Another tiny doll

Heeeeey guys I've been pretty bad at posting my work here, trying to do better. Have to play some catch-up. I've been working on this doll for about two weeks, here's what I have to show for her progress so far:



DSC01845 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr


DSC01840 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr


DSC01857 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr


DSC01871 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr


DSC01886 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr


DSC01890 by illuminateddoll, on Flickr

Pretty much all my dolls are made like this. I start out with a torso, then make the legs, the head, and the arms-- the very last things I sculpt are the ears, hands, and feet. I find this works better for me than having a proper blueprint, because there are always a lot of changes along the way. I couldn't stick to a blueprint if I wanted to. The downside is, of course, that without a plan I don't always start out with a good image in my head of what I want the doll to be. With this doll I wanted to focus more on jointing, so I started out by making it a 3-part torso as opposed to my normal 2-part.

 

mykeangelo -- thank you!!! I was really aiming for that. I've never been happy with the way I've seen hip joints being dealt with (too much like underwear) so I wanted to come up with something that matched my personal aesthetic, as well as adding mobility.

HystericalParoxysm -- no I know exactly what you mean! I like her 'lumpiness' a lot, it's sort of a different flavor in the BJD spectrum... as for her looking strong and kickass that's probably the greatest compliment I could get I don't exactly go for the bodybuilder look. I haven't found a BJD that is between the two extremes of very soft and feminine, and super hardcore bodybuilder, and I wanted something that reflects my own lifestyle better.

InNoTeb -- you've inspired me to add heel feet to the list of things to make for her

Dry Oak Leaf -- Thank you so much!

Devilfloss -- aww thanks! I hope she has the same effect when she's painted I admit I like her in statuesque grey though.

 

glimmer -- thanks! I am using Apoxie Sculpt, yes. And I had a preorder for my 1/12 doll, which ended like last week, and now we're waiting for the casts to come in. I'm not sure I'll have this one cast because it's in such a weird scale and I don't think there would be enough takers, but I'll probably sell her as a one-off.

 

glimmer - thank you! What's your tumblr name? I think I followed you but I'm not sure. I'll have my website up soon too so there will be an official mailing list for things like that.

InNoTeb - I like to think she's the kind of lady who could walk away from an explosion, steal hearts and crush hopes all at once. Leaning towards the name 'Artemis' for her...


why not by illuminateddoll, on Flickr

She looked pretty badass when I hung her up to cure her rough arm parts. She is an action lady. The aim is to finish her within the next week or so.

I was going to sell her as a one-off if I sold her at all, but since a bunch of people have asked already I’ll do a feeler once she’s done. If 20+ people sign up for it then I’ll go through the bother of priming and sanding &c to have her professionally cast. Admittedly I’m reluctant because I did that for two dolls in a row and didn’t get to do any new sculpting for two months…I adore the thrill of speed-sculpting OOAKs. Well, as close to speed-sculpting as BJD-making gets. Also, don’t you guys want to see how Iphigenia turns out first? But we’ll get there when we get there, I’m getting way ahead of myself.

 

mykeangelo -

I'm really glad it helped! Yes, I mean sending it to a company to be cast. Honestly speaking I'm not too afraid of that happening to my work-- for one I'm using a company that doesn't strictly do BJDs or have any other connection to them besides casting them occasionally, and two, I doubt I'd ever get popular enough that it would be profitable for them to steal things from me. Even if they did though, and my designs got recast or copied or whatever, I've no doubt that the BJD community as a whole would back me up. I'm literally just one person trying to make a living, so anyone who would steal from me is an asshole of the highest level. Plus, I control the numbers of dolls with certificates and things like that so if anyone does copy my work, it'll be immediately evident.

I don't really do face-ups. This is about the best I can do-- and it's a style better suited to porcelain or OOAKs that can be more painterly. It's a weakness that I've been working on sort of behind the scenes, haha. I haven't posted much of the results because it's sort of odd to see like a level 10 sculpt with a level 1 face-up on it...

Dapping blocks you can find here under 'jewelry tool.' I love this site. I get a lot of my tools from them.

I haven't started selling them on DOA yet because the one doll that I have had professionally cast, Iphigenia, doesn't have removable eyes so she doesn't qualify under DOA's policy. My next doll will have a removable faceplate and eyes though, so once he's cast I'll get someone to be my dealer there. Or suck it up and be social over there for once. I've been selling them through tumblr mostly, but I am working on a website where I can sell my dolls and post tutorials and stuff like that. Let me know if you want an invitation to DOA though, I think I have three left and I would be more than happy to give one to you!

No, you can have as much detail as you want if you cast by yourself. The professional people say that because they use silicone, which will do all the hyper-detail capture for you anyway. The only way you can lose detail by molding with silicone/casting in resin is if you get bubbles, but those can be eliminated by use of a vacuum chamber and/or pressure tank.

silk - I'm using Apoxie Sculpt thanks!

 

Most companies will send back your prototype especially if you ask. Sometimes though the master gets damaged in the molding process, and that's really down to the strength of the material you use, unfortunately. I do know that it's one of Dollshe's policies that if your master gets damaged, they'll make a resin copy for you to replace it for no extra fee. Not sure about any other companies.

Of course. I'm using Robust Casting at the moment-- I haven't received my first batch of dolls from them yet, but so far they've been good to work with, and work quickly.

RE Apoxie Sculpt it's very, very durable which is a huge must for me, because I tend to drop the pieces I'm working on lol. Even thin pieces can withstand impact (unlike polymer clay, which I have sacrificed many doll parts to...sigh) It also has a finer grain than any of the air-dry clays I know of, so it sands down incredibly smoothly and is easily carved. The surface of it after you sand it is very much like resin too, so it's perfect for making OOAKs that you want to play with without fear of denting or smashing. Additionally there's pretty much no risk that your prototype will be destroyed during molding unless they really mess up. All around an excellent clay to make BJDs with, the only downside is that it's a bit pricey, pound for pound. Worth every penny though.

 

mykeangelo -

Sure! I love the stuff, especially after years of struggling with the limitations of all different types of clay, so I am happy to introduce it to every dollmaker that asks. Technically the working time for Apoxie is 2-3 hours, but that's plenty of time, believe me. I was intimidated by it at first too but that is more than enough time to do what you need to do. In fact, I use the tiny heat vent in my laptop to speed up the cure of the parts sometimes. The chemical cure does make it very hard but not hard enough that you'd really struggle to carve it with an x-acto knife, or a saw. I'm not sure how well a rasp would work, because it does become much harder than any of the paper-clays-- I haven't tried. I just use an x-acto knife and sanding sponges to do subtractive work.

Apoxie is a two-part clay, and it comes in wee tubs, so I just keep the clay separate in the tubs until I need it. I like to mix it small balls at a time, about the size of the tip of my finger. Since it has a shortish working time I don't mix it until I need to use it. Also, it is completely waterproof when dried, which is great because you can wet-sand it and keep particles from getting into people's lungs.

The silicone/plaster molds: you're right! The layer of silicone works to preserve the detail, and the plaster casing on the outside works as support, since silicone is floppy and can't support itself in thin layers. Also it's cheaper than making an entire mold from silicone because you're using less of the expensive stuff.

Aminoff - no, don't worry! Your Ask is pretty big, his parts all look thick enough to make it through unscathed.

 

Eldurwen -- thank you!! It feels weird posting my work in these stages, but I'm glad you like it

HystericalParoxysm -- thank you so much for that! It is deeply satisfying to know that the feeling I wanted to capture for her is coming across. I didn't expect to be successful, especially with a blank doll