Why does air dry clay crack?
Firstly, cracks in air dry clay are normal! It’s not you and it’s not the clay, cracks are common. As moisture evaporates from the clay, clay can pull apart because the water is lost, the clay shrinks, (also known as shrinkage), that’s where you’ll see a few cracks. This can be super annoying, but the good news is that it’s pretty easy to fix. 

How to fix cracks in air dry clay
Moisten your sculpture with a little bit of water. Depending on how big the cracks are and how big your sculpture is, you can use your fingertips with a little bit of water on them. Or for large projects, use a wet, taklon brush. 

Once the area is wet, grab a little piece of fresh clay and press this into the crack -- ideally the same colour if you’re not painting your work. If you’re working with sculptures and only have a few small cracks (like hair lines), this tip will work too. Once you’ve popped your clay in, smooth it out with a wet brush. 

Then leave your clay to dry completely. Once dry, your cracks will be gone, and you can paint your creation or leave as is!

How to keep air dry clay from cracking
Although cracking is normal, there are a few ways you can prevent cracking. The first being, to let your creation dry completely and evenly. You might need to turn your sculpture around mid-way-through the drying process to make sure each piece has dried. Or use a drying rack like you’d use for a cake. Also be sure not to make your clay too thin, aim for a 1cm thickness to stop your clay from drying out or shrinking too much.

There you have it, with a few tips and tricks you can fix those pesky cracks and hopefully stop your air dry clay from cracking. 

Looking for more on air dry clay? Check out these 12 air drying clay tips. Or check out how to revive air dry clay.