I recently entered the realm of 1/12 BJDs and sculpting in that scale means that using just an x-acto knife and sandpaper doesn't cut it any more, for me. So I've been poking around the Interwebs looking for unusual sculpting tools to try out (I recently ordered a bunch from this guy , and will report back when I've had a chance to try them) and now am wondering what your favorite tools are! What tools do you use the most? What would you consider indispensable? And what creative/strange uses for tools have you guys thought up of?
My favorite tools are 2 old dentist tools my father gave me last year I'll take some pics when I'll get some time! And my X-acto :3
1. sculpting tools of your choice 2. compass drawing tool, i use it to draw perfect circles for the joints on my blueprint and also to measure the blueprint and compare it to my sculpture 3. small knife i use to sand my sculpture by scraping it, this is used for stuff that needs more sanding but not enough to use the dremmel 4. these pliers i use the yellow end part of it. They are like smaller fingers to sculpt. 5. this paint brush is used to make ball joints, i simply roll up a ball of super sculpey then i make a hole in the center with a pencil pushing the pencil all the way through the ball, after that i use the wooden end of the paint brush and push it through the ball depending on how big the ball joint is going to be 6. pvc pipe is used on arms or legs to keep them hollow while sculpting 7. fine steel wool, i use it after sanding with the sanding paper, this steel wool will make it soft and smooth 8. rubber bouncing ball i use to make the socket, where the joint connects, these balls are not used as part of the sculpture, but they are handy if you want to cast them in resin 9.elastic string bought from a fabric store, this is strong enough to hold my 65 cm super sculpey doll together and is good to test your dolls posing 10. dremel 4000, it was about $90 us dollars, there are cheaper ones as well but i chose this one because it has more ranges of speed, which means if you need a certain speed for sanding this ones for you. I use this for the heavy sanding, ill draw a circle over my sculpture where it needs to be sanded and then i take the dremmel and sand it off. 11. dremel bits there are different kinds and shapes you can change to sand or cut. 12. sand paper to sand XD 13. a big ruler for a big doll 14. styrofoam ball to make a bjd head hollow, you should wrap this up in a plastic bag before sculpting on it, otherwise you wont be able to get the ball out, plus you can use it over an dover again! 15. bjd blueprint, the first thing you should do before sculpting at all! believe me i learned this the hard way, if you don't follow your blueprint then your doll will probably be bigger than you planned or joints will be in the wrong places. I also recommend to start with the simple body shapes and then start working on jointing right away, don't focus on the body details yet because you might need to move a joint or maybe the belly button is too high D: so leave the details for last c:
I have a set of these: View attachment 255 ... really useful as they're slightly squishy so they have a little bit of give to them. They come in different firmnesses, too, so you can get ones that are matched to the kind of clay you're using.
@HystericalParoxysm oh yes! i saw those on a video, those are amazing! i completely forgot about those!
Yup, I use those too. I also have a set of steatite chizels, since I mostly carve, instead of adding clay. Really, I love these and they come in a lovely Chinese looking box, like my personal treasure box: And last but not least I have two tools who are damaged (the tips got bent after they took a fall of the table) and turn out to be incredibly useful in their current state!
thank you so much everybody for your input! Everyone's stuff looks so cool, I'll have to check them all out. (swear to god, I use up more storage space for art supplies than for clothes)
I just re-followed your new tumblr today I'm excited to see your projects continue. The little lady you're working on - she's 1/12th? As for tools, I've found I use a 1mm double-pointed knitting needle quite a lot for detail work. I should probably invest in some of the things mentioned here!
aw thanks aneemal! She is indeed 1/12 and she's a lot further along now. Dang I never thought of using knitting needles-- I have a few lying around I could try out...
so this is probably old news for some of you (maybe all of you, maybe all of you have been hiding this miraculous secret from me) but I just found out about dapping blocks View attachment 256
Haha sorry about that-- for clarification, dapping blocks are a jeweler's tool used to shape metal into spheres. But they are perfect for what we do! They also come in different shapes and sizes-- just google 'dapping tools'
I've come up with this neat little solution (though I say so myself ) to work on finer details of the face. I think it's called "clutch" mechanic pencil and instead of the graphite stick I use the tiny dremel tools. Those pencils come with various diameter clutches, so you can find one that fits your dremel bits.
DAPPING BLOCKS, I never even thought of that. That is an awesome ides for doing the joints. I do a lot of my detail work with paint brushes, on polymer clay, La Doll clay and also cleaning my porcelain greenware.
