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

I collect anime figures alongside with this BJD hobby and anime figures made me think about sculpting. Sometimes there are a bunch of figures for my favorite character but not one captures them correctly so it makes me want to sculpt to make the figure that's right for me.

 

I've been planning to sculpt for a long time, though before BJDs it was just gonna be figurines of some sort.
I work with clay on the say but am not very experiences... however I definitely will try to sculpt A BJD or part of one some day!
Even if it's just a clay head or so, I'd like to become better at that so that I could give characters a face for whom I already have a picture in my head!

 

I began to sculpt before bid hobby.

 

I haven't thought too much about sculpting dolls specifically, but I've definitely thought about sculpting some optional parts, and have been slowly resculpting parts of two of the dolls I currently own.

In my undergrad, one of my two majors was Studio Art--Sculpture Focus, so it's not that I don't have any experience (all 3D art here is one of two things--anime/pop culture figures, or my own sculptures, and I only have a small set of my sculptures out and displayed). The jointing and balance would certainly be challenging, but honestly, there's no way to learn but doing.

I also think it'd be fun to sculpt some accessories for them, but again that's something I haven't quite gotten into, and unfortunately I don't know the first thing about resin-casting, only metal. But again, there's always opportunities to learn!

 

I'm attempting it right now. My sister got a face sculpting kit from NineStyle that's been incredibly helpful making sure you have the proportions right for the face (even if it's slightly terrifying before you put the clay on). Past that I've made a couple horns, but nothing yet I'd want to try selling.

 

I tried, I'm actually still trying. It's not very hard to get a decent looking face but it needs to be more than just that.
In case you're curious I have an album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninive_rb/sets/72157603859070045/

I think the proportions are off, I did it before getting my first doll so maybe that's why.
Looking back at it it's really terrible. No nose bridge, no philtrum, no upper lip definition, the eye shape is also very generic XD I'm just pleased it looks human.

 

The real difficult bit of sculpting a BJD isn't the head. It's the joints.
I'm currently finishing off my third BJD head. I had a problem with lips though, but not every sculptor has this problem.

One good way to get the feeling of proportions is-- choose a few sculpts you like, print screen, digitally draw lines on them, and then compare those digital lines. Then you'll get an idea- you'll eventually learn what the rules are.

 

If you do modds to your dolls. (sanding or adding apoxy putty) it's a natural step to try at sculpting a face, even if it doesn't get turned into a finished BJD.

I have started sculpting my second BJD-head useing a Junga toy SD-sizes head base. I never got around to finishing my first one because I wasn't sure about the materials and such. ^^;;

I started sculpting because I have an idea of what I want my doll to look like but I haven't been able to find anything like it, so might as well give it a try.

 

I've never thought to sculpt them myself. I took sculpting classes about a decade ago and wasn't very good.

 

I have thought about it, and think it might be a good way to get some characters that just aren't available as resin BJDs. I can sculpt, but don't especially care for it, and I definitely don't want to get into mass production. But a head or two for some characters for photo stories would be nice. Right now I use my old art figures as characters in my doll stories, but they aren't very pose able. So I'm thinking of sculpting a head(s) to share bodies with one of my MSDs. Or if the heads turn out really well, then maybe order a body for it, because I definitely don't feel like sculpting a body.

 

I keep toying with this idea more and more lately. I've considered buying the supplies to start so many times, but I get so nervous about it. My sculpting skills were never very strong. One of these days, I'm going to stop worrying and just go for it. xD;

 

Actually, the original reason I wanted a bjd of my own is because I had an immediate desire to sculpt one myself, and I needed something to reference from to figure out how they actually work. A sort of odd windfall; my dad's work has a ton of resin casting equipment (giant pressure pots, silicone, etc) that has fallen into obsolescence in regards to what he does, so it's just sitting there unused. When (or if) the time comes, I will take full advantage of this opportunity! It'll be great to have a studio to work in where I don't have to buy thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment and material that I'd otherwise be hard pressed to purchase, and honestly don't even know if I'd be any good at using. In any case, due to the large size of the pressure pots, I have decided to design an experimental 100+ cm bjd, primarily because sculpting all of the insane detail would be an incredibly fun (albeit labor-intensive) project. I'm definitely going to try sculpting some heads, and a medium/smallish sized bjd before I take the plunge into making the big one, though I have already fully drawn the huge guy out in great detail, as well as a small female. If I'm any good at resin casting, I could possibly use the studio to help local people cast things who would otherwise have no casting facility at their disposal. That'd be really awesome!

Edit: Due to the nature of the studio (more of a factory), there's a chance that casting silicone could be purchased in bulk through the company, so it may end up being a cheaper deal than if I were an individual artist caster, though I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to just do my research and find out I suppose. I feel like it'd be a waste to not take advantage of what's there!

 

Yes I tried it, but I think I'm not very talented xD I think I'll try it some day again, it would be very greate to sculp a own doll
But until then I have to inform myself more about this topic to get a better result next time~ x,3

 

Yep! I've sculpted parts like horns and ears before but a year ago I began sculpting my own doll. I'm even going to make another and produce some for sale eventually for my BFA in two years!

 

I've tried polymer clay sculpting, but I'm better at working with colors and patterns than shapes. Anything other than "round," "oval" or "tube" seems to be beyond my abilities.

 

I've sculpted three full bodies now, I think. I tried clays without success, then went to work on fine-grain wood and resin, and made three that way. They worked well enough. The last body I did I sent to Twigling to use as a base for her first body, back when she was releasing just replacement legs and arms.

 

I would absolutely love to be a BJD sculptor, not only having dolls that look exactly how I want them to, but seeing what other people do with my work would be incredible
But as I discovered when I spent over £500 on sculpting materials a few years ago (with the hopes of making tiny realistic food), I'm reaaaally bad with my hands

 

My husband and I are trying to make a doll. We're starting very small, though. Figurines first just to see if we can sculpt and cast, then we'll gradually make it up to the big doll level. He's pretty excited to try sculpting again, and I'm excited we have another project together.

 

I actually tried clay moulding and sculpting a few times before and I failed miserably. I just don't have the patience and the steady hands it takes to sculpt.