Sculpting Sculpting a Chubby/ Plus Size Doll

By coincidence, I just saw a plus-size bjd on Instagram this morning. I'm not sure if it is okay to post it, because as far as I know DOA hasn't overviewed the artist or sculpt yet, but I will DM it (and some other examples I've seen) to you!

As far as sculpting goes - I imagine you would need to experiment a bit and just find a balance between range of motion and bulk of the limbs/torso. It can definitely be done! I don't think the range of motion would ever be as wide as with more narrow limbs, but there are people who love single-jointed dolls and don't mind the more limited posing, so that isn't necessarily a negative.

You might also like to see DoDollsDream Teacup dolls - I don't consider them "plus size" but they have chubby legs that are still very posable (and cute). Here's the link to that artist: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc04VmsD8U-/

 

I can't think of any small sculptors who've done plus-sized bodies at the moment, but I know a plus-sized doll is in the works from Smart Doll. It's not officially out yet and I think they're still tweaking the design but you could check them out for ideas. They aren't bjds though, they're vinyl dolls with an inner skeleton so I'm not sure how helpful that would be for you.

 

Plenty of pear shaped dolls are out there, and some people's claims that the top can't be thicc too "because of mobility issues" are just misunderstanding in my opinion. Some limitations may arise, yes but not enough to stop it from being possible.

Gigantic breasts get int he way of mobility but no one's ever let that stop them, I have to say. So go for it! We can always use more body variety, something the hobby often lacks.

I also recommend the book Morpho: Fat and Skin Folds, for studies on ways this type of body moves in function and form.

 

I made a chubby MSD-sized male back in the day. There wasn't much interest (when I say "interest" I mean interest in actually buying one, not just looking at it and saying it's cool) for it back then so it never got past the prototype stage, I only cast one for myself and there are a few more casts of it out there sold to close hobby friends.
If you want to look at that project it's here.

The main issue to get around is the simple fact that polyurethane is hard, while humans are soft. The bigger we get, the softer we get, while the doll stays just as hard regardless of bulk. That's the essence of it, really. As long as you understand this, takes it into account and are prepared to compromize a little, there is no real reason why it shouldn't be possible to make a doll as big as you like.

The comparison with large busted dolls is apt. When you sculpt a large bust you have to make a decision if you want to make it shaped as if it is hanging free and thus look natural undressed (as long as the doll is standing up, if the doll is posed leaning forward or lying on it's side it will look wierd again), or if you want to sculpt it into a position as if it is supported by clothes and thus look better dressed (but gravity defying when naked).
The same applies to many parts of a plus sized doll.

Take a body part like the upper arm, for example. When a human arm hangs straight down, the upper arm tends to flatten a bit against the body, while if the arm is held straight out, any extra bulk will hang down, away from the arm. So it's not that you can't sculpt it, but that you have to decide what the most natural position of the limb is and the accept that it may look a little bit unnatural when posed in a different way.

Another specific example is the thigh.
A human with large thighs who sits down, will sit about as low a human with slim thighs, provided thay are of about the same over all height, because the extra bulk will flatten out. A bulky doll, on the other hand will sit higher than a slim doll of the same height, since they always sort of "sit on top of" their thighs. You also have to consider where the over side of the thigh goes when the joint is bent. On a human, belly fat and thigh is both soft and can move around to make room for each other, but on the doll that won't happen. You have to make a few decisions around that area to make it work and you may have to settle for a limit of how big you can make it before you have to start to consider special segmented joints.
Similar things happen around the other joints. A human can be very large and still have a good range of mobility, thanks to previously mentioned softness, while on a doll the bulk gets in the way much sooner. It can be designed around to some extent, but there is a limit.

So I certainly wouldn't call it impossible, but it is a fair bit trickier to make a plus sized doll compared to a slim one. There are mobility issues, those are neither missunderstanding or myth, but they are also not impossible to work around.

Oh, and you may want to ask to have this thread moved to the dollmaking forum.

 

Just as a reference joint speaking, you can take a look to this doll that it's popping on my instagram these last days: Krowbar (@handy_dandy_degenerate_candy) • Instagram photos and videos

This is what I would consider chubby.

 

^Very well said! That's what I didn't have energy to go into but you've put it beautifully- it's not impossible but the limitations do deal with gravity vs mass vs position. Resin just doesn't squish.

 

Mochi on Instagram: "She’s Such A Baby Should I Go Live Saturday or Sunday With Mochis Updates? #bjdpreorder #bjddolls #bjdartist #bjdartistdoll #bjddoll #balljointeddoll #bjd #bjdmaking #bjdmakingprocess #dollmaking #bjdconceptart #bjdconcept #bjd3dmodel #bjd3dartist #bjdawareness #bjdinstagram #bjdd #mochisdollfarm #kawaii #kawaiiaesthetic #mochibjd #bjdbehindthescenes #anthrobjd"

I’m currently working on my own plus size bjd. It wasn’t until I printed the first body that i started to see how she can be improved. For me, I spent a lot of time with my doll collection to see how a doll should move, I have a lot of pear shaped babies so that is how I started focusing on the bottom half and what best methods would make my plus size doll be more comfortable and manageable to pose. I’m currently on Version 2 as she needed a lot of quality of life reworks. I say print/finish sculpting and test each versions to see how the body moves and flows in and out of positions. It’s easier to see it and play with it irl Vs an in progress piece or a 3D unprinted model.

 

It might be worth fiddling with some some dollar store air dry clay on a 1/12 or small scale! Not for stringing(it's a lil delicate) but for trying a variety of ways for things to fit together/move together, it might be worth trying!
Esp since it's a new thing- fiddling about with it on a smaller scale with a working material that's (mostly) reusable when wet and is very very low cost might help!

Engineering is at least half of the bjd experience (and fun gotten from it), and drafting is usually super important, so looking at stuff like the morpho book and preexisting bjd- both chunkier as well as those which seem to balance or hold larger part proportion poses well- while fiddling around through sketching or with a stronger stringable material(tho not too expensive- creative paperclay or one of those ones people mention, maybe?) to see how parts might move together may help!

Myself been meaning to look into articulated parts- not to copy the articulation aspect, but to see how the parts involved move against each other/how the grooves handle each other and allow motion this way and that, or don't- that may help, too!

Also, nonhuman or surreal bjd build vids and pics might help. Not bc ... Nonhuman, but sometimes to work on surreal and nonhuman bjds people need to think of ways to mold joints and parts in shapes or angles to move against each other in ways that allow motion in ways other than the standard main stream dolls! (Probably!)

Idk though, just slinging ideas!

 

MorningStar has one of the best looking bodies imo, also great at posing!
https://www.instagram.com/morningstardolls?igsh=aHZqNGI5aTBrMjUx

 

This is Lily, a doll I created a while back. While you do need to work around the lack of squish, you can still get some really cute body shapes with some troubleshooting.
UnderOrange on Instagram: "It's smol Lily! She's been coming along well. Still a few small joint changes I think but overall I really like her. Apologies for the chaos background lol, I leave boxes and paper out because the cats love to play with it so much. #3dbjd #3dprintedbjd #3dsculpting"

 

I love MorningStar dolls! Last I heard they were possibly working on a 1/4 size doll. That was maybe over a year ago though.

I feel like there's definitely a limited market for chubby dolls. I feel like I've seen a bit more independent sellers prototyping chubby dolls the passed 2 years, so hopefully the popularity will continue to increase! I know personally I would love a chubby boy or a chubby MSD doll to add to my collection.

 

All these dolls are SO CUTE!!! This thread makes me so excited... I love these body shapes.

 

This pretty much sums it up.