How to Make a Staff of Ra Headpiece from Polymer Clay - Indiana Jones Crafts!

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, much of the story surrounded not only the Ark, but an object known as the "Staff of Ra." With this staff, one could pinpoint the exact location of the Ark of the Covenant. The scene in which Indiana Jones used the staff is one of the most memorable in the series.

I tried several different ways to make a Staff of Ra, looking online at how others had done it using resin and all sorts of materials, but I didn't really want to fool with resin (plus, if you've never used it before, it can be quite tricky) and also wanted something that I thought people wouldn't be intimidated by.

The obvious solution was polymer clay and paint. So, without further adieu:

How to Make a Staff of Ra Headpiece from Polymer Clay

Materials

• Polymer clay - color doesn't matter much, but the "lighter" shades will probably be best. If you have polymer clay already, you can use your scraps. As far as brands, I'd recommend Sculpey III or Primo (which is also Sculpey, but a little bit "tougher"). 
• Liquid Leaf paint in gold 
• An orange tone rhinestone or crystal (easily found at hobby stores in the jewelry making section and very cheap) 
• A disposable paint brush 
• A printer (so you can print out the pattern pieces below) 
• X-Acto Knife 
• Some sort of round "rolling" device such as an old rolling pin, a bottle or an acrylic roller. 
• A needle tool (such as a wooden skewer, a plastic clay shaping tool or an orange stick)
• Pattern found here: http://www.otherkidspacklunch.com/headpiecepatternprint.pdf
• Optional: A clay extruder or garlic press 
• Hands. Or very talented feet. It's possible.

Instructions

1. Print off your pattern pieces and cut them out.  
2. "Condition" your clay by kneading it for a couple of minutes. This will make it softer and easier to work with.
3. Roll your clay out flat - to about 1/4 inch thickness. You can use an acrylic roller that you buy at a craft store or something you already have around the house such as a rolling pin or a bottle.
4. Now that your clay is rolled out, place your pattern pieces on top of the clay and, using an Xacto knife, trace around each piece and slowly tear away the clay as you go so as not to completely tear the piece. Note: if you do tear the piece, don't worry. You can always re-knead the clay and start over.
5. For the base, carefully trace around the birds head so that you have the small cut out portion like the original piece.
6. Now that you have all your pieces cut out, put aside. Take care moving them from the surface as they might have stuck a bit. Just carefully peel and you should be okay. 
7. Next we're going to make small ropes of clay. You can do this by "rolling" the clay into ropes or, even better, if you have a clay extruder or garlic press, you can press out ropes in various lengths.
8. Now that you have all your finished pieces, it's time to begin assembling them. Begin by placing the body of the bird on the bass piece of the medallion. Carefully press the edges of the bird into the clay so it appears as if they are joined and there aren't any drastic edges. Be sure not to press too hard so you don't distort the base or the overall shape of the body.
9. Once the body is attached, it's time to apply the wings and bottom feathers. Gently press them onto the base. Don't worry too much about the edges on these pieces.
10. Take one of the ropes you made earlier and begin outlining the outside of the birds wings. This rope sits just on the edge of the wings, one rope around each wing, so don't worry too much about being precise.
11. When the robe reaches the bottom feathers of the bird, measure out just enough to "curl" inward and snap off with your fingernails. Don't pull or you risk pulling off too much. Now, curl the ends inward, making a small loop just near the bottom feathers. Repeat for the other side.
12. Taking a small piece of the rope you made earlier, make two - three "U"s at the top center of the piece. As you can see, I forgot to do this part until later, so you can fudge a bit. Don't worry too much about being authentic unless you are going to be judged on authenticity on some contest. This is for party purposes. If someone wants to point out the inconsistency, tell them that they are free to make their own.
13. Now it's time to gently remove the piece from the work surface. It will probably stick a little, so just gently pull up.
14. Taking some of the other rope, it's time to begin making the "braids" that will circle the outside of the piece. You may have to do this a couple of times because the clay tends to get weak and break. The good news is that you can piece together multiple braids. (Excuse my dirty fingernail in that pic. I had green clay under that thumb.)
15. With the braided rope finished, we need to attach this to the outer edge of the piece. Simply place the braid around the base and very gently press into the base. It will attach and stick fairly easily so you don't have to distort the braid in order to get it snug.
16. It's time for our detail work. Taking your orange stick, skewer or needle tool, gently "draw" or "carve" the line work for the wings, making it appear like feathers. Do this for both wings.
17. Now you'll want to do the same for the bottom feathers. Don't worry too much about those little stray pieces of clay that tend to stick out from the crevices.
18. Taking your needle tool, make small indentions in the body of the bird. Don't worry too much about what it looks like at first. The leaf paint will cover a lot of "problem" areas.
19. This is the "fun" part. It's time to "carve" the writing near the edge of the piece. Taking your pattern piece, simply copy the lettering by carving each letter out with the needle tool. The letters are fairly "boxy" and simple to make, so this really doesn't require this much artistic talent. 
20. You should have your medallion fully assembled, so it's time to bake the clay according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you have a toaster oven you don't use very often (or if you regularly make clay pieces and have a clay dedicated one), I'd recommend using it. However, you can still use your kitchen oven to "fire" the piece.
21. Remove the piece from the oven. At first, the piece might be a bit "bendy," but don't worry about that as it will become more rigid as it cools. You can see in my picture that the light colored clay has burned a bit (I have an old toaster oven that doesn't really heat evenly). Don't worry if yours does this. Again, the leaf will cover this.
22. Now this really *is* the fun part. Take your liquid leaf and shake it up as the components tend to separate and settle. Using a disposable brush, brush the leaf paint onto the piece. You can instantly see the leaf begin to really make the medallion look less like a hunk of clay and more like metal. This stuff is so cool, you may be tempted to paint yourself with it, but don't because that just wouldn't be cool since it's more than likely toxic when put in your mouth and crevices, no doubt.
23. After the leaf is dry, you can attach your rhinestone with hot clue or any sort of glue that has a really high tack. Let dry.
24. Tada! You now have a Staff of Ra medallion. Aren't you special? Now go get those Nazis.

This particular piece, obviously, won't set on a dowel for costuming, but it can be adapted as such with a bit more clay and sculpting. For your Indiana Jones 4 party, you can use this a centerpiece, a give away (string a set of beads through the middle of the medallion for hanging) or, if you want to be a little more creative, you can carve your guests names into the piece and use each as a place setting. Obviously, this will take more work and clay, so this might not be feasible.

Basically, you can do whatever you like. If you had a lot of time to work on several, you could even make several and make a garland out of them. Completely up to you.

Have fun!