Materials Looking for an ideal material for art and play doll.

There are additives for resin that make it UV resistant, aren't there?
If so, then resin with the UV resistant additive would be just the ticket.

Porcelain, if not dropped, will last for thousands of years without changing.
Here again, porcelain BJDs are usually china-painted for the face-up.
The china paints are kiln-fired between layers, so they are permanent.

One of the most fascinating things about resin BJDs is that they are
highly customizable. Face-ups are not permanent. They can be wiped-off
and redone. The eyes can be changed. They can be re-tensioned, et cetera.

So you also must take that into consideration as well.

 

Epoxy is extremely durable. This would be the right one for you if you're thinking of dropping it and throwing it about :XD
Epoxy's strength is also it's weakness though. Correcting errors in the curves and shapes of my last 3 torsos made from epoxy were a nightmare. The stuff is too solid to work on with a scalpel alone, so you might need to use a dremel if you have one, and the damn space for one. (LOADS of dust. Imagine a small blizzard of plastic flakes. Also, don't breathe it in ._.) So if you do go for Epoxy, you ought to be a damn great sculptor and an absolute perfectionist to begin with.
The colours it comes in aren't great for skin tones but there is a pure white version which I've used for a tiny doll before.

The only other thing I can think of is that some artists make their OOAKs out of polymer clays and as long as you have chosen a clay made specifically for doll making (Such as Fimo Puppen, or Sculpey Living doll) then you should be fine up to an MSD scale.

Another thing I've discovered; Mori Mori patty. This is popular in japan for making figmas and I've been reading up on it. I've also ordered a tube of it so I'll tell you how strong it is soon.

Whatever you choose, have fun! :XD

 

It's true that resin will yellow, but it's not likely to turn banana yellow. Most people tend to refer to it as mellowing, and some actually prefer the look of the doll after it's mellowed. And most often you don't even notice it happening until you compare it to a newer doll of the same type. And as kwmelvin said resin can be modded and customized.

The epoxy sounds interesting, but if you're thinking of doing production can epoxy be molded like resin, and porcelain? There's also vinyl, but I know vinyl requires expensive equipment to mold. And even vinyl will eventually break down.

 

Re: removable face-up on porcelain bisque doll

I asked this question myself in this post:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3617

Yesterday I watched a video about making and completing a cast composition slip doll.
After the seams were sanded, the doll was painted with a base coat all over.
Then, after drying, the painted doll was sprayed with a clear matte sealer.
After the matte sealer dried, the face-up was done with a fast-drying oil paint medium
and alkyd paints.
They really were fast drying, because she kept complaining that the paints were drying
faster than usual under the lights in the video studio.
After the paints had dryed, she sprayed the doll again with a clear sealer spray.
Note that this was done on a doll composition slip casting; no kiln firing required.

I have no idea whether or not a Cone 6 fired porcelain doll can be given a face-up which can
be totally removed later on, without staining the porcelain? Perhaps using sealers, such as MSC?

 

Expoxy's weakness is its weight. True, it is very sturdy. But now I am glad that the doll I made measures only 60 cm.

I also got into trouble with stringing material. Perhaps using metal springs would be an alternative here. I ended up with elastics normally used in the fitness sector...

If you look at DoA, you can read a lot about resin changing its colors. It think if you get the right type, the color will become nice and soft over time.

I see much more of a problem with dark tones. However, UV-protection seems to help quite a lot there.

 

Resin that is dyed with say, Rit dye after casting will not change colors, as far as I know. I have a bjd doll named Copernica, and she is dyed so that I can take her out in the sun, or anywhere else I want, and I don't worry about sunlight. If you don't mind your doll not being peachy skinned or fairy white, dyeing is a great thing.