Lookbook view
Styled context
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Craft this striking, surrealist brooch as a flat base plaque with layered low-relief facial features that remain lightweight on fabric. Cut the elongated face silhouette with its asymmetrical ear notch from an even acid-yellow slab, then add the orange brow bars, light blue eyelids, violet nose, and hot pink lips in separate, shallow passes.
An elongated abstract face brooch in vibrant acid yellow, adorned with orange brow bars, sky-blue eyelids, a violet triangular nose, and glossy pink lips. Pinned vertically to a shirt collar or lapel, the lightweight plaque creates a bold artistic statement with a refined, tactile satin-to-gloss finish.
Use the list to check tool size, pin-pad width, dome placement, and slab thickness against the piece you want to make before you buy.
The color stock and clay body choices that carry the visible design.
Gets you close to the acid-yellow face base that carries almost the whole silhouette.
Useful for the curved brow bars that sharpen the face read.
Matches the lips and helps with the warmer eyelid accents.
Covers the sleepy blue eyelid shapes that make the expression read correctly.
Useful for the small triangle nose so the palette stays close to the product image.
Useful for bonding raw-on-raw applique, layered details, and small joins without crushing the shape.
A firmer polymer clay ideal for crisp details, pixel grids, and canes to prevent distortion during slicing and assembly.
A polymer clay safe glaze that seals the piece without becoming sticky over time.
What you condition with and how you keep the slab even.
Stencils, blades, and cutters for cleaner outlines.
Bake surface and oven check tools for the finished brooch.
Posts, jump rings, chain, and connectors that finish the piece.
Adhesives and attachment choices when the build needs them.
Optional surface products if you want to shift sheen, sand, or coat.
Build it as a flat plaque with applied facial pieces. Roll one base slab, trim the silhouette cleanly, then layer on the facial components while keeping every addition low enough that the back can stay flat for the brooch finding. Keep the raised face pieces shallow enough that the back can stay flat; if the lips or eye layers keep shifting, bake the base first, cool fully, then add final raw details with compatible liquid clay before paint or glaze.
Condition your polymer clay. We recommend FIMO Professional for these precise, layered details to prevent distortion, or Sculpey Soufflé for a lightweight, velvety matte finish. Roll an even acid-yellow slab to about 2.5 mm thickness. Apply a light dusting of cornstarch as a release agent to your template or cutter, then cut the long face silhouette with the small ear notch on the right side. Settle the cut shape flat on a white ceramic tile so the rear stays perfectly flat for the brooch finding.
Dust your cutters or templates with cornstarch as a release agent, then cut the orange brow bars, pink eyelid arcs, and sky-blue eye shapes. Before assembling, wipe the contact areas on the yellow base with a damp cotton swab to remove any release powder or oils to ensure a strong raw bond. Place the sky-blue eyes first, layer the pink eyelids directly over them, and position the orange brows above, pressing gently to secure.
Wipe the center contact area on the face with a damp cotton swab to remove any oils or dust. Press the violet triangle nose down the centerline below the eye zone, checking that the triangle apex points up and the base sits low enough to leave room for the lips. Press gently to ensure a secure raw-to-raw clay bond.
Wipe the lip placement area with a damp cotton swab to ensure a clean surface. Roll a hot-pink lip shape, settle it onto the lower face, and add a tiny light-pink horizontal highlight strip on the bottom lip so the gloss read survives the bake.
Bake the polymer clay brooch flat on the tile according to the clay package directions, using an oven thermometer to monitor the temperature and timing by the thickest plaque area; cool fully before any handling. Keep the raised face pieces shallow enough that the back can stay flat.
After curing and cooling, apply a thin, compatible water-based polyurethane (like Varathane) or UV resin to the lips only to add gloss, testing the finish on baked scrap first; avoid solvent-based glazes or aerosol clear coats which react with clay plasticizers and become sticky. To attach the metal finding, clean the contact area on the back of the brooch with rubbing alcohol or a damp cotton swab to remove any oils or release agent. Do not use brittle cyanoacrylate (super glue) to attach metal findings, as it fails on smooth metal. Instead, bond the flat-pad finding with Devcon 2-Ton Epoxy or E6000 adhesive, let it cure for the full product-listed time, and tug-test before wearing.
Open these when you want more depth on a technique behind the build, not another supply row.
Face plaques, cameo-style shapes, and portrait drops stay cleaner when the silhouette is solved first, the facial planes stay low relief, and the topper or brooch hardware is planned as part of the front design rather than as an afterthought.
Your thin overhang drooped or the hollow body caved because it had no support inside the oven. Compare flat tiles, fiberfill, foil, and armatures by shape before you build another version.
Brooch fronts can tip or lose grip when the rear contact is curved, too small, or glued over a finish. Prepare a flat zone, match the finding size to the scale, and place it on the visual balance line before the adhesive cures.
Custom range
Use this piece as the starting point for a make-ready plan, cutter or tool model files, a supply list, or a finished range inquiry.
More pieces with a related form, finish, or making path.
Pin it to a board, copy the link, or hold it in your saved list while you sample your version.
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