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19cm Mira BJD in Resin - Critique Would be Much Appreciated!

Jul 29, 2021

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    1. Hello dear friends!

      I've been working on my (first-ever) BJD, Mira (19cm tall), and have already casted her in resin a few times over, but I JUST found this section, and would absolutely love to get feedback from this community.

      Please if anyone would be willing to share any and all your thoughts, I would really, really appreciate it. I'm trying to build my skill as a doll-maker first and foremost - and I can handle criticism, even if it's tough. I'd like to hear it especially if it's tough!

      Please see below for the blank as well as a "final" version of the doll with clothing and face-up.

      Thank you so much in advance.
      Time and effort spent to help critique my work truly is SO valued and super helpful for my growth as an artist.

      Cheers! :kitty2

      ~~~~~~~~

      Here are all the full body shots:

      [​IMG]

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      Casted doll with painted face so you can see how her face sculpt comes through:

      [​IMG]



      Thanks again :)
       
      #1 maxxxamillion, Jul 29, 2021
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    2. Hiya! Glad to see you are on DoA too! (I am Llilah on Reddit^^) I unfortunately do not have anything else to add for the moment, but I always am impatient to look at your progress! :thumbup
       
      #2 lyaam12, Aug 1, 2021
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    3. @lyaam12 Hey!! <3 ... Thanks for dropping a line here! It's nice to "see" you.

      You've given me so much to work with, for which I am so grateful :kitty2 Thanks for supporting "across platforms!"
       
      #3 maxxxamillion, Aug 2, 2021
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    4. Congrats on finishing a sculpt and casting! Not everyone can say they've gotten this far. You should be proud!

      Are you aiming for realism, some kind of anime look, or what is the inspiration? First impression, she reminds me of old Domuya's flexi girls. Maybe something similar in the face and the neck mechanism.
      The torso joints look interesting, does the belly offer good posability? Another thing I'm curious about, does the hip ball "ledge" that points towards the crotch, offer support or is it decoration?

      Now I don't have much experience in sculpting etc. mostly just looking at the pictures so take all this with a grain of salt:

      Overall I think her joints could use some work, with the gaps (shoulders, hips) and the double joint "beans"(elbows, knees).
      From these pictures it looks like the elbow bean for example might be spinning around in place (around the tension string), even though there is a blocky middle part in the bean. Does the blocky part have a function or could it be smoothed for a more sleek look? Or reshaped to help keep the joint from twisting around unintentionally? I've seen similar style in other dolls (Souldoll kids come to mind) but often when the limb is straight, the joint kind of melds with rest of the arm (or leg for knee joints), this gives a more polished look in my opinion. Must be super difficult to get everything to fit like that, though- especially on smaller dolls like Mira!

      To me the hands and feet look unfinished. There's not enough definition in the hands, making the fingers look nubby and webbed. Human hand seems to usually have the middle and ring finger together unless in a specific pose like the vulcan greeting. If the possible definition is limited I would prioritize having first finger separate and the other three together, or first finger and pinky separate and middle and ring finger together, if that makes sense?
      For the feet it could get thicker / higher closer to the ankle joint. The entire foot is now flat, with the toes just curving inwards slightly.

      Thanks for sharing and I hope you keep making wonderful things! :)
       
      #4 sinlaean, Aug 3, 2021
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    5. @sinlaean Thanks so much for your feedback!! And thanks for your compliments! I'm certainly proud of all the work!

      As a descriptor, I'd say leaning towards anime look (my original concept drawing was my style/anime reminiscent).

      Regarding body design, the break in the torso didn't end up adding much capability to movement, but did ease casting capability. And that ledge you refer to near the thigh on the lower body does add support, but doesn't necessarily need to extend as far out as it does.

      I'll leave it there for now to have addressed the specific questions you asked - but I'll hold off on responding to the rest of your statements for now, so as to not sway perception of anyone else who may be willing to drop in some feedback as well :kitty2

      Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!
       
      #5 maxxxamillion, Aug 4, 2021
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    6. Hear-hear! It is definitely a tough job getting a doll to completion - let alone learning to make molds and cast things at the same time as sculpting! :D

      I'd agree with sinlean's thoughts regarding the jointing. :) And if I might add, making the sockets deeper and rounder, and making sure the balls are sufficiently rounded, would allow for a better fit between the parts, which would go a long way to making her look more finished, as well as making her posing better.
      With the head that I made, he had originally sat very high up on bodies, because I started by making him a very shallow, oblong neck socket. Every body I put him on, he looked bobbleheaded, and the delineation between the head and neck were just....not good. :sweat Once I deepened the socket, and made it more round -rather than oval shaped- he sat on necks much better.

      Symmetry is important in a doll. Some of the arm and leg parts could match their counterpart better. If you could tweak them a bit, to make sure they are as symmetrical as possible, I think that would do a lot.

      I also notice that her surface is a little uneven is some areas. More sanding and priming (and more sanding, and more priming :sweat) will give her a really smooth surface finish, which would also help with casting, when there are no textural irregularities.
      >_> I sanded and primed my head prototype over and over and over again. And then I did it a few more times even when I thought he was done. *_* The priming and sanding was definitely the most tedious and annoying part of the process for me, but I think it really paid off in the end.

      I think you have a really good foundation here, and I think the fact that you are looking for critique at this stage shows your dedication and determination to produce a great doll.

      I'm really looking forward to seeing what you will do with Mira next! :D
       
      #6 AirimirOfGondor, Aug 5, 2021
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    7. Thanks so much @AirimirOfGondor .. I really appreciate the time you took to put together this specific and detailed feedback!

      Based on what you've shared, I think a few of the major contenders for improvements probably rely on following a bit different process from the start - for example, I created all the pieces in a disjoint manner (pun intended ;) ) and have since seen a few artists whose processes, for example, lends themselves to symmetry in a more efficient way by sculpting multiple body pieces as a single form and then cutting.

      Smoothness was certainly a big struggle as well at such a small size. At this point I'm convinced it was a mix of size & material that added in that layer of challenge (for the sake of anyone reading this at a later date, I used Apoxie Sculpt for Mira, and loved the feeling, but the sanding was a huge challenge with that material - for my next doll I'm trying the often recommended La Doll paperclay).

      Again, thanks for the kind words!! I'm really happy with Mira even if she's not quite perfect yet! ...And optimistic about next steps ;)

      If anyone else has more ideas for feedback, please don't hesitate to drop in :kitty2
       
      #7 maxxxamillion, Aug 9, 2021
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    8. I'm just dropping in to bump this one more time <3

      Since there's only a couple days left, if anyone has any other thoughts they would like to share I'd really appreciate it.

      My DMs are always open as well!

      For posterity's sake, I also wanted to note that I'm taking this feedback on Mira and using that to inform my creation of my next doll, Clara. You can check out my project journal for Clara in the Project Journal area :)

      Clara is a 1/4 size doll, which I think will help me to achieve some better results. After I create her, I'll probably return to reworking Mira (or a version of her ;) )

      Cheers everybody!
       
      #8 maxxxamillion, Aug 26, 2021
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