How Mica Shifts Work With Metallic Pearlescent Polymer Clay

Video #630: It all has to do with how the tiny mica particles in the clay are aligned, and how they reflect the light... More Info: www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?... Polymer Clay Tutor.
Topics Covered In This Video:
* The Magic of Mica - Understanding the Secrets of Metallic and Pearl Polymer Clays.
* There are some very sparkly, metallic and pearl polymer clays out there... Premo Accents are particularly beautiful because of their high mica particle content.
* They come in all kinds of different colors. Premo has the following metallic and pearl colors: Gold, 18K Gold, Antique Gold, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Pearl, Bright Green Pearl, Magenta Pearl, Purple Pearl, Peacock Pearl and Blue Pearl.
* There are some things that you need to understand about these Metallic and Pearl Clays.
* Often called mica clay because there are mica powders in the clay to give them sparkle.
* If you just grab a chunk of metallic clay (I used Regular Gold Metallic Premo Accents) and rolled it into a ball, the color will appear to be marbled.
* This marbled look is because the mica particles in the clay are unevenly aligned and are reflecting light in different directions.
* I show an example of a checkerboard pattern made only from one color of clay (Gold Premo). From the look of the sample it appears as though I have used two different colors of clay.
* These two shades coming from a single color block of clay, is possible because of the way the mica particles in the clay were aligned and how they were cut.
* I show some other beads and samples where this color shifting property is used to create beautiful effects.
* One technique that takes advantage of this unique property is called Mica Shift. In the technique the clay is sheeted until the particles are aligned and an impression is made into the surface using a rubber stamp.
* Other objects can be used for stamping as well.
* When you stamp an "aligned" sheet of metallic clay, the impressions serve to re-align the mica particles and the finished surface has the illusion of being dimensional, even though it is completely smooth.
* One way to describe why the mica particles do this is to think of them as ultra tiny bits of glitter or mirror shards.
* Mica particles are flat particles that are shiny on the top sides and dark on the edge sides, much like a piece of mirrored glass.
* When the particles are sitting in the clay at funny angles, light gets lost in the random edges and makes the clay look dark.
* Where the particles are laying flat, their shiny surfaces bounce the light off and make the clay look bright and shiny.
* Rolling the clay through a pasta machine repeatedly, forces the tiny mica particles to lie flat... making the sheet of clay look all shiny... because the particles become aligned.
* However, when you cut into the slab of clay and then look at the sides, you are now looking at the sides of the particles... which are dark.
* In the checkerboard pattern, the clay was cut and pieced together in a manner where both the top shiny pieces and the side dark pieces were shown in the different sections side by side. This made it appear like two colors of clay were used, when in reality there was only one.
* Hopefully this all make sense to you and I was able to help you to understand the unique properties of this wondrous clay better!
Related Video: Polymer Clay Mica Shift Technique... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
Related Video: Reptile Hollow Lentil Beads... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
Related Video: Mermaid Scales Mica Shift Tutorial... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
Related Video: Mica Shift Polymer Clay Beads... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
Related Video: Joan Tayler Rubber Stamps for Polymer Clay... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
And... more info about today's video is at my blog... www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...
Cindy Lietz & Doug Lietz Social Links:
/ polymerclaytutor
/ polymerclay
/ pctutor
/ polymerclaytips
Polymer Clay Tutor... "Make what you love... Love what you make."

[@calestorose4983]

this is the best video I have seen that explains what a mica shift is...FINALLY i understand, thanks so much for clarifying this for me, and probably for a million other people, ..happy claying

[@thepenpusher0674]

I enjoy your tuts so much and you have me captivated each time! This time, you dropped a piece of clay and my first thought was to pick it up for you!!

[@JaneDoe-xl5be]

Finally someone who really understands the Mica shift and can therefore give an explanation that makes sense! Thank you Cindy!!

[@Krutschable]

Cindy that was the most PERFECT explanation of mica-shift, i've ever seen!! your analogy of the mirror was dead on!! nice job!

[@mapleroo3]

Thanks, Cindy! This is probably the best explanation that I have seen of why Mica Shift works. Of course, being a visual presentation probably helps! :)

[@darlene50vaughn]

Cindy this video---Wow-- full of information and the best explanation of what Mica is and how to manipulate--thank you

[@carolnelson7107]

Thanks Cindy I didn't know though's clay's actually had mica powder in them... I've just started working with mica powder and am loving the affects it gives to a stamped pattern...

[@blissfuldrake]

Thank you very much for this video. It makes sense about the mica shift. I didn't understand it before.

[@Yargo73]

Thanks Cindy for sharing so useful video! ...finally a secret revealed! Every clayer should start from these basic tips and discover other beautiful techniques like "mica mush" ....

[@nicolenewman5679]

Thank you for this awesome explanation. I was wondering about the mica shift technique and this answered my questions.

[@candywham3657]

Thank you! I really appreciate know "why" something works like it does.

[@laurag5518]

FABULOUS information. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@LauraDani812]

I recently discovered fimo and its wonderfull potential and so I have quite a few issues on tools reliability that´s why I asked. I will try to experiment on my side too and let you know wether some things work or are a total failure. I really want to thank you for all you show on your channel it really helps a lot and you are a lovely person.

[@TS-qm7vv]

I understood completely. Thank you for a wonderful lesson!

[@ClareCreationsAL]

Excellent explanation! Thank you!

[@mstinas21]

Thank you so much that was amazing. I was a bit confused until I saw your video. 🥰

[@LadiJ33]

I wonder if I could use these ideas somehow in my soaps!!! Thank you for sharing!! Btw Beautiful necklace!

[@manondesrochers5729]

great tutorial and explanation. thank you

[@beads2yarn]

That was such a great informative video. Thank you

[@Mysterywhitegirl1]

Thank you so much! This explains what was happening with my pearl clays!

[@user-gn3rk2lc3b]

Thanks! Really cool and informative!

[@lostintime3297]

*_Thank you so much for telling this amazing fact._*

[@DianeBvideos]

(Sorry if this is a repeat but don't see the Comment I just posted.) Just wanted to add that mica particles can be aligned in other ways without a pasta machine, but a bit more trouble. Pier Voulkos used to "pull" on logs of clay repeatedly (cutting the logs and stacking together in the same orientation each time) to align them. Stroking an area repeatedly can also work (but won't align all the particles unless the clay is somewhat thin), and even pressing straight down. Thanks also for making this video...it's so hard to explain what's happening when mica particles are aligned to create the various mica effects when using only words!

[@MultiBBrock]

Great video Cindi.

[@tangfastico]

Thank you, Cindy, for another brilliant and very clear tutorial. I understand mica shift now! :-)

[@artbygoldheart5862]

I love the little workshop you have. Could you please give us a tour and tell us what different equipment you use? Thanks

[@tinamitchell1572]

thank you ! good to know !

[@pricezz657]

I just want to say I love your KZbin channel It gives me so many tips I just want to ask if maybe one day you can do a polymer clay give away cause that would be so awesome

[@Wolfkins1972]

I use Premo pearl,copper,& bronze(not all together😁) for some projects and whil e I like the marble effect for somethings,it's nice to know the way to Make that go away when I don't want it👍 thank you

[@MNPonyLady]

Thank you for this video !!! I realize it's 5 years old but ii wondered about the mechanics of mica shift. This explains it perfectly !!!

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Thank you for popping in and saying so! 💖💖💖

[@sandradavis847]

Thanks.

[@Wolfkins1972]

Btw I love the necklace you showed beautiful piece 👍😀

[@COLORPAPERPRINCESS]

i am in love with your channel! :)

[@SuperBigsu]

Hello miss. Currently I find out the gold luster that is used on ceramic. Can I use it on polymer clay too? I love the shiny and glossy look

[@Mimismarketva]

Thanks for this tute. I'm sure it helped a lot of clayers out there! I took a class with Dan Cormier and he mixes silver with his clay to make it show cut lines, holes, etc. I was wondering if you have ever mixed a metallic clay with Souffle and got good results? Since it has a suede like surface, I didn't know if it would work.

[@friedaforsley1485]

Hi Cindy. I've been seeing some beautiful, multicolored pieces that are made with the "mica in mush" technique. I have been trying to find a tutorial or explanation of this technique but have come up empty.

[@marinadossantos7822]

Hello Cindy, it makes a lot of sense and it helped me understand the technique, and now i know that i have to pass it thru my pasta machine so that the mica particles do their magic. ok thanks to this video and the 642 video i feel confident to try it!!! you're really a life savior, thanks Cindy. Does it work on round surfaces like beads? or just flat, concave projects?

[@1bcsurvivor]

I also forgot to say I was thinking of using the Pearl Ex Pigments from Jacquard. Should I have used it before I baked it or can I use it before I apply my glaze ??

[@niharikaR2]

Hello Cindy! How can I get a larger difference in the clay. Say I want to make a slab of clay with large triangles. Some of them dark and some shiny? Thank you

[@moniqaf]

Interesting,

[@lisamiesner9734]

Can I use any type of eyeshadow instead if mica?

[@lovebug2664]

I wonder if you can add mica powder to plain clay and do the same effect?

[@lilithmarleen]

Hi Cindy :) Based on your comparison video between sculpey III, premo, fimo and kato translucent clays, I think it would be really interesting to see a comparison regarding the pearl / metallic clays. I know premo has beautiful pearly colors, but I can't get it where I live. I work with Fimo. I'm thinking of acquiring some texture sheets to start playing around with this Mica Shift technique, but I don't know if it'll be worth it. In particular, Fimo has this beautiful mother-of-pearl color that looks great in pendants, it's one of my favorites to work with, but I don't know if it has enough mica content to show a design with this technique. Do you or anyone here reading the comments have any experience with Fimo and Mica Shift? I would love to know!

[@wt9h]

Would like to know how to do wood looking clay for my pens

[@dorygermano]

I love the beads you've shown in this video,they are like a mother of pearl. Can you make a tutorial of these the marvelous mokume gane technique?

[@PunkAssB1tch]

I would love to see this all so :)

[@PolymerClayTutor]

I have several tutorials on this technique already at my blog www.polymerclaytutor.com but I plan to do more.

[@dorygermano]

Thank you so much !!!

[@Penny.Royalty]

Please add a link to where you get those rubber stamps?

[@joannhamer8122]

I was wondering if we could make any polymer clay metallic by adding mica to it? J Hamer

[@florestista9339]

I like silver colors 😁

[@micheledickey4066]

This was a great explanation of how the mica works in the clay!! Thank you for that! I saw that when you rolled your clay through your pasta machine that it leaves little lines in it. I am having the same problem with my machine and was wondering why it does that and how to get it to stop. I have to roll over my clay after I have run it through the machine to get the lines off. Thanks in advance!

[@PolymerClayTutor]

That happens at the thicker settings because the gears are spread too far apart. When you roll at the thinner settings, those marks will go away.

[@micheledickey4066]

Thank you for answering my question.

[@donnalee5145]

I would love to know if you have any tips for slicing mokume, mine slides around and my slices are really bad. hope you can help!

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Sticking your slab to glass or a shiny ceramic tile can help.

[@jenjen7594]

Another great tutorial! I have searched everywhere for an answer to these questions. Can you tell me if it is possible to enhance the mica shift effect by mixing more mica powder into the metallic and pearl clays? I was also wondering if it is possible to almost create your own mica rich clay by mixing a lot of mica powder into translucent and possibly a little regular clay. I would like to do mica shift with a dark brown and also with a really dark blue, but have not seen these colors of metallic or pearl clay. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Hi Jen Jen, yes you can enhance mica clays by adding more mica and you can also mix your own using translucent clay. You will need to experiment with the amounts, because if you add too much mica powder the clay may become too dry and fall apart, but it can definitely be done. (That's how the companies make metallic and pearl clays.) Translucent clay shows the mica better than opaque clays do, so keep that in mind. Have fun!

[@LauraDani812]

Very helpfull thanks! Is it possible to make some cutters out of scrap polymer clay? Like some leaves shapes, round shapes, stars, squares etc...

[@PolymerClayTutor]

I don't know... maybe? I should try that!

[@hannahreimer1362]

Can you use mica powder to turn a non-metallic or pearl clay into a pearl that is suitable for mica shift? Or if you add a pearl or metallic to a non-pearl color, is it still good for the mica shift? I mixed a color that was 1 part normal clay with 2 parts pearl and it is pretty sparkly to me.

[@lilithmarleen]

+Hannah Reimer I would love the answer to this one as well. I know you can add mica powder to regular clay to make it pearly but it does take a lot of powder. Cindy has already answered that for me in another comment thread, and I've since then attempted it and it's very true... I don't even know how the clay is able to stay remotely sticky with the amount of powder one has to add to it to create a pearly effect :S I haven't tested a "manufactured" pearl clay with the mica shift technique, though.

[@budster8]

Thanks for that explanation! Off topic of mica shift: do you recommend quenching?

[@PolymerClayTutor]

I plan to to a PcT Test Lab on it very soon.

[@julierochforte7174]

You guys are a wealth of information! Can you please tell me where in Australia is the best place to buy coloured glass cabochons? I live in country Victoria so it's usually easier to shop online.

[@PolymerClayTutor]

I have no idea. Have you tried Googling it? Do you have dollar stores in your area? Or maybe a garden shop... sometimes people use them to fill vases for flowers.

[@shetlandshorty]

I just tried to do this effect with a texture sheet and couldn't get the effect at all. I was using scuplyIII. I have not tried with my premo yet. Is there really that big of a difference in the mica?

[@PolymerClayTutor]

shetlandshorty Yes the brand can make a difference. Premo has the highest mica content of all the clays. Then I believe Kato and Fimo are next. I also hear that Cernit is pretty high but I haven't tried it yet. Sculpeyiii is just a all around lower quality clay than Premo. Switch over when there is as ale... it is definitely worth it!

[@redhotsweetpotatoe]

I remember years ago seeing Donna Kato on the Carol Duval show doing something with layering transparent clay, mica clay and gold foil, then making indentions in it with different objects such as pencil, a rock, etc. and cutting off thin slices and using to make beads that were absolutely gorgeous. Any idea what I'm talking about or what the technique was called?? I wish I could explain better but like I said, it was years ago but it definitely left an impression on me. I'd LOVE to see it again.

[@Karai9]

This technique you're talking about is called mokume gane (Cindy mentioned it briefly in the video when she pointed out her half blue-green, half gold beads). There are lots of different ways to go about doing mokume gane, but there's a really great tutorial on polymerclayweb.com that is very similar to the way you're talking about. Hopefully that helps!

[@redhotsweetpotatoe]

Karai9 Thank you so much. That was very sweet of you. I'll check it out.

[@LaLa-tn9xn]

Thanks! Great video. New sub here. I just wish I saw this earlier today when i created cabochon setting with molds using fimo gold accent clay. Since pressing down shifts colours even after rolling it throughly with the pasta machine, do you then recommend not using gold accent with molds? Because I wasn't trying to get the marbled look but thats what I ended up with! :( If there is a way, I'd love to see a tutorial on that.

[@lilithmarleen]

+Luvly Lux If you're going to use polymer clay in place of a bezel or cabochon setting, and you want it to look gold, I would go about it differently. Either make it really smooth and use gold mica powder to achieve the desired effect, or use a very metallic-looking golden alcohol ink. I suppose you could also use gold metallic leaf. I too have tried making polymer clay bezels, only I tried to make them out of silver fimo clay. Not with molds but with my own hands (WAAAAAY too much work if you ask me! Blessed be the bezel molds...), and I ended up with the same marbled mica effect. The bezels ended up looking like cheap plastic... I've learned my lesson. Mica powder or metallic ink all the way since then.

[@LaLa-tn9xn]

Thanks for the awesome tips! :)

[@lilithmarleen]

No problem :)

[@dianaerickson4485]

Your videos are great and useful and not annoying. I would love to access your other videos while I'm recovering from surgery but your web site is not friendly to my iPhone 4s. I get involuntarily routed all over and never watched any video I tried. I am interested in so many of the topics and products you discuss and demonstrate. Is there an index of your videos I could access? You should have your own app!

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Hi Diana Erickson ... sorry you are having trouble accessing our videos. You can access all of the free videos right here on KZbin if you go to our main PolymerClayTutor channel page... and/or you can go to our free blog web site at www.polymerclaytutor.com where you can use the search box to find videos and articles you need specific help with. All of the our videos are listed here... www.beadvideos.com/back-issues/ Those links I gave you should all work on your iPhone 4s... and so that you know... we are working on an app too... so much to do... so little time :-) Happy Holidays and all the best with your recovery.

[@pricezz657]

Oh and can you plz try to make a video of how you can make that beautiful blue and Aqua ish pearl necklace

[@PolymerClayTutor]

That necklace is from the Reptile Hollow Lentil Bead Tutorial... Here is the link if you want to learn more about it: www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/reptile-hollow-lentil-bead-polymer-clay-tutorial-vol-074/18728/

[@elenfamilienvlog2038]

Hallo Cindy, ich kann leider kein englisch, Du machst so schöne Sachen, Ich hab noch eine frage, was ist das für eine Pastamaschine?

[@taniasue]

Way off subject....where did you find that gisntbblock of promo 😳 I’ve never seen anything but premo translucent, white/black.

[@loveleeloo9518]

Is there a post on your blog for the bead at 2.25 :)

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Love Leeloo Yes I do... here's the link to the tutorial www.beadvideos.com/back-issues-03/vol-074/

[@openarms169]

Hi ,was wondering can u put glitter ,perfect pearls in the the clay ? Ty for answer my question .mean while stay warm

[@CrimsonNorway]

Yep, you can make your own custom pearl clays by using mica powders such as Perfect Pearls or PearlEx. I seem to remember you have to use translucent clay and also a fair amount of mica powder as well. I would recommend adding the powder to the clay a little bit at a time. You can also use polymer clay compatible inks to dye the translucent clay so that it matches the mica powder a little :)

[@DianeBvideos]

Glitters won't work well because they're not flat flakes and they're not nearly as small as the mica flakes used in the mica-containing polymer clays. Any clear or colored mica powders could work (in translucent clays) but would require a lot to be mixed in, and mica also comes in various sizes and shapes not all of which are optimal).

[@azmarasheed2582]

hi ☺if you know how to make homemade metallic clay like the gold one u hv (not that metal clay)can you do a video on it?and all those tricks and tips which you,can I do them in air dry clay?would love it if you would reply and I like all your videos a lot 😊😊

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Thank you Azma! You can add metallic powders like PearlEx to clay to make it metallic. As far as the airdry clay goes, I haven't had the chance to work much with that stuff. I would suspect some of the techniques would work and some may not. You would have to try them and see.

[@azmarasheed2582]

+PolymerClayTutor thank you for replying!☺😊I will try everything and I do hope regular metallic powders would work instead of pearl ex wouldn't it?

[@azmarasheed2582]

and of you know the correct way of adding it,I will love it if a video is created..Thank you!😊

[@crazycrafts1014]

Really need help plz answer this plz I just got a pasta machine and when ever I roll the clay though the pasta machine it sticks to the rollers and get stuck in the back of the roller plz help

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Msp crazy Sounds like the scrapers are damaged. Try and take it back and get a new one.

[@crazycrafts1014]

Thank you

[@1bcsurvivor]

My question is I am making my granddaughter a rosary for her confirmation, she chose Saint Kateri for her saint name, so I am going with a indian theme. She loves turquoise so I made some turquoise and coral which turned out very pretty I have baked them. I am thinking of adding some Pearl Ex super copper before I glaze them. I am looking for ideas of how to apply as I have 6 copper beads that are the special beads, will I totally ruin them ??? Hope you can help ???

[@barbaramcnamara4232]

can i polymer clay crochet hook's

[@PolymerClayTutor]

Barbara McNamara yes but just use the metal ones.

[@PolymerClayTutor]

PolymerClayTutor or the wooden ones I suppose... just not the plastic ones, because they may melt.

[@curtainspoop6567]

We'll I used one of ur baking tips for clay and you said 2 put it in fir an hour and I burnt all of my clay thing thanks a lot 😒