20–39cm Dolls Ushurz the Ork

I've allways wanted to make an ork doll to go with my other dolls. I prefer the old school game type ork (think classic War Hammer miniatures and War Craft 1 and 2) to the modern "painted human" ones (like the LOTR movies and WoW) and so this is what I will try to make.

This guy will be about 26cm tall and is intended to look good next to the other tinies I've made.


This will likely be a slow burning long term project. As you see the sketch is very rough and there are a LOT of things that needs figuring out.
The plan is to start out by making a simplified version in papier maché first and figure out the joints on that. I have no idea how some of them will work yet and I am very curious to se if I can get any meaningful ammount of poseability out of him at all. This means long drying times, something I usually avoid, but the materials are dirt cheap and easy to use and there is nothing keeping me from doing other doll projects paralel with this one.

So far I have only just begun building the base.


I made the armature from cardboard. This was then bulked out using crumpled up newspaper and masking tape. On top of that I have started to make the papier maché shell using newspaper and wall paper glue. There is no head yet and I will leave the hands for later as well.

 

I've added several layers of newspaper to the whole body and an extra layer or two around the joint areas. This gives me a rock hard ork-shaped... thing. I've also given the whole body a thin layer of white paint to make him a bit easier on the eyes.


I have started on a rough head. This is not going to be the final head, but more of a rough placeholder to give me a feel for size and proportion as well as a starting point for figuring out how to part the head and how to keep it on. I don't yet know if there is going to be room enough for an S-hook or if I have to use something else. Beacuse of his head being mostly face and very little else, a faceplate system is probably going to be the only viable choice for how and where the split will be.


Today I'm going to start cutting his body apart and start on the joints!

 

Thank you! The ork-concept is something I've wanted to make for a very long time, but I had originally intended to make him in 1/4-size and had to abandon it because the size was just too big. But now that I have the little dolls it's worth trying it again.
I was also inspired by @ASlipInTime and their talk about papier maché, reminding me that it is in many ways a pretty neat material for dolls.

 

This is what I've done yesterday and today.

I cut him apart at the waist and the upper thigh, "liberating" the pelvis part of the doll.
I used a tennis ball covered in foil to make the waist joint ball and once dried I attached it to the upper body.


I made a second one to form the cup part of the joint and trimmed and fitted it into the pelvis.
I've also started on the thigh joints, but those will require some work.
There is an inherent problem of the joints getting in each others way. I could make the waist more shallow, but I really like the how much movement there is there and how dynamic poses it is possible to get from that joint alone. But on the other hand, if the thighs are too shallow that will limit his movements.
This is one of the problem areas that made me decide to make this test doll in the first place. I just can't figure it out on paper; I need to hold the pieces and be able to play around with the shapes.

 

These thigh joints are tricky. There is just no room.

So far I've added the cups and they are acctually in contact with the cup of the waist joint. For movement I think it may work, but there is very little room to lead the elastic through the piece, so we'll se how I solve that.

 

Any time!

Today I've worked on the shoulders.

 

Thank you all very much! It is a callenge to work on a doll with unusual shape and proportions, but it's fun too.

 

I'm so happy people like him!

It is possible to make a paper pulp from newspaper. The process is much the same as with toilet paper, but it does take a bit longer for it to soak and it takes a lot more work to make it smooth-ish. But in return a newspaper pulp will be a lot stronger and more resiliant to humidity once dried, so it's a trade-off. It's worth experimenting with other types of paper as well.

I use pulp to reinforce tight places and to smooth things out and fill in cracks. For this project I use a 50/50 mix of PVA glue and water and mix in ground up paper until the consitency is right. The result is very similar to egg cartons to look at, but it is a lot denser. It works best when used as a filler, smoothed over the surface in thin layers and allowed to dry in between. If used too thickly it takes forever to dry and the surface often crack and warp. The surface is rough when dry, but can be sanded very smooth. (This same pulp works great in plaster molds, but I don't think I will be using that technique in this project.)

The armature worked very well. I have used the method before for sculptures and I wasn't sure I would be able to remove it from the inside once the body was cut apart, but it worked out. I have reinforced the parts on the inside as needed and everything have been able to hold it's shape after the armature and padding was gone.

After several false starts I finally have an idea for what to do with the elbow joint, so I've started on that.
I have also worked a lot on his upper torso joint.


I have sculpted a pair of rough hands. Same idea as the head. I used polymer clay as I am a lot faster with that and it's easier to get smaller shapes right quickly. For now their only pupose is to give me something in the right size and shape to play around with as well as give me something to hook the elastic to when test stringing.
I also made a wooden sword for the same purpose. Just a prop to give him something to pose with as he gains some mobility. And, an unarmed ork seem somehow indecent.

 

Well, let's see if I can clarify a bit.

The majority of the "shell" is done using newspaper, but not in the form of pulp. Instead I used the old paper strips+glue technique. This gives a strong, hard and thin shell that I then cut open and remove any armarture and padding and separate the parts. Keeping the parts thin, open and empty when possible helps a lot to keep drying times down.

The pulp I use is mostly used to reinforce parts that are dificult to get strips of paper into and in a few places I use it to smooth out the surface a bit. The paper I use for the pulp in this case is pre-ground and bought from a hobby supplies store. I use it because it saves a lot of time and it is pretty affordable. But it is possible to use newspaper to make a pulp as well. Use the same recipies as for toilet paper and just let the paper soak for longer and be prepared to work it a bit more before the paper breaks apart. Some people use a blender to speed this up.
This youtube channel I mentioned before has a lot of recipies and tips, including on how to use newspaper to make a pulp or clay.
https://www.youtube.com/c/UltimatePaperMache/videos

In either case it's worth to note that since I work basically in a thin shell, not with a solid block, very little material is used. I have still not used up a full newspaper (and this happens to be a locally printed, mostly adds, free type of paper, not a full proper daily news-thing). A little goes a long way.

Oh, yes, the gender thing... You know, to be perfectly honest I have not even decided if this ork is a mamal or if I should go the fungus-rout a la Warhammer.
I don't use tumblr and wasn't aware of that trend, but thats pretty cool. I tend to think of him as a male, so I lean towards mamal. But I suppose I don't have to make the final decision until it is time for finer details.

 

I... Just... Wow.
I'll add that to the image of a group of goblins singing "animal crackers". (Happend before a larp a few years ago, that song will never be the same again.)

Edit to add:
I have done the first light test stringing to see if his wrist and elbow works and while there is a lot left to do, as a proof of concept it works great.

 

Thanks!
I have some prior experience. I've finished two BJD projects all the way to (home)casting before and one head I've had professionally cast. I've also made a variaty of art dolls in different materials through the years and I came in to this via an interest in antique dolls and that helps a lot with getting an idea of what has been done before and how.
For sculpting orks specifically I don't have a lot of experience, but I do build and paint miniatures for war gaming and that has helped a bit with the thee dimentional aspects.
So I'm not a professional by any means, but I am also not entirely new to this.

Roadblocks? Hmmm... not really. Yet, anyway. There are a few problem areas, as mentioned before in this thread, but I expected those. Hopefully I'll figure it out.

 

I've started to refine the surface on some of the parts.


I have also started on the legs. If started cutting apart the right leg, started on the ankle joint and I've started a pair of feet, as the feet of the original shell were too far from the desiered finished shape.

 

Here is a picture of the upper arms side by side. The left one if right after the shoulder joint is added, but no other work had been done on the outside. The right one has been sanded and carved.


I am working on a pair of feet. This is how far I've goten so far, but they need a few more layers before they are ready for finer shaping.


And lastly, an experiment. When I carved the right arm there were some spots where I went through the shell and in and of itself that's not a big problem, just push in some paper pulp, wait for it to dry and go on sanding. The problem is that each one takes time to dry and it adds up fast. So I'm thinking that if I can get a warning when I'm getting close to going through, I could easier plan for any reinforcements and do several at once, where needed.
So on the right leg I'm testing this: After the bulk of the reinforcing layers are added to the inside, I painted a layer of blue paint and then added a few final layers of paper strips.
If this works the way I intend it, the blue should become visible whenever I sand deep and I will the get a heads-up that there is only a few layers left.

 

Iv'e been working a bit more on the existing joints and I think I'm on the right track. I've also done a lot of general reinforcing and refining.

I have started on the kneejoint for the right leg.


And I keep on adding to the feet. This is a very slow method, but I wanted to try it anyway. This is a prototype after all and the more I learn from it, the better.


How to get the joints in the pelvis to play nice is still a mystery, though. There is not a lot of room and If I want to be able to use whatever I come up with for a cast ork later I need to think about that as well. I'd prefer to be able to cast it in one piece with as little work as possible after casting. I think I will have to keep the elastic from the legs in one piece separate from the upper body, since the angles are so very exreeme. But what will the upper body attatch to in the pelvis? I still think it's possible, I just haven't figured it out yet.

 

I'll look into that, it does sound interesting. Thanks for the tip.

 

First test stringing of the right leg!


I have started on the left leg and I am working on the left arm.

The RealFee-method for the pelvis won't work, since the hook is sticking up and thus would limit the mobility of the joint and put the pivot point in the wrong place, I need to figure out something that allow the elastic to go into the pelvis in a fixed spot.
Right now I'm leaning towards making som sort of internal piece in the pelvis. I wanted to avoid that to keep the number of piece down, but it may be the best way. Now I try to figure out som cleaver way to shape it so that I don't have to glue it in place permanently, as that would make stringing tricky, but still keep it in place securely when the doll is posed and handled.
The upside of an internal piece is that I can possibly use it to lead the elastic more or less by any path I want and that should make it possible to string the legs and torso in one piece after all.
This plan may still change many times before I get there.

And an update to the qustion on roadblocks: DUST!
This is so far the main disadvantage of this material. I can't be wet sanded and the dust is so light it flies away and gets every where. I sculpt and cast in the same room and now I have a serious problem with molds I thought was clean and ready for casting, suddenly need cleaning and resetting. And surfaces, tools, bottles on shelves, need constant cleaning. I do have a heavy duty vaccum cleaner I can rigg up when sanding, but it is very loud and much of the dust still gets away.

 

Thanks!
Funny thing about feet. I used to really dislike sculpting feet. Their anatomy is just as complpex as hands, but they are rarely in focus and on a fuly dressed doll rarely ever seen, it felt pointless to put so much work into them. But now I rather enjoy sculpting feet. Even if they are not in focus, they are an important part of the whole and I find the anatomy interesting rather than tedious.
Am I getting old?

 

I don't know if I will finish this guy this year, he is a bit of a background project. I have another doll project coming up!
But yes, I hope this year will be a bit more productive. I miss the deadlines of conventions and showing off my thigs in real life. I miss the days when you could simply go to a store and buy high quality vinyl gloves and dust masks, now everything good is constantly sold out.
May 2021 be a better doll year all around!

 

A lot of what is happening with this project right now is the kind of things that don't make good pictures. Mostly it's been work on the inside and doing the same thing to the left side of him that has already been done to the right side.

I have made the decision to reverse the ankle joint on the left side to see witch I like better. So, here is an uninspiring picture of a rough, unstrung, left leg:


And here is a picture of both arms strung:

 

Thanks @Teddy
I'm learning alot on this project. How well this guy comes out is still left to be seen, but if nothing else I'm sure my future dolls will be better for it. And I'm having fun!

 

Thanks! It's always difficult to know witch parts to photograph and post. When working on it I tend to forget to take pictures and even when I do I second guess myself.
I keep thinking that "this stage is just more of the same" "No way anyone is going to be interested in seeing this." "I just spent two hours shaping this joint opening, but since I took no photo of it before; an 'after' picture is useless and besides how do I photograph how much better the joint feels now?"
I will try to post pictures a bit more often, though. It's useful for me as well to be able to go back and see how the project evolve.

 

@Ligaya24 Thank you.

Today I strung the whole doll for the first time!

The right side is a lot more refined than the left and most of his joints are still very limited. Many of them are barely "joints" at all right now, as the movement in them is mostly limited to a bit of rotation, but it's a start. And it's great to see him in one piece, even if it's just for a short time. And despite those limitations and the fact that the elastic used is super light, he stands by himself without too much trouble.

Bonus poses:

 

@Teddy and @deadish Take a classical monster type, use words like "lovely" and "gorgeous" to describe it = My kind of people!

@CranberriArts Do it!
And yes, he is pretty sturdy. If I ever go as far as casting he is going to have to be, because this guy will be very top-heavy! I try to plan for it already by making sure all his joints have as large surfaces as possible to create enough friction. I will also make very sure that his stringing channels are wide enough and positioned correctly to allow for thick elastic, because it's so frustration to have a doll that need stronger elastic and not be able to fit it in there (looking at you, JID muscle type).

In other news: I think I have decided on the traditional joint type for the ankle, with the ball attaced to the foot part, rather than the leg. It simply makes more sense from an enginering perspective. The line may not be as elegant, but the friction AND mobility will be better and how often do you get both of those at once?
I am also considering an additional foot joint, so that the front part of the foot can move a little bit like the Magical Angel foot can. I think that would help a lot with walking poses, but that is still very much in the planning stage. I will probably make him som polymer clay test-feet to try things out before I make up my mind.

 

As a general rule I dislike locking joints. The rarely work as intended and often force the joint into one or more set positions, making the joint snappy and making fluid motions and in-between poses impossible. I have also noted that they often seem like and afterthought and a workaround for a poorly constructed joint. There certainly is a time and place for them, but I'd rather keep it to a minimum.
I hope the hunched pose won't be a problem, but if it does, it will probably be his ankles that give out first, as they have the smallest joint surface as well as a lot of force on one side. His thighs, may become a problem, but those joints are not finished enough to tell for sure. His knees will probably be fine, that is a simple rounded hinge joint (it bends one direction only, no rotation) making it very stable and as an extra precaution I have intentionally made it just slightly unbalanced by moving the channel for the elastic forward just a tiny bit, making the leg favor it's straightest prosition juuuuust a little. That way, when there is a load on his leg, the friction in the joint actually increases as the leg is bent and the elastic is stretched. Taken too far, this would make a joint that wont stay bent without the load, but I think I can make it work. And that's what experimentation is for!

 

After reversing the right ankle joint and doing about a million little adjustments, mostly to the joints, I strung him again today.

I took the opportunity to have some fun with him and posed him with one of my previous tinies to see if his size and proportions are still good. It's one thing to make something that looks about right in the blueprint and quite another how it looks once it's a three dimentional shape, after all. And I love him!


My current plan for this guy is to finish him as an artist doll for now and hopefully come back to the project later and make a castable version. Right now there are still a few things I need to figure out, not least among them is how to handle the resin colour. I simply don't have the facilities to cast in any proper ork colours right now. The most saturated I can manage with any level of consitency is pale pastels and flesh tones. Nothing even remotely greenskin-green or even a more natural khaki. So a finished version would have to wait anyway.
So the plan is to finish this guy as he is and have a fun doll to play with untill my casting skills and equipment catches up.

To do list:
*Widen the slits in his ankle joints and hands.
*Resculpt hands bigger. (And better.)
*Fill in the shoulder joints to force the elastic into the correct position.
*Left elbow needs a bit of material removed from the upper arm part.
*Either sculpt a new head, or fix the inside of the current one so it stays in place and can take a tighter elastic tenstion.
*Elongate the holes where the elastic comes out of the lower torso to meet the pelvis and possibly do a bit on infill to guide the elastic straight into the body.
*General finishing and reinforcement.

But we all know what happens when you release a good plan into the wild. Let's see how it goes.

 

I will make him one when he is finished. And that's a promise.

 

Thanks. I can't believe how well this project has been recieved. I thought this ork would be mostly a me-thing, a bit of fun while waiting for better times and getting on with my "real" doll projects and of very little interest to anyone else.

 

I need an opinion!
I am working on his new and improved hands and I am stuck on the nails. I could do the classical, claw like, pointy nails that you expect from a monster. Or I could make the short, worn, stubby practical nails you epect from a guy who is using his hands alot for rough and heavy jobs.
What do you think makes the most sense for this guy?

The hands are sculpted in polymer clay and this version is not intended to be cast, so there is no limitations for the design there.

 

@Teddy and @Gamine Thank you both for such a quick reply! Short nails it is.