Getting Started with Polymer Clay: How to Reduce Polymer Clay Canes

[@citrusbutter7718]

I lost a whole blood orange cane because most videos show them reducing the canes by rolling them. I need 2 types of dried orange canes, regular orange and blood orange. My regular orange i only got half out of that one because the rest of what was on it became a mess of distortion and cracks (i waited a week to reduce it), but what's left is barely distorted so i'm happy with how they turned out i just wish i didn't get so much left over end scraps, i wanted to use as much of my cane as possible. My blood orange however i made after reducing my regular orange cane and i was set and ready, waited 3 hrs to start reducing, followed other's tutorials, only to end up with every bit of it distorting..... I feel like the only reason that my regular orange cane turned out better is because the darn thing was so stiff and firm that i had no choice than to pinch it while reducing, but the blood orange was mostly rolling. It was a lost cause anyway because i didn't even end up liking the reduced look of the blood orange and the cane started out a bit too on the pancake side rather than a cylindrical shape so there would be all kinds of problems regardless, now ill retry and this time make it better then reduce by putting more squeezing in. I know with practice it should get better so i'm not giving up.

[@wackytackysocks]

Fantastic!! Thank you so much for your guidance...I tried so many times w/my intuition alone and produced TERRIBLE results ...this was so transformative!! Thank you thank you for making this information so accessible ♡

[@SeawardCreations]

I have seen many videos showing someone reduce a cane. This is REALLY helpful showing not only different shapes but how long to wait! I have always seen a reduced cane being part of the creating process, before! Thank you, thank you!

[@JessamaTutorials]

Oh good. So glad I could help.

[@katzologin8687]

I wanted to write the same but SeawardCreations was faster than me. Also I am interested in reducing with tools, but I am not sure to get those tools in Europe. However, thank you for teaching us!

[@karenseal8067]

SeawardCreations iv

[@deanablythe9394]

Thank you for sharing Samantha, this is most helpful for a beginner like me.

[@lesliegulyas148]

Thank you for the tip on Teresa Pandora Salgado's KZbin channel. She has lots of cane tutorials.

[@leonanelson2444]

Thank you Jasmina

[@palmchord]

Hi, I liked the tutorial very much. Do you think you could reduce the waiting time (from finishing the cane to reducing it) by putting the cane into the fridge?

[@JessamaTutorials]

Yes. That would reduce the amount of waiting time. The freezer is even faster.

[@palmchord]

Thank you :-)

[@nikkismith9147]

I'm having the issue that once I reduce small enough I lose the detail - the colors seem to all blend together. I'm very new to polymer but I can't quite figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've seen videos of people reducing canes quite small and keeping the detail -- all of my attempts have not gone well :(

[@JessamaTutorials]

What brand of clay are you using? Also a lot of it comes down to practice (the colors you're using, the amount of rest time) there's a lot that goes into creating a sharp image.

[@rubes221]

This is always where my "canes" go to garbage. Thanks!