My first time using Jolly King Clay. The stuff is a bit tougher to work with than sculpey, so I had to get used to it... my thumbs are already a bit blistered and I still have to finish the maquette of the female as well.

Oh well. This is the finished male Grobian beetle. The maquette is free-standing (it doesn't require a base) and stands about 7" tall.

You can see that the exoskeleton is split down the middle to allow the underlying muscles to be viewed. It was tricky, but all in all a lot of fun.

This was also my first time attempting to use Turpenoid to smooth out the clay after putting in the details. I'm rather impressed with how well it worked.

Cross-posted on my art blog at http://peterandcompany.livejournal.com

(resubmitted for better photo quality)