Pages from the Yoshida style ball jointed doll making guide. Its in japanese but i think the pictures are relatively easy to follow. These pages are about joint and socket fitting and how to create the slits. Sorry for the crappy scans lol we have a relatively small scanner. Pages from the Yoshida style ball jointed doll making guide. Its in japanese but i think the pictures are relatively easy to follow. These pages are about joint and socket fitting and how to create the slits. Sorry for the crappy scans lol we have a relatively small scanner. Pages from the Yoshida style ball jointed doll making guide. Its in japanese but i think the pictures are relatively easy to follow. These pages are about joint and socket fitting and how to create the slits. Sorry for the crappy scans lol we have a relatively small scanner.

Pages from the Yoshida style ball jointed doll making guide. Its in japanese but i think the pictures are relatively easy to follow. These pages are about joint and socket fitting and how to create the slits. Sorry for the crappy scans lol we have a relatively small scanner.

  1. Date Posted Icon 27th April 2013
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 19
    3. Tags Icon #Bal jointed doll#sculpting#yoshida style#bjd#joints#e.t.c.
So the leg bases work fine. LOL they are still in the awkward stage but i just had to test string her. lol they are so spindley its hilarious but again this is much better than aluminum foil. I was going to get some brass rods for this part. They would have done the same thing but im on a tight budget and it just seemed smarter for me to work with what i have. Now all i have to do is add, carve and sand on the apoxie to form her thighs and lower legs so hopefully i have something interesting to share next week.  Planning on carving out arm cores with glue sticks the same way i did the legs sometime this weekend too.  On a side note i carved out a small torso core from a cheap dollar store candle to see if that would be an effective way to make torso cores too. I think it would be interesting to sculpt generic cores that can be molded and cast in wax so that way when one feels like sculpting just cast a smooth core to work with. lol besides it should be much less stinky than glue sticks. Maybe even reusable and easier to work with.

So the leg bases work fine. LOL they are still in the awkward stage but i just had to test string her. lol they are so spindley its hilarious but again this is much better than aluminum foil. I was going to get some brass rods for this part. They would have done the same thing but im on a tight budget and it just seemed smarter for me to work with what i have.

Now all i have to do is add, carve and sand on the apoxie to form her thighs and lower legs so hopefully i have something interesting to share next week.  Planning on carving out arm cores with glue sticks the same way i did the legs sometime this weekend too. 

On a side note i carved out a small torso core from a cheap dollar store candle to see if that would be an effective way to make torso cores too. I think it would be interesting to sculpt generic cores that can be molded and cast in wax so that way when one feels like sculpting just cast a smooth core to work with. lol besides it should be much less stinky than glue sticks. Maybe even reusable and easier to work with.

  1. Camera: Nikon COOLPIX S220
  2. Aperture: f/3.1
  3. Exposure: 1/47th
  4. Focal Length: 6mm
  1. Date Posted Icon 14th March 2013
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 5
    3. Tags Icon #BALL JOINTED DOLLS#BJD#SCULPTING#CORES#APOXIE SCULPT
Bones

So i spent some time trying to figure out how to make dissolvable bones for apoxie sculpt jointed dolls because if you are like me and have actually tried to drill into a solid piece you know its really difficult lol and i ended up hurting myself rather than making any progress at all. Anyway… I basically used some wire (though the wire isn’t absolutely necessary in fact if you can by pass the wire bit it will be more successful cause you can just melt the air dry clay)->

and put some cheap air dry clay on it like so (i used la doll because thats all i had. Next time however i will be using crayola air dry clay) ->

After sculpting with clay that isn’t water soluble you can soak the piece in water and melt out the “bone” for a hollow sculpt. Of course this wont work when your doll is made out of air dry clay because it will melt along with the core. This can also be done with hot glue sticks. I think the hot glue method (sculpting over hot glue then melting it out) will work for air dry clay but then its really messy and the air dry clay might not stick to the hot glue while sculpting apoxie sculpt does though.

  1. Date Posted Icon 14th March 2013
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 1
    3. Tags Icon #BJD#BALL JOINTED DOLL#SCULPTING#CORE
Been working on my sculpts (lol all of them) a little at a time and i think although i end up starting over 50 billion times i’m improving… Maybe getting a bit faster too. Im happy with all the ideas i currently have on my work table (really work floor because i hardly ever use my tables). I havent had the urge to throw anything big in the garbage for a while now. Hopefully i will have something completed in close to the end of spring i would like to get some of my dolls cast in resin and because i’m absolute shit at making complex molds and can never make something as “professional” looking as i’d like. i’ve decided to send them off to dollshe when im done. lol i’ve wasted too much money on fruitless molding and casting (almost $2000 not including everything). That isn’t to say i didn’t learn anything. lol in fact i think i figured it out with my last failure lol but i want a sure thing this time. Whose to say my solution isn’t another failure. Then theres the fact that i’ve thrown approximately $2000 in the garbage. lol it kinda makes me sick thinking about what i could have done with that money.  Dollshe’s minimum order is 10 dolls. lol maybe i can keep the amount i want and sell the rest as a way to recoup some costs. I’ll have to do some research though to figure out exactly how one goes about selling dolls. Are pre-orders better? lol but then again who wants feels like waiting for 4-8 months after paying for a doll? lol i’m so impatient that would probably drive me mad.  Been working on my sculpts (lol all of them) a little at a time and i think although i end up starting over 50 billion times i’m improving… Maybe getting a bit faster too. Im happy with all the ideas i currently have on my work table (really work floor because i hardly ever use my tables). I havent had the urge to throw anything big in the garbage for a while now. Hopefully i will have something completed in close to the end of spring i would like to get some of my dolls cast in resin and because i’m absolute shit at making complex molds and can never make something as “professional” looking as i’d like. i’ve decided to send them off to dollshe when im done. lol i’ve wasted too much money on fruitless molding and casting (almost $2000 not including everything). That isn’t to say i didn’t learn anything. lol in fact i think i figured it out with my last failure lol but i want a sure thing this time. Whose to say my solution isn’t another failure. Then theres the fact that i’ve thrown approximately $2000 in the garbage. lol it kinda makes me sick thinking about what i could have done with that money.  Dollshe’s minimum order is 10 dolls. lol maybe i can keep the amount i want and sell the rest as a way to recoup some costs. I’ll have to do some research though to figure out exactly how one goes about selling dolls. Are pre-orders better? lol but then again who wants feels like waiting for 4-8 months after paying for a doll? lol i’m so impatient that would probably drive me mad.  Been working on my sculpts (lol all of them) a little at a time and i think although i end up starting over 50 billion times i’m improving… Maybe getting a bit faster too. Im happy with all the ideas i currently have on my work table (really work floor because i hardly ever use my tables). I havent had the urge to throw anything big in the garbage for a while now. Hopefully i will have something completed in close to the end of spring i would like to get some of my dolls cast in resin and because i’m absolute shit at making complex molds and can never make something as “professional” looking as i’d like. i’ve decided to send them off to dollshe when im done. lol i’ve wasted too much money on fruitless molding and casting (almost $2000 not including everything). That isn’t to say i didn’t learn anything. lol in fact i think i figured it out with my last failure lol but i want a sure thing this time. Whose to say my solution isn’t another failure. Then theres the fact that i’ve thrown approximately $2000 in the garbage. lol it kinda makes me sick thinking about what i could have done with that money.  Dollshe’s minimum order is 10 dolls. lol maybe i can keep the amount i want and sell the rest as a way to recoup some costs. I’ll have to do some research though to figure out exactly how one goes about selling dolls. Are pre-orders better? lol but then again who wants feels like waiting for 4-8 months after paying for a doll? lol i’m so impatient that would probably drive me mad. 

Been working on my sculpts (lol all of them) a little at a time and i think although i end up starting over 50 billion times i’m improving… Maybe getting a bit faster too. Im happy with all the ideas i currently have on my work table (really work floor because i hardly ever use my tables). I havent had the urge to throw anything big in the garbage for a while now.

Hopefully i will have something completed in close to the end of spring i would like to get some of my dolls cast in resin and because i’m absolute shit at making complex molds and can never make something as “professional” looking as i’d like. i’ve decided to send them off to dollshe when im done. lol i’ve wasted too much money on fruitless molding and casting (almost $2000 not including everything). That isn’t to say i didn’t learn anything. lol in fact i think i figured it out with my last failure lol but i want a sure thing this time. Whose to say my solution isn’t another failure. Then theres the fact that i’ve thrown approximately $2000 in the garbage. lol it kinda makes me sick thinking about what i could have done with that money. 

Dollshe’s minimum order is 10 dolls. lol maybe i can keep the amount i want and sell the rest as a way to recoup some costs. I’ll have to do some research though to figure out exactly how one goes about selling dolls. Are pre-orders better? lol but then again who wants feels like waiting for 4-8 months after paying for a doll? lol i’m so impatient that would probably drive me mad. 

  1. Date Posted Icon 14th March 2013
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 6
    3. Tags Icon #BJD#BALL JOINTED DOLL#SCULPTING#SUPER SCULPEY#LA DOLL CLAY
Experimenting with jointing a bit. Trying to figure things out :D so this is a marquette of sorts. i like the upper thigh joints a lot so i might use it for one of my other sculpts. When i’m done with this i think i might sell it as an ooak art doll. I think i’ll enjoy making a wig and clothing for it.

Experimenting with jointing a bit. Trying to figure things out :D so this is a marquette of sorts. i like the upper thigh joints a lot so i might use it for one of my other sculpts. When i’m done with this i think i might sell it as an ooak art doll. I think i’ll enjoy making a wig and clothing for it.

  1. Camera: Nikon COOLPIX S220
  2. Aperture: f/3.1
  3. Exposure: 1/48th
  4. Focal Length: 6mm
  1. Date Posted Icon 7th February 2013
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 3
    3. Tags Icon #ball jointed doll#sculpting#bjd#art doll
An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls. ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times. In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though. An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls. ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times. In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though. An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls. ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times. In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though. An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls. ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times. In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though. An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls. ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times. In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though.

An experiment with ball jointed doll sculpting using sculpey original in white. I find that this stuff (for me as an individual) is only good when you add details in increments. Sculpt, bake, sculpt e.t. cetera. Its very good for carving especially while its warm. Sharp exacto knives are best. Sanding however can be a bitch because its pretty rubbery after baking (like fimo but without the strength of fimo). In terms of sculpting it can be pretty squishy and chances are it will stick to your fingers more than the actual piece but its still pretty easy to work with. It also changes color after each baking session so it isn’t good for ooak dolls.

ITS CHEAP!! Around $6 before taxes for a 1 pound box of the stuff as opposed to $15 for i pack of la doll clay. I find that it’s pretty cool for banging out the bodies really fast especially if you’re sculpting the bodies as a solid piece then carving them hollow. I would never use this for the face. Much too squishy. :D and because its so cheap the clay i lost while carving bits didn’t hurt quite as much. Its too squishy for details though. Its hard to stick fresh clay to cured pieces but it works well enough when i used vaseline as a bond of sorts… vaseline made it more squishy though so it was kinda annoying at times.

In terms of doll sculpting this clay would be perfect if you plan to make waste molds. I’m sticking to la doll though because i’m trying to finish up my sculpts as much as possible before i cast them in resin lol in other words no money for waste molds. I might re visit this clay again one day though.

  1. Date Posted Icon 29th December 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 6
    3. Tags Icon #Sculpey Original#Sculpey#White#Ball Jointed doll#BJD#Sculpt#Sculpting#Experiments
Sorry for the craptacular pic lol i’m in a wicked rush but i want to share this little bit of progress first. I’m currently working on sculpting legs for my main sculpt and this is what i have so far lol the knees are killing me and they are a bit too skinny at the moment so i’m trying to fix that as well. Sculpt is also a bit floopy because of all the gaps so i’m working on that too. Other than that i like where this is going. Have currently used super sculpey and la doll. Will probably use apoxie sculpt to make my various repairs.

Sorry for the craptacular pic lol i’m in a wicked rush but i want to share this little bit of progress first. I’m currently working on sculpting legs for my main sculpt and this is what i have so far lol the knees are killing me and they are a bit too skinny at the moment so i’m trying to fix that as well. Sculpt is also a bit floopy because of all the gaps so i’m working on that too. Other than that i like where this is going. Have currently used super sculpey and la doll. Will probably use apoxie sculpt to make my various repairs.

  1. Camera: Nikon COOLPIX S220
  2. Aperture: f/3.1
  3. Exposure: 1/12th
  4. Focal Length: 6mm
  1. Date Posted Icon 27th October 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 2
    3. Tags Icon #BJD#LEGS#SCULPTING#BALL JOINTED DOLL
before (left) and after (right) omg lol it took me quite some time to figure this out. The orange bit is the part that is going to make her able to get into the fetal position, cross her legs further e.t.c. I know they say fimo clay is a no no when it comes to sculpting ball jointed dolls :D but i havent had any issues using it so meah. lol kinda looks like carrot slices though. before (left) and after (right) omg lol it took me quite some time to figure this out. The orange bit is the part that is going to make her able to get into the fetal position, cross her legs further e.t.c. I know they say fimo clay is a no no when it comes to sculpting ball jointed dolls :D but i havent had any issues using it so meah. lol kinda looks like carrot slices though.

before (left) and after (right) omg lol it took me quite some time to figure this out. The orange bit is the part that is going to make her able to get into the fetal position, cross her legs further e.t.c. I know they say fimo clay is a no no when it comes to sculpting ball jointed dolls :D but i havent had any issues using it so meah. lol kinda looks like carrot slices though.

  1. Date Posted Icon 16th August 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 2
    3. Tags Icon #BJD#BALL JOINTED DOLL#SCULPTING#PROBLEM SOLVING
Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy. Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy. Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy. Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy. Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy. Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints. He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy.

Tonights bit of progress :D i’m really happy with the way this is turning out. This is basically the same shot from different angles. Still needs hands feet and joints.

He hip joints seem to be turning out ok at the moment though so i’m really happy.

  1. Date Posted Icon 24th April 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 2
    3. Tags Icon #bjd#ball jointed doll#sculpting
Worked on my main sculpt (and others today) shaved some bits off sanded some stuff down added more clay to bulk up some bits and separated her so i can really dig into it. Literally in some cases. I dont know what i’m going to do for her thigh joints and just her joints in general so i’m at a stand still yet again. Still on a quest to find some ball grinders and she is in desperate need of hands and feet other than that things seem to ge going well. Hopefully i can start making junk molds by next week. I think i’m just going to make some resin molds of the body then refine it from there. I really like how this is turning out so far though :D so many possibilities at the moment so i really cant complain.

Worked on my main sculpt (and others today) shaved some bits off sanded some stuff down added more clay to bulk up some bits and separated her so i can really dig into it. Literally in some cases. I dont know what i’m going to do for her thigh joints and just her joints in general so i’m at a stand still yet again. Still on a quest to find some ball grinders and she is in desperate need of hands and feet other than that things seem to ge going well. Hopefully i can start making junk molds by next week. I think i’m just going to make some resin molds of the body then refine it from there. I really like how this is turning out so far though :D so many possibilities at the moment so i really cant complain.

  1. Camera: Nikon COOLPIX S220
  2. Aperture: f/3.9
  3. Exposure: 1/14th
  4. Focal Length: 9mm
  1. Date Posted Icon 23rd April 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 4
    3. Tags Icon #bjd#ball jointed doll#sculpting#doll