Start with the Right Clay and a Loose Plan

Animal figures are the perfect project for a maker who wants to move beyond pinch pots and coils but isn't quite ready to attempt a portrait bust. The trick is to build a hollow body over crumpled newspaper rather than sculpting from a solid lump — it saves clay, dries more evenly and keeps the weight down so legs can actually support the piece.

Choose a grogged stoneware or crank clay if you can. The grog gives the body structure and helps the legs hold their shape when everything is still soft. A smooth porcelain or fine white stoneware will work beautifully for a hare or a fox, but it slumps far more readily, so keep the figure compact and the legs stout. Have to hand a wooden modelling tool, a needle tool or cocktail stick, a small sponge, a pot of slip, and plenty of newspaper.

Before you begin, decide roughly what you are making. A badger sitting upright, a hare crouching, a stylised stag — each has a distinct silhouette. Sketch it at actual size on a piece of paper so you can check proportions as you build. Twenty centimetres tall is a comfortable size for a first attempt.

Building the Hollow Body Around Newspaper

Scrunch newspaper into a ball slightly smaller than the finished body. Wrap it tightly with a few bands of masking tape or kitchen string to hold its shape. This is your armature and it will burn out in the kiln, leaving a hollow interior.

There are two reliable ways to cover it:

• The slab wrap: roll a slab about 6mm thick, lay it over the newspaper and press it down, then join the seams with scored, slipped edges. Trim the excess with a needle tool.
• The coil build: coil the clay around the newspaper ball, blending each coil into the one below with your thumb and a little slip until the whole form is covered and smooth.

Whichever route you take, leave a small opening — roughly the width of a pencil — somewhere inconspicuous, such as under the belly or between the hind legs. Trapped air and steam need somewhere to go during firing, and a vent hole is your insurance policy against a small explosion in the kiln. Blend every join thoroughly with a damp sponge; a seam that looks fine now will open up like a canyon once the clay dries.

Adding Legs, Ears and Tail While the Clay Is Still Workable

Timing matters here. You want the body at the point potters call soft leather-hard: firm enough to take pressure without denting, but damp enough to accept a join. If the surface is still tacky, give it twenty minutes under a plastic bag and try again.

Roll legs as tapered coils, slightly thicker at the top where they meet the body. Score both surfaces well — a crosshatch with a needle tool is ideal — brush on slip, then press the leg into place and blend with a small tool. Add a coil of clay around the joint like a collar and smooth it down. This reinforces the weakest point on the whole figure.

Support the legs as you go. Small wads of crumpled newspaper tucked underneath will stop them sagging while the clay firms up. For ears, flatten small teardrop shapes of clay, thin the edges, and attach them to the head with the same score-and-slip method. A rabbit wants long ears set close together; a bear wants small, rounded ones set wide. Tail next — a short coil for a deer, a flattened paddle for a beaver, a stub for a hare.

Refining the Face and Adding Texture

The face is what turns a lump into a creature. Use the round end of a wooden tool to press shallow eye sockets, then roll two tiny balls for eyes if you want them proud of the surface, or press two small dents for a simpler look. A blunt pencil makes a neat nose, and a cocktail stick dragged lightly across the muzzle suggests a mouth.

Texture lifts an animal figure enormously. Try these quick techniques:

• Drag a wire brush gently across the back to suggest fur.
• Press a small loop of clay into feathers on a bird's breast.
• Roll the surface with a textured roller or a scrap of hessian for a coarse hide.
• Run a damp finger over the sharpest edges to soften them — animals are never angular all over.

Step back and look at the silhouette from a metre away. If you can tell what it is from the shape alone, you have succeeded.

Drying, Venting and Firing Without Tears

Slow drying is everything with a hollow figure. Place the piece inside a plastic bag, leave the bag open at one corner, and let it sit for four or five days. Turn the bag inside out every day to release the moisture that collects. Rushing this stage causes cracks along joins and hairline fractures that only show up after firing.

Once the clay has firmed, remove the bag and let the figure dry in a cool room, away from radiators, direct sun or draughts. When it is bone dry — no longer cool to the touch — it is ready for the kiln. Fire slowly through the early stages so residual moisture escapes gently, and check that your vent hole is still clear. The newspaper inside will burn away cleanly, leaving the hollow body you built.

After the bisque firing you can glaze, slip-decorate or leave the surface bare for a rustic, makerly finish. Either way, you will have a figure with real character, built from nothing more than clay and yesterday's newspaper.