Supplies needed for making character doll projects.
Coban Elastic Sports Wrap - Dollar Tree and in the $1 section at Target, but mostly in the first aid supplies at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens. What you find in the first aid section is usually flesh colored, but the more brightly colored varieties are out there.
Majnouna - Tutorial section is wonderful! Ethnic characteristics, body mechanics, body types, breast shapes - a great resource. (Click on the image to enlarge)
In real life, people's arms and legs are longer when they are bent. Our limbs are not really like pipe cleaners. Our muscles extend and contract as we move. In fact, the length of the torso is slightly shorter when we sit down. Try measuring someone's arms and legs in standing and sitting position. For a sitting doll, make the legs a bit longer. For a doll holding something in her arms, make the arm(s) holding the item longer.
Take a piece of paper and draw a line as to how tall you want your doll. Let's say a man doll. You get a head and torso only, feet to the knees....hmmmmmm and arms to the elbow? So you might want him to be 6" tall. Align the top of the head to the top of the line. Then line up the feet with the bottom of the line. Now you can see just how much wire you need to attach the legs to the torso. So do that. One more thing, if you are going to have that doll to be sitting, when you measure your wire you must measure 1/4 inch or a little over that to make sure that his feet will be on the floor when his knees are bent. So your doll, if straightened out should measure 6 1/4" long. If standing, just to the line. Now for arms, it is said that your arm length from middle finger to middle finger on the other hand should be the same as you are tall. However, if you want him to have bent arms - like the legs, you must add another 1/4 inch or so for the elbow.
Head looks too small? Maybe a hat is an answer. Make it fit high on the head with plenty of forehead showing. Sometimes a head appears too small but when the doll is finished and dressed the proportions are better than some of the others. There is a lot of variation in head size in the general population. Someone may appear to be totally out of whack, and they are REAL!
As for the eye size, for a doll head size of 3 cm, you need eyes of 6 mm, for a doll head size of 4-5 cm, you need eyes of 6-8 mm, for a doll head size of 6-7 cm, you need eyes of 8-10 mm.
To make a character look younger, try adding more clay to the top of the head, so the features drop below mid-line, and blend well.
When sculpting a head, bake an egg-shaped form on the end of a toothpick. Then you can add and shape the facial features of a firm base which doesn't distort. Carve one end of a cuticle stick that is about an eighth inch in diameter to a point. You may want to cure the stick by rubbing it with clay so the clay will stick easier. Shove a ball of clay onto the stick and make sure it's stuck on good. You don't want it swimming around while you're trying to work. Sometimes it is helpful to wrap another piece of clay below, like a neck would be, to help it stay put. Cut that away before baking. Just pull the head off after baking, while it is still a little warm is the easiest. Be very careful not to damage the ears.The torso is already baked at this point, with no neck. Drill a hole in the neck area and insert a heavy wire with super glue, about 18 gauge, and trim to about an inch. Stuff fresh clay into the hole in the head left by the stick. Try the head on the wire and trim the wire if needed. Remove the head, add fresh clay for a neck around the wire, and press the head onto the fresh neck clay. Position the head, trim the neck clay and clean up any seams. Rebake the entire piece with a bit of damp paper towel covering the face.This does not allow the head to move, it's position will be fixed. This is a nice method because you won't squish the torso while you are sculpting the head, and your heads should be better quality.
For those of you who do full body sculpts, use a banana hanger. (Patricia Rose uses this method)
For eyebrows, sculpt little hairs growing in a natural direction, using an Exacto blade, or a fine needle, to lightly etch the clay. When painted, the paint gets into the texture for a more interesting and lifelike look.
For the tiniest of dolls, use monofilament thread, plastic clothing tags or fishing line to fasten limbs and head to the doll body. Insert a piece of line through the outside of the arm or let leaving a tail. Burn the end of the line with a cigarette lighter until a blob appears that will not fit back through the hole. Put on the other arm or leg and hold the doll so the limbs are tight while burning that end to a blob. Practice getting the feel of it. This method can be used for the tiniest of dolls.
Is your doll a cry-baby? For tears, use an epoxy that dries clear. Wrap the head tightly with Saran wrap so no wrinkles were on the part where the tear is to go. Build up the teardrop so it was 3 D. After it dries, peel it off and using the same epoxy, glue it where it is to go. Or use a toothpick and nail clear gloss. Make a little drop, let dry, then redo it and make the toothpick go up to the eye to make the running tear.
How to get those clothes to look natural? Use very fine quilter's pins and pin the doll to a round revolving spice tray, lined with a piece of ceiling tile (fastened with double-sided tape). Pin the fabric in place, then spray lightly with the cheapest hairspray you can find. Let it dry, then spray lightly again. When dry remove the pins and if there is a tiny hole, rub it out with a fingernail. Works like a charm. You can do this even if the doll is sitting on a bench or chair. Cover bench and chair with saran wrap place doll, pin in place and spray as above.
Draping can be done in steps. If the doll has a long gown and many petticoats, drape the petticoats one by one, again, pin, spray lightly, let dry, spray again.....let dry, remove pins, add next petticoat. Pin - but make it look realistic. Petticoats can be maneuvered into other pleats and folds over the original.... again pin, let dry, spray again. Very light sprays. Then add the gown over......and do the same......
Males: Make all features bigger. Think square chin, overhanging brows, prominent nose, cheekbones, and ears, eyes sunk deeper into the eye cavity. Make some lines on his forehead, emphasize the lines at the side of the nose to mouth, create smile lines around the eye. Create a 5 o'clock shadow with dark eyeshadow. Shade cheeks and mouth with a brown/brick hue.
Men have wider necks that slope outward, with a hint of Adam's apple; broader shoulders, some heft on the upper arms, thighs, and calves. They need buttocks and a slight padding in the front. Larger/broader hands and feet. Men tend to point their feet outward. Observe the movements and positioning of men friends and incorporate these natural movements into your figure. Watch the length of trousers - when too short or straight, they can look sissy.
Painting faces - use a dark flesh wash over the entire face and wipe most of it away, which makes the features stand out. Make the eyes settled within the socket, inside the eyelids (look at your own eyes, some of the iris is behind the eyelid). Focus the pupils in the same direction. Have a beautiful lash brush. It can be trimmed a little, but not too much. Then when you are stroking the paint to fill the brush, make sure the brush is well loaded. Then stroke on one side and then the opposite to get a flat brush. Paint eyelashes with the edge. It makes for a beautiful, thin lash. Hold your paintbrush in your dominant hand, the doll in your non- dominant hand ( for righties, paint with R hand, hold with L). For eyes, sometimes it helps to paint the dominant side of the face first, then turn doll upside down and paint the other eye/brow. Take a picture of your doll - sometimes this can help pick out where you are having a problem.
Stretchy medical tape comes in various colours, and can be used to wrap arms and legs. Although the beige colour is available in most pharmacies, check vets supplies or pet stores for a better price. It has a tendency to shrink after it is applied and can get very tight.
Regarding posing and dressing seated dolls, always make the back longer from the waist to the crotch, and shorter in the front. Pull the front of the legs up to the crease where the doll legs attach to the torso and force tiny pleats in the fabric where it would naturally bunch up a bit. The doll legs should attach at the front of the torso, not at the bottom like a standing doll would be. Make the doll "bottom" very flat and a bit wider than it would be if standing.
Miniature Character Doll Proportions - Child
At 6 months, the RL baby would be 26" or approx 2" in 1:12.
At 2yrs, it would be 34 RL inches or just under 3" (1:12).
At 4 yrs the RL size is 40" or just under 3-1/2".
At 6, the sizes are 45" & just under 4";
at 8 it is50" & just over 4"
Ideas about what is needed for miniature character doll projects
links to inspiring pages about character dolls
Characters in Miniature - by Cornelia Koehler - do a search for Miss Marple or just browse through this gallery. Great stuff here!
Dollmaker's Journey - An interesting site that does cloth dolls - all sizes - with some great free tutorials from mermaids, fairy wings to Raggetty Anne type dolls, some in 1-12, others would need to be reduced also a tutorial on making fairy wings,
Dolls - Pinterest board by Paola Ragonesi. Some beauties here!
Sculpting Demonstration Videos - by Phillipe Faraut. Simply awesome - not mini, but the techniques! Expressions change magically from one extreme to another.
- Dollar Tree and in the $1 section at Target, but mostly in the first aid supplies at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens. What you find in the first aid section is usually flesh colored, but the more brightly colored varieties are out there.
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