done in super sculpy firm, but with all the wax evagalist on here am trying to do the body in carving wax... its not going well! hopefully update Flickr album by the end of the day Untitled by JetpackJumper, on Flickr
I guess I am one of the wax evangelists on this board? The first two versions of my first BJD were modeled in sculpture wax (Victory Brown, microcrystalline sculpture wax.) The third version of my first BJD is being modeled in oil-clay over an armature on a modeling stand. (Prima Plastilina Grade #2 Professional Modeling Clay) The thing is, the modeling part of making the BJD is done mainly using an additive technique, with a relatively soft modeling material. Once modeled, as far as I can take it, using the additive technique, I make molds and cast the doll parts in carving wax. Trying to model carving wax, using an additive technique is probably an order of magnitude more difficult than modeling the figure using a sculpture modeling clay/wax, then molding it, and casting it in carving wax. A further benefit of carving wax is that it may be cast hollow. Useful for tension testing. Once the figure has been cast in carving wax, the joints may be designed and tested. Carving wax is tough enough to withstand elastic tensioning, necessary for making a BJD. My first Carving Wax Test Doll has been strung for several months now (or longer?) and has been unstrung and restrung several times, and she shows no signs of cracking or distortion. I am using 3mm round doll cord elastic for test stringing. Furthermore, the carving wax may be refined until it is glass smooth. It may be cut, drilled, machined, sawn, carved, sanded, welded with a wax pen, and so forth. Once refined, the carving wax doll parts are used to make the final molds, whether plaster slip casting molds for porcelain, or silicone rubber molds for casting resin. However, as awesome as carving wax is, I would never try to model a doll, from scratch, using carving wax. The carving wax I use is a blend of 2 parts talc, 1 part paraffin, and 1 part microcrystalling wax. The talc in the mixture makes it tough, as well as keeps the mixture from shrinking too much. Carving wax is one of the most amazing design materials that I have ever encountered. The thing is, it is not a primary modeling material. It is an intermediary modeling material. The method is to do the primary modeling in a soft modeling material, then mold that original, and cast it in carving wax for refinement. The carving wax parts are used to make the second set of molds which are used to cast the doll in the final material (porcelain, resin, whatever). Sculpture wax is reusable. Oil-clay is reusable. carving wax is reusable. Furthermore, because these are traditional sculpture design materials, they are relatively inexpensive to purchase for the first time, and are relatively easy for a beginner to learn how to use. I will be able to reuse the sculpture wax, the oil-clay, and the carving wax for the rest of my sculpting life. Anyway, the head you have shown looks very good. The above advice about carving wax is to try and help you avoid trying to do primary modeling in carving wax. If I have misunderstood what you are trying to do.... nevermind. Have Fun !!! (^_^)
Hey thanks for the comments, the ears where ment to just be a placeholder for proportions but I ended up liking them Kwmelvin, you did not misunderstand I have been trying to decide what to do the primary modelling in, the choice of oil clay is not that great in the uk, so i was researching whether chavant, soft, medium or hard would be better, in the end I finally rembered that I had some soft modelling wax while I have no idea how it compares to the oil clay options, it is really easy to model with using only the heat from your hands I just don't have anough of it! In the mean time I play with the carving wax while putting together a shopping list I tried out the parafin, microcrystalline and talc recipe, unfortunately the parafin was from some supposedly 'vanilla scented' candles, in reality they smelled like old fart, that combined with the baby powder was too much for my husband! I then though I'd experiment with rosin in place of parafin and, while it is just as hard, it is like a whole different animal, it is far more likely to bend than snap and can be added to very easily, it is like glue and it stays stuck. I*don't really know anough to say which I like more, but I'm thinking about fiddling with the recipe abit more, maybe adding some*carnauba wax, to harden it some more and perhaps raise the melting point a little, ether that or get this which is already very hard and high melting point but I'm not sure so advise from a pro would be very welcome Is there a minimum size you would recommend working in? This one is about 15cm the small pieces and thin walls are making me nervous hence thinking about raising the hardness and heat resistance(from handling) or if need be just rethinking the size of the entire doll
Martha Armstrong-Hand recommends using some type of oil-clay for beginners. Do not let the word beginner scare you away from it. Professionals also use oil-clay. I switched from sculpture wax to oil-clay, and I like it very much. Chavant clay is highly regarded, and you will never regret buying it. It is reusable, and you will be able to use and reuse it for the rest of your sculpting life. I recently ran across a reference to an oil-clay called J-Mac Classic Clay which I am looking into. It seems to be somewhat less expensive than the Prima Plastilina I have been buying recently. I made a note about it in this post. Oil-clay must be modeled over some type of armature to support it. It is much too soft to support its own weight during the modeling process. As far as size goes, I would like to point you to Mothi's Just This and That blog. At the other end of the size spectrum is my own Atelier de Poupée weblog. Mothi works very tiny, and I am working at the 63cm size. Mothi also uses carving wax in her design process, and has taken several projects from start to resin. Her research is thorough and impeccable. I highly recommend reading her weblog several times. Have Fun !!! (^_^)
thanks kwmelvin it was actually mothis blog (the deer posts) that gave me the confidence to try on a smaller doll both your blogs are book marked and when Im not sculpting or sorting kids Im reading them!
The two most important decisions to make when starting to make a BJD are which materials to use, and the size of BJD you want to make. One of the the main things to consider when deciding on a modeling material for making a BJD is whether the BJD is going to be a One-Of-A-Kind, or will be reproduced in some quantity, using molds. In Learning To Be A Doll Artist by Martha Armstrong-Hand, she writes about making slip-cast porcelain BJDs, using rigid plaster molds. She starts with a soft modeling material (oil-clay), modeled over a wire armature. When she took that as far as she could, she removed the figure from the modeling stand, and cut it apart; separating the head and limbs from the torso. She made waste molds of those six parts, and cast carving wax in the waste molds. She used the carving wax parts to design the balls and sockets for the articulated dolls, as well as to test the tensioning for them. Then the carving wax parts were refined as patterns for making the final plaster molds for porcelain slip casting. Her method requires firing the porcelain BJD, then china painting the fired doll parts. After that, she assembled her dolls with swivels, springs and wire. Making and designing wigs, clothing, shoes and accessories completed her porcelain BJD-making process. Martha modeled one doll, but was able to cast several dolls from that one original. Oil-clay is reusable, but must be transitioned to carving wax (also reusable) to continue working. Well made plaster molds may be used for pulling many casts before they eventually start to lose detail. In Yoshida Style Ball Jointed Doll Making Guide, Ryo Yoshida writes about making an OOAK BJD using air-dry clay (LADOLL). He made styrofoam armature pieces, and shaped them with knives and rasps. Then he covered those styrofoam armature pieces with slabs of LADOLL. When dry, he continued modeling the parts until he had the final forms he was looking for. He removes the styrofoam armature from the parts. Balls and sockets were designed and added to the various doll parts, and they were fit together. His finished OOAK BJD was then covered with a type of Japanese gesso, make from ground sea shells, then painted. He finished his doll by designing and making a wig, stockings, and shoes. His finished doll is an OOAK BJD. LADOLL and other air-dry clays may only be used once. With Martha's Method, the refined carving wax doll parts may also be used as patterns for making silicone rubber molds for casting resin. With proper sealing, the LADOLL doll parts, made using Yoshida's Method, could also be used to make silicone rubber molds for casting resin. Old silicone rubber molds may be chopped up and used as a part of new waste molds, with the addition of some new silicone rubber, as described in Pop Sculpture, by Tim Bruckner. Another very popular modeling material for making BJDs is Polymer Clay. Fimo and Cernit are two well known brands of Polymer Clay which are often used to model the original doll figure. Various types of armature schemes are used when modeling Polymer Clay BJDs. The thing with this material is that it may be reused as many times as you like, until the doll parts are cured in an oven at a relatively low temperature. Once cured, the Polymer Clay is no longer a plastic modeling material, but becomes hard. The cured pieces may be added to, with more Polymer Clay, and may also be drilled, cut, and sanded. The Polymer Clay pieces may be baked several times without harm. Finished and cured Polymer Clay originals are usually strong enough for test stringing. Once test strung, the original parts may be used as patterns for making plaster or rubber molds. Once baked, Polymer Clay may no longer be modeled as a plastic modeling material. It is essentially, use once. Have Fun !!! (^_^)
Love the face! I think I'm developing a thing for sculpts with open mouths. The ears are really cute, too.
