Artist Shares How He Sculpts Realistic Clay Figurines of Celebrities and Pop Culture Icons

A sculptor known simply as Jay is recreating some of the world’s biggest stars through polymer clay. Through his studio Artisan Store, he crafts small figurines of celebrities including Lionel Messi, Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande, and many more. Each piece contains an incredible level of detail rendered on a small scale; Jay conveys the fine facial features of these famous folks and gets so granular that he sculpts strands of hair and clothing seams.

Jay offers insight into his process through timelapse videos. One popular piece is a sculpture of Khaby Lame, a Senegalese social media star known for his silent mocking of overly complex lifehack videos. To begin the work of art, Jay starts with a hunk of clay and then uses sculpting tools to develop and articulate Lame’s features—most notably, his signature smirk. After completing Lame’s face, he then sculpts the figure’s body which includes another signature of the star: the “look, see” way Lame holds his hands in his videos.

Scroll down to watch Jay work. If you want one of his figures for yourself, custom sculptures are available in the Artisan Store.