Making dolls, BRB

[DollyKim]

Finally my skills have reached a level I feel comfortable working a whole doll in polymer clay. The bestest thing after a craft oven is a bead baking wrack, it holds uncured parts then they can cure and cool. Just getting this far feels great. This will be Pete BFF of Roger the Centaur of Attention.

[mica]

wow great job!
that face is amazing.
How will you remove the foil from inside?
I read it as "Polymer Pete" haha!

[Gift_in_Edge]

Super neat!

[DollyKim]

Thanks, I'm going to have to start the limbs again as my polymer skills are still building, but that's why he's out of Super Sculpey instead of the Living Doll blend I did for Sid. Once I can get the forms right for Pete it will be easier to copy them to Sid and a few other fellows I want to make.

The foil will come out with hand carving tools that I have, I've used those on several projects. The foil is built up on knitting needles first so the holes are plenty big enough.

[*]Beard next.

[DollyKim]

Mkay, really learning ALOT with this guy. Most of it is going to depend on your sculpting skills and the simplest of things like making the "skin" even. I'm finding little things like shaving off a bit of excess along an edge can cause cracks or a whole part to shatter. I'm on a third thigh but things like the hips have held up. Bake and bond (poly clay glue) can only do so much.

I'm designing him to be strung which is and isn't working but it's got me pondering if the next one should be done with a skeleton. If I do go that way then what will I use to make the skeleton or action figure type joints? Would polymer clay work for the joints or should I use something else? Other questions are coming up such as should I make the next one in more pieces with seams so it gets assembled?

I need to address several of these questions because the Sid doll I want to make needs to look pretty as well as have some movement.

*Feet and head good




Finding out what I thought was left over clay is actually rubbery mold builder... Some day I'll make Pete a proper body but for now we're embracing that I've actually made a doll and hopefully he'll function.

[DollyKim]

Well, you gotta know what not to do before you can do what you gotta. In theory he works, I don't have proper string in him so he doesn't hold together, but otherwise I think I can save his head, hands, and feet. The rest just doesn't work out but it will be far easier to make the next one.




The big thing is the mold builder, the light clay, shouldn't have been used at all but I didn't realize it wasn't regular clay until after it was baked and by then taking it off would have done more damage. My polymer skills need more practice as my biggest problem is it being too thin and cracking. Some of it is working this small as my air dry dolls have been on the larger end of the MSD scale.

Yoshida style engineering can work this small, he's 1/6, you just need to do as much as you can while it's uncured and not count on being able to file and sand the forms too much. I think doing the balls of the joints in the initial sculpting would do best, it's far easier to hollow out and refine the socket end.

[famedglory]

Ooo he's looking great! His head is really fantastic.

[DollyKim]

Thanks, I got more clay to redo his limbs, those would have needed redoing for easier stringing any way. His hair comes off, it's his head cap, so I can get to his strings.

[famedglory]

His hair comes off, it's his head cap, so I can get to his strings.

...That's brilliant!

[DollyKim]

To quote the High Numbers I've got to dance to keep from crying. This is not what I had in mind BUT I made all of him so I'm proud. Some day I will get good enough with polymer clay that everything but the head will be replaced. Did I mention he's 1/6 scale?





I was starting a friend named Sculpey Sid except he was baking too dark so I'll be fixing that and trying something else before making more polymer peoples.