20–39cm Dolls Ushurz the Ork

You are not late, the others were quick.
And thank you, very much. I'm having a lot of fun with this project.

 

Here is a rough sculpt for the new hands.

 

I've started the finishing work on the body. While it's possible to sand the papier maché to a very nice finish, it is a surprisingly tough material, making it a lot of work. So I covered any problem area with a filler compound made for wood working (is there a proper word in english for that?) and once set I've sanded it smooth.
It worked beautifully!
Most of the parts are now ready for the primer.



There are still a few areas that need work and a bit of detailing to do. I have to center his but crack, you can see it marked in the picture and sort out his genitals. His feet needs toe nails and wider joint slits.

I have also started to sculpt a new head.

 

Here is the start of the new head next to the old one. The difference in angles makes the new one look smaller, but they will be very similar in size once done. I'll post more pictures of it when there is more to show.

 

@Teddy That is good to hear.

 

Some real progress at last!
Today I've primed the entire doll and I've goten as far as giving it a first coat of paint as well.

Primer:

And paint:

This is all his parts, except for his upper torso that for some reason did not get included in the images.
The paint is not covering 100% yet and there is still a few places inside of joints and such to be coated, but I need to let this coat dry properly before adding more. You get an idea of the colour I'm aming for, at least.
And it's very satisfying to see him turning green.

 

Thanks, mom!

 

Not much happening right now. Everything is painted and every positive joint surface have been finished with a very tough acrylic medium to (hopefully) make the paint last a bit longer. The downside of this is that it takes a very long time for it to fully dry. Sometimes several weeks before it stops being sticky.
This is what he looks like right now.

Most of the body has a solid layer of green with a bit of basic shading in the deepest parts. His head, hands and feet has been given a bit more detail.

 

Look! He is almost done.

All he need is a bit of deeper shading on his tusks and perhaps some better eyes. And a lot of cool props. And better pictures.

 

Yes, you are probably right. If nothing else because making pants for a guy with this body shape would be an adverture in it's own right.
And right now I am in the middle of making him some wepons and other ork essentials.

 

Lots of images ahead!
I've done pose tests and joint evaluation today. Wich is just a fancy way of saying that I've been playing around with this guy and took pictures of what he can do. Any wierd whiteness in his joints is talcum powder. Unlike the polurethane dolls, where you sometimes need to find ways to increase the friction, this guy need a bit of lubrication to keep his joints from sticking. This will probably not going be a problem later on and perhaps he could do without in already, but I don't want to risk scuffmarks to the paint yet.

I'll split this into several posts.

Basic standing from different angles:




Evaluation: Honestly, he does this really well. I have no complaints.

 

Sitting and lying down:

Sitting unsupported on the ground:


Evaluation: He does this quite well. Not as effortlessly as he stands, but reliable. The limited movement in his neck joint cause him to look slightly upwards, but it's not too bad.

Sitting unsupported on a ledge:

Evaluation: Similar to sitting on the floor. No problem with balance as he is now, but if I ever cast him I will have to watch out so that his shoulders and upper arms don't make him fall overwith the added weight.

Lying on his back:

Evaluation: This is his main weakness and the pose pictured it the best he can do. It looks very uncomfortable. I wonder how this guy sleeps.

Lying on the side:


Evaluation: On the other hand, poses like this is where he shine. He is great at any kind of "about to get up" pose and it's actually pretty easy to get nice dynamic poses like this.

 

Random extra poses:

Spreading his arms:

Evaluation: His arms pose well and his reach is impressive. I wouldn't want to meet this guy in armed combat.

Crawling:

Evaluation: Not his strongest point, but not bad either. The main limit here is again in his neck.

Walking:

Evaluation: While his thighs are very limited, the movement of the waist joint makes it possible to get fairly convincing walking poses by tilting the pelvis sideways and rotate the thigh joints acordingly.

Orks will be orks:


Over all, for what he is and for what the project was supposed to be I am very pleased with how this guy turned out. There are a few things that would need work if I ever make a new version, but as an art doll he can hold his own just fine.

Bonus question: If you were an ork, how would you sleep, or even just get comfortable? What pose would you favor?

 

Thank you, @Teddy !

And I haven't forgotten, these are for you:

 

Glad you like them! The idea was just too funny not to do it. I had fun making his outfit, but oh, was it tricky to fit that jacket!

 

Thank you @maxxxamillion ! This has been an absolutely awesome project to make and I've had a lot of fun with it. And I've learned a lot. If nothing else comes from it my future dolls will be better for it and I have a fun ork to play with.

This guy can't be cast as he is. His inside is not prepared for it and the joints don't have the precision needed to pose well in polyurethane. The materials used have been not choosen with their compatibility with the casting materials in mind, either and he is finished for handeling, not casting.
He is something of a working prototype, though. One day I want to be able to make a castable version of him. I needed to make this "cheap and easy" version to have a chance to figure out some of the joints and just general logisitcs of an ork that is poseable, free staning and not glued to a base.
If I ever make a castable version I will likely work in polymer clay and I will plan for weight and moldmaking right from the start. But there is currently no use in doing that until I have improved my casting methods.

There are two main problems with the potential casting itself.
The first is the obvious one of colour, that has been touched upon earlier in this thread.
The other is the lack of a vacum chamber. The silicone I use can be used without, but even with gentle stirring it will get some tiny bubbles inside the material. When casting parts with a very small mass (such as my tiny dolls) this does not typically make a difference to the finished piece, since the bubbles are under the surface. But when casting bigger parts, the heat from the curing process makes the bubbles expand and causes "pock marks" in the finished piece. I learned this the hard way when making Basil. This ork, while relatively short, have a few massive pieces (such as the upper arm) that can't really be broken up into smaller parts and need to be cast as one and that simply won't turn out very good as things are now.

One day, though... A girl can dream, right?

 

The papier mache itself is probably fine for moldmaking, if it's properly finished.
In this case, apart form the state of the inside, there would also be the problem of surface finishing. The primer used here is not the same I use for priming for casting. This one is a primer specifically made to prime a surface to take acrylic paint. I haven't tested it with the silicone and it is slightly gummy and won't sand very well compared to the primer I use for casting. And on top of that the paint techniques used leaves the surface grainy, not the super smooth I'd want for moldmaking and casting. And who knows how the pigments and the paint itself would react. I mean, most acrylic paints have some sort of a latex base and that means sulphur.
So different tools for differnt jobs.
But as an art doll it has worked! So far, despite a fair bit of playing and posing, there is next to no visible wear to the paint. For this job, the materials seem to be a good choice.

I'd love some more info about vaccum pumps! It's something I will want sooner or later and I've had a really hard time finding good info that is applicable to this sort of thing. A lot can be done without and since I've always worked under improvised conditions (I swear I know every workaround in the book by now) and on a very limited budget, I haven't goten very far when it coems to equipment. But my situaton is a lot better than it was before. I have a proper work space and while money are still scarse, they do exist. So this is a good time to take the next step and start to build up towards better casting.

 

Sweet! Thank you.