This clay frog is so cute! A frog clay sculpture is the perfect introduction to sculpting. Made with air dry clay, and painted with acrylic paint, it’s a fun craft for both kids and adults and makes a great addition to any froggy knickknack collection.

Clay Frogs

Frogs are cute amphibians that are known for their hopping skills. Did you know that there are over 5,000 species of frogs?! You can find them on every continent, except Antarctica, living in all types of climates – from tropical forests to deserts.

We made these clay frogs using our homemade clay recipe, which is really easy to make and fun to work with. You can paint the frog a traditional green, like we did, or you can change it up. Add spots to your frog, or paint it in bright colours.

It’s fun to work with clay, no matter your skill level. No special tools are needed to make this clay frog – we only used our hands and toothpicks to sculpt it! It’s such a creative activity that’s great for beginners.

Check out our Clay Frog video tutorial:

*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial.

Looking for more clay craft ideas? Here’s some of our favourites:

How to Make Clay

Air Dry Clay Mushrooms

Dried Flower Clay Ornaments

Turtle Clay Sculpture

Here’s what you’ll need:

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The full printable instructions are at the end of this post, but here’s a list of products on Amazon and Target that are similar to the supplies we used:

Air Dry Clay (check out our post for How to Make Clay)
Acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Toothpicks

What clay should I use to make clay frogs?

We used our air dry clay recipe for the frog you see in this post and it worked perfectly! It’s so easy to make (only 3 ingredients!), and it’s really nice to work with.

If you don’t feel like making clay, you can buy air dry clay on Amazon, at a craft store, or at an art supply store.

How to dry the frog clay sculpture?

Air dry clay is designed to dry at room temperature. Because the pieces are so large the frog will have to sit for 3 to 4 days to dry completely – but don’t worry, you can speed up the drying process!

If you’d like to speed up the drying time and you’re using our clay recipe, you can put your clay frog in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake it for 1 to 1.5 hours, rotating it a few times. Shut off the oven and allow the frog to come to room temperature in the oven with the door closed.

This baking method works well with our homemade clay recipe, but I can’t guarantee that it will work with other air dry clays. If you’re using store bought clay, follow the drying instructions on the package.

What paint should I use on my clay frog?

We like to use acrylic paint for painting on clay. It’s inexpensive, durable, and the colours stay vibrant once they’re dry.

Tempera paint is another good option, especially if you’re painting with kids. Tempera paint isn’t as durable as acrylic paint and the coverage won’t be as good. But it’s washable, which helps if your kids tend to make a mess when they paint. Acrylic paint pens are another great low-mess option for painting finer details.

How can I protect the paint on my frog clay sculpture?

The paint on your clay frogs will eventually fade in sunlight and peel if it’s being handled a lot. To stop that from happening, and to waterproof your frog, you’ll want to use a paintbrush to apply a coat of varnish.

You can also use an acrylic spray sealer. Both of these options will protect the frog from scratches, and allow you to place them in a garden or potted plant. Make sure to use this spray outside or in a well ventilated room.

Our clay frogs were just for fun and will be staying indoors, so we left the paint as is, without any sealant.

How to Make a Clay Frog

This clay frog is SO CUTE and simple to make! Use air dry clay to form your sculpture and paint it with acrylic paint. Such a fun activity!

Materials:

Equipment:

Instructions:

Step 1: Make the frog's body

Start by forming a round ball, about 1-3/4 inches across, which will become the frog's body.
Take a small piece of clay and make a cone shape (1/4 inch across, 3/4 inch long) for the frog's foot, rolling it with your fingers.
Make another small cone shape (same size), and press it onto the first piece, pushing the thinner ends together. Flatten out the thicker parts, making the frog's toes.
Attach the foot to the front of the frog on one side, putting the connecting parts of the foot under the frog's body.
Repeat this process and attach a second foot to the frog.
Roll out 2 large cone shapes (1/2 inch across, 1-1/2 inches long) to make the frog's legs.
Attach the legs to the sides of the frog, with the larger side up and the thinner ends going beneath the frog's body (on top of the feet).

Step 2: Make the frog's eyes and mouth

Roll out 2 round balls (3/4 inch in diameter) for the frog's eyeballs.
Make 2 tiny balls and press them flat (they should be 1/4 inch across at this point) onto the eyeballs to make pupils.
Press the eyeballs onto the top of the frog's head. If they don't stick, add a small dab of water onto the eyeball before pressing it on.
Roll out 2 more small balls and push them flat (until they are close to 1 inch across).
Attach these flat circles to the top back of the eyeballs, forming eyelids.
Use a toothpick to carve out a curved line (about 1 inch long) for the frog's mouth.

Step 3: Make the lily pad

Form another large ball of clay. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick and 3-1/2 inches across.
With a toothpick, make pie slice shaped grooves on the surface of the lily pad.
Cut one "pie slice" completely through with your toothpick and remove the excess clay.
Form another small ball of clay and press it flat (until it's about 1 inch across).
Using a toothpick, make 6 even cuts around the outside of the circle.
Smooth the sides of these cuts and push them in a bit with your fingers, creating petals of a flower.
Make a tiny ball that will fit in the flower's centre.
Press the tiny ball flat (it should be 1/4 inch across) onto the middle of the flower.

Step 4: Allow to dry

Arrange the frog and flower onto the lily pad. Allow frog to dry.
If using our air dry clay recipe (see link in tips section below) it will take 3 - 4 days to dry at room temperature. You can also place the frog on a parchment lined baking tray and bake it at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Step 5: Paint your clay frog

Once your clay frog is completely dry you can begin painting it.
Using acrylic paint, paint all areas of the frog and lily pad, using whatever colours you'd like. Allow the paint to dry before painting on a second coat, if needed.
Your clay frog is complete!

Helpful Tip:

We made this clay frog using our Homemade Clay Recipe!

If you're having trouble getting the clay to stick to itself, put a small dab of water on one of the pieces before attaching it. This will help the pieces stick to each other.

Making your own clay frog is so much fun! With only 3 simple pantry ingredients, our air dry clay recipe makes it so easy and inexpensive to make clay art. This is such an easy craft, that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Here’s even more clay craft ideas:

Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!

Where to buy:

You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:

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