3D nail art is always evolving and it is a nail technique that is extremely versatile. From elegant gold embossed designs to seashell nails and full on 3D characters, 3D nail art gives you infinite possibilities to create new, trendy, and unique nail designs.
With the growing popularity of 3D nail art, there are also lots of options for sculpture gels. In this blog post are some of the solid coloured (non-clear) 3D products that I have used.
E&A Powder Gel 4D
- Purchased from Aliexpress
- $3.96 CAD per 8ml pot
This affordable plasticine gel is what I’ve used for a long time to learn and practice 3D art before trying other products. It is definitely workable and can be used to sculpt 3D characters or used to fill 3D molds. It comes in many colours which can be mixed together for different shades.
Ease of use:
The challenge with this gel is the tendency for it get tacky. When gels get sticky and latches on to your fingers or tools, it becomes very difficult to shape. I need to make sure to dip my fingers or brushes into water often to keep the gel from adhering to them. This adds additional steps to the sculpting process and extra time needed to complete the sculpt.
When do I use this gel:
I prefer to use this sculpture gel when I expect there to be more painting involved, like when creating Sylveon. Because this gel is so affordable, I’d rather spend the extra sculpting time and paint over this than other more expensive sculpture gels. I also like to use this gel to fill 3D molds that don’t require any sculpting.
What to get:
I have a set of these sculpture gels in many different colours, but I use the white colour significantly more. I would suggest starting out with the white colour and ordering more if you like it. Overall, I think it is an excellent option for beginners looking to get into 3D nail art without breaking the bank.
JIN.B Ivy 3D Seoriyam Multi Kit
- $260 CAD (full set)
- 4 jars of clay gel with 4 colours in each
- 20g per jar
- 120 sec UV/LED
- purchase from Sweetie Nail Supply | 10% off with DREAMY
Ease of use:
The Jin.B Seoriyam clay gels are significantly easier to use compared to the E&A gel. The texture of the gel feels oilier and I believe that is what keeps it from being tacky. I’m able to freely sculpt the gel with my hands and tools without worrying about it sticking everywhere. The only difficult aspect is the softness – I find it hard to sculpt REALLY TINY details like a small smile…I end up smooshing it.
Colours:
There are 4 colours per jar, but I find that 3 of the jars have a very similar white. Personally, this is a PRO for me because I use pastel colours frequently and white is great for mixing colours into the right shades. It is also great if you are not intending to get the full set because white is the most used colour of all.
Texture:
This clay gel tends to smooth and round out a little. I love that it smoothes out because it removes finger prints and small imperfections. The downfall of this is that it can also remove intentional indents or details you wanted. Make sure to work and cure sections at a time if there are details you want to retain.
Finish:
This clay gel cures very hard and it is extremely hard to pry it off a nail once cured – I know, I’ve tried. The gel also cures into a really smooth matte which is already beautiful on its own.
When to use this gel:
This gel can be used all of the time! I typically use it when I am sculpting a difficult design with lots of parts to it (eg. my gengar/drifloon nails) or if I just want the sculpting process to be easy and quick. So far I’ve found that all the colours I’ve needed can be achieved by mixing. The set also has some really cute glittery colours that I haven’t used yet!
Overall, it really changed my experience with solid coloured 3D sculpture gels for the better. It is definitely on the pricier side, but the ease of use and quality of this 3D clay gel makes it worthwhile. This is the sculpture gel that I reach for the most.
Polymer Clay
If you have followed me for awhile, you probably know that I sometimes like to use polymer clay to make my nail charms. This isn’t exactly a common thing you’d see, but I used to make polymer clay charms before doing nail art so it was medium that I was comfortable with when I first started.
Ease of Use:
Difficult. It isn’t a first choice because polymer clay requires baking in an oven for it to cure. It is a hassle to sculpt a design onto a nail and then have to carefully remove it without distorting the curve, bake it, and re-attach it. Polymer clay will not smooth out on its own like many sculpture gels so you need to be very careful with fingerprints and blemishes. To smooth it out, use a q-tip with some rubbing alcohol.
Why I use it:
The upside to polymer clay is that it holds details EXTREMELY well and it is also very durable when baked properly. For this reason, I use it to create 3D designs that require a lot detailed of texture. For example, the texture of the bread in my Kiki’s baking nails has so many little holes. If I used a typical sculpture gel, many of those holes would fill up and smooth out before I finish poking.
Polymer clay is great for mold making – but this is something I’ll speak more to later!
Overall, I only really use polymer clay nowadays for bread texture or making molds. Most of the time, other sculpture gels and products work well enough for my 3D nail art and won’t require an extra step to bake the charm.
Thank you for reading – I hope this provided you some insight over these products. Feel free to ask me if you have more questions on these products!
