Have you ever think to sculpt (even just once)?

Oh yeah, all the time. Because I'm a comic artist and writer and these dolls are meant to be my characters, I have a very, very specific idea of what I want in mind and there is literally no doll out there that matches those ideas.

I've actually already attempted sculpting a couple of times, so I keep trying to find the "easy" way out and find some doll that's almost right so I can settle... even though I've figured out a long time ago that it doesn't work. The song is always the same - the eyes are too anime, the head is too small, the body is too mature/not stylized enough, there is no tan option/the tan is too dark.... and that one detail ends up driving me insane until I sell the doll. There are a couple of dolls that came really close, but I think, ultimately, I will have to do it myself.

Like, for example, I just received the closest doll that's ever been sculpted to what I want - she's ALMOST perfect, but there are just little niggly things that keep bugging me (the tan is not the right shade for this character, lordy) and I think I will be making her another character and just give up trying to shell the one she's supposed to be until the day I can sculpt her from the clay myself.

...And that's also why I don't have a grail doll.


Interestingly, I don't have as much trouble with the realistic sculpts, which you'd think would be ones you'd be more picky about. But I've already found sculpts to suit most of the characters in my other set, from my novel, with which I'm reasonably happy, and with the exception of the head for a central male character I don't foresee any issues in getting those all set up "in the flesh".

 

Sure ^^ because I'm kinda picky when there's coming to choose msd girl (there's no girl I would like to buy in 100%), so I thought it would be easier if I just make one xd
But in other hand it would be emotionally disaster, if she's not exactly the way I've designed her. I'm not even good in sculping human body, so I'm a little scared to start work on it.

 

I thought about it and actually tried with sculpey long, long before there were bjds. But since bjds became so plentiful and in so many different types of sculpts, I really can't think of anything I would like to make that was different enough to bother. I find I really enjoy the sculpts that are being made by others... often too much! I have too many dolls. I really don't need to sculpt my own.

Really, before bjds, dolls were mostly baby-dolls or fashion dolls and there were basically no decent male dolls, no fantasy dolls, nothing! It was super-frustrating. Now... far too many things I want! and if there's something I haven't seen yet, I just have to wait around for a bit and more and different dolls will be made before I could even think of sculpting it myself.

 

I've thought about it before, but I don't have the skills to attempt a full doll or a realistic face. I might try dabbling in fantasy parts later, when I have more dolls, but for now it'll just remain an idea in the back of my head.

 

I made a head once, with lips that looked like a banana stuck to his face,
solution for my next project:
Anthro crow has a beak.

 

I've thought about it, because I have this idea I subconsciously picked up in art/crafts school that I can only be the most proud of things I've made myself down to the most base components. For example, when I studied ceramics, you could make pots and glaze them with existing recipes - or you could get more 'cred' if you created your own glaze recipes - even more cred if you made your own clay - and then the ultimate was to build your own kiln out in the boonies and fire the kiln with wood you chopped yourself, preferably making things out of clay you dug out of your yard, etc. (there are some potters who do this; they have a lot of "street cred" so to speak! Even if it isn't my style)
So, to me only in my own mind (emphasis!) something is better if all parts of it are made by me. So, making my own doll wig is better than buying a nice one, making my own doll clothes will be better than buying them, and eventually if I was to sculpt my own doll, I could point at it and say "This is mine!" without qualifying.
That said, I'm currently approaching the dolls themselves as collection/art items that I admire and customize, not as "things I made" (even if I blush and paint them) so the 'I can't take credit for this because I didn't MAKE it make it' thought hasn't so much kicked in.

 

I did think about it and I did do it.
I wanted a Naga bjd and I was certain, that with all those fantasy dolls out there, there should be one.
But nope. No company had released one at that point of time - except for Impldoll, who had a yo-sd one, but that was not what I wanted.
So I went and purchased head from one company, body (only needed the upper part), from another and made the tail myself after seeing someone else making his own tail for a different kind of doll.
Thought the tail isn't perfect and I intend to mod it for better posability in the future, the success of this project has motivated me to attempt to make further experiments to fulfill some other ideas of mine as well.

As for head - yes, I started one, but I consider it definitly more difficoult to me. I'm far from being done, but also far from giving up just yet >:3
Only thing really against me on those points is TIME! I never seem to have enough and lately, just don't get to sit down for hours to work on anything.
(Note: I had no prior sculpting experience other than what I read up and what little tricks I needed for cosplay).

 

I get this feeling; It's why I sculpt. As much as I love my company dolls, I won't feel completely satisfied that I can be proud of the work I've done on them, until I've sculpted one of my own that can stand alongside them in terms of quality and appearance.

To the OP - this forum has a sister-site called The Joint which is full of artists sculpting their own dolls and sharing advice; Everything from techniques with clay and 3D-printing through to hand-casting, or reccommending companies who can professionally cast your doll. And the experience level is a good mix; there's no joining criteria other than that artists post about their creations (there are also observer accounts, for non-sculptors), but there's no skill requirement, so there's threads detailling everything from people's first experiments with Sculpey all the way up to single-artist companies.

I'd really reccommend joining

 

I sculpted an entire doll. However, I feel it is not good enough to be cast in resin. Finally I preferred to purchase the dolls I wanted. With a bit of research, I found exactly what I imagined. Though from time to time, I like to do a bit of modding, and this sometimes includes playing with Apoxie...sculpting.

 

There are actually quite a few people on this forum, who have sculpted dolls. twigling, batchix, enaibi, lillycat, dollist, lolipop, myself of course and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few names. (sorry!)

Sculpting is fun! Actually, the first time I saw a BJD, my first though was: "wow, I want to be able to make those as well.". So, please, if you'd like to, don't hesitate. Just grab a piece of clay and start modeling.

@twinage: don't worry about casting just yet. It's a long process to create a doll, and even then... if you use Apoxie, maybe the clay will be strong enough to handle tension from the strings, so you won't have to cast her just yet. I'm not sure about this, as I've never used that stuff before, but I know that someone on The Joint will know the answer.

I agree with Ratty. The Joint has an awful lot of information about making dolls and many helpful members. Besides, being able to show WIP pictures of your doll and ask for some advice is very motivating .

 

I tried and failed hard. I might try again. I only did it because I wanted to try it. For the fun of it. It also made me appreciate my dollies so much more. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be. And I'm not skillful or talented, so that probably contributed to the fail.

 

Sort of. I feel like I'm going to have to sculpt a little bit for one of my future dolls that I'm planning, since he has a specific leg shape. I don't know if this means I'll be sculpting/adding to an existing leg or making clothes for him that create the form. There's still a lot of planning to go.

 

My dolls live in a fictional setting full of humanoid monsters, so I plan on doing a lot of sculpting of my own dolls. Not to mention companion animals (horse-sized hounds for riding and little dragon-like mammals as pets, and a collection of very dinosaur-like birds owned by one of my characters...).

 

Try Google. I've had to search for shops in my country often and sometimes the clay I need is not for sale in The Netherlands, nor in a Dutch online shop. And sometimes I discover that the stuff I need is in a shop less then 10 miles from home! Internet if your friend .

 

The problem with Apoxie is that it is very heavy. Thus normal doll strings are too weak. And it tends to snap. But I afraid that this gets a bit off-topic for this forum. I also do highly recommend The Joint for more detailed information regarding sculpting.

 

I absolutely would love to sculpt. The only thing that stops me is getting into yet another supply and tool intensive hobby. I already have too many!

 

LOL! I love that question, because the reason why I got into BJDs is that I totally fail at making my own dolls! I tried several, in several materials, and gave up because nothing I tried resulted in something that was worth showing - or didn't fall apart :p. Okay, I should probably mention that my attempts took place when I was 16 and YouTube didn't exist - boy, I didn't even have my first e-mail address yet. It was the Stone Age! So I worked without tutorials. Small wonder I didn't manage .

In any case, I gave up my idea of *making* dolls, but I kept wanting doll versions of my characters. Then one day I stumbled on BJD photos on deviantART, and discovered that BJDs were the answer to think incompetent dollmaker's prayers. And here I am...

I've been secretly thinking about giving sculpting another try, because I'm curious to see what I could come up with. But for now, trying to become competent at making doll clothes is challenge enough .