Local:

Clay - is the original and most basic of prototyping materials. One can build with small pieces of clay or cut away from a large block of clay, but most people use a combination of techniques, constructing, smoothing , cutting away and detailing with tools. There are many types of clay, natural, synthetic and sometimes combinations of both. Clays are available in varying degrees of firmness. If the clay is to be used in conjunction with casting and moldmaking be sure to get the sulfur-free variety. Sulfur can interfere with the setting of synthetic rubber compounds.

Pearl Paint - 308 Canal Street, between Church Street and Broadway (212) 431-7932

The Compleat Sculptor - 90 Vandam Street between Hudson Street and Greenwich Street (212) 243-6074 - TCS carries a wide variety of natural and synthetic clays.

Insulation Foam - comes generally in light blue and also in pink 8 ft x 2 ft pieces in various thicknesses. It can be cut and shaped easily with blades, rasps, and sandpaper. It is ideally used as a subtractive medium, that is it is best to start with a block of foam and cut away as with stone sculpture. It is best suited to free-form shapes and compound curves.

Home Depot (other than Manhattan locations)

Metropolitan Lumber - 175 Spring Street between Thompson St and W. Broadway 212-966-3466

Prince Lumber - 75 Ninth Ave betwen 15th and 16th Streets (212) 777-1150

Foam core board - is a sandwich of foam between smooth paper faces and comes in various thicknesses with 1/4 inch being the most popular. It is lightweight and relatively strong and is ideal for constructing prototypes, especially objects with flat or gently curved surfaces. Foamcore when carefully constructed results in crisp edged prototypes which can be left the color of the foamcore or covered with drawings, blueprints, or diagrams.

Pearl Paint - 308 Canal Street, between Church Street and Broadway (212) 431-7932

Dick Blick Art Materials - 1-5 Bond St between Broadway and Lafayette 212-533-2444

New York Central Art Supply - 62 3rd Ave between 10th and 11th Sts - (212) 473-7705

Corrugated Cardboard - works well for prototypes and thinner cereal box type cardboard can be used for curved surfaces. Sheets of corrugated and rolls of bending corrugated (with one smooth face instead of two) along with a wide variety of other paper-based boards can be found at the Art supply stores above. Used cardboard is always recommended not only because it is free, available, and earth friendly, but because it makes good prototypes.

Prototyping Tips

When going to buy foam at a lumber store like Home Depot, bring a pocket knife or blade, some tape, and a tape measure. You can measure the foam, score a line across the middle and snap it into two pieces that you can tape together for carrying.

Insulation foam pieces can be glued face to face to make blocks of unlimited thickness when using adhesive transfer tape. The solvent in spray-mount adhesives will cause foam to melt. Epoxies and other glues create a hard layer that makes sanding smooth surfaces across layers difficult.

Adhesive transfer tape is also useful for transferring a drawing onto foam for a cutting guide as well as covering prototypes with drawings, diagrams, details, or colored surfaces. Adhesive transfer tape strips can be custom cut for use in fastening foam core lap and miter joints.

Adding details to device prototypes such as back-painted acrylic for screens and knobs and buttons for controls can give a prototype a more realistic look.

Scale cues are important when building context models. Find or make scale figures, furniture, or cars to give your model a connection to viewers. Small abstract human figures can be twisted from aluminum foil to form a head and shoulders that then taper down to a bent foot for gluing.