Diy doll - Junku [Blue Junku p7 :) ]

I've long wanted to try and built my own bjd after looking at all the amazing projects here and at other forums. It's a bit ambitious as I've hardly even been capable of providing my one doll with a faceup I really like, but nonetheless I will try. (started out at the beginning of June)

I'll post the process diary here as I love to follow other people's diy processes and find it very inspirational, so I'd like to contribute as well.

Any critique or comment is highly appreciated

Disclaimer: I'm an absolute bjd-sculpting beginner, so this may turn out ugly...


June 2
Started out by doing a sketch. Took the measurements of my DZ Yume to have some idea of the proportions. I'm going for about 30 cm/ 12"



For starters I bought:
- White doll clay (paper clay from panduro hobby)
- small styrofoam balls for joints
- hobby knife
- sculpting tools (nothing fancy, just cheap plastic ones)
- sanding paper (for starters 120, 240 - need finer grain later)
- small wooden barbecue spears (for voodoo, hehe.... no, I use them for building the limbs)
- wire (steel wire?)

I found out pretty quickly that the hard part in the beginning is finding good "cores" to build the bigger parts, such as head and torso around. I of course made the mistake when doing the head of using a ball tin foil and when I cut the head open to remove it, the clay and foil had eaten into each other and created absolute mess . Then I saw the advice here of using tape around the tin foil cores and used it afterwards...


June 6
Made rough versions of lower legs, lower arms, head and torso.

I like working with the paper clay. It's not that easy to shape when it gets to wet, but the really great part is that you can let it dry completely, but still work new, wet clay into it. That way it seems a good level of detail can be achieved. It's also easy to sand and cut.

I've found that, for me at least, it's easiest to make a very rough version of the parts first where the focus is on the hollow in the middle and then let it dry and continue working on it afterwards. That way the core will be established and the part will be sturdy when I work on the finer details so I won't acidentally bent or squish it

That's how I tried to make the torso anyway. It's still very rough:
(back)

(front)

(side)


Made a tin foil/ tape core and built the torso around it (read about that here). Let it dry a bit and the cut where it has to split. The thought was then that I should be able to pull the two parts off of the core when dry.

The head is also yet very rough and slightly monstrous... (I was actually considering making a small frankenstein monster if it doesn't turn out well )



(to be continued...)

 

June 6
Very rough versions of head, torso, lower legs and arms:


June 7
Got the two torso parts pulled off of the core. All three can be seen below.


Found out that it wasn't that smart to have made the core broader at one end: It of course made it hard to pull the lower part off it...luckily it wasn't completely dried when I did it, so it still had some give.
Note to self: make core even next time
The torso seem a bit small for the head, but maybe it's just till the upper arms are made.


June 9
So far I made the following parts (not that I consider them done...still a long way ahead...)


I made the torso a little bigger, but it stills seems somewhat small. The thighs are quite rough right now; I only concentrated on fitting them to the joint of the lower leg. I simply used the lower leg joint to make the hollow in the wet clay. I've chosen to make the joints myself instead of using styrofoam balls (the styro balls didn't have the right sizes)

barbecue thighs...


Worked on the head. Have tried various eye sizes (+ making symmetry is so hard!). Haven't decided yet which look to go for: Cute or a darker note?
Took quite a bit off the width of the face/head

 

June 11
Small update:
Have made more parts, so now I've almost got (rough versions of) everything. As it can be seen I haven't really dared to make the hands and feet yet. Don't suppose they'll make themselves if I wait long enough, do you? sigh...


The last days I've worked more on the body and have begun making a little more detail. Rather nice to be working on something with a little detail instead of just a vaguely doll-like lump of clay.



I actually haven't decided on a gender yet. I think I'll go for a girl, but not certain.

 

June 16

I started a bit on the hands. Made a skeleton of clay for palms and wire for each finger and have made one finger at a time (I let each dry before i put the next on - else it'll just end in a mess...)

The feet are so far just duck-like contraptions/plates. I'm not sure how to finish them from here, but I'll probably think of something.


Apart from that I've been sanding. It procedes slowly, but it's nice to see the parts taking shape.
I find it really hard to make the breasts :S. I might give up and make a boy instead...


Had to see how the head will look with eyes. The eyes pictured are too small (sz 10. I think 12 or 14 are needed), but it's still nice to get an impression.

 

Pawpaw > Thanks
Yes, symmetry can be a real challenge, phew...
I've still got a long way to go, but it's fun

 

Thanks a lot

Penguu > I'll remember that as I go on, thanks

Some updates:

June 18
Has given the torso more detail. Still not satisfied, but it's starting to look better.

 

June 18

I've also been experimenting with how to give the doll a nice surface when I get so far. I several of the posts I've read here people have used gesso (by the way: it's amazing how many people have shared advice, comments etc - never would have gotten this far without reading all the posts here, thanks ), both for clay and sculptey, so I thought I'd try, even though the people in my local hobby shop looked at me strangely... (not too many bjd doll makers in Denmark I guess...)
I made a flat test piece and coated it four times with gesso (dried and sanded between each layer): got a nice, smooth surface.


Just to be sure it would be able to withstand faceups, msc, remover, etc I did a simple "faceup" (used msc before and after).




Removed the faceup afterwards and the gesso surface still seemed to be fine.


Conclusion: gesso really does work (which probably everyone here knows, but sometimes it's nice to find out for yourself .)

 

June 29

Right now mostly sanding...takes so much time (and is just a teeny bit boring from time to time...hate to admit )

I continued my "gesso testing". A friend commented on how pale, or rather how entirely white the doll will be when done, if I just use gesso for the surface. Tried to mix a bit of acrylic paint (a tiny bit red and a little more yellow) into some gesso and painted the test piece 5-7 times.

It may be hard to tell from the photos, but it seems a good skin color can be achieved this way and the gesso/ painting still seem to endure removal of faceup with ethynol alcohol (same as with gesso alone as tested above).

Have also worked a bit on hands and feet. It's not very easy :S but I try to work very carefully not to break anything...

 

June 29

Some of the hardest still are the joints and sockets and making them fit each other. I decided in the beginning to just sculpt them myself (why? Why?! Next time I'm definitely using wooden balls or something)
I especially had a hard time with the arm joints/ shoulders and tried therefore to put a large lump of clay on the upper arm joint where it is supposed to go in the socket and afterwards sqeezed it into the socket so it could take shape after the socket. I haven't sanded it since, but all in all it seems to work ok (I have given up on achieving perfectly round, symmetrical joints...:S)


I have been ordering all kinds of stuff for my future diy doll, among others elastic string which came a couple of days ago. But alas...it was far to thick and could go into the hollows of most of the limps. Could only test-string the doll partly:




Lastly some bonus pics of the head. No major changes, but tried to make it as symmetrical as possible. The part between lips and nose is quite hard to sand and sculpt. I'll make nostrils when I'm almost done and also ears (so I don't break them when I work on the head).


Have ordered thinner elastic string and I'm looking forward to receiving it so I can make a test stringing of the doll. Imagine if it could actually...stand!

 

THanks a bunch for the comments everyone

Penguu > funny that you noted the kitty lips I noticed it when I saw the picture and was actually tempted to go that way with the head, but in the end decided to make it more human...

panto > well, yes, joints are the spawn of the devil ... or anyway very hard to do. I really hope it's much easier to do them with pre-fabricated balls of styro or wood.

Lotte, Darken > Yes, paper clay is hard to sculpt when wet. BUt I kinda like that you can add little details or additions all the time, let it dry a bit and then continue. It seems half of the time you spend waiting for it to dry

Winfur > I would love to try and cast her in resin but it depends on how brave I feel at the time I'm done sculpting. I think I'll try :P...

 

JULY 7
Small update. The process is kinda slow at the moment, both because I have less time (starting new job) and the work I do on the doll is only small things like sanding and details. But I keep updating the diary anyway, cause it's very motivating

I made her thighs a little fuller, as they looked a bit like two thin and straight sticks before. I unfortunately still haven't gotten them new, thinner elastic string, but I found out that I could balance the body parts and get an impression of how the body is going to look.



Headwise I've made eye lids which suddenly gave a much more alive expression (I think anyway ). I made a fuller lower lip but I think I'm going to keep the very thin upper lip. I kinda like it that way even though it looks a little strange.

(Oops, I can se on the pics that I didn't get her nose sanded after the last change I made - it therefore looks a little lumpy...).

 

hermionegranger > it's really fun. I can only recommend it

Nephillym > I can see you've also started a project - looking good.

 

JULY 11
Became so impatient waiting for thinner elastic string for test-stringing my doll that I tried pulling steel wire through it, just to try (I've been deadly curious to find out if my doll could stand...). And it actually worked, more or less. So here's the first documentation of my doll standing, yay! (don't think I expected I could make a self-standing doll so therefore the amazement )





Ok, well she's got no hands yet and her one leg is slightly longer than the other, therefore the weird leg pose, but she stands = I'm perfectly happy

 

Kukyo > Thanks. Yes, it's really nice to look back and see that you've come quite a bit of the way.

Penguu > hehe - sometimes it's the other way around: me beeing jealous at your project progressing . I always like to see your updates.

Nephillym > Thanks a lot. When I find a way to attach a small hook to the hands (for the s-hook to go into) I'll be able to test them on, yay

Runy > judging from your own project I think you'll be able to make a really cute body for your head . Thanks for the compliment on the lip. I'm not good at making full lips, so I thought I might as well keep them thin.

 

Soshi > thanks

Ninive > You're right about the nose. Hope I got it more corrected since. And thanks

Huna > I also enjoy looking at the old pics just to see the difference from then till now . And thanks for the compliment.

Icymiharu > Thanks a lot. I think as well the eyes need a workover. Haven't done it yet, but will do eventually...

JULY 27
It's been some days since last update, but most of the work now is fitting and balancing the joints and not least sanding. I'm still not ready for gesso yet, sigh. Some deal of balancing, joint adjusting, etc has to be done first.
The elastic string I was waiting for finally arrived so I could test the doll with it. She was a bit easier balancing with the wire I used last, but she was sort of poseable with the elastic as well, well not largely poseable, but just sort of poseable... (she has some issues with leg joints and her head being too big and heavy for her body...).


It was very helpful to do this testing as it revealed all the problems with her balance, joints and proportions. It is fx. hard for her to sit as the leg joints are too thick for allowing her lower torso part to touch the ground when sitting and thus letting her sit stably. Will correct that.



THe feet in pictures are not the real feet, only test feet for using when testing stringing etc. I don't want to put a screw in the others before they are finished. This is also the reason I haven't put her hands on.

With her face I've mostly refined her nose a bit and putting a bit more material on her right cheek as she was a bit asymmetrical (well, she's still, but not so much).
And then I've started on the ears. With my usual fear of anatomical accuracy I've chosen to do the ears fantasy style. I imagined a mix between dog ears and Chii's ears (from Chobits) and came up with these. I'm not completely satisfied yet, but will continue working on them.



And lastly: The smartest head cap system ever! And then again...maybe not (I actually don't know how to do the head cap properly so this was just the solution I could think of quickly...)

 

Thanks a lot you guys - I haven't checked my own thread for a while so I hadn't seen the last comments. Compliments and/or critique means a lot as it is a great motivation, so thanks for the support

I've had a long pause, but last week I started applying gesso and preparing the doll for mold-making, so hopefully I will be able to update again soon.

 

Cry! The past few weeks I've started on the gesso only to find out yesterday that the gesso tend to flake a few places when being sanded





As can be seen her chin has got a bad case of flaking. The area below her eyes were also flaking and when I tried to remove the flaking gesso the thin lower eyelid was broken a bit...so her eyes are in a sad state right now.
Well, I'll just have to get back on the horse. I'll stop applying gesso and have ordered some mr surfacer 500 and 1000 and I hope this will turn out better.

Don't understand about the gesso though...it seems a lot of people are using it without problems (although I read one thread here, don't remember which, where the artist had bad experiences with gesso)... maybe I've just done it wrong somehow or used the wrong kind (I used gesso for acrylics).
Does anybody have experiences with gesso or other primers and/or recommandations they'd like to share? I'd be very grateful, thanks

 

penguu > Thanks for your answer
Actually I'm both dry and wet sanding (the sandpaper I use is usable for wet sanding) as I'm not that experienced with this and thus I'm just trying a little bit of all :S. I'm mostly using grain 1000 after the gesso was applied (wet and dry sanding) but sometimes I use grain 400 (only dry) if there is a severe gesso brush stroke.
About the drying time of the gesso it's hard to say, but I'd say at least a few hours and some of it up to days. The gesso usually feels dry to the touch already after 5-10 minutes.
Don't know if I should stick to only wet sanding...?
I'll probably experiment a little more and if it continues to flake I'll wait for the mr surfacer and try that instead (if that can stick to a surface where gesso is applied...). Or alternatively I'll have to try the gesso you're mentioning (thanks for the tip).

And by the way: Your Gertrudesen is very handsome - always a pleasure to see your updates

 

Lolly, penguu and lolipop > thanks a lot for the comments on gesso and paperclay. It is very helpful.
It's a bit embarassing to have trouble with it when I actually commented in the thread on gesso - I had only tested gesso on flat, regular surfaces at the time. Maybe I should, ahem, do my homework and read the threads on the subject next time
I think I will give it a try more with the gesso seeing as how it worked with loli's Jinxi. I'll probably just have to be more careful and patient.

And, well, there's always the Mr. Surfacer if it doesn't work out.

Flurry > thanks a lot. When the project is not going well I'll usually just look at the first pictures thinking, "Well, it's definitely been worse!"

 

Runy > thanks for the comment. It is a great help to hear about other people's experiences.
I'll probably have to stick with the gesso because I found out that aerosols (spray on products) can't be shipped overseas so my mr surfacer order got cancelled (I can't get it in Denmark).
But that's ok - I tried to follow the advice about letting the gesso dry much longer and I haven't had as many problems with peeling/ flaking after that, yay
So hopefully I'll soon have repaired the flaking and have a fully gessoed doll.

 

lolipop > Thanks a lot! I love your dolls and your tutorial was one of the things that got me started initially, so your compliment means a lot

Runy > Thanks for the link - that might come in very handy

batchix > I see. Spraying would indeed be nice instead of brushing, but right now the gesso is behaving nicely, so I may make it through using only that.
And thanks for your compliment. I'm one of the many eagerly following the progress of your beautiful cyborg