After a great deal of research, I'm almost ready to purchase materials and try my hand at sculpting. However, I'm missing some key concepts in the creation of BJDs. There are lots of helpful tutorials out there on technique, materials, etc. but none have really answered my question. Forgive me, I've never sculpted before so this may seem really clueless and ignorant. Sorry. >.< What is the difference between sculpting, molding, and casting? If I were to model a doll from paperclay, is the paperclay the final product? Or is the doll made from some synthetic, plastic-like material that sets over the clay? Since I'm a beginner, I'm thinking I'm just going to play around with some clay, such as LaDoll (maybe something similar but cheaper for now) and just get my feet wet. If anyone has any recommendations or links as far as materials, tutorials, or anything else please let me know! Thank you!
Sculpting is making a prototype out of clay. Then you refine that, add joints, fix it up, use sandpaper to smooth the surface, and usually add grey primer to help smooth the surface and see any imperfections that may not be obvious in raw clay. In paperclay, the primer also helps as sort of a filler, as paperclay is somewhat porous and can't be really fully smoothed or casted raw. You don't HAVE to cast anything though, people do make final dolls out of paperclay, though they are generally more fragile than ones made out of a stronger material. For uncast, one-of-a-kind dolls, many people use Apoxie Sculpt, as it's similar to resin in strength. If you do want to make copies of your doll, once it's 150% truly complete and absolutely perfect, with every bit of the surface utterly smooth (the slightest scratches or imperfections will be copied, so you have to make sure it's exactly as you want it), then you can make a mold of it. This is usually done using silicone, to make a negative impression of your doll parts - so you have a chunk of silicone, and there's a hole in the middle of it perfectly shaped like your doll's upper leg or lower torso or whatever. This needs to be done carefully so you can get your original doll part out, and so good copies can be made using your molds - they have to be oriented properly to allow you to pour resin in and for bubbles in the liquid resin to escape, etc. Final dolls are usually made of polyurethane resin which is poured into the molds and then hardens. Then the mold is removed (if done right it's reusable many times), and the resin pieces are cleaned up and strung as a complete doll. I would really, really suggest getting some decent paperclay. Don't go with the cheapest you can find - often the higher-quality clays are lighter weight or with finer particles, or dry more consistently with less cracking. Throw a couple extra bucks at a pack of clay that will not drive you nuts trying to work with. LaDoll is fine but I see a lot of beginners start with DAS which... if you're already a sculptor you can probably do great things with it, but can be frustrating if you're not used to sculpting. Difficult to build up your skills when your materials are working against you.
Hey :3 I'm a beginner when it comes to making my own bjd too and I've done tones of research. While you can use the paper clay model as the final piece there is a high risk of damage since the clay isn't that durable. So the majority of sculptors, once the piece has been sanded and primed and you are completely happy with it, create a silicone mold of it and cast it in resin. Once that's done this is called a 'Junk cast'. Most sculptors then refine the junk cast and change areas they feel didn't work well in resin, they use the junk cast as the original paper clay version if often damaged in the mold making process. The revised version is then remoulded and recast ^-^ That's what I found on my searches Hope I could be of help :3
Thanks for your response! That answered my question perfectly. I've decided that I'm going to purchase DAS and start playing around with it, as well as practice figure drawing and maybe even get a poseable skeleton or figure drawing aid. I think you're right, I'd rather spend an extra couple bucks on the good stuff than fail with the bad stuff and end up buying a better brand anyway.
I meant go with LaDoll or one of the proper paperclays over DAS, not to get DAS - it's more for kids' crafts and is really sticky and hard to work with. I like Premier and LaDoll Premix is also pretty good.
No probs glad I was helpful! Though DAS is harder to work with it's also pretty cheap and easy to get, it's what I use ;3
I don't really like DAS clay though. I have tried to make some practice head with it and I can't make lot of detail since it hard but brittle. But I've seen peoples who successfully make a whole doll out of DAS. So maybe just buy like 1-2 pack first and see if you can make something nice with it and if you like to work with it or not. http://deskleaves.deviantart.com/art/Ball-jointed-doll-tutorial-part-1-303710466 This tutorial have a list of things of what you should buy and also have comparison of clay, mentioning DAS too. It also explain to make a basic bjd from head to toe, which I really recommend for most beginner who like to see the process needed to make a complete bjd. This 5 part tutorial don't cover molding and casting but looks like you won't do it for now, so hopefully this tutorial cover enough
There are also several other options than the paper clay for sculpting your original. There are polymer clays, which harden in an oven instead of drying in the air. That means you have as long as you like to work without the clay becoming stiff and dry. It also means that when you are happy with the shape you have been working on you can just bake it and you don’t risk disturbing that part when you work on the next part of the piece. So it requires less patience. There is epoxy clay. Two parts are mixed together and then you have a certain time to work with the clay before it turns hard. Epoxy is very strong, but that also means that it is hard to correct mistakes in it. There is sculpting wax, modeling clays and so on. All have their pros and cons. Some are more suitable for certain projects and so on. If you get the chance, try out several different ways to work to find one that works best for you and your projects.
