![](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/header-crowd-IMG_8803-crop-1-1024x544.jpg)
To learn how to work with clay, I’ve been copying ancient animals that I find on the web. These were made, with air-dry clay and acrylic paint, between November 2021 and April 2022. Here they are, arranged from youngest to oldest.
![cute rounded whale in black stone](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-1.png)
Whale effigy, Chumash, 1200-1600 CE
![my clay copy of the whale, painted black](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-3-1024x730.png)
![whale copy seen from the back](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-4-1024x777.png)
![a pleased looking clay dog, reclining, with sleepy eyes.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-5.png)
Rattle dog from Athens, 3rd century BCE
![my version of the rattle dog, in clay painted to look weathered](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-6-1024x706.png)
![dog copy seen from the side](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-7-1024x746.png)
![elegant abstract horse with smooth curved limbs and painted details](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-9.png)
Horse, ancient Greek, Boeotian, 6th century BCE
![my copy of the horse, painted to look weathered, not as elegant as the original](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-10-1024x771.png)
![my copy of the horse, seen from behind](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-11-1024x781.png)
![an abstract bull-like figure with rounded horns and short legs](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-12.png)
Animal figurine, Late Mycenaean (14th–13th c. BCE)
![my copy of the figure, painted to look weathered, seen from the front](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-13-1024x798.png)
![my less elegant copy, in weathered paint, seen from the side](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-14-1024x736.png)
![a little carved hedgehog in white stone, with short legs, a perky nose, and an engraved grid pattern representing the spines. It's standing on a dark stone cart with wheels.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-15.png)
Hedgehog on wheels, Susa, Iran, Middle Elamite period (1500–1200 BCE)
![my clay copy of the hedgehog in weathered white paint, with a much bigger nose and clumsier modeling. It doesn't have a cart with wheels.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-16-1024x789.png)
![another view of my copy.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-17-1024x828.png)
![a perky little dog with pointy ears, curly tail, spots, and only three legs](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-18.png)
Spotted dog, Pakistan, Chanhu-Daro, 2600–1900 BCE
![my copy of the dog, painted to look weathered. It has a longer, less cute face, and still only 3 legs.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-19-1024x792.png)
![a front view of my dog copy.](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-20-1024x822.png)
![a grizzled and tough looking boar, its side heavily slashed](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-21.png)
Boar, Tepe Sarab, Iranian Neolithic, 9th millennium BCE
![my copy of the boar, painted to look weathered, slashed down the sides](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-22-1024x782.png)
![front view of my boar copy, showing how narrow it is](https://moonmilk.com/pb2/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image-23-1024x733.png)