WIP BJD OMG!!! (New Head Cast, Page 6)

Okay. Here's my very first shot at making a BJD. I opted to use paperclay instead of sculpey, as paperclay is more forgiving for someone with a constantly changing notion of what should go where.

Here's what I've got after 1-1/2 weeks:



It's a crappy picture, but I'm not at the "look really close and critique this" stage yet. The arms and legs aren't symmetrical or of the right proportions and there's still a lot of work to be done on the head and torso yet. Still, I'm the furthest (farthest?) that I've been on this project so far. I'll hopefully have more progress to report soon. Stay tuned...

 

Yep. And a couple of translated Japanese BJD tutorials that I've seen online. I've had some sculpting experience, but I haven't done many human-shaped sculptures so I'm anxious to see how this will turn out.

I'm sculpting with paperclay, using soft styrofoam (some styrofoam packing blocks that I found in some old boxes) as the core. One thing I didn't do and wish that I had done was wrap the styrofoam core pieces in Saran Wrap before molding the clay around them. That would have made the core pieces much easier to remove from the doll once the paperclay had set.

I'm amazed at just how much work this kind of project requires. Most of my time is just spent fine-tuning the sculpt, making sure both sides line up perfectly. (Today I got frustrated because I had to carve away an ear that was placed about 1-2 millimeters further back on the head from the other one. Which really became noticeable when I tried sticking a wig onto the dollhead. -_- ) I know it's my first doll and I shouldn't be all nitpicky, but I should at least put some effort into it. I can easily see myself spending 2-3 hours a day on this project and having it last over a month...

Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon. Stay tuned! ^_^

 

According to some of the instructions I'm following, you can highlight certain muscle groups with pencil and build up or etch clay around that area. This translated tutorial page demonstrates that idea nicely:

http://translate.google.com/transla...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools


I'm planning on buying a decent camera from a friend soon so I won't have to rely on my "turns every doll into a washed out zombie" point and click anymore. (I mean, you can't even see any detail in the following picture. And if I were to take it without a flash-- even on a tripod-- it would be all dark and fuzzy. Walmart cameras = teh suckage.)




Stay tuned...

 

Okay. Here's what I have so far:



I put a joint in the torso and have everything generally looking the way I wanted it. (I still have some refinements to make, of course.) Sometime soon I should be putting the joints in and here is where I have to sit and think awhile. Question: do I make the joints of the doll so that they're easier to cast, or do I make the joints the way the Yoshida book tells me to and turn this sculpture into the finished doll itself? If it turns out well, I would like to make resin copies of it, but I hear that might destroy the original. Casting is expensive and time consuming, and it might not turn out well. If I do cast, I would like to make joints like this:

http://www.dollsoom.com/shop/step1.php?number=1539

But I'm not sure how difficult that would be using a 2-part silicone cast. I could use the "use a hollow pony bead as the wrist joint" method, but how would I go about casting the hollow bead? If I wanted to make the slotted knee and elbow joints separate from the limbs, how would I cast them? (I've been reading the threads on jointmaking so I know there are a lot of options to consider. All of them look equally hard so I'm not sure what to do yet. Any help/input would be appreciated! ^_^

(I should be getting a better camera in the near future so hopefully I'll be able to take better pics soon...)

 

I spent most of the day on the bottom half of the torso, carving much of the thickness of the waist away (so now she looks slightly voluptuous instead of heavily pregnant. -_-)



I will have to work on the nose and ears quite a bit. (This is taking soooo loooong....)

 

DEAR GOD THE JOINTS!!!!



Work is progressing slowly, as I had to remove the cores from the arms and legs, cut them into their component pieces, and then build up the thin parts of the limb walls with paperclay. Won't be able to do much more on that front until the clay dries...

I spent a good amount of time refining the area around the eyes, trying to find those elusive elements that will make the face look less like a mask and more like...well...a face. I can see myself quickly going batshit insane by this part of the project, so I try not to devote too many minutes to it at a time... -_- (I do often find myself turning the head away from me when I find it "staring" at me for too long.*Cue Twilight Zone music*)

 

I'd definitely recommend the Ryo Yoshida book. (If you can afford it. There's an English translation on this site somewhere.)

I also recommend this online tutorial:

http://translate.google.com/transla...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools

(I believe it's a translation of this Japanese site

http://www.aimi-doll.com/howto/index.html


That should be enough to get you started at least. There are other tutorials on this forum as well.

Still in the process of recarving the lower torso and thighs so she looks less bottom-heavy. I'm saving my paperclay shavings so I can re-wet and reuse them. (I've already used three packages of Premier on this already.... )

 

It should be enough. (If you're smart and don't make as many mistakes and revisions as I do.)

 

CHAOS!!!



After making a decent stab at the leg joints, I realized that the thigh pieces were way too short to be in proportion with the rest of the doll. So now I'm currently trying to elongate them. (I've just run out of paperclay, too. If I were to vacuum up all the dust I've sanded off and add water, I could probably get an entire package out of it.)

I have made some progress with the head. I'm putting in the holes that will hold the magnets and trying to make the seam separating the head and the cap all nice and even. Then I'll have to refine the features and seal the head inside and out. (I've ordered some silicone and I'm going to try and make a resin copy of the head if I can.)

One very important thing I've learned from this project: make sure you have a nice, well-balanced, proportioned pattern before you begin something like this. I only realized halfway through that my pattern was crap and I had to re-carve at least half of the doll. It was a major pain in the ass so I'm anxious to avoid having to do anything like that ever again. -_- ....

 

Thanks for the comments. I almost feel as though this is my second or third doll, since I had to do so much re-sculpting. It looks almost nothing like my original conception. -_-

I'll try and get pics of the finished head posted as soon as I can....

 

Here's a shot of the head:



Sorry for the fuzzy pic. (I won't be getting my spiffy "used but still better than the crap I'm using now" camera until next week. )

I've got some silicone and I'm going to try and make a mold after I seal this baby. ( Hopefully my camera will be in and I'll be able to take decent pics of the head by then...)

 

Thanks everyone for the nice comments so far...

I have construction mostly finished on the head:



I want to make the head so that it can be worn with other kinds of doll bodies. The outer diameter of the hole is 7/8" (and the diameter of the neck that it fits over is roughly 5/8") I hope that's big enough to fit over other types of BJD necks. (Female ones, anyway...)

Been working on the joints and torso:



The hands and elbows are still rough. I don't have a picture of the bottom half of the doll because I still think the thighs are too short, so I've added more clay to them. (The doll is currently 53cm and I wanted to make her at least 55cm.)

Gah. If only I had worked a little more on my pattern at the beginning, I wouldn't have to go through all these delays...-_-

 

ARRGGHH!!! KNEES! I'm re-doing them AGAIN because apparently I have a recessive gene that prevents me from conceptualizing a simple ball-joint. (I've slapped the leg parts back together with paperclay and plan to start all over again from scratch once I've sanded the leg down to the exact shape that I want it. Pleh.)

I've begun finishing the face. I've coated the head with a mixture of modeling paste and gesso, which becomes shiny-smooth once you go over it with a sanding sponge. Sure makes all the dings, bumps and dents stand out, though so I'll have to reapply some clay and go over it again. (Oh well, why should this part of the process be any easier than any other part?)

I went to an art store located in St. Paul, MN today. (It's called Wet Paint.) They have Smooth-On casting and molding kits with silicone and opaque resin, but they've stopped selling the silicone separately (and the kit is 50 bucks.) I'll have to check around with other suppliers and see if it's a good deal. (I forgot how much silicone and resin were included with the kits, but I think it's only a pint of each.)

They also sell a 16oz bottle of urethane resin for 30 bucks. (Would that be a good deal? Anyone?) They don't sell anything in the way of resin dye, which is a bit disappointing. -_-

 

Here's an update:

I've figured out the structure of the knees:



I decided to go with a slightly elongated knee rather than a perfectly round ball joint. (I just couldn't get the round ball version to work for some reason.)

I hit a bit of a snag when it came to finishing the head --In trying to sand the nose and lips down to maximum smoothness, I accidentally sanded them OFF. So I'm having to redo most of the face. (I hear that sanding the face is particularly hard so I'll try experimenting with spray putty--seeing if that can smoothen the surface without subjecting it to a lot of tool work. )

I'm hoping I can finish putting holes in the joints and string them together soon. Don't expect this part of the project to a breeze, though... -_-

 

Okay. I've made the holes in the joints and have strung her together for the first time:



Constructionwise, the upper body seems fine. I can pose the arms any way I like. Everything from the waist down needs work, though, as the doll can't stand or even sit up. I've taken the doll apart and am recutting the thigh holes--I think they're set too far forward so the doll's weight isn't coming directly down on the legs as it should be. Also, I'm putting more clay on the kneecaps to strengthen them and make them stable. Not sure if I need to do anything to the feet yet.

I'm not even sure the doll WILL stand even after all I've done--I may be using the wrong kind of elastic to string it together, or something like that. We'll just have to see.

 

SHE STANDS!



Okay, she looks a little top heavy in this photo, but at least she's relatively stable. I think I've got the joints 98 percent worked out as of now...

She's even capable of sitting up as well:



One issue I have is her height--it's about 2cm shorter than I wanted her to be. I think the problem lies with proportion. Her thighs STILL seem a bit too short for the rest of her body. I think if I were to lengthen the thighs (by cutting them in half in the middle and adding clay there,) I think that would work.



What do you think?

 

Okay. I've extended the thighs of the doll a little bit. (As much as I dare.)





I didn't get that much increased height but I think this is probably the best I can do before it starts to look really freaky.

I'm finally able to give Rufus an up-close look at his soon-to-be girlfriend.



He looks thrilled, doesn't he?

I may have to tweak the design a little bit more. (The feet still seem a bit wobbly, so I may have to redesign the ankle joint again.) I'm starting to think that the hardest part will be making the skin perfectly smooth and ready for casting. (Anyone have any ideas on how I can sand and smoothen the really hard to get to parts on the face?)

 

I think you're right. (That part of the body was kind of nagging at me. I bet if I lengthen it a bit, that would finally give me the extra height I need to make the doll the full 55cm I want it to be. Thanks!)

 

I just cut up some soft styrofoam and carved/rolled it as best I could into a ball. I just couldn't find any styrofoam balls smaller than an inch in diameter. -_-

 

Well, here's the revised torso:



The arms aren't strung so they look a little longer than they would look otherwise. I lengthened the torso and recognize that the boobs look a little big for the thighs, but she isn't meant to be a realistic-proportioned doll. (She's more like one of those petite actresses who wants to up her sex appeal by getting huge implants. Your Mileage May Vary.)

I'm currently trying to finish and primer the face so it looks pretty bad now. Should hopefully be baby smooth by the time I'm finished with it. *crosses fingers*

 

Gah. This is how the project stands now...



I haven't been able to work on it for a couple of weeks because I'm too busy making Halloween costumes. I just started spray-applying the sealant and sanding the surface smooth, but I've got a long way to go. It's been frustrating, not having any time to devote to it because I want to see it finished now more than ever. Sigh.

 

ZOMBIE ATTACK!



My WIP doll has come to life and she wants brains! (Poor Rufus...)

Happy Halloween!