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

Lately I've been wanting to make some dolls out of some of my SWtOR characters and I can't really find existing ones that look anything like them so I've been thinking of sculpting my own. I'd want to cast them in resin afterwards though since I find trying to faceup materials that aren't resin to be really frustrating and my attempts turn out horrible

I run hotter than the fires of Mt Doom so Sculpey and other polymer clay is frustrating to me too it gets so sloppy and floppy and hair-rippingly frustrating after just a few minutes

 

In case anyone's curious:
Instagram post by Lilian • May 8, 2017 at 10:00pm UTC

 

I sculpted a head back when I had sculpting classes, and occassionally I think of making heads. I just would make them for myself mostly.

 

For sure I would love to sculpt my own doll at some point, I need to practice those skills though with working on smaller things before I even attempt to do one.

 

Yes! Well, perhaps not sculpt from scratch but heavily modify existing heads (only basics of course) in order to finally get myself that Gelfling (from The Dark Chrystal) that I always wanted.

 

Its flittered through my head a couple times. I dont know when I would do it but its fun to think about. What I would REALLY like to do that cant happen due to space and resources, is make a full SD size horse BJD. A big noble mount for everyone with big dolls to fully realize their ideas. If I had a big workshop and knew there was someone who could cast them, I would think about it more lol. Since neither of those are real things, it remains a fantasy.

 

Yes! I feel similarly to OP, regarding things always being slightly not what you want.
There are a few dolls that I love as well, and they are just the same, hah.
I've actually been considering making dolls, because I love to draw specific characters in different clothes to the point of just considering making a paper dress up game. BJDS are, of course, a very sumptuous next step in this. :3

And, to be honest... I kind of want to sell them... not necessarily for too much profit, though admittedly that's going to be necessary for sustained production and quality control, but... when I see people so excited about a specific doll, in box openings and news, and the way they cherish their dolls and decorate them and post pictures...
I kind of want to make something that people can get excited about and swoon over; especially if it's something that I would have felt the same about. It just seems like a really fluffy, innocent materialistic feeling. It's vain, but... that'd be really nice. Just check in on insta and see some pictures of someone having fun with dolls you made.

Resin is pretty expensive, though, and not too environmentally friendly. Do you suppose that people would be interested in alternative materials? Like, polymer clay, or resin clay? There's something about it that sounds cheap, which is depressing (I understand, though...). If it's not resin, it'd be more available to a wider amount of people.
There's transaction problems and cancelled orders and other things to consider, too, and recasting... worrying about copying other people's styles, engineering of joints, as well...

 

I'm not much of an artist, but I've considered trying my hand at making my own parts to mod an existing doll. I can't find what I need, so maybe I'll have to just make it myself!

 

I have read over several of these post and have some advice from myself and some of the pros I have worked with over the years.

-Best tip I ever got was to keep scraping away at it until I get the sculpt to look how I want. It is not like a drawing, because you can keep pushing the clay around for ages. It might take a really long time, but if you know what you want it to look like, you will get there eventually.
-Start with the biggest sculpting tool possible and work your way down in tool size for detail work. I used to like small tools, but they left hundreds of little tool marks everywhere. I spent a ton of time trying to smooth things out once I started to get close to the right shape. I saw an old sculptor take a great big spatula and in one stroke, smoothed a huge section of a face. In a handful of strokes, they smoothed a whole head. Made perfect sense.

I see a lot of discussion about clay and Sculpey.
-Sculpey is good, but it stays pretty soft, and getting it to hold shape before getting baked is tricky. It also can pick up a lot of dirt if you work on it for a long time and don't keep your hands or tools crazy clean. Not sure how good it is at taking paint, pastels and sealer during a face up. The available Sculpey colors are usually pretty bright and can change during the cook.
-Clay is great to work with. It never dries out and stays soft and workable forever. You can use Plasticine or most oil based clay products available at the hobby store, but they tend to be pretty soft. I like Chavant. It is oil based and comes in a variety of hardnesses. Most sculptors I know use medium hardness.
-If you are going to do it like most doll makers, the sculpt is only the first step. Resin is a 2 part liquid plastic and needs to be poured into a mold and allowed time to cure. Resin plastics are some seriously toxic chemicals. There is a whole process and series of techniques for making molds. Resin needs pigment to take on a flesh color. These are pretty serious and costly materials. Readily available, but a bit much for the casual hobbyist.

If you are seriously considering the making of a head, I hope this helps give you a little foundation to work from.

 

Nope! I feel like I'm the odd man out on this one.

But while I haven't thought about sculpting my own doll, I HAVE thought about sculpting my own accessories.

 

I have thought of sculpting my own head, but I don't have the skills and patience though. Sometimes I see some handsome faces and think how I wish I can make this face into a doll

 

I didn't only think of it, I did it, and it was horrible xD
I started to sculpt a complete doll but in the end I didn't like it at all so I decided to throw it and never speak of it again.
Now I think it happened because I had no idea of what I wanted to do, I did no plans nor drawings so I wasn't inspired. I would gladly try again when I have the inspiration, the time and the materials

 

In an alternate world where I can work in 3D or sew extremely well and/or have friends who can do both, I would have a company focused on history-related dolls. I don't know if I'd have sculpts modelled after historical figures - though they'd certainly be named after than - but I would wish to have at least a bit more variation than some of the main stores currently do. Especially for YoSDs, since they're my favourite size, but so hard to find unique sculpts with. I'd also love to be able to make/sell historical clothing for a ton of eras...

I'll probably never be able to do this, and limit myself to basic sewing, but I think if I ever do get a Spiritdoll Dandelion, I'll mod him a bit - a bigger nose and a slight clef chin, maybe a stronger jaw... Not sculpting but as close as I'll probably be able to get!

 

I've thought about it a lot, honestly.
I'm a hobby artist, and I've loved using sculpting programs for leisure fun/OC development. And my dad even has a 3D printer which he uses for his at home company, so I'm even more tempted to give it a go.
The only thing stopping me really is time and motivation. I don't work a LOT (parttime) but its enough hours in a week that I'm too tired to do anything when I get home and I'm too unmotivated/want to relax when I do have days off.
I believe I could make a doll. but if I was going to I'd want to sell it as well, and I just don't have a) enough popularity to make it work b) it's always a gamble with this kind of stuff (art/hand made things). It could be a hit or it could just be a waste of time.
It'd be a neat personal project to maybe get into, in the future. But I don't think I'm about to right now. ^^

 

I've also thought about it, because dolls are just so expensive haha... But I've found that I really love dolls that look very realistic and looking at drawings I've done in the past... realism isn't really my strong point haha. So I think I'd just be frustrating myself.

 

I've bought some DAS (a type of air dry clay) and I'm kinda planning to use it to sculpt my own bjd head... though I haven't started yet XD I know what the head should look like, but I'm not quite sure what to do about its size. The Vito body I have would be far too muscular for the character I have in mind and I can't think of any other similar sized bodies I could possibly use as reference, so I'm kinda stuck on that .___.

Also, while I did attend an art school where we had sculpting lessons and such, my experience was only with the bas-relief technique ;___; I kinda know how to use the tools, but I've never experimented with full 3D shapes or realistic face sculpting, so this is all pretty new to me D:

 

Yes - and to date I've completed two heads and am working on a body and two more heads.

I don't really know why I started. I wouldn't say I was disappointed with my first bjd when I got her, quite the opposite, but I pretty quickly saw things that I would've liked to be different. I was absolutely not willing to mod the most expensive hobby item I've ever purchased, but thought I'd like to give it a try myself. I'd taken sculpting classes in college and I have some experience with toy design, so I thought it was within the realm of possibility - and now I'm addicted, haha.

I will say that the expensive and time adds up to nearly the same cost as purchasing a doll. Casting at home is frustrating and worrying because of the dangerous materials. There is a lot of trial and error. But the experience is also rewarding because of its challenges, and I feel that I've improved a lot.

If you're curious, my avatar picture is of one of my own sculpts, and my instagram has my updates/process.

I do wish there was a more active doll making forum aside from The Joint, which at the time I last checked was very slow. I mostly admire other artists' work via instagram but it would be great to have a discussion board format instead.

 

I've studied tutorials for sculpting BJDs multiple times over the years and I've considered purchasing the Yoshida Style books. But I have so many hobbies already and I'm scared of messing up. I'm planning on improving my skills in human anatomy--both sculpting and drawing--and then considering it again. I think it'd be a good idea to be able to sculpt a decent statue before attempting a doll. Anatomy poses enough problems without throwing moving parts into the mix.

 

Yes, I would love to. I have my first company BJD on the way, which I'm very excited about; I'm looking forward to having a go at her body blushing/face-up/making clothes etc. But I think my ultimate goal would be to sculpt my own someday. I'm just getting into clay modelling at the moment.

 

Yes yes yes! I've had hardcore plans on making a full large scale doll eventually, though it probably won't get to happen for another few years. I do have plans to make a small, simple doll first, and I've spent a long time researching how to do it so I can finally start on it soon. Currently I already do such heavy mods on other custom toys and off topic dolls that I may as well be sculpting them from the ground up anyway, haha.