the materials, including the clay, are readily available in stores or online. A very fun and informative book, enjoy!

I bought this book because it looked like it would be perfect to use as a guide for creating polymer clay fairy figures. As a novice sculptor, it seemed to be the perfect choice, and the directions looked like they would be easy to follow, but actually turned out to be more complex in practice, particularly in how to construct the basic armature. This is probably a better book for the more advanced sculptor.

The author has done a wonderful job conveying techniques and tips for modeling realistic figures in clay.

The book begins with the techniques that are fundamental to all shapes.

It them moves into a wonderful chapter on how to make your own tools for the rest of the projects in the book. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

The author then takes you step by step in modeling a life-like figure. Using a simple to understand measuring system, you learn how to make every body part proportional to achieve realism.

You will learn techniques in modeling and shaping clay, baking, sanding, polishing, painting, finishing, making realistic-looking hair, even how to make beautiful clothes and accessories.

The book is well thought out and very easy read with plenty of diagrams and photographs.

I've already learned techniques that apply to other types of clay modeling as well. This is a book I will use for years as a reference. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a solid learning experience in sculpting with clay.

Based on the unanimous 5 star reviews (excluding the 2 reviewers who gave it 1 star for a mistake THEY made), I bought this book. I am happy to report that it lives up to the positive reviews.

Katherine Dewey is an accomplished sculptor and this book is very informative and well worth the $15 purchase price in skills taught. Some of the tips and tricks shown can only come about through expensive trial and error (like selecting the right brand of clay), or years of experience (how to make your own custom tools). They are all collected here and presented in a logical progression, with plenty of large color photographs.

Some of the techniques I already figured out for myself (using aluminum foil balls as cores), but many I'm learning for the first time since I am new to polymer clay sculpting. As a beginner, I found the first few chapters very useful in getting grounded in the basics of polymer clays because it is not like natural clay (safety, brands and uses, clay conditioning). Many of the techniques taught in later chapters can be applied to sculpting and figure making in general, not exclusively to the polymer clay medium, or restricted to purely lifelike figures. My brand of artwork is mostly cartoony and usually not lifelike, but I found much to like in this book.

Highly recommended.

Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay is one of the best how-to sculpting books I've ever read.

Chapter 1 covers the various polymer clays available, how to work with the clay, safety considerations, and includes formulas to blend colors for various ethnic skin tones.

Chapter 2 describes working with basic shapes and Ms Dewey's technique of modelling units, which is to roll out a log shape of clay at a certain thickness and cut off units of equal lengths. A great technique for a beginner to ensure equal amounts of clay are used. Who wants two disproportionate arms or legs simply because you eyeballed how much clay to use?

Chapter 3 covers making your own tools with the clay. If your a novice who has never used polymer clay, this chapter gets you familiar with the feel, texture, and baking methods needed as you sculpt your figures.

Chapters 4-7 cover the modelling of the figure from face, torso, arms, and legs. In the face chapter, Ms Dewey shows you how to model a basic face but doesn't just move on from there; she expounds on it. She shows you how to sculpt the differences of gender. She shows how to sculpt ethnic faces. She shows you how to add expression to your figure with the shift of the clay here or there. She shows you how to add age to your character.

Similarly with the torso chapter, she shows you how to sculpt the male torso and the female variation. She also gives you techniques for sculpting the "heroic" or well-muscled male torso as well as adding realistic "fat" pads for the overweight figure.

Her arms and legs chapter are very detailed and you do get the development of the "heroic" arms and legs if you want to pursue that type of figure.

Chapter 8 details how to sculpt in smaller scales. Most of the book prior concerns 1/6 scale. In chapter 8, she gives formulas for the "base units" that enable you to sculpt in 1/8, 1/10, and 1/12 scale. She also demonstrates techniques for sculpting in these smaller scales.

Chapter 9 shows you how to make costumes in clay, which is truly amazing and almost worth the price of the book alone. Her figures look like they were dressed in fabric instead of clay. So if you can't or don't want to sew for a figure you sculpt, you can dress them in "fabric" as textured, with draping and folds as real as the real thing.

Chapter 10 demonstrates "finishing touches" which is the painting and wigging of your figure.

The instructions are exceptionally detailed and EXTREMELY well photographed. The photos and descriptions are why this book gets a 5-star rating. It's as if the author really cared that you do well with your sculpting and wanted to give you enough photos and description to do it.

The only "negative" I would give this book is that it needs to be spiral bound. I own the original self-published book- and yes, this is a reprint of Ms Dewey's original which has a different cover - but I bought this copy to take apart and put into a binder so I could lay it flat to reference while I sculpt.

Overall excellent and highly recommended!