Very nice orca! The shape is spot on. Makes a nice sculpt being vertical like that too.
(Are you considering using a brand/line of polymer clay that's less brittle after baking in thin or projecting areas than regular Super Sculpey at future times?)
Re "better" brands and lines of polymer clay, I'd suggest perhaps Super Sculpey-Firm, or at least Super Sculpey-Medium if SS-F is too firm for you, for sculpting uses.
There are also other brands and lines of both bulk polymer clay (usually neutral colors, like PuppenFimo, Cernit's Doll Clays, and ProSculpt) and of regular colored polymer clay (often but not always in small packs), that work fine for sculpting and won't be brittle like those others++.
Each user has their favorite brand/line of polymer clay though when wanting to use polymer clay for sculpting (or their favorite mix of various brands/lines) so wouldn't want to give a specific recommendation since that that would depend on the handling characteristics, types of items, heat of hands, etc, you have or prefer, and for the particular item you'd be making.
Also, some users only want to paint entirely over whole cured sculpts, where some clayers use the colored clays (and new homemade colors) to create sculpts where the color is just built into the clay and no paint used (perhaps with a bit of paint for the lips/etc if a figure).
++ The polymer clay lines that are brittle after baking in thin/projecting areas are all made by the Sculpey/Polyform company:
...original plain Sculpey (worst)
...Craftsmart/Bakeshop, Sculpey III, Super Sculpey-flesh
...perhaps Super Sculpey-Medium but to a lesser degree
P.S. Did you use a permanent armature inside the orca? If so, what?
Very nice orca! The shape is spot on. Makes a nice sculpt being vertical like that too.
(Are you considering using a brand/line of polymer clay that's less brittle after baking in thin or projecting areas than regular Super Sculpey at future times?)
What would you suggest?
Re "better" brands and lines of polymer clay, I'd suggest perhaps Super Sculpey-Firm, or at least Super Sculpey-Medium if SS-F is too firm for you, for sculpting uses.
There are also other brands and lines of both bulk polymer clay (usually neutral colors, like PuppenFimo, Cernit's Doll Clays, and ProSculpt) and of regular colored polymer clay (often but not always in small packs), that work fine for sculpting and won't be brittle like those others++.
Each user has their favorite brand/line of polymer clay though when wanting to use polymer clay for sculpting (or their favorite mix of various brands/lines) so wouldn't want to give a specific recommendation since that that would depend on the handling characteristics, types of items, heat of hands, etc, you have or prefer, and for the particular item you'd be making.
Also, some users only want to paint entirely over whole cured sculpts, where some clayers use the colored clays (and new homemade colors) to create sculpts where the color is just built into the clay and no paint used (perhaps with a bit of paint for the lips/etc if a figure).
You can read more about some of the clay brands/lines differences here at least:
https://www.quora.com/Which-clay-is-better-Sculpey-or-Fimo
(this one from Ginger includes a couple of the newest brands/lines, but not mostly the bulk sculpting polymer clays:)
https://thebluebottletree.com/best-polymer-clay-brand
++ The polymer clay lines that are brittle after baking in thin/projecting areas are all made by the Sculpey/Polyform company:
...original plain Sculpey (worst)
...Craftsmart/Bakeshop, Sculpey III, Super Sculpey-flesh
...perhaps Super Sculpey-Medium but to a lesser degree
P.S. Did you use a permanent armature inside the orca? If so, what?
Thanks for the feedback! Yes I used wire and aluminum foil for the armature. The clay was no thicker than a quarter inch.