BJD... I Must be CRAZY

A month (and some change) later, I am finally posting an update. I was working on my other project when I hit a snag. Sanding by hand is a royal pain in the tail and a little more effort than I am willing to put in. Soooooo, hopefully after Santa stops by in a couple of days all will be a go again. I have asked for a Dremel rotary tool and a gravity feed Airbrush!!! YAY!! Come on Santa, mama needs to get back to work.

HOWEVER.....all was not lost this past month. I found another passion in the art doll category and was working diligently to hone this new skill. BJD (Ball-Jointed Dolls) are fun to make. Although time consuming they will, without a doubt, prove to be very rewarding. Sculpting, Sanding, Wigging, Blushing/Painting, Dressing....and completely posable

Meet Soraya!!
She is 10 inches tall when standing and is my very first BJD!!


19 tiny sculpted clay pieces. I am still working on Soraya's joint movement. Tediously sanding, scraping, measuring and fitting to make it all come together. I did manage a few poses with what I have so far. I cant wait to see the end result.
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Total Inspiration can be found on Marina Bychkova's site. Her Enchanted Dolls are simply breathtaking

Polymer Clay and OOAK 2

Bake, Scrape, and Anatomical Correctness

Hubby: "Babe, why does she have a slit "down there". Won't she have on clothes?"
Me: "Yes, she will. Let me remove the arms and legs too!!"
Disclaimer:
It is essential for me to be as anatomically correct as necessary. It is figure sculpting and anatomy is undeniable. I will also mention that no molds have been used during the sculpting process. Every finger, toe, ear and nose has been hand sculpted by yours truly.




I managed to do the first baking and scraping to make her look a little more presentable. Her hands and feet have yet to be added because i'm still deciding on the outfit and may need to fit her before adding hands. Trying to stay on task I concentrate on the story. In the meantime, more scraping and sanding.
Since the story was taking so long to come to me, I made her a companion


I added her feet and one arm and baked her again. The other I will add after her outfit has been decided on :). and YES, her arm needs some more meat. Im working on it

It is extremely important to let the doll cool down after baking and before handling. I, however, am impatient and THIS is what I get. A cracked knee!! More work for me. All of the clay around the crack needs to be scraped off and replaced.....*SIGH* back to work!

Polymer Clay and OOAK 1

OK, sooo..Today I'll start a blog! The challenge for me will be to see how long I can keep up with it. :). I have decided, yet again, to make another attempt at a polymer clay OOAK (one of a kind) doll. I have done a couple (literally 2) in the past and with unsatisfactory results, almost threw in the towel. I am not a pro....still learning as I go along. I have decided, however, patience and perseverance will prevail!. This will not be a step by step tutorial. It will be about the journey and making something out of nothing. The task is to make a piece that tells a story through pose, expression, and strategically placed props. Masterpiece???...doubtful. Accomplished???...Hopeful.......progress not perfection......Here we GO!!

Spending hours... days...months on YouTube, TONS of tutorials and reading countless blogs, my journey starts with an pose reference (and a chaise I made on a whim)
I have used Poser8 to render a reference pose


The Armature
It is the strength of the structure, the "bones". Since it will be under the "flesh" of the sculpture, it need not be perfect. This is where all the old, dirty clay comes in handy. Care is taken to avoid putting clay at the joints. We still want to be able to pose the piece in compromising postions :)

The armature is then baked hard in my Deni convection oven \O/!!
Why a special oven you ask? To avoid burning up all my hard work AND avoid potentially harmful fumes and residue in the oven which I prepare food for my family

The Clay
My preference of clay is Living Doll. It comes in 3 shades. I also add a little Kato Polyclay for added strength. Mix and match to get the basic shade you need (blushing and painting will come later...much later) The two are placed in a food processor to blend and soften. Tried it the old fashioned way and would rather avoid the carpel tunnel if possible. Besides, the little beads produced are sooooo much easier to mush and add to the sculpture as needed

And The Fun Begins!!!!
Taking human proportions into account, I have wrapped logs of clay around the baked armature to begin the basic shape.
I have found very helpful references online. What did we ever do without the Information Superhighway? Oh yeah, LIBRARIES!!

Yes, she is too "ideal" for my liking. I plan on giving her all sorts of nips, tucks, and other 90210 augmentations but this is a good start when referencing proportions

Here I am still pushing and spreading and molding .....oh yeah, I also made a head for the poor thing.
I see LOTS of corrections in my future. Plastic is placed on the chaise to avoid tiny blue lint strands in my clay!! ...on w/ the creative process......TOMORROW :)