OT/General DollShe going official with their casting service!

oooh, that explains it! thanks so much for the reply! i guess I'll check out the dollstown resin matches ><; I totally missed the connection... :P

 

Hi guys, I think I'm gonna give it a try too. I wish there was somebody professionally casting in the USA but there isn't as long as I know.
Well my pieces are all sculpted in clay as I have no idea and hear for the first time here about the 3D reproductions, it sounds good but as I said I have no knowledge at all about that I can fairly do some Photoshop for my Pictures lol It just sounds cool the whole 3D idea.

Anyway I'll be working in something very basic maybe even single and not double jointed I hope to have my prototype by January next year.

But I'm very glad to hear about Dollshe and their casting service. So thank you!!

 

I wonder if you can request them to cast special parts like feet or hands of translucent resin? And I am curious if they and do graduation in colors, like the bottom of the feet is translucent, shimmery green and as it goes up the leg, the color slowly transform to normal opaque resin? Oh that sound a little far fetched.

 

Allie, you'd have to ask them. As for the transition of colours, it won't be gradual. When Soom did it, the parts were transparent and then airbrushed to look like there was a gradient between translucent and opaque resin. My guess would be that they will say no.

 

Does anyone know the shrinking average of the dollshe cast vs the original sculpt?

If you were to personally cast some dolls, and then have some cast by dollshe, would the size difference be so extreme that you would have to make clothing for each size individually?

In other words, if you also sold clothing, wigs, eyes etc, to go with your doll, would a hand-cast doll require a different size than a dollshe cast?

 

I will know next week sometime. I think there will be a difference but only a couple of millimeters and it shouldn't affect clothing fit so much that you'd be operating with different measurements and clothing sizes.

Scratch that, my order from Dollshe just arrived today and from what I can tell, the differences between the original and the casts are so small and insignificant, it's hard to pick up with the naked eye.

 

Thank you twigling, now I know soom parts are air brushed! I was thinking about soom when I post that. Yeah, I guess they would say no so I'll have to experiment myself I guess.

 

Twigling, can I ask you how long it took Dollshe to mold and cast your doll?

 

About 4 months.

 

That is excellent news, twigling !!!
Congratulations !!!

 

Congratulations!!! Are you pleased with them, then?

 

Okay, that's not bad ^^ After hearing about people waiting 8 months to over a year for their dolls from Dollshe, I couldn't help but worry their reproduction center would be the same...

 

Tami I am very pleased with the castings and the service/communication speed etc. Will definitely be working with them again.

 

Congrats twigling!


Do you know if the waiting period for your second order be shorter than the first, since dollshe has casted your doll before? Or will you have to wait another 4 months for a second order?


I'd also love to see some comparison pics of your artist cast vs the dollshe casts!

 

Elizern, I don't know. They sent back my masters and I have to rework them a bit and then reprime them. With the new machines it might be faster but it depends on their workload. I'll try to get some photos taken to compare if I have time and if I remember.

 

I apologize if this was answered already, but I haven't been able to figure it out: is Dollshe doing rotocasting? Or is their hollow-shapes requirement have to do with them doing outside/inside molds for hollow parts?

 

No rotocasting, they do inside/outside molds, so your pieces need to be prepped for that sort of thing.

 

Thanks, twigling.

In cases where the stringing channel has to curve (inside the deltoid for the upper arm, for example), the thing to do is just to let them cast a solid piece, or let them make a partial inner mold for the channel in the arm (and then drill the shoulder part of the leg)?

 

I don't think you'd want to drill solid pieces if you could avoid it. If the stringing channel can be straight and meet in a corner that would be better. What they will do is make a superthin film "wall" so that the silicone can flow into both ends without joining. Perhaps they can work with a curved channel also in the same way? You would want to take photos and ask them before you send anything, rather than risk sending it and then having them tell you it needs to be changed.

 

Ohh, the thin wall method sounds great (and I know you've talked about this elsewhere...I just didn't think of it now, I guess). But do you mean that dollshe will make the wall for you? You don't have to do the wall, if you can show that your stringing channel are straight legs meeting at a corner?

 

They will make the wall, yes. You just need to make sure that all your channels are smooth and straight (or wider at the outside than inside) so that the silicone can pull out easily. I'm not sure that showing that the channels meet in the corner is a requirement, I was just trying to think how I would do it, or want to do it myself. On my pieces they made the thin wall in the eye sockets, the neck hole, inside the neck, in the shoulders, and in the thighs, legs and lower arms as well as in the feet (where there's a channel for the toe-spring).

 

How did they make the walls on the eyes, do you know? I am trying to cast some old heads to see how hard it is, and I'm having some trouble with the eyes. My current method involves plugging the eyes with clay, pour mold, then taking out the clay, pour other side of mold, but I can't get a tight seal around the eyes for the second mold pour, so I kind of want to try the wall technique...But how to get thin wall attach tightly around the eyes?

 

Penguu: What you're describing should work -- I've done it all of twice, but it did work. The clay shouldn't cover the edge of the eyelids, so the silicone from the first pour sort of "plugs in" to the eyes afterwards. You'll also want to use something to make a "key" in each eye, the way you do around the edge of the mold.

 

It might be the clay I used to plug the eye...it is chavant nsp medium hardness...which is pretty darn hard. I think maybe if I try it with softer clay?

 

When I mold I fill the entire head with clay, as otherwise the pressure from the pressurepot would force the rubber into the head via the eyes. I do "key" the pupil in the eye so that the inner and outer molds will lock together later on, and I don't usually get any film in my castings. If there was film in the Dollshe castings, they removed it before shipping, only the masters had any visible film in them when I got them back.

It looks like Dollshe's film is made from masking tape in some places and a thin layer of resin in others, but I have no idea how they install the tape version, if it really is tape. The way to do the film-style is to put some clay on the inside, but not push it in too far towards the front, yet enough so that resin can't leak through, then mix a tiny amount of resin and drip it onto the clay, or apply with a brush, maybe even do a couple of applications, and then remove the clay from the back once the resin has cured. The key is to make sure the film sticks to the doll part but not to the clay.

You may indeed want to try a more pliable clay, such as Klean Klay. Personally I just use plasticine and have not had an issue with it, other than it being a bit messy to get out, especially from the inside of the head.

 

So, I have decided that when I'm happy with my sculpt I'll be going through Dollshe. It's a long ways off, but I was wondering what are the total costs are... See below...

1. You send them photos for approval. FREE
2. You ship them your sculpt. PAY FOR SHIPPING
3. They let you know if anything needs to be fixed. POSSIBLE FEE IF THEY FIX IT
4. They make a reproduction and send it to you for approval. IS THIS INCLUDED IN THE COST?
5. You approve. YAY
6. They cast and ship to you. IS SHIPPING INCLUDED IN THE REPRODUCTION FEE?

I'm trying to start the saving process, but I want to make sure that I have all the info on what the final cost could be.

 

I don't think shipping back to you is included in the price, as they'll only be able to quote the price once the dolls are packed and weighed. Shipping costs will be different for each order, i.e. dependent on the size of the doll and number of units ordered.

Also (for those in the relevant parts of the world), you might want to try calculating customs fees and put aside a contingency fund for this. In some cases (if you can cough up the production costs) if would be worth making a larger order, so that the fees can be absorbed by the potential retail price of more units.

I have a question... From what I've read here, I gather that the castings are sent back unassembled... is that right?

 

I know this is pretty old so don't know how many people are still reading lol, but have to vent a bit:

I feel the same way... I was livid when I read the notice on DollsTown's website months ago. It was so offensive that I wouldn't touch either company with a 10 foot pole now because of that. But I don't malign anyone else for wanting to use their service.

Everyone should be required to recreate one of their sculptures in a 3D program from scratch before they are allowed to criticize the level of difficulty. :/

As an artist that has worked with many many mediums, personally I find it faaaar more difficult and time consuming to create a mesh from scratch than it is to sculpt it out of clay. I get frustrated and find myself wishing I could just reach my hands into the computer and mold it by touch! And I've been 3D modeling for 4 years (as a job), so it's not for lack of experience. My experience is also a bit tainted by the fact that I always had to watch my polycount, and texture mapping (which had to be comprehensive enough for other people to repaint) and rigging for animation are a real bitch. The actual sculpting is nothing compared to the mapping and rigging (which I hate with a passion) but it's still way harder for me than working with clay.

Have to admit that also part of it is that I'm much more a hands on type of person. I can't even draw with a mouse. I have to use a tablet, but even then I find it more difficult to work on a computer than with my bare hands.

I never worked with any other 3D programs besides Max 7 so don't know if others may be easier, but Max it is in no way intuitive. I am totally self-taught and there was a LOT of reading books (yes I actually bought books for it), manuals and online tutorials before I could publish my first mesh. Took me 2 weeks just to learn my way around enough to make my first simple piece of furniture.

 

OMG has anyone seen their new Honey Skin resin? It kinda looks like french resin but its uv resitant and the sanding marks aren't quite as bad anymore lol i want to get my dolls cast by their company so badly now.

 

I saw it, yes. I think it's environmental resin. Puck was cast in this resin by Weiju and there are no sanding marks on his body.

 

Ah so its environmental resin? I LOVE HOW WARM IT LOOKS!

 

They say they've added Sun Devil from Smooth On to it to inhibit UV degradation and color change. It will be interesting to see the results of their sun exposure tests.