Monday, March 19, 2007

3月のトップページ 5体目ちゃん顔アップ




3月のトップページの5体目ちゃんの顔のアップです。可愛かったので3枚も撮っていました。似たような写真なのですが全て載せてみますね。少しでも春らしさを感じてくれれば幸いです。

私の利用するネットショップは目のように色を名前しか書いてくれない所です。目は15色でしたが、髪の毛はそれどころじゃないです。大量です。ブロンドや栗色も何十種類もあります。名前だけ書かれても微妙な色の差が分かりません。

そこで、目にはない素晴らしいものの登場です。髪の毛のカラーサンプルです。これを取り寄せました。一房ずつの髪の毛がキーホルダーのようになって輪っかについているのです。届いた時にはとても喜びました。数えてみると何と71色もありました!これでは注文する時に困るはず。しかも色によって本当に微妙な差しかなかったりするのです。この5体目まで(厳密に言うと今作っている6体目まで)はどんな色か分からずに注文しました。黒髪は別に難しいことはないのですが、3体目はハニーブロンド、4、5体目はライト・ピーチ・ブロンド、6体目はゴールデン・ストロベリー・ブロンドです。ブロンドだけで26種類くらいあるのです。

ハニーブロンドは薄いプラチナブロンドにクリーム色が混ざったような綺麗な色でとても満足しました。ライト・ピーチ・ブロンドはそれに更に黄色を少し足して透明感を強めた色で、これも非常に満足であります。6体目のゴールデン・ストロベリー・ブロンドは説明が難しいのですが、とても魅力的な色です。金髪に少しピンクを足した感じの色です。まさに苺のような金髪。とても綺麗です。

人形を作る時にこの髪の毛の色と目の色でかなり印象が変わってくるので、最初に作る前にしっかりイメージを決めておいた方が良いような気もしますが、行き当たりばったりで決めるのも楽しいのは確かです。

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

She is also lovely - the perfect flower child. May I ask where you learned to make ball jointed dolls?

Ayano said...

Hello Christine,

Thank you for your comment for my 5th doll!
About how to make BJD, I'm a self-learner. But I know some Japanese website which shows how to make ball jointed dolls like this one.
http://www.aimi-doll.com/
Here you can learn step by step but you still need more detailed information you can't find there.
Some people say this book is very nice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Book-Ball-Jointed-Doll-Figure-Yoshida-Style-/300430883598?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f3137b0e#ht_3441wt_1012
I hope it helps!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this info - you are very kind :)

Ayano said...

No problem :-)
I will answer as much as I can so feel free to ask.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I guess I do have another question. Do you think it would be possible to make a doll similar to this that is only 5 or so inches high - a doll that would work well in a regular 1/12th scale dollhouse setting? I assume you are using "La Doll" or similar paper/stone clay and I just don't know if it is suitable for working smaller...what do you think?

Ayano said...

>Christine

The answer is yes! I know some people making tiny dolls from 3 inches high. They prefer resin more than stone clay because most of them want to duplicate those tiny dolls. In that case, you need to make a prototype model with stone clay, make a mold from that model with silicon clay, and then cast resin into a doll.

If you want to make a doll with clay, then I think a mixture of LaDoll and Premier, or just a Premier, which is more durable than LaDoll, is fine.
LaDoll and Premier air drying stone clay
Wood formo is also nice for its durability and lightness but it might be a bit difficult to do the tiny work (moreover I don't see wood formo in US!).

It is very rare but there is a bisque tiny doll. It is about 4 inches.

Whether you want to duplicate tiny dolls or not, I recommend you to start making one with Premier first. I haven't tried casting resin dolls so I don't know how it is difficult.

Sorry for complicated explanation. Please ask me if you have any question :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you again for your answer. Those tiny bisque dolls are amazing! I had not heard of Wood Formo before and I did find a supplier of that and some other clays I had never heard of here: http://www.tinkleartncrafts.com/catalog.php?category=2

I have tried to use Premier on a really tiny doll and found it a little weak when drilling tiny holes for stringing - doll was 1.25 inch. I guess what I am looking for is an air dry clay that can be formed somewhat while wet and then carved the rest of the way when dry. Perhaps a combination of some of the clays listed on that website will do the trick! Any recommendations?

Anonymous said...

Just found another link to an artist's class that uses "La Formo" clay - do you think this is a mixture of La Doll and Wood Formo?

http://www.clothdollconnection.com/Classes/verhelst5.html

Ayano said...

>Christine

Ok, I read making diary of 1 inch ball jointed dolls and found that the person who is working said she is using a mixture of stone clay (LaDoll or Premier or mixture of them) and wood formo and she said it's working just fine. It is easy to model and durable. So you may want to try to mix pre-mix stone clay (this is the mixture of LaDoll and Premier) and wood formo at 50:50 ratio. Just make sure you need to knead clays very well before you use them (this will help clay to dry very hard and durable).

Those clays on the website you gave me a link, I know some of them are polymer clay, which is good for making miniature foods but not suitable for making dolls. However I do know some people use polymer clay for making small dolls and they say it is easy to model details but once it's dried it will be extremely hard so it will be very very difficult to fix and carve later.

La Formo, this package is somewhat familiar but I can't find who sells it now. I tried to search what La Formo made of, but too bad there is no information.

So the conclusion is to use the mixture of Pre-mix stone clay and wood formo. They are just fine structure-wise for ball jointed dolls but might be weak for the dolls you make (the way you connect limbs to the body).

Anonymous said...

Well, thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter. Must get some wood Formo and see what can be accomplished with it - either alone or mixed!

Ayano said...

>Christine

You are welcome :)
I hope it helps you to make dolls. I'm working on tiny ichimatsu dolls so I might gonna get wood formo, too.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I wanted to tell you about something I read about on a doll making forum. Some gals I know use this stuff "Durham's Water Putty" to make or add stuff to dolls. It is really cheap and available at most hardware stores here in the states. Seems like it might be interesting to try - especially at $5 for four pounds! Here are a couple links from the company website:

http://www.waterputty.com/pages/view.htm

http://www.waterputty.com/pages/carving.htm

Ayano said...

>Christine
Thank you for the interesting information! I checked the product and it says it is a gypsum-based filler. When you make a bisque doll, you use gypsum to make doll molds but I have never heard people make ball jointed dolls with it. I think it is good for making solid dolls (ball jointed dolls are hollow inside). The thinness of clay is matter in the case of ball jointed dolls so I don't know it is suitable for BJD (I don't know how hard and durable this putty can be when it is spread to a thin layer). However, since the price is very friendly, it is worth trying :-)