Start your murky swamp scene by flattening out a large handful of brown Crayola Model Magic® compound with your hands.

Along one side of the swamp, add a strip of light green modeling material. Build lush plant life in and among the rocks with Model Magic bits. Blend colors such as brown, yellow, and white with green to create a variety of natural colors. Cut leafy underbrush with scissors. Mold and curl stalks and leaves. Create a realistic scene for your big-jawed creatures. Fresh from the pack, Model Magic sticks to itself. If the compound starts to dry, just attach pieces with glue.

Mix green Model Magic with black to create an alligator hide color. Roll it into a log and shape it into a gator’s outline—rounded snout, flipper-like legs, and powerful tail. Pinch along the back of the form to get the texture of this swamp creature. When you are happy with the shape, begin to add details using small coils and balls of modeling material. Imagine a large grinning mouth and bulging eyes on the top of your gator’s head.

To give the impression of a partially submerged critter, make another gator. This time make only some parts such as head, back, and tail (the parts you might see before it sinks into the mud and muck).

Make floating plants and weeds to camouflage the animals. What other animals do you want in your swamp scene? Maybe include a bird hanging out in the gator safety zone (not a lot of animals will bother it on a gator’s back). How about a frog or two, to supply some food for these big eaters? Air-dry your sculpture for 24 hours.