Newbie BJD-Making Questions

I can answer some of these...from my own experiences.

1. Is Sculpey good for making a bjd? I have some, though I'm not sure if it's enough to make a tiny. I've heard some say Sculpey is fine, while others say not to use it (though not sure why). I've heard people say Super Sculpey® Living Doll or apoxie clay is better. This this would be a first attempt, I'm not looking to start off with the super expensive designer type of clay.
I used sculpt firm in the gray color. It is super strong for test stringing and such but I must cast the doll now as she is gray. I thin the regular sculpy might be a bit brittle when baked and for me it is just to soft to use when sculpting.

2. Are aluminum foil and wire safe to be baked?
Yes. I even baked plastic drinking straws when making cores for my doll's limbs. The clay doesn't need to bake for very long and not at a very high temperature.

3. For an aluminum foil core for a head, I've heard one should use paper tape, and seen that others don't use that method. How do the results vary?
I used papertape. I think it made the foil easier to remove and also made the inside surface of the doll a bit smoother. I still needed to add more clay to the inside to smooth it though.

4. In an armature, when using foil and wife together, does the core of the head remain attached, or is the armature and head done separately?
Not sure what you are meaning with the wire and foil together in the head.

7. When working with bake-able clay, do you try to define as much as you can in the body parts and head, or do you go for the general shape and then once it's baked, use a dremel to put in the details and define the shape better?
I sculpt as much of the detail as I can. I am not that good with a dremel yet!

8. I've noticed that headcaps on most dolls seem different than Fairyland's PukiFee dolls. With Fairyland's, the back of the head is still connected to the neck, and the face plate can be removed. Is this done with most other handmade dolls? It looks more like the face part stays connected to the neck, and the back of the head comes off (reminds me of a yamaka). I used the yamaka-like headcap, and it does seem to be more common, but other artist have used a faceplate system similar to Fairyland's. I would think the latter would be more advanced, but I don't know,having only made one doll.

 

1. Is Sculpey good for making a bjd? I have some, though I'm not sure if it's enough to make a tiny. I've heard some say Sculpey is fine, while others say not to use it (though not sure why). I've heard people say Super Sculpey® Living Doll or apoxie clay is better. This this would be a first attempt, I'm not looking to start off with the super expensive designer type of clay.

I personally love PaperClay. Its easier to sand for me (I'm starting to get Carpal tunnel, Sculpey hurts my wrists) and since its air dry I don't have to worry about burning it :3 A lot of people who are used to Sculpey don't like Paperclay because its really pliable.

2. Are aluminum foil and wire safe to be baked?

For sculpey, yes.

For my method- I sometimes use modeling clay wrapped in plastic wrap, styrofoam, or straws.

3. For an aluminum foil core for a head, I've heard one should use paper tape, and seen that others don't use that method. How do the results vary?

(tami explains it perfectly) The one time I used foil with Sculpey it was in the body, and I -could- have just cut it in half to take it out, but I decided to try to rip it out through the thigh hole lol. Took me a whole day XD

4. In an armature, when using foil and wife together, does the core of the head remain attached, or is the armature and head done separately?

It depends on how you want to do it. Some people sculpt the head on the body, some sculpt it separately from the body. I think you'd find it much easier to sculpt the head seperatly.

5. Any pictures of a wire armature for a bjd? I've only seen some for regular sculptures so far, and I'm curious how the armature for a bjd compensates for the hands and feet of the doll.

Full armatures aren't usually used for dolls, since cutting them in pieces would make it hard. You can do it that way but it might just be more frustrating.
A lot of people find it more easier to sculpt in pieces. Since I use Paperclay, I can sculpt the whole doll and cut it apart easily. I guess you could use the same method with Sculpey. I don't use armatures

6. Is the armature pinned standing to something, or is it unattached to any stand?
I wouldn't pin it or attach it to a stand, it would make it more difficult to bake and the weight might actually force it to fall over. You could do something like this: Back supporter but again baking it would be much harder and it would also be hard to remove it from the base.

7. When working with bake-able clay, do you try to define as much as you can in the body parts and head, or do you go for the general shape and then once it's baked, use a dremel to put in the details and define the shape better?
It depends Sometimes it is better to a general shape (smaller then what you want) then add to it, then take away. Or you can do a mixture of both. Some people love carving, some dont

8. I've noticed that headcaps on most dolls seem different than Fairyland's PukiFee dolls. With Fairyland's, the back of the head is still connected to the neck, and the face plate can be removed. Is this done with most other handmade dolls? It looks more like the face part stays connected to the neck, and the back of the head comes off (reminds me of a yamaka).
Again its more personal choice. Faceplates (what that method is referred to) is best when you want to simply change the face, whether it be expressions or stringing is hard to do. The hard part is getting the head to stay, magnets are the best, and fairyland has a Peg at the top that actually clicks into the top of the head. (Over time it wears down)


I am a little bias when it comes to paperclay vs. Sculpey. A good in between is Apoxie sculpt. Its hard, easy to sculpt, easy to carve, and it hardens over time (no baking, not air dry really) You can use anything as a core as well.

Like I said its mainly all personal choice on how to go about things, but I think an armature would make things rather hard to do

 

1. Round Elastic between 3-4 mm diameter

2. I have no answer for this one.

3. Paper tape AKA masking tape works.

4. Actually drinking straws are fine regardless of the doll's size. All the BJD I own have about the same sized hollows in the limbs. Coffee straws work only if you plan on drilling later.

For questions 5-10, I'll refer you to our handy-dandy list of Doll Making tutorials:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3942
Each has a different technique, try to find one you like best.

 

2. What kind of magnets are best for keeping a tiny's skullcap on? Are there any pictures that illustrate how it's done, because I'm having trouble visualizing this.

Rare Earth magnets. I get mine at K&J Magnets.
Here is a tutorial on DOA on how someone added magnets to a headcap: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...Magnets-to-a-Headcap&highlight=headcap+magnet

3. What type of paper tape? I told my friend yesterday that I could probably just use painter's tape, and he told me I needed the more flexible kind that you can only get at florist's.

Just any sort of masking tape works. I've used painter's tape and it worked fine.

4. I think straws would be too big for the tiny I'm looking to make. If I use those thin stirring straws they give out with coffee, would those be too thin? Probably better than wire in that I could still string her while I work.

Usually coffee straws aren't the best since they are two tubes next to eachother (cutting them down doesn't work, I've tried)
I've actually used Knitting needles for my smaller parts.

5. Do people usually have something sticking out of the head's core, to define the neck, (like more foil twisted downward for a neck, or wire stuck into the ball of foil) or do they just cut the hole later?
I've seen (and personally done) cut the hole later. It really just gets messed up and in the way while your working.

6. How do people avoid the clay flattening while the head has been laid down? (is the answer the neck question above?)

I stick them on a stick (if putting in the oven you can make it stick into some balled up tin foil for balance) Once baked/dry theres no worry for it flattening


7. What do you call the things you have inside the limbs when it's not an armature?
Cores I guess.
You don't necessarily need them, you can just sculpt the arm and drill later (but getting the drill bit to go straight is annoying and can mess up your piece)

8. Not sure which shaping method is best for which modeling clay. I know for Sculpey you can start out small, add on, and rebake, but for apoxie clay or paper clay?

Its the same. Paperclay you need to wet what your adding to otherwise it will crack (eaily fixed) and apoxie clay is kinda sticky (you can smooth it with water, don't buy the stuff they sell for smoothing agent, its a rip off)

a recent method I've seen is people using Paperclay as a core and Apoxie sculpt for details.

9. At what point do you cut off part of the head? Before or after the face has been made?
Before the face is made for me. Only because its easier to handle when doing fine detail.

10. When you cut off the skull cap with the dremel's saw, how do you avoid making all those straight lines that cut into the curve?
I havn't really ever done this (meaning I always have cuts places X3) I usually fix up the cuts afterwards.


Quote:
The hard part is getting the head to stay, magnets are the best, and fairyland has a Peg at the top that actually clicks into the top of the head. (Over time it wears down)


Oh no, I didn't know the peg wore down! Should I remove her face plate as little as possible?

Yes, remove it as little as possible. My Puki's open eye faceplate just falls off now without some sticky tack in the peg so it stays closed :\ The closed eye version stays on fine though.

 

They have the same peg deal. There's spots for magnets but they don't even touch each other...so I don't see how that would work (I've tried adding in magnets but even the strength of the polarity doesn't keep them together x_x)

 

Drinking straws come in many different sizes! Use the size that you need.

The answers to most of these questions can be answered by making a BJD.

Look through some of the BJD tutorials listed here:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3942

If you decide to make a BJD, I hope you will consider sharing your work-in-progress with all of us here, at The Joint.
All of us love to see new dollies.

The main thing is, Have Fun! :XD

Here is a fun little BJD that I made out of brown wax and strung with rubber bands:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showpost.php?p=17229&postcount=40

The brown wax is much too soft to string with round doll elastic.
The round doll elastic cut right through the brown wax.
But the rubber bands work great!
That tiny girl has 16 parts.
2 ea. feet with ball-joint ankles attached
2 ea. lower legs with ball-joint knees attached
2 ea. upper legs with ball-joint hips attached
1 ea. lower torso
1 ea. mid-section torso
1 ea. upper torso with neck attached
1 ea. head (modeled over a small wooden ball)
2 ea. upper arms with ball-joint shoulders attached
2 ea. lower arms with ball-joint elbows attached
2 ea. hands with ball-joint wrists attached

I made most of the limbs by rolling out a thin coil of wax,
then wrapping the coil around a small wood dowel.
Then I smoothed the outside to join the coils.
Then I slipped the limbs off the dowel, added balls,
and cut holes and slots with a pen knife. )

The rubber bands were just tied together, putting one loop through the other.

I was inspired to make her after seeing Speck in this post:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3402

Here is another wonderful little tiny:
http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3792

It's an invasion of Tinies!

 

Here is Blueberry Cupcake, an OOAK BJD made by Cerisedolls Lillycat from Cold Porcelain.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cerisedolls/sets/72157623389276392/

Cold Porcelain is made from standard household items, like corn starch, glue, etc..
There is a thread in the Materials topic about cold porcelain, with some links to recipes.

Polymer clays are baked in the oven at a low temperature to cure them.
Aves Apoxie Sculpt is a 2-part modeling material that hardens by chemical reaction.
Paper clay is an air-drying clay. (Don't get the paper clay that needs to be fired in a kiln!)

 

Yea, the part that keeps it together (Not the toungue part that sits at the bottom of the head, thats just more of a latch)

Your first doll isn't going to be what you expect. No ones is ^^ So please don't let that discourage you. Start off with less complex joints if you can, it does take a bit to get the hang of making dolls. I tried making something similar to Fairylands joints, but it just ended up as a mess >.>; I could probably make them now since I'm more experienced. I've made about 5 before I made one I was actually proud of. Right now I've actually gone back and I'm redoing one (I should post her...) and she's so much better now.
(my first doll I ever made: http://cheshirepanda.deviantart.com/gallery/23778442#/d1f5nxf http://cheshirepanda.deviantart.com/art/Doll-2-85924981?q=gallery:cheshirepanda/23778442&qo=21 ) I made him with polymer clay.

You can look around DOA for restringing tutorials and some of the customizing threads show various doll parts to give you an idea of what they might look like.

 

Check this out, BlueDragonfly: http://dollfairyland.com/board/view.php?board_name=DREAMBOARD18&choose2=&choose1=&ID=6

It's for Pukipuki, not PukiFee, but Fairyland's dolls tend to employ similar methods for posing.. And as long as your doll isn't strung super tight, you can always pull apart the joints without unstringing to see what they look like inside. Or take it as an opportunity to learn how to restring.

 

I made a small 'documentary' on my Soom Idealian Gluino: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?402012-SOOM-Idealian-Small-details-BIG-package He has some very interesting pieces, but I think only because he's so big. I have to be careful how often I pose his arms because I'm worried the arm piece will wear down -_-;

Oh no ^^; I based one of mine off of the PukiPuki design. Puki was my first doll I ever had my hands on XD But in the end the joints I made weren't perfect enough to work right (the thigh joints) so it had to be scrapped -_-; My first one had just wooden ball joints (the one I showed you) But drilling them was so hard, then I found out some wooden balls are soft wood, others are hard x_x

You can always make a doll the same size, that way its so much easier to get wigs/eyes/clothes for them. And I'm pretty sure as long as you don't sell it (or say its 100% your idea) that it would be fine to practice. Joints are such a finicky thing that not just 1 kind will always work for you.

Thank you! ^^ I might re-sculpt him in the future....He was really made for a school project X3

You're welcome!
I don't really know any other type of magnet besides Rare earth magnets x_x
It would depend, I usually have one medium sized one for the head at the top. You can do two smaller ones at top/bottom or sides.

 

If its original then its fine (so far you off to a great start!)

It was a sculpture class. The chair that he's pictured in was actually the main part of the project not him lol. But my teacher was amazed by it...which reminds me I should send him some pics of ones I've done now @_@ (that class was like 4 years ago x_x)

You don't necessarily need it to be casted before adding magnets. I think once you finish the doll decide if you would want to cast it then, or edit/make a new.
I did my first casting in my dining room, just the ceiling fan on with a mask. I had a shower curtain down to cover the carpet lol. The company I use (Smooth-on.com) has very small fume issues, but you still need to wear protection. The only time I had a problem with fumes was when I used clear resin from Micheals...blech.

 

I make my S-hooks with Paperclips. They're actually really strong!!

 

What I would do with a paperclip is, first of all, straighten it out (use pliers of some sort), then bend the s-hook to the size you need. Experiment! Your doll is right in front of you, so you are the only one who will know when you bend the right size. Most of BJD-making is experimenting. Trial and error. Mostly error. Keep a journal. It cuts down on re-inventing the wheel.

Since you are making a Tiny, maybe there is something in this thread that will answer your question about elastic? As you will read, I was just as confounded by elastic as you are now. So that is why I am able to point you to this discussion:

http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3437

If you can add to that discussion with elastic information that you find where you are currently at, please try to add as many details as you can, such as Brand Name, Item No., diameter and length of elastic, and so on, and so forth. We are a global BJD community.

This is an elastic that I found that may be suitable for Tinies!

Remember to Have Fun!

 

It depends on the sculpt - Some are really floppy about the midsection, and can do arched-back and slumped-forward poses really well, and some can just sort of pivot gently. It depends, I think, on the angle of the cuts made, and how deep into the next piece each piece fits. Of course, the other side of this coin is that some dolls wth amazing flexibility don't hold their poses very well, and need to be really tightly strung and sueded to stay put.

As for sculpting cores, I tend to use an egg as the core for the head - Sculpt over it, puncture up through the neck hole, or cut the headcap off, and tip out the egg's contents. From what I can tell, tape, plastic bags, tinfoil and newspaper are safe to bake in normal ovens.

A good source for elastic for tinies is a jewellery shop - The really fine, clear stuff works really well, though you do have to fasten it with a bit of nail varnish.

 

A source for Puki-sized elastic cord: http://dollsparts.com/spgm.cfm?dpt=H&srch=D6&item=12001
The 1/16" would be about right. You could also try Cool Cat on eBay for elastic and s-hooks. Sometimes you can find very small s-hooks at your local hardware store too.

 

Hello! I have a newbish question as well. From what I've seen, people usually use small metal balls for eye placeholders when sculpting, which bake fine. I can't seem to find anything like that, though, and I ended up buying some marbles (used for slingshot shot... wait what?) that are pretty sturdy, but I'm worried about the possibility of them exploding in the oven. Has anyone tried this before, or have any thoughts?