~ Doll Makers ~ Behind the Scenes

I find stuff like this mega hand as being a newbie~

 

Such a cool thread, I hope there are more answers soon

 

Great thread!

Big or small, I think there really is a hand-made aspect to it, because the resin-casting process just isn't some big automated process. People have to handle all the pieces individually--and clean them up and make sure the seams aren't horrible and assemble them and paint them. It's not like plastic being injected into a mold and then packaged and sent out by the crate-load.

I've bought from several individual designer, like Tinybear in Britain with her line of dolls and Kaye Wiggs in Australia with her line--They both rely on "factories" of a kind (I'm sure they are still very hands-on, because of the process and because the numbers produced are so low), to cast, assemble and sometimes paint their dolls. I think Tinybear uses Bobobie... I think the doll artists sculpt a prototype that the doll manufacturers have to match and then produce. I really don't know more about it, but it sheds some light on the production process of some dolls!

 

Great thread! I've been researching the process of making a bjd, because I'd like to make one myself. It seems reasonable to me that they would contract out the molding and casting part of the job, because that's a completely different set of skills that have nothing to do with sculpting. You might be a great sculptor and be terrible at molding and casting, or vice versa. A friend of mine looked into having a doll cast in resin, and it was hard to find a company that would even make a mold of something so small and fiddly, which tells you there must be some skill involved.

Anyway, I'd love more links for sculptors' blogs; that would be a great thing to compile in a list. And more histories of popular doll companies, like which sculpts from different companies were made by the same sculptors. Someone on the Kid Delf discussion thread said that several of the early Kid Delfs were sculpted by the artist who went on to found Peakswoods. I love that kind of info!

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the doll companies seem to use the same template for their websites? I noticed because it seems like often the link to the next page at the bottom doesn't work, on several different companies. I wonder if they all use the same web design company or something.

 

Because the entire process from sculpting to casting is extremely time-consuming, some sculptors leave the molding/casting to an expert, because:
a) it means working with expensive materials and making molds is tricky and,
b) they want to focus solely on sculpting.

When a sculptor decides to use a casting company to produce her dolls, she'll have to make the master first, prepare it for molding (make sure it is functioning, primed and smooth) and then send it to the manufacturer. Next the manufacturer will test the doll, sometimes ask for permission to adjust the jointing slightly if necessary. They will then make molds of all the different parts - this is done by hand, you can't use machines to mold or cast - after which they make casts of it (usually a minimum batch of 40) and send it back to the creator. Finally the sculptor has to sand all the parts and assemble the doll before it is ready for sale.

It takes about two days to make a mold, if you're experienced, and about an hour to cast a single part. (this is including the time the materials need to cure). The only 'machine' available for this process is a compressor + pressure pot. The pot is necessary to make casts without airbubbles.

It depends on the size of the pressure tank how many molds you can stack up inside and thus how many parts you can cast, or molds you can make in one go. The smallest tank will only have room for one mold, which means that if you want to cast a doll, it will take you at least a full day.

 

I know BlueBlood Doll's owner is one person, and she makes the dolls, but to cast them I believe she sends them out. You'd have to ask Medusa about that. Luts has offices, I've seen pictures. Volks started out making figure kits and the first Super Dollfie was a gift for the president's wife I believe. Wasn't meant for the masses. Soom started small, but grew bigger.

 

It's not a thread, but the forum the joint is dedicated to the process of sculpting, casting, and producing artist dolls.

I've always wanted to sculpt my own doll too, but I've never gotten very far. Good luck!!

 

There are a few reps here on DOA, including Little Monica, who very sweetly posted a small blurb about how each batch of resin is made in small doses and why the color can vary. It's in the Harmony Line Discussion, somewhere.

 

There's quite a bit of information about company sizes and manufacturing methods (also some misinformation, but that gets called out pretty quickly) in these threads:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?381385-Why-are-bjds-so-much-money
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?4414-quot-Why-are-BJDs-so-expensive-quot
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...shing-and-Attention-to-Detail-is-it-important
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?163098-BJD-sweatshops

 

Some pictures of how Dollfie Dream heads are made. I believe that is an HDD-01 head:

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25905/Making+Dolls.html#comment-826596

Looks like a more complete write up on the process is coming soon.

 

This is an interesting thread~
I have a migidoll, and I was actually surprised how fast my boy came. Anyways, I did a little poking around on the MD website and I found this - an interview with the creator of migidolls on deviantart. >>>here<<< She talks a little about the process and inspiration of her dolls.
It sounds to me like doll making was a great struggle for her in the beginning, but since then she's gotten her system down. The last couple order periods definitely had a great turnover period, and all seem very well-made. It's interesting to me how one person can get so much done and accomplished! It makes me feel lazy and unmotivated in comparison, hahahaha.

 

I think there are many casting options out there for doll artists. Some casting factories will even do the sculpting from drawings, it just depends on how "hands on" the artist wants to be.

 

BJD Collectasy has an article up about how Two-S Doll was founded. It's a new company but the story goes into how they made decisions about their name, the division of labor, etc.

 

I teach English to Koreans for a living and I would usually ask some of my students who live in the area where most doll companies are to take a look around. I'm kind of surprised when one said she never realized her teacher was a geek on dolls.

 

I know Rainman scuplted both the Luts Kid Delf Ttori and the Obitsu Gretel (or was it the Haruka?) before forming Elfdoll. I have a bunch of Elfdolls and a Ttori, and I can see the similiarity in the style.

Many of Unidoll's dolls were sculpted by Raurencio, who also went on to form his own company, Raurencio Studio.

 

I would definately like to see how they create dolls!!!! From concept to finished body. That would be awesome!!!

 

I love this thread !
I'd like to know how big a company Souldoll is. Is there any information of how it was founded?