Lay out the modeling clay on a clean, flat work surface. Try to get as many colors as you can if you plan to put clothing on your clay people.
Determine how many people you want to make for your display. Decide if they will be women, men or unisex clay people, and write down any details about the people, such as clothing, accessories or hair.
Select the color you will use for your clay people's bodies. They can have natural or unnatural colors, depending on the purpose of your display.
Roll a piece of modeling clay into a ball for the head. The size of all the pieces of clay that you use will vary depending on the size of clay person that you'd like to make. You may want to experiment making a couple in different sizes and then choose what size will fit in your display best.
Grab a larger piece of modeling clay and form it into a rectangular shape to make the body of the clay person. Adjust the size so that the round head looks natural on it. Squeeze the round head onto the body and pinch to connect the clay pieces together.
Roll a piece of modeling clay into a long snake-like rope. Cut off segments to use for the arms and legs. Size them to fit on your existing torso and head naturally. Attach the arms and legs by squeezing the clay onto the body and then pinching it to connect.
Stand your clay person up and use any remaining clay for the body to add hands and feet. Pinch off small sections and squeeze them onto the arms and legs at the ends to attach them.
Add any details, like facial features, clothing, and accessories. The level of detail that you add will vary greatly depending on the purpose of your display. You may have anonymous clay people without faces or you may have highly detailed clay people. Position the clay people in your display when you're done and pose them as desired.