Self-made dolls

Making an own doll was my dream from long time. Somehow, I simply could not get myself to do that.
But finally! I started on September 2011.
My very first project is called Dreamer. This is a tiny elf boy, with quite real-like features. He is about 28cm tall, will have additional high heeled foot and two "boyish parts". If you know what I mean. >:3
I do have in plans to cast him.

I had some problems with clay, I tried several brands but surface cracked after drying. :( Finally I decided to invest into Ladoll - everyone who aspire to sculpting a doll should definitely use this clay. It has little weird structure, a bit like paper. But it does not crack and when it's dry you can still add some clay and continue with sculpting. I still don't know how it would be with casting but really, if Ladoll is designed especially for making dolls (eureka!) then I really believe it is worh its name. ^^


I started with drawing a project. I think it is important but boring part. I wanted - of course - to make it quick and just begin sculping, so project was not really detailed. I focused on doll's face - I somehow got a feeling that I have to figured out what he HAS to look like and follow that idea.

Part of the project. You see, I did not draw details on his face here, in fact I have it on different  paper.  : o

And then I began. It is not surprising part at all, I've read some tutorials and articles about makind dolls and I guided myself with those tips. I made a base in styrofoam and polished it a little bit - just to shape it. When I was doing it, I had no idea how to pull this base out of the doll... X_x' I thught it doesn't matter at this stage and first I wanted to see if Ladoll can even be used to this.


Sculping the head seemed be more interesting, so it was the first thing I started to do.

Harsh and rouigh, obviously first shape.  Still with filling inside and without ears. 

Next step was about the body. I had to put Ladoll over the styrofoam base and sculpt it into basic shape of body. Best thing about Ladoll is that you actually can let it dry, drill or cut the surface and then add fresh clay. To be it is great option, it is much more easy to keep what you already sculpted and add or change some of this area without ruining something other. I use rotary tool and scalps.

         

For sculpting I like to use dentist tools, one of them above. ^^ I am not sure if you can see it, but actually parts of body on photos sill are filled up.

Theoretically, as tutorials says, I should split body parts apart, remove styrofoam and then glue it back together. However, I was afraid of crushing it since thickness of material is a little bit thin (because it is small doll - approx 5mm). Happily, I could simply drill styrofoam out through holes.  It won't be possible for bigger dolls I think... unless you have giant driller. :x For legs and arms I used straws - yes, sounds funny and yet it was best option. Styrofoam would broke (base for arms/legs had to be very slim) and it could be hard to remove after all. 

I opened his head, made eye-holes and worked on his sculpt. 

 

        

Eyes looks kinda funny here XD Just remember, my sweet doll is not finished until I say so. ;) Also, after removing styrofoam I could try to put parts together. That can be worth to mention, that during whole process of removing filling and grinding inner surface I collected a lot of white powder - no idea  why, but I keep it in a bag, just in case.

For now, legs are in one part - without joint in knees. Generally, joints - as most difficult part for me - are really painful. I am not good in stuff like this - technical - so designing mechanism and joints sounds almost impossible... But here - with legs! (oh, yes, one of them is shorter... I guess) 

He has arms - at least basic shape of it. I did not have opportunity to take photos of them yet, probably because I'm not really happy with the result. Lately - this is sort of the news in this field - I sculpted hands and foot. Hands were pretty nice to sculpt, but wire (which I used to make a frame) was annoying. It was hard to shape it the way I wanted and most important - keep wire in this shape while putting a clay. Apart from this, I love hands! <3

I spent lot of time on hands and they still doesn't looks fine. Not to mention about my perspective on future is truly black. ._. Notive how small they are! Sculpting might be not so challenging but polishing?! T.T I don't  even want to think about it right now. How about foot? Uh... well... they got its shape, let's just say. 

02.05.2012

I could not find my USB to transfer photos from mobile phone onto computer, but finally I got them. 

I took my lovely rotary tool: 

And started to widen inner canals inside of legs and arms. Keep in mind, that I used straws while building limbs so they could be empty inside. But I did not want to have straws in it all the time. I thought it's gonna to be very hard work, straws stucked or something - but it was not that bad at all! ^^ 

Rotery tool obviously couses heat by rubbing - literally it melted straws' plastic. I was able to simply pull it out with tweezers. His legs and arms are free at last! 

Ooops! I had small accident! X_x I've broke one of the figners!

Next step is... uh. Yes, joints. I have no idea how to do that. 

24.06.2012

I must say, working on own doll for more than six hours a day is almost not possible. It is still a lot of fun and I am so amazed that this is actually real... This is the time of joints, sadly. I can't wait until I put him into one piece - but even then it won't be an end... 

I started working on his ears! I broke it twice. I don't know what to do - ears can not be too long because likely it will broke easily. : ( But I want him to have long elf ears... I need to figure it out. 

This is the first time I tried to put his little eyes (less than 6mm) into eyeholes... I know eyes are a little crooked, I still need to drill eyeholes a bit. But doesn't he look cute? ^_^

26.10.2012

I was finally able to put the doll together. It is fairly a sketch, if sketch can be in 3D :F
Joints do not fit to each other, shape of the body is not even started really, arms are too long; or maybe it is legs are too short XD Generally I think his head is bigger that it should be. :( And if so, I have no idea how to fix this at this stage. I also found out that his feet are covered with something transparent and hard - a glue maybe? But I have no memory of that at all. I wonder how the heck did it happen.
Neck is too thin; legs are straight as sticks and same thing with arms. Worse of all, his ears are lopsided that I am sure the Devil must sat at one of them. :< Poor little guy does not have his penis yet.
There is so many work to do with him. I am terrified, really. Am I ever going to finish him? My sweet little elf.

Now I am going to disassemble all parts and well, work on them...