After a week's worth of staying up late with the smokes of styrofoam and dust from sanding the clay, My supposed to-be first doll Charlina Fera crushed :dead, Her torso was unbalanced as well as her legs and arms. I need help in making the cores even, It always appear good at one side and bad in the other side. *Sigh* I hope my doll's soul won't haunt me
As far as I know, styrofoam is cut using profiles traced from your working drawing. Your working drawing consists of two views: front and side. Each view is traced 5mm or 6mm smaller than the outside line of each part. On a piece of styrofoam, put a profile from each view, on the sides of the styrofoam. Then cut out each view. These profiles may be flipped to make right and left doll parts. By using the same profiles, and flipping them over, you should obtain symmetry. Using the same profiles, and flipping them over for right and left, you should get get the same size. I do not know of any easy way to do this. It is a craft skill, and as such, you may need to practice to get good at it. I have also heard of using metal or bamboo skewers to strengthen the styrofoam limbs. Reference: Yoshida Style Ball Jointed Doll Making Guide (2006).
I see, I did not quite understand tha aimi doll tutorial. I have been looking for books that gives instruction in making BJDs, Is the Yoishida Style Guide available in English?
The free online Aimi-Doll tutorial is very close to the Yoshida Style book. There was an English text translation of the Yoshida Style book, done by members of Den of Angels, but the link to it no longer works. The translation was only text, for people who own the Japanese version of the book. There are no pictures in the English translation, so I do not think the text-only translation would help very much without the pictures in the book.
I'll just look for other bjd making books. I need reference books to help me, so I would not make the same mistakes again.
I have a PDF somewhere of the Yoshida translation if you decide to buy the book (translation is not much use without the pictures). Otherwise looking at the WIP pics of projects around the Joint might give you a better idea too. Trial and error is how most of us achieve our results, I think.
BJD making References Your best reference book will be a studio notebook that you keep for yourself. I am using a weblog to journal my BJD making progress. And yeah, I also note my mistakes and failures as well as my successes, for all the world to see. Besides the threads here at The Joint, there are also some links to BJD Tutorials: http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3942 As far as actual books go, there just haven't been too many printed in dead tree form. 1. Learning To Be A Doll Artist. Martha Armstrong-Hand. (1999) Details the making of porcelain BJDs by one of America's finest doll makers. Includes plaster mold making tutorial, working with carving wax, wig making, clothing making, shoe making, etc. Currently out-of-print and unavailable except at absurd prices. 2. Yoshida Style Ball Jointed Doll Making Guide. Ryo Yoshida. (2006) Details making an OOAK BJD using styrofoam core armatures and air-dry clay. Includes wig making tutorial, making artificial eyes and teeth, making shoes. There is no mold making in this book. This is a 138 page book in Japanese, highly illustrated. It originally appeared in HOBBY JAPAN magazine starting in October 2004 as a serial for 19 issues. This book is the magazine articles with extra photos and information added. There is an English text translation available, translated by members of Den of Angels. 3. Zen & The Art Of Articulating Dolls By Using Balljoints. Therese Olsen. (2007) PDF Workshop Notes from BJD Artist Retreat 12-14 OCT 2007. This is the most comprehensive workbook about making joints for BJDs. 23 pages of pure unadulterated content. 4. Production Basics BJD [Mook]. Ootake Miyako. (2010). This is a 36 page mook (magazine-book) in Japanese. From what I've heard, there are not the step-by-step pictures like there are for the Yoshida Style book. It is said that if you aren't making any mistakes, you probably aren't doing anything.
Thank you for the list, I'll look for time to search this 4 books in my local library or if lucky, to purchase one. It is really hard fitting in the time to make this project, there is too much work to be done in sooo little time (school is really busy now)
#3. You won't find in a library. It's a PDF download, it will be available again soon, once I get my new site up.
I see, Thanks for the information, Can't wait to see your site and maybe purchase a doll :-) . I just bought a big pack of styrofoam blocks (backup and stock for the future use). I am going to resume this project on the summer.
My (unfinished) WIP thread might help-- I took pictures of the core-making process. http://www.denofangels.com/joints/showthread.php?t=3469
*Alewife* Your thread is really informative, I'm resuming this project in the summer, I plan to cut the legs, the torso, and the arms separately though.
I got through it using just a scalpel and a saw, then lining them up to the plans first from the front, then from the side. What've you been doing? EDIT: Alewife's core is the best I've seen D:
I was following the pictures in the aimi doll tutorial, I cut through the sides first, the side that I cut through looks like the way I traced it, but when you go to the other side it looks a little bit distorted.
Thanks so much for that link Alewife. I've been trying t find another core tutorial that showed the torso and legs being done together.
Are there any updates on the books for bjd making? Could the pdf of the English translation of the Yoshida book be posted here, please?
