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An Update on Making My Doll

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Omega_Vato
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An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

It's been four years since I said I wanted to make my first doll and since that time I was dealing with several tragedies and it had affected my well being, not to mention I have bought my first TPE doll (I'm getting a second one pretty soon). So now I am hoping to at least get started on making the doll this September and have drawn out a concept drawing of it, but this is not the final design (I hope you can see it clearly):
First concept drawing
First concept drawing
20170819_141119.jpg (893.86 KiB) Viewed 7508 times
Next, I bought one tub of Monster Clay (medium grade) since through research I figured that this wax-based clay works well to sculpt heads, statues and dolls as well you can pour over a mold for casting (not going to do pour casting). I intend to buy a case of four tubs of Monster clay (25 lbs) to get started on the sculpture.
20170805_142832.jpg
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As for the frame that I will be sculpting on... I was thinking doing two options, either buy at least some PVC pipes and make a mannequin frame or purchase a My Size Barbie doll and sculpt over the body. Now, I don't want to buy a doll or mannequin that looks like a child but I want to make sure that I don't consume a lot of money and let it be an expensive disaster. Ergo, I will see about buying a My Size Barbie doll that's 36 inches in length and also get epoxy putty to cover the seams of the arms and legs as well as a Styrofoam head. Practically, I could be spending under $200 if the My Size Barbie doll is below $100. If you have any other suggestions and/or tips it would be greatly appreciated. By the way, this will NOT be a sex doll since I will not add the vagina.
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Anung Un Rama
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Anung Un Rama »

This is most exciting.

Please keep us posted.

Evolving a doll from concept to design and then into production is a a great adventure.

I am working with a talented artist at the moment as well to introduce a new custom, next generation technology doll into the doll universe.

Good Luck and patience is paramount.

Anung
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

Anung Un Rama wrote:This is most exciting.

Please keep us posted.

Evolving a doll from concept to design and then into production is a a great adventure.

I am working with a talented artist at the moment as well to introduce a new custom, next generation technology doll into the doll universe.

Good Luck and patience is paramount.

Anung

Thanks so much, Anung! I hope to keep everyone posted and the good news is that I just bought a 38" Barbie doll from Ebay (providing the U.S. Postal Service doesn't screw me over like last time). I'll have to keep monitoring my emails for further updates.

In the meantime, since I've bought some drawing paper, I'm going to find more pics of women and then just get started and compile what I'm looking for. :glou:
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by rubherkitty »

Good luck on the doll! :D
I thinking using the MS Barbie or a small mannequin is the way to go.
PVC tubing has too much flex to be a good armature.

As far as using a child mannequin. Nothing wrong w/ that as long as you don't show the whole body w/ head and you end up making it adult looking when finished. I'm using a 4' 4" child mannequin, but plan to extend the height some, plus enhance the body to adult. I chose this particular child mannequin as I want a midsize doll and this mannequin was very skinny allowing for the built up body mods.
Try finding a adult mannequin under 5'4" let alone 4' 8"!!!
Going downtown. Gonna see my gal. Gonna sing her a song. I'm gonna show her my ding dong! C&C

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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

rubherkitty wrote:Good luck on the doll! :D
I thinking using the MS Barbie or a small mannequin is the way to go.
PVC tubing has too much flex to be a good armature.

As far as using a child mannequin. Nothing wrong w/ that as long as you don't show the whole body w/ head and you end up making it adult looking when finished. I'm using a 4' 4" child mannequin, but plan to extend the height some, plus enhance the body to adult. I chose this particular child mannequin as I want a midsize doll and this mannequin was very skinny allowing for the built up body mods.
Try finding a adult mannequin under 5'4" let alone 4' 8"!!!

Much appreciated! I initially wanted to buy a headless unisex child mannequin to sculpt over but I am a bit apprehensive about doing that and if I did I would have to pay about $100 to $290 plus shipping (I could be wrong). The Barbie doll I just bought would allow me to sculpt over it without the extra cash plus it will be a small doll like a midget. We'll see once I've finished the final design. :)
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by rubherkitty »

Yeah, just depends on how tall you want the doll to be.
I have a MS Barbie that I lengthened out about 6 inches?
You could do something similar and the extensions would not have to look great as the Barbie is just an armature.
Going downtown. Gonna see my gal. Gonna sing her a song. I'm gonna show her my ding dong! C&C

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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

Anung Un Rama wrote:This is most exciting.

Please keep us posted.

Evolving a doll from concept to design and then into production is a a great adventure.

I am working with a talented artist at the moment as well to introduce a new custom, next generation technology doll into the doll universe.

Good Luck and patience is paramount.

Anung

Alright! I've got an update!

Today, I've just received the My Size Barbie in the mail today plus new clay; Although the clay is not Monster Clay, I got the next best thing: Chavant Clay Medium NSP
Before I took off the head.
Before I took off the head.
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The new clay. Five blocks (10 lbs) and I might get five more but let's see when the time comes.
The new clay. Five blocks (10 lbs) and I might get five more but let's see when the time comes.
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There's one caveat that I must figure out and that's how to design the doll to where it's proportioned to a curvy thick little woman, so before I get started sculpting it's back to the design phase. Any suggestions would be a godsend. :D

:glou:
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by rubherkitty »

Chavant is good clay! I buy Plastaline from Hobby Lobby, but it's a cheaper clay.

Looks like you're a good artist.
Will this be a silicone doll when you are done?
With a skeleton?
Going downtown. Gonna see my gal. Gonna sing her a song. I'm gonna show her my ding dong! C&C

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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

rubherkitty wrote:Chavant is good clay! I buy Plastaline from Hobby Lobby, but it's a cheaper clay.

Looks like you're a good artist.
Will this be a silicone doll when you are done?
With a skeleton?

I did buy some plastilina clay at both Michaels and Hobby Lobby a few years back. It's a nice clay but not great when it comes to casting.

As for being a good artist? :haha4: Thanks but not 100% great. Here's my recent second design:
Probably won't use this design either.
Probably won't use this design either.
20170829_221934.jpg (830.94 KiB) Viewed 7258 times
To also answer your question, "Will this be a silicone doll?" I made a budget of materials I will need in Excel:
You can see the materials price as well as the shipping cost.
You can see the materials price as well as the shipping cost.
2017-08-29.png (121.7 KiB) Viewed 7258 times
Some of the materials I could get from Smooth-On directly though I was thinking about just using liquid latex since it would be a bit cheaper without utilizing silicone. However, one of the materials on the list, Free Form AIR, will be used as the mother mold replacing plaster. If I were to cast the sculpt using Free Form AIR I could get the details but I don't want to risk damaging the mold. I also was thinking of making the mold using silicone (Dragon Skin) and use liquid latex as the final mold. That could turn catastrophic, an expensive disaster. I guess we might see.

I may or may not make a skeleton. Since it's going to be three feet, I might create a skeleton out of PVC pipe yet if I do that I have to consider the joints making sure the doll can move without hassle; I also need to figure out designing the skeletal frame and how to insert the frame inside the mold.

You can go over everything I have written down and if you have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. :D
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by rubherkitty »

The Plastaline is difficult to get a smooth finish. I need to try Chavant sometime.

If you don't use Monster Clay, you won't need the crock pot unless you want to cook a roast while making the doll.

I assume the Dragon skin is for the mold. You might try Bondoglass autobody filler for a mother mold.
It may come out cheaper than the air form.
I made a dragon skin mold then covered this w/a 1/4" coat of Rondo. Rondo is Bondo filler mixed w/ fiberglass resin to a molasses type consistency. I then went over that w/ 1/4" of Bondoglass.

A lot of PVC skeletons just use twisted core electrical cable for the joints. Allows them to hold a little bit of pose. I assume the PVC has some type a connecting hinge so the limbs just can't move in any odd direction.

The skeleton is held into position in the mold using wires. I'm thinking of trying bicycle spokes.
A person will need to figure out where they want the wires and put the same wires in their model to be molded so the wires don't mess up the mold seam if added later.

Pigments. S-On flesh tone is good. If you think you can just add some brown to darken the skin tone a little. I didn't have much luck. If you are even successful, it's hard to get a repeat match as the pigment is a cream you have to dip out w/a toothpick/ etc and add to the silicone.
If/when I get into doll making, I'm going to use liquid drop pigments so you can count how many drops of this/that per OZ of silicone, etc. The pros use this. Trying to mix S-On's primary colors to make a custom color is tough.
Going downtown. Gonna see my gal. Gonna sing her a song. I'm gonna show her my ding dong! C&C

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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

rubherkitty wrote:The Plastaline is difficult to get a smooth finish. I need to try Chavant sometime.

If you don't use Monster Clay, you won't need the crock pot unless you want to cook a roast while making the doll.

I assume the Dragon skin is for the mold. You might try Bondoglass autobody filler for a mother mold.
It may come out cheaper than the air form.
I made a dragon skin mold then covered this w/a 1/4" coat of Rondo. Rondo is Bondo filler mixed w/ fiberglass resin to a molasses type consistency. I then went over that w/ 1/4" of Bondoglass.

A lot of PVC skeletons just use twisted core electrical cable for the joints. Allows them to hold a little bit of pose. I assume the PVC has some type a connecting hinge so the limbs just can't move in any odd direction.

The skeleton is held into position in the mold using wires. I'm thinking of trying bicycle spokes.
A person will need to figure out where they want the wires and put the same wires in their model to be molded so the wires don't mess up the mold seam if added later.

Pigments. S-On flesh tone is good. If you think you can just add some brown to darken the skin tone a little. I didn't have much luck. If you are even successful, it's hard to get a repeat match as the pigment is a cream you have to dip out w/a toothpick/ etc and add to the silicone.
If/when I get into doll making, I'm going to use liquid drop pigments so you can count how many drops of this/that per OZ of silicone, etc. The pros use this. Trying to mix S-On's primary colors to make a custom color is tough.

I got a new update. I have at completed 45% of the body sculpting but it was rather painful from the beginning. A few hours after laying down the clay on the legs, I started developing sharp pains on both of my hands and they hurt like the dickens. Here's the first photos of the clay:
20170904_104108.jpg
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Today, I have finished the lower body even though the sculpture is not as smooth and I did use baby oil to smooth out the rough parts. Mind you the medium Chavant Clay is not a joke, it's crazy to sculpt but it's rewarding. Here are a couple of pictures taken today:
The upper body will be next.
The upper body will be next.
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20170917_153815.jpg
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I'll work on the back a little more.
I'll work on the back a little more.
20170917_153827.jpg (989.94 KiB) Viewed 7002 times
I'm going to stop sculpting to draw what the front would look like and I have some good ideas, but I'm somewhat indecisive. So I will need to make sure what I design I must select it. Let me know what you think. More updates to come! By the way, does it seem weird whenever I take the photos the sculpture looks thinner?
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by rubherkitty »

Looks like she's shaping up to what you want. Hopefully you can get the clay smooth.
I've had good luck using steel tools to smooth. Plastic tools seam to smear the clay more.

What do you mean by: "the medium Chavant Clay is not a joke, it's crazy to sculpt but it's rewarding"?

That it is stiff, hard to work? Did you try warming the clay? I warm the Plastaline and it works real easy.
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Walley »

If you use a large plastic freeze bag and a small roller type tool you can smooth out the clay without leaving marks. just make sure the plastic has no wrinkles. You can soften the clay with a blow dryer before adding the plastic just don't over do the heat or the clay will run. Roll a little then remove plastic to check progress then relay plastic roll and repeat.

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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

Post by Omega_Vato »

Walley wrote:If you use a large plastic freeze bag and a small roller type tool you can smooth out the clay without leaving marks. just make sure the plastic has no wrinkles. You can soften the clay with a blow dryer before adding the plastic just don't over do the heat or the clay will run. Roll a little then remove plastic to check progress then relay plastic roll and repeat.

I do have a roller but I don't have a hair dryer. :(
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Re: An Update on Making My Doll

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Ok.. New update!! So, I'm about 90% finished with the body and I got the clay tools as well as the blow dryer. I had been sculpting for about a few weeks and even though there were some distractions from a family member who was visiting and making life crazy all week I managed to get a good grip on what I'm looking for. I used baby oil to soften and smooth out the clay but before I did so I had to lightly carve out the clay to give it some shape. I initially wanted to make her a bit muscular but after seeing what she looked like... I had to scrap that idea. So, I just went for a curvy figure that I hope would look like a belly dancer. Well... here it is:

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I do know it will take a little while before I need to smooth out everything before I start casting. As for materials, I have updated the shopping list as to what I need and one user suggested that I used fiberglass as the mother mold. Here's the updated list:
2017-10-09.png
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Somehow, the previous list allows me to save a little more especially if the size of the doll is small as the one I'm making. I was looking over TDF page and another user suggested if you wanted your doll to be lightweight, use polyurethane foam with a silicone skin. So, I might do that since I am going for something that looks thick but just enough to pick up and I am thinking the doll should be up to 30 lbs. If not, then I might as well use 100% silicone. I do know I need to still smooth out the clay (and make sure not to let my darn fingernails keep scratching and removing clay from the sculpture which that's annoying) before I begin doing the casting process. As for the head, I am considering making the head of an anime character. Let me know what you think. Thanks and cheers!
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