Thankya. Some of them I can put together in a couple of hours. Though if I was a little more confident in not messing up and didn't spend 10-15 minutes baking the clay every time I hit a point I liked the way it looked it could probably be done considerably faster. Others might take 2-3 evenings to get them where I want them.

Death for example I worked on for about four days off and on. The first day I made a wire skeleton and attached the head, hands and feet. The second day I arranged the body until it was posed just the way I wanted it. The third I put on the clothes/hat/watch, and the fourth I spent painting it and hoping I wouldn't break anything.

As for how long it takes to learn...well, a week or so ago I bought a pound of clay and rolled it around in my hands until it looked like a goblin to me.

My uncle's been sculpting for as long as I've known him and every time I've ever tried to ask him how to do what he does he's just responded with "Poke at it until it looks right. If you mess it up, start over and do it again." I always thought that was infuriatingly vague, but that pretty well explains the learning process so far: I turn on Netflix or some kind of music and then fiddle with a piece of clay for an hour or two until it looks like what I think it should look like, bake it and then do it again after it cools.

Everything I make usually teaches me a little something new, usually something that I should've known beforehand: Like to always make sure the clay's anchored or it'll just break off or to have an exit plan for that ball of aluminum I used to give the cape a billowing effect or I'll just have to snap it off and make another anyway.