The complete failure happened when I baked it. I don't think the polish dried completely so when it baked the iris separated from the acrylic lens and everything went to hell. I have another one that has been drying for a day now so I'll attempt it later and let people know.

Coated it with gloss medium which made it look nice. The clear polish gave it a slight yellow tint but the Sculpey stuff dried pretty clear.

Also, does anyone have a trick to keep lint out of white Sculpey? I got a bunch of crud in it even after cleaning my hands and work area.

Last thing today. I also played with making a head using paperclay. It was pretty fun stuff to work with. I built up some muscles/bones over a styrofoam ball then wrapped a layer of skin around it and went from there. It came out more masculine and angrier than originally intended. Might sand it and work some more but definitely starting a new one soon.

If you can avoid it don't use the green floral foam as a base. It gets this fine green powder everywhere including into the clay (which doesn't really like to stick to it).

>>97
On the foam bit, I've seen regular Styrofoam (Expanded Polystyrene) in fairly large blocks at Michael's crafts. They've also got it in preformed balls.

Nice job though Anon! How long did that take?

>>98

Thanks! I worked on it off and on over the course of a day and didn't really keep track of the time. I probably spent few hours total working on it. Lots of getting used to what tool does what, pushing clay around, erasing and trying again.

I picked up some of the styrene balls from Michaels on the way home from work today. I didn't see any large blocks at mine (just little cubes) but they did have a huge sheet of 4" thick stuff I might get next time I have a coupon. I originally got the soft green stuff because it was a lot cheaper but I probably won't get it again.

Last edited 08/07/08(Tue)10:37.

>>97
have you done any sculpting before? because that turned out pretty awesome. o_o

>>100

Not a whole lot. I messed with some sculpey a year ago making weird blob monsters...I'm a graphic design major though so it is probably a couple years of art school showing.

I'm no expert but here are a few things that I do may or may not help. Definitely don't try to do it all at once. If your mind starts to wander, get frustrated, or whatever just put it down for a while and read a chapter of manga. It often goes through phases of looking like crap, looking good, looking like crap again so just 'work through it.' When you think you're done put it down for an hour and come back. You'll find something else. Read lots of tutorials and books. I just got "Modelling and Sculpting the Human Figure" by Lanteri from the library which had some really nice instructions for making a classical bust and figure that I tried in this head.

Basically...Take your time at it. We're not on a deadline (unless your clay dries out). Work with it long enough and the clay will start telling you what it wants to do. Sounds like hippie crap but it is generally true.

Good luck with yours! Post up some pics if you make one!

Pic of it part way through.

/r/ing that this thread be hit with some super strength sticky action NAOW!!!

Srsly, good job Anon. That last pic is amazing quality.

>>106

Thanks for the sticky /r/ but this board moves so slowly I don't really need it. Plus it would make me feel weird (egotistical?) to have it up there...

I'm glad the tutorial thread it stickied though!

I did some more stuff over the week but didn't upload it...

I sanded down the head smooth and did some carving to try fixing the lips and stuff a bit. Once I got rid of all the lumps I really noticed where I went wrong. The lips were too small and probably too high. Top/back of the head a little flat. One eye is a different size than the other. Cheeks were too gaunt, etc...Practice practice.

The paperclay is sturdy but easily scratched once dried. Like, I can take the head a squeeze it fairly firmly but I can also dent it just by pressing my fingernail into it. Even a stiff brush can scratch it. Makes it pretty easy to sand and carve. I'm going to eventually coat it with modeling paste so maybe it'll toughen up the surface more.

Today I cut the head open and put in some plastic 18mm eyes to see what it would look like. It looks neat but really makes the inconsistency of the eyelids apparent...

I also started on a body to experiment how it'll all go together. It's based off a template I found on one of the websites in the tutorial thread. I'm not worrying too much about making it super detailed or spending a lot of time. I'm more or less using this one as a quick run through so that I get some experience and have a better idea what to look for in the next one.

A view of one of the legs cut open and hollowed out. Stupid green floral foam is everywhere again. I ended up using a toothbrush to scrape most of that crap out of the clay. Ball joints will probably go in tomorrow.

Started making the joints today. Some came out better than others. I did one of the elbows backwards which sucked so make sure you remember which is the left arm vs the right and which way it has to bend. Oops.

This is one of the legs at the hip joint. I think it needs a bit more of a dip just under the joint so that the leg can go to a full 90 degrees when sitting...

Ran into some trouble with this one (an elbow joint). The drill bit I wanted to use was apparently bent so it skipped pretty bad and I had to change it out. Then I discovered the clay underneath was still wet so it tore instead of cut and now it looks nasty. Maybe I can fill it and try again. Make sure not to get into a hurry and let stuff dry overnight!

A loose test fitting of all the pieces. The head and arms don't look right to me. Too small probably. Or the trunk of the body is just plain too big. The board it is on is about 24" tall to give you a sense of scale for it.

Next time I'd totally advise making the styrofoam core smaller than you think and adding clay if it is too small. I thought I made mine small enough but after I put on some clay it turned out pretty beefy.

If anyone's got questions let me know. Next up are hands and feet, more sanding, and then trying out a modeling paste coating.

>>122
The head looks fine, though the arms look like they could use some bulk.

It does look a little out of proportion, but not too badly. Very awesome work Anon!

>>122
i know what you mean about the core, i've just started on mine and it's already looking a little... bulky
i'll post pics when i get my hands on a camera...

excellent work though - as far as proportion goes, i imagine it'll improve once the hands and feet are added on ~
and my inclination is that the torso is a little large, rather than the arms being too small

Last edited 08/07/14(Mon)12:17.

>>122

Thanks. The head doesn't bother me too much but the arms really do. I may try adding a little bulk to them to see if it balances things. Problems like this is why I wanted to do a 'test body' first.

>>124

It could be the torso as well...I got a chart with measurements taken from other dolls so I'm going to try measuring things and comparing them when I get home from work.

It gets bulky really quick! Good luck with keeping yours under control. It's a lot of work to get these things right. I totally want to see pictures when you get a camera!

Hey OP, what tools were you using for the sculpting? Any recommendations on what to get or avoid?

>>131

I posted it into the sticky. As far as sculpting tools goes you really just need to some basic tools and get in there and start playing. You'll figure out what works best for you pretty quick. I really liked the wood tools and a couple metal ones. Other people seem to be in love with the dental sets and stainless steel wax carver sets. I've never used them so I can't say...They would probably be better if you are working in a polymer clay vs the paper clay I used.

Wow...