First BJD (ever)

Alright so a week and a half ago I've started working on my first BJD ever! And I say ever bc I've never owned one, actually. Or seen one IRL actually. I don't have a ruler but he's gonna be around 22 cm tall.

I've used nothing but office supplies and stoneclay up to this point, I'm a cheapass. I like stoneclay for modelling though, but it's just heavy!



Here's the initial sketch (my experience drawing is akin to my experience sculpting)



WIP of the face, I know it's not very original but I was kinda attempting a typical conventionally pretty big eyed face





After finishing (?) the joints and doing a test string. Body still needs a lot of sanding, the skull has a terrible shape and I need to shorten the arms, but I'm still rather happy with it. I'm tempted to cast him, even if it might not be up to standards, both because stoneclay is awful long term (heavy, easy to chip, soluble...) and because I like him anyway.

I'd love to hear what you guys think about him!

 

Update: SANDING SUCKS

 

oh we're bonding alright :'D

 

Ah, I'm actually quite embarrased to show pictures half primed! But here's a balance test of the legs


I also redid completely the hands and feet (closed fists suit the character more even if they're a pain)

 

Update: oh my god sanding is taking a lifetime :I I'm worried I'm being entirely too nitpicky since I know casting smooths down a little as well but, I can't get satisfied until it's perfect! Right now the arms are finished sanding but I keep making changes to the head and knees and barely started with the hands and feet. I'm half tempted to start casting already and do it in sections (arms first, then legs, etc) but I don't know if it'd make me waste more silicon or anything. Any tips on this would be great btw!

 

Oh that's definitely faster u.u I couldn't afford a dremel so I'm using only sandpaper. Are sponge sanding blocks more versatile than sandpaper??

 

I AM WEAK I didn't finish priming yet and in that time I've
1- started working on a tiny anthro bjd (which doesn't almost meet the requirements to appear here bc I made it to test a new type of joint I wanna use on this one)
2- started working on a custom made wig (bc it's easier to figure out face and head shapes with hair)

Everything in the () are kinda excuses though
But obviously I'm still working on this seeing as I'm making a wig for it already ;;; I'm just scatterbrained welp

 

Well, other than priming, not really. I'm terrified of the master breaking when doing a mold! I wanted to practice molding and pour casting on something safer than resin tbh, since it's probably going to be a mess the first time.

 

With a new layer of primer on. I wish I had more to show! Sadly I work outside and between the heat and my internship I never seem to find the right moment. I'm going to attempt a junk cast for hands and feet before August.

 

Ikr? I've personally had worse at my hometown, but that doesn't mean I'm all happy working like this :dead

Another update though: I just bought a couple packages of oyumaru, and I think I can use it for the casts, let's see if I can make a good mold from it!

View attachment 693

 

Doble post ;;;

 

Haha thank you! It's spray and I always try to apply thin layers, so getting abactually smooth surface is quite hard.

I already tested the oyumaru and it's pretty amazing! I want to do a cast of the small pieces (hands, feet etc) but I'm thinking I might do the arms and legs as well. The amount of detail it gets is amazing! I'm not sure how it'll work with resin, but it makes great clay copies.

 

MTN Industrial imprimación antioxidante, it's a spray, you can get it at any medium sized paint store! The most common use is to act as a base layer before painting cars, or so I've been told. It's sandable (obvs) and waterproof (it's supposed to be rust proof). Also I don't know if it's because of it or if any primer works, but if you add a layer, before sanding you can make extra additions with clay, they don't come off!

 

I got my resin today! 2 kgs :dead I'm gonna try make some practice/junk casts, starting with hands and feet since they're not hollow, just to get a feel of it. I still need more materials though! I want googles and gloves and a mask and stuff so it's going to take me a bit, but I'm soooo excited to try at least a small piece! ;A;

 

Sorry for the spam haha but I always get hyperactive with my projects, then drop them for a month, then back again... ;;;
I did my first cast! Just the hands and feet, which as you know are far from finished. Oyumaru gets a lot of detail so every single scratch is noticeable in the resin version =A=



For some reason I had been thinking resin works like cooking: the bigger the size the longer it takes to cure, but it's the other way around. So I got nervous when I saw the remains in the glass were already curing and the light parts weren't! my poking caused air bubbles inside T_T



I really like that it's slightly elastic, so you can carve off the seamlines without worrying about breaking it all. The resin is slightly yellow, but I plan to dye the whole batch tan.

It cured really well! Even though it was a small amount and i didn't measure it properly it neither sweats nor smells. I wasn't even throrough mixing because I was scared it'd cure too fast!

However my moldmaking leaves tons to be desired, as does my priming, so I can say it's still a long way until I'm done :'D

 

Oh by the way, if anyone can offer any tips or critique (face, proportions, etc...) I'd be super thankful

 

Redid the hips with help of a thigh junk cast (but it's terrible to look at so I'm not showing >>) Also I got new eyes and magnets to work with. I want to get a head junk cast so badly! But I don't think I got enough material to work with for a mold :/ I can't decide whether to buy more oyumaru or just finish sanding and get silicone already. I feel so close to finishing now, I'm getting impatient!

 

Well so I got a dremel-like sanding tool (from Alice collections, 12 bucks) and I'm back with this project! Sadly Talia got temporarily abandoned back in hometown oh well. Updates to follow soo, hopefully!