Update 4/2/08 - new heads, hands+casting - "Tier-in-Mir" - 60cm Humanimanoid Doll

Thanks all for the kind words!

So, things are coming along in my casting and moldmaking class. Damn, it’s a hard, problem/mistake-filled, expensive business, no wonder those people get paid so much! XD Whhaaggg!

I am almost intimidated by how many people seem to want one already! (she is not even done being sculpted yet!) XDD *feels all pressured* I’m going to try my best! I feel a little pioneer-y as it is (*looks at Nixie, who stares back with a “what?” kind of expression*). But as I said before, if all goes well I should have the first cast doll by the end of May to hand in for finals (last day of the semester is May 31). I’ll then get to work on casting more when I get home for summer *hauls all the molds back home* But I doubt I’ll be able to cast/prepare them with much speed *I am just one woman…and new to this…Donn has a Bishonen-House team and is awesome at what he does and look at the limited number they make*…so I expect big waiting lists ^^; *apologizes*

Technically for our final project in the class we are supposed to do a figure that is ourselves (body proportions and head). He said as long as I make a head that looks like my face for it was okay….cause he liked the BJD idea and how passionate I was for it. So LOL I’ll have a optional human-ish head for the body that will look like me! *laugh* I doubt many of you will want one of THOSE, (I’ll make the Tokala heads etc as well) but you never know, might turn out cute.

Some more good questions: !

Tails would be sewn fabric, either ultrasuede for something like a tiger, or fluffy for a fox. They attach through a hole in the butt and will be removable (will attach with a little S-hook and elastic loop, that is how Nixie's tail is). I really want to buy some real fox tails for something like that, you can get them pretty cheap. Nixie’s tail is a dyed coyote! I love the look/feel of the real fur, but I’m sure not all buyers would be comfortable with that, lol. XD Maybe for those who want it.

Prices are still way up in the air, I have not begun making the molds yet, heck she is still being sculpted! X3 But I was saying that prices would not be above standard prices of a 24 in doll (she is exactly 24 inches tall herself with head, even if she looks much taller in pics, she really is the height of a standard SD ). So like 400-ish for a body and 80-100 for a head. I would indeed ship to England but shipping will be a lot more I guess… XD; and we’ll need to figure out some way of payment.

I was going to do white and maybe some light blues and earthy reds, as for skin color - I wanted to get away from that, as these are animal-ish looking BJD!

Indeed, she is elastic like any BJD. I’d love for her legs to be bent when standing, but because of the weight/size of a 24 inch doll I don’t think they will be Maybe for future designs, I can make some kind of locking system (damn that would be some fancy locking system, LOL) Her ankle will have a slight angle built into it so it will mimic the look of that. She is a little more ‘human-ish’ anthro than like that MysticUnicorn’s anthro doll. When sitting tho she can have a lovely ankle bend.

I do have (even more plans!... I’m crazy…) for a “Tierinmir Zauberin” (“Animal in me fairy”) who is like ‘chibi animal doll’ X33 who I am designing legs like that of anthro fursuiters, where there is a buildup on the thigh and ankle, so the elastic will be STRAIGHT but the leg looks bent! I’ll post pics of plans for that later.

 

Thank you muchley! X33 I still have lots to do. I am re-doing her lower leg part (not the foto tho, I love her foot X3 ) cause I feel her calfs need more definition.

In fact, if you were looking for an equine, Mysticunicorn is working on a equine anthro doll at this same time, I'm not sure of the size of it, I think it's 1/3 or 1/4 scale though. Check out her thread here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105088

 

Lil update - Work is coming along, I'll post some pics when I have her basecoated with white and looking a little nicer. X3 Mmm...sanding and putty, fun stuff... XD I am re-doing her calf leg part methinks, I am adding some scupted fur detailing on that part as well as on her lower arms.

I also calculated the number of molds there will be - about 17. That's even with using the same arms for L and R, knee joints, and foot bottom. Weee. XD

I ordered my Oomoo silicone and Smoothcast 305 today, (OUCH damn this hobby is expensive XDD ) hope that's enough. I most likely will need more silicone, I doubt a 1 gallon kit will cut it, but I'll wait and see (I can always order more...I'd rather not have moore than I need). I love the bright white look of the resin I chose (we were using it in class, and I liked how it looked). Most likley the 1 gallon kit should be enough for one doll. (when I say gallon kit that is 2 gallons total, as there is a gallon of each half of the mix).

I have pretty much come to the resolve of "I WILL finnish this doll for this class if it kills me".

 

There is going to be a lot of work done in this next week, as if I am to finish this by May 31 I need to start making the molds next week. I really can’t wait to see her done! And I’m looking forward to sharing her with those looking to have this wild sweetie in their dollie family. I’ll be making other heads if Tokala doesn’t strike your fancy, so stay tuned for that this summer.

Sculpted fur on the lower arm, which will also be on her lower legs (calfs)



The ever popular awesome feet, looking much better now that it is cleaned up and stuff:


Her right hand:



To keep in line with the project I needed to make a head with my face on it, so here is the “Nyssa” head…. XDD;;



I’ll have animal-ish ears, they are just not made yet. The head looks a little large on the body just cause the face is wider than the Tokala head, but they are THE SAME SIZE I swear, and the Tokala head looks almost smallish. It’s so weird. XD When she s all together the humanish head will look in good proportion I’m sure.
If people are interested I will sell some of the “Nyssa” head, as I’ll have the mold for it. X33 Might look good on some other 60cm doll bodies.


Also, this is the look of the resin.



These are some pieces I’ve made in the casting class. It’s a nice flat white, I’m liking it. The kunai is for a cosplay outfit and was a personal project actually, I’ll need to get some pics of the mold, it was done with dragonskin as a split mold, and look/feels so awesome. This casting thing is kinda addictive. Time consuming and expensive as hell, but rewarding and satisfying.

 

I thought up an uber awesome way for making a pose-able, detachable tail:



(Oh yea leg idea on there too, ignore that... XD; ) I can put on a fur or cloth tail this way. Nixie's tail is put on with a simialr method just her's is an elastic loop glued to the tail and then S-hooked into thr hole in her back, this method will make it more posable and possible to switch out tails much easier.

Two more parts to cast but they are small and easy, so no huge deal...


Oh yes and this is how she'll look for my project (IE my grade *lol* But she is so being kept to be friends with Nixie afterwards: http://www.geocities.com/the_fider/Art/TierinmirIP_Nyssafinal.JPG (Pic was a bit big so it's a link) I dunno what I'll name her (She'll have my head... XD) , but I'm turning the body into a white tiger. Black wool hair and ultrasuede tail of course:

 

That won't be finalized until after she is all cast (I still don't know how much resin it will take to cast her) and how much labor is involved in clean-up, casting...and the price of elastic / boxes to ship her in / fabric for padding pillows (I am but a lone artist XD; )...

She'd be no more than a typical 60 cm doll tho, what I've been saying is $400 for a body (finnished and strung) and $80 for a blank head, as that seems fair. (I will be making a tiger and other animal heads as well this summer too ).

This doesn't include the tail assembly with basic tail (a blank white ultrasuede, nice 'n' long tiger-style tail the owner could easily paint / airbrush it to their liking, as ultrasuede takes acrylics well). I was thinking of making that an optional part (for like $20) unless you all would want that standard? (She will be cast with an indent in her lower back for it, but I will be drilling the hole post-casting).

For those interested in stripes, spots, or other body detailing I am an airbrush artist . I'm sure a lot of you have seen Nixie, and also the Dollzone body paintjob / head commisson I did on Baron (face closeup) . Later when I cast some blushish, redish, or brownish bodies I could do other markings. I Would not reccomend a full body color (like on baron) cause the paint will chip off in the joints over time. But I could do areas of color. *excited about the possibilities*

 

Just some progress pics for people who wanna see what's up.

I re-made her leg, still is not complete but you can see already how it's much more shapley. Also here is her completed arm and hands.


Completed arm, showing how it can bend outwards a bit without a double shoulder or elbow, due to a notch put into the joint (an idea I came up with The leg is getting a similar extra notch to let her cross her legs.


The hands can interlock and I found this amusing... XD cause it was not done on purpose.

The wooden balls are like IMPOSSIBLE to drill through. I'll have to wait intill after casting to see how they pose. I am avoiding using the wooden balls on the other pieces, and am making sculpey balls of the same size instead. The wood balls are still being useful tho, as I am using them to shape the socket part of the joint, so that part will be round so when I put in the sculpey ball it will conform to the roundness. ^_^


The "Nyssa" head for the porject is complete, just needs sanding and priming....but for now she looks kinda cute I think.

 

The tail assembly works! X33 I ish proud. It poses beautifully and I can't wait to see it in action on the final doll. It uses the worlds smallest elastic loop. XDD (like only an inch big)



This is it showing some poses, the tail is just a quick crappy muslin test, ignore it's shortness/ugliness. XD;; The tail is unwired (just lightly stuffed), so it's plently floppy but holds down or up poses based on how the assembly moves.



And without the tail it looks rather...umm.... *cough* well you can guess what my roomate thought it looked like. *laugh*

 

Thanks everyone! ^///^

Thank you! And LOL a friend of mine said that too. Seriously tho my face looks like that. XD I am a little androygenous if you are not paying attention. (Here is a pic of me with my hair up for example: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/51809243 ). I have plans to lots-o-animal heads of course , I had to do this human head for the project. All in good time.

I am actully doing her legs more human-straightish, not per-say to stand while anthro-bent, but she may turn otu to be able to. I am making her ankle/lower calf come back to a point with some slight angling to create the LOOK of that (also cause of the elongated ankle) it's hard to describe, but yes you shall see when it's done! And you're making a FAWN?! I gotta see this as well!! *love*

 

Haha well, I tried the best I could, I never was too good with portraits, 2D or 3D . I'm kind of glad it is not exactly like me, that would be kinda creepy. XDD *laugh*

You can indeed look forward to some awesome animal heads! Next after the stylized-fox-mask look of Tokala I have some realistic-style heads in line to be made. There will be a Tiger head "Rajah" and a fox head "Vulpine".

 

I demolded by first four molds (The hands / the head / headcap ) and they worked out fine! I still gotta do test casts but I'm so happy they came apart and everything! *never done 2-part silicone molds* I also did some split molds for the foot bottom and the tail assembly (TINY little molds, lol) Next will be the arm and upper torso. The legs are all sculpted and look fun, I'll post pics when they are alls sanded/primed. They look long but are the same length as my Dollfie Dream's legs, funny enough XD not done on purpose. Just her long ankle part I guess (her calfs are shorter to accomadate this)

Annoyingly the resin I got seems to be kind of bubbly, not horrible by any standards but not to my liking *wants mostly bubble free*. It's the humid weather in Savannah, and since it is the kind that sets longer (30 minute demold time) I was told it should have LESS bubbles cause they have tiem to escape, but as it turns out it just leaves more time for humidty to attack it. I guess I WILL be getting some 300Q for when I sell some castings so I can get nice bubble-free resin. ^^ But I'll be making my own first doll with it cause It's what I got and I am not wasting a 70 dollar gallon kit of resin.

Still a CRAP load of work to be done (lots of moldss....ahhh!)

Thanks much!

*nods* Super Sculpey is MUCH firmer than normal sculpey, and if you want even firmer go for Sculpey Firm (that is gray in tone, so it's easy to see the imperfections without a primer layer). Even so, Super Sculpey does get soft when worked for a long time, so I either put it down and come back later or stick it in the fridge for like 30-60 minutes to get it cooled down (this works very nicely).

 

Thank you! ^///^

...

Holy Ooomoo Batman! XD Here was the first batch of molds, which came out!! I am so happy! Lots more to do but I am just excited my first 2 part molds worked out! (There were also two little split molds for the tail assembly / foot plate not shown).

So a little picture recap of the process:

This is where I like to work, over at the college sculpture building, to keep all the mess / toxic cemicals out of my room at my dorm. XD I was working on a weekend so it was like deserted.


The moldboxes! With about 1/2" to no less than a 1/4" of space to either side /top/ bottom. Tons of hot melt glue, gotta make sure the silicone can't leak out! I put on pour spouts using plastline clay (you could also use sculpey or whatever).


Before you cast - seal all your stuff with an acrylic sealer!! This prevents sulfer contamination / gives your pieces an even surface and acts also as a final-last-resort barrier i ncase your silicone magically sticks to your pieces.


Building up the waterclay! I like to put it on around it OUT of the box, then put it in and add more to make it go to the walls, that way you can get it niece and accurate aganist the piece and not struggle inside the box.


Some time later, (It's soooo annyoing getting the pieces clean from the clay, with a damp tissue and a brush you can but still, ug). the waterclay is prepared with gasket and a few keys. The gasket acts as a key so I really didn't need the extra bumps. Too many keys makes it hard to get your mold apart. Too few makes it not register (go back together).


Silicone all poured! X3


THE NEXT MORNING

Time to wash out that clay. UG that took foreverr.....(this pic shows it after digging out a lot of it) Then you go at it with a brush / facuet to get out the little bits. Even with a brush and running it under water it loves to stick into corners. Oh well.


(Some time later) All clean! After a coat of acrylic sealer (so the second pour doesn't stick to the other silicone half) I poured the second halfs.

 

A look at two of the molds. This one is a tiny split mold (of the foot plate), which is done by investing your piece in a full block of silicone then cutting it out with a razor in a fashion that makes it easy to get in / out (This method only works for fairly simple pieces) . You want to cut it a bit jaggy like that so it registers for casting.


The mold for one of the hands. I thought it looked cool so I took a pic.


Today I did some first casts! The first cast seasons the mold, and gets out any little bits of junk from the casting process. So these don't look as good as the subsequent castings will (you can't see it in the pics but there are some tinnyy clay bitzles imbeded in the face.) I Was also soooooo happy there were NO bubbles!! My resin is fine, it's just cause it was humid last time I was using it so it created bubbles. The humidy really makes a difference!

The pieces prior to clean up, as you ca nsee they still have their cups attached.


The head cleaned up! Awee....she's cute. X3




And one of the hands. With drilled part to put S-hook. I did it a little shallow, I'll drill deeper in next time. XD


WHEW that was a lot, back to casting, hope you all enjoy the progress pics!

 

Thank you ! I'm excited too. X3 The Nyssa head is in fact me... (My name is Nyssa and I look kinda like that). It's weird, but I had to do it to keep at least somewhat in line with the final project in casting class.

Sculpting hands is a pain but they are so beauitful, so it's fun to do. I am pleased with it as well, the tail assembly! It could be adapted to almost any doll body really, just drill an intent in the back and attach it with an S-hook/elastic loop. I should sell them seprately or something.

Squeee! !

I'm doing it similar to how Donn shows it in his mini tutorial: http://www.bishonenhouse.com/items/information/moldmaking/list.htm?1=1 With a plug in the bottom and you drill the neck hole / arm holes later (leave indents so you know where to drill).

Thank you! X3


...

Just wanted to show the NEW leg (completly redone). Much nicer and with sculpted fur! It even stands on it's own with no elastic, LOL! Must be well balanced or somwthing. The thigh is still unbaked in this pic (the other parts are baked). Unintentionaly it has a slight curve to it in the calf, I think it baked a little crooked, but it still locks in place snugly and everything so no complaints here. XD lol Also, the thigh does NOT look that long in person, damn photos screw things up sometimes as you know. Also her legs are the same length as a Dollfie Dream's (unintentionaly). They just LOOK big.


The locking assembly in the ankle, like the locking mechanism in some doll knees. I have since this photo carved the bump to a more notch shape, but it's the same idea.

 

No problem! Donn's has a hip joint actully (low down one), mine has a middle torso joint (as seen in the pics on first post of this thread). I have since sanded and primed that same torso and it looks nice. I like having a torso joint so they can slouch / turn their upper body.

 

Thanks so much! I am glad if I helped with anything. X33 Do you want me to post any more process pics on the upcoming molds?

Hey Kat! I forgot you were on DoA too lol! , *puts on buddy list* I'm glad you like! She looks so much more fun in person. This summer you so have to come over and see the molds and stuff (or help me out, as you offered ) . I have more project ideas that I wanna cast, maybe you can watch 'n' learn / assist? Or maybe desin a BJD animal head and I can cast it for you.