40–49cm Dolls My MSD sized BJD called Domino

So I've tried to make one of these before and have just gotten impatient with uploading all the photos! And now I have more than ever but feel ready to tackle it. I hope someone reads this! :XD

I've been working on this doll on and off since December of last year, which feels sort of strange to say because usually when I do projects I bump them out in one night and never look at them again. It's really been an exercise in patience that I'm grateful for. I've almost given up and thrown her out so many times because I just wasn't creating what I saw in my head. At times I was so unhappy with her face sculpt at times that I literally cut it apart. Anyway, I'll get into the pictures so you guys can see what I mean. I'll try to break this up into digestable parts! There is a lot.

We'll call this version "Super Sculpey Domino"! She's super rough and ugly at this stage. Bear with me.



This is the first picture I have of her! I made this with Super Sculpey and was really proud of how well it nested. I knew then that in terms of engineering it wasn't finished whatsoever, and I had never personally handled a BJD so I was just referencing other BJDs and art dolls in images. Looking back I HATE the shape but I know what I was going for. I had one other experience sculpting a "doll" which I may post pictures of later. Her arms and legs were wire and cloth. She was a gift for someone!



These are the pieces above separated and against her blueprint, which unfortunately I have no other pictures of. Rudimentary legs in progress. You can see I smoothed out the torso and pelvis too!



And here I started building the chest piece. Began using DAS clay for the legs and chest because I didn't like thinking about having to cook everything a hundred times. Air clay is also so much easier to sand!



Realized I didn't like the gap between the sides and beginning of pelvis, and I know I want her a bit on the chubby side, so the super thin, long torso won't work. Playing around with form and not really getting it. I'm remember being so happy with this hehe



Aaaand from the side.



Added MORE bulk and belly, liking the shape so much more.

Alright BRACE yourselves. Something ugly this way comes. The beginnings of my face plate sculpts are kind of atrocious.







Yeah... Um. We don't have to talk about it.

 

So next stage is after a long break. We'll call this "Tiny Domino".



This is the body right before something weird happens. I'm carving the face and her nose just snaps off. I get upset but put it down and try not to think about it. Grab her calf and start to sculpt that, and her ankle breaks off. Put that down and breathe for a second. Pick up her chest piece by the neck and the chest drops to the floor, neck still between my hands. I lose it. Like seriously, lose it. Not sure how far in to the process I am but I've done so much and it's (literally) all falling apart. I get really negative and decide I don't like it anyway. Throw it in a box and don't touch it again for a month.

When I come back I get to look at her with fresh eyes. A LOT of changes happen here. Notably, I scrap the old face plate and work on it for a good month. I also buy some epoxy and a sealant.













This picture makes me sad. I got mad a ripped her nose off!



Adding more bulk to her head to try and increase her headsize, because I get my first Minifee and realize how tiny she realize is. She has a 4-5 wig size here!

No matter what I do I can't get her above 5-6 and she looks ridiculous with the huge head and tiny, low profile. So I'm starting over.. again!

 

Don't know what to call this stage because I'm still in it!



This was my first real stringing of her torso and it made me realize a lot of the issues with the current joint situation. So this is scrapped too. But I keep using the pieces because I'm cheap

I decide to cut my losses here and let go of my super ridiculous Pear-shaped body dream, since it was way more exaggerated then I realized, and I was trying to go for something semi-realistic. So here is my comparison in the current shape to the old one.



You can see how much shorter it is and wider. I've over time opened the hip joints and brought them up so she can sit comfortably. Still playing with joint ideas but getting more in tune with what with work. I also have a dremel so it's SO MUCH easier to carve her evenly and quickly. I'm scrapping the old chest piece because it's way to small!



Here's a really over exposed picture of her torso and legs and little foots.



She surprised me by being pretty in scale with my Minifee, which is important to me. If I ever sell her I would love if people had a standard for sizing clothes that is more common. And for myself too!!



So yeah, this is all I have after six months. I'm really, at the moment, pleased with it. It's so much closer to what I originally saw for her. And I'm so excited to keep moving! Thanks for looking and I'm totally open to feedback. Happy sculpting!

PS if you want to follow Domino in real time, please check out my instagram @astromecha. I can promise it will be updated much more than this post hehe.

 

Can anyone give me some advice on where to buy wooden balls for the joints?