Basic polymer clay color blends tutorial

Today we will learn how to make a gradient polymer clay sheet in two colors. I guarantee this basic polymer clay color blends tutorial will give a sophisticated look to your future projects.

You can use any colors you want and of course as many as you need. There is no need to be two, but it is easier for you to understand how things work with only two colors. This two colors blended sheet where one is white is often encountered in canes.

Things I used for this basic polymer clay color blends tutorial:
– 2 polymer clay colors: white, blue
– cutter
– pasta machine

Blue and white clay for a color blend

Let’s get started!

Normally for a two-color gradient, a square is used divided by its diagonal: one part will be of one color and the other part of the other tone. Depending on your project needs, you can combine the triangles letting the edges with incipient color. In my example one edges of the sheet will be my incipient colors (white) and the other edge will be mixed.

Blue and white clay sheets on a work surface

Cutting triangles of blue and white clay

We double our rectangle in the middle and we pass this rectangle formed by two colors by the medium number of thickness of the pasta machine to form one sheet.

Two triangles joined into a rectangle

Basic polymer clay color blends tutorial

We double our square in the middle one more time and we pass the blade back through the pasta machine. We repeat the operation of folding and going through the machine several times, always inserting the sheet through the folded part, to help expel any air that may be trapped. We double our rectangle in the middle and repeat the process for several times (in my case 10), until the colors are blended. I added a lots of photos to the process for you to see how the colors are mixed.

Folding the clay sheet for blending

Folded blue and white sheet

Basic polymer clay color blends tutorial

Blending colors after several folds

Blue to white gradient forming

Passing the sheet through a pasta machine

Little by little, we are seeing the results of this operation: the gradient is becoming uniform and the stripes that appeared at the beginning of the process, are disappearing.

Smooth blue to white gradient sheet

Finished blue to white blend sheet

As the final step of the process I doubled the sheet into the middle and passed it through the pasta machine but this time starting with the thin dark blue edge. Your last step depends on what you need the blending sheet for. In my case, I used the sheet for a cane so I created rolls.

Rolling the blend through a pasta machine vertically