I'm planning on making some little statues out of some clay a recently bought. Problem is, I never have done anything like this. @_@ They'er going to be really small, so detail is going to be tiny, and worse, the clay air drys. @_@

Any tips?

Awww... You probably should have gotten the bakeable stuff to make a mold first.

My advice is BE THE CLAY. Yes, that's right. Be the clay. Also, use actual clay supplies to do the cutting and the little detail. I used to try to use pencils and they never worked out. T-T. You need knives and stuff. Exacto knives maybe?

I've already bought some clay tools, so I'm okay in that area.

Wwwaaaa... ;_; I wish I could of gotten baking clay, but the Hobby Lobby only had air dry clay in the store. ;_;

Go with SuperSculpey all the way. If you cant find it in your local store try ordering online.

Air dry clay is not really good for fine detail or small pieces

here are some cool sites you should check:

http://p078.ezboard.com/fplbbmemberssitefrm17.showMessage?topicID=586.topic
http://davidmackguide.com/productionnotes/kabuki/statues/
http://www.danperezstudios.com/workshoppages/molding_casting2.htm

Draw out and plan your designs first. This includes what materials and tools you're going to use, and how you're going to use them.

Until you're ready to dry it keep it moist (not too wet but not too sticky) and in an airtight container (tupperware, etc.) to add detail take your time, to stick pieces onto one another use water as a type of glue. Also before you really start sculpting use a portion to experiment with tools/uses/manipulation