random ramblings

It's been over a week since I did any serious sculpting. Needless to say I've been emotionally drained. My energy has been misplaced I feel into taking other things too seriously. I do that. I'm a passionate fellow or a dead weight; I'm honestly both extremes. Just have to continually channel my creative energy in this lifetime before it's kaput!

I bought myself a drill which is amazing! Cuts carving out the insides of my piece by a lot. From Target + keyless clutch from Home Depot that accepts any drill bit.

Continuing on with retail therapy, I bought an amazing book I found recommended from my new favorite BJD community woodlandearthstudio.com called POP SCULPTURE. Loving it so far! So much information on molding and casting.

And also I have been wanting this shirt for the longest time and they finally had it in my size at FOREVER 21.

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emotional life: tl;dr

But yea, I've been feeling really under the weather. Work has been a little stressful and it's really not the work because let's be honest what I do is pretty simple and sometimes fails to challenge me completely. It's really how I deal with or not deal with people. So many personalities and mindsets, I often feel misunderstood or that I am not communicating properly. The younger me would hunker down and hermit away but the twenty nine year old me knows better; knows to stand strong. But I am mistaking standing strong with being aggressive with my points. I just don't like being a door mat or anything or being spoken down to but then again a part of me knows that's all more in my head. And my very wise and sometimes suspicious co-worker advised I need to be more Zen so I'm taking their advise. 

Zen, zen, zen, zen. *breaks glass in hands*

I really need to focus my energies on my art. Excuses abound and are taken like tickets used on the procrastination train ride. And at the end of the day that just makes me feel terrible and unfulfilled.

doll talk

Back to doll talk, another reason (excuse) on why I've halted my project because I am stuck on the double ball joints I decided to update/change on my BJD. More articulation, more headache, more planning. And there's also not a lot of tutorials on how to be precise about this so it leaves it to my own wits; that being relying on visual aids on made dolls. It's funny how my new book POP SCULPTURE inherently says not to mistake action figures with dolls. But in my humble opinion they are really the same thing save a few details like using fiber hair and realistic eyes: dolls and action figures are pretty much the same thing. Perhaps the later made for more play abuse than the former.

So yea... stuck on joints. I'll give you an update when I have one. Though, to take note, jollly little easy to mold gnomes have been swimming around in my head asking to be made.

random

I'm feeling a bit under the weather. My mind and body are agreeing are under an alliance where they prefer dark clouds. Ironically, it's beautiful outside. And I realize this mental ailment is remedied by simply stepping outside. Today is pay day so naturally I have a small wish list of things I want and need. In any case, it feels better to have this blog. It's like an agreeable friend.

Wishlist:

vanity:

- haircut (it will make you feel fresh)
- new clothes (Forever 21 or Target)

art:

- command strips for my dry erase board (at work)
- modeling paste (at work)
- gesso (at work)
- oil paint strainer 120 mesh (at work)
- LaDoll Clay (at work)
- watercolor paints to make desired flesh tones (at work)
- four more color block photo boxes (at work, if in stock)
- mini drill (Home Depot...or Target?)

Yesterday I went to the Casting for Casting/Molding class at the Compleat Sculptor. Sad to say I was nodding off! I have not slept all day and thought I'd be fine but nope! Was falling asleep. While I learned much on YouTube, two hours of casting lecture was pretty effective. I had a good time learning about all the different properties or gypsums (plaster?), acrylic and others like latex etc. I probably feel so blue because I spent the evening and morning to early afternoon sleeping my life away. Which makes me feel unaccomplished. On the same note, I feel unmotivated to do my projects today. Which probably means I am due for a little retail therapy.

Also, speaking of retail... I don't think I need an airbrush machine. According to the doll tutorial I am religiously following (and my friend David's advice) I can brush on layers of colored primer then sand down the brush marks. The airbrushing was only a convenient but unnecessary alternative. Also, I have been searching every corner of the internet for the so-called Japanese GOFUN powder to no end. Finally, reading the not-so-fine print of the tutorial book it says Gofun is optional to modeling paste. Which is great! Because they sell that at my job. Anyway, thanks for reading if you made it this far.

BJD update

Been working on my BJD little by little every day. Here is his first time sitting on his own. Though as I propped him down I realized I need to raise the ball joint of the legs higher into the lower torso so his bum touches the surface instead of him being balanced on his thighs which he currently is. 

In the past few days I have:

- added glass eyes

- worked on face detail (way more to go)

- today cut off the neck, filed down and reattached since it was too long.

- shrank the chest

- strung the parts together to check body alignment.

          - speaking of body alignment his body is beginning to look unnatural. REALLY need to fix this.                        Almost robotic.

To Do List in order of importance:

- higher groove on lower torso to raise ball joints. will that off set his height?

- fine detail file and wet clay sculpt the general body for proper alignment and aesthetics.

          - muscle detail

          - add unmentionable details (nipples and so on)

- knees are acting peculiar mostly do to irregular ball/oval joints. think of solution.

- fine detail hands

- work on and attach feet

- continue researching oil paints, air brushing, GOLDEN acrylic possibilities

          - air dry flat LA DOLL clay to test painting on it

air brushing o_o

What I want for Christmas. ;_; Good thing they sell it at my job. xD 

My intended Christmas present to myself. And also, this guy is hilarious.

first stringing test

Today I did a few hours of face sculpting then decided to add slots to my ready joints to test stringing. Success! Mostly. I'm so happy he is articulated by now I see a million things wrong with him that need work:

(this list is mostly for me lol)

- body is looking awkward, must sculpt it as I intended to.
- the range of movement of the oval single elbow joint is a little bother some.
- slots on the elbow broke and need repairs and filing to fit properly.
- movement of torso is completely off. top part slips off instead of offering movement. need to make grooves for movement and also turn left and right if possible.

Besides that, need to:

- work on hands
- work on feet
- add joint to knees and finish sculpting lower leg. among many other things.

The farther I get into this project the more it seems like there is to do after this and that, hah! I love it but it's also frustration. Good frustration. Like, growing pains!


aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

That is all.

oil painting?

Just a quick post as I lay in bed falling asleep to YouTube.

Today I did a few hours of face work on my BJD Elan. Pics tomorrow most likely. I'm doing some heavy research on oil paints since Yoshida Style book suggests using oil. I took a very brief class in oil painting as a teenager but my interest did not hold through then as it does now. I was also mostly fond of acrylic and watercolor's instant gratification but now I am fascinated with oil paint.

Watching this video to sleep? It's two hours? Geez (Geez in a good way. I love it)

Good night! ♥

random

Thoughts:

Okay so I did not make it to the park to take photos of Saroko, my WIP Satyr. But I did scoot to Target to browse. I ended up replacing a floor lamp with an equal strength clip on lamp that saved lots of space and I also intended to take a look at the toy doll section. Always almost awkwardly I look in there, since I'm a boy and it always feels weird. But today, I don't care... I picked up those doll packages and inspected their joints carefully. While I've mostly always known the popular Monster High dolls were BJDs I was just astounded at how much Asian culture has influenced a mainstream American toy. Then I went to browse the Barbie aisle and found the Barbie Fashionista line is also ball-jointed. I almost bought one but they were poorly made and could figure the joints without breaking them apart and playing doctor.

To Do:

So sculpting and sketching is nice but my color theory is very rusty. I need to play with oils particularly but also acrylic and watercolor. There is a lot of talk of doll artists about Genesis heat setting paints for polymer clay, China paint for porcelain and oil painting for air dry clay... so there is a lot of practicing and playing to do.

Wish List:

Air Brush machine for spraying color especially flesh tones on white air dry clay. $300?

Kiln for future porcelain dolls. $2000+?


Additional Random! 

So I've been waiting on my doll eyes from OOAKartistemporium.com hoping they would be in the mail today but they weren't. Alas, as I write this blog the door bell rings and it is a nice neighbor lady handing me my package put in the wrong mailbox by the mail person. How nice of her! I can set Elan's eyes sooner than I thought.

What's News & The Making of BJD Elan

The Personal:

Well, it's been quite a while. I dropped my doll making (or "action figure" making as I like to call it these days to feel more manly) for a long while but picked up the project again. Thankfully dates are saved here on this blog to remind me when I stopped and when I'm starting again, hah! Life has been fun and turbulent, involving job promotions, important life lessons, trying romances and many new friends. One thing is for certain though, I never feel completely up to beat unless clay is in my hands or I am sculpting. Even with other projects, and I've read on other doll artists blogs they share the same sentiment, I never feel the same umpth  and vigor as with other art projects. All the while not making dolls or sculpting I got my art itch from creative writing. Role-playing online, to be specific and also styling avatars in Second Life.

There was also the themed craft swap at work where I made a Betty Boop Book Box from a random ballot drawing. I really like decoupaging and while I felt the trim could have been neater my giftee's wide smile when she received the swap made me really happy.

All my time spent in the online metaverse bubble pushed me in the right direction though with real life sculpting. Probably because I could not get the hang of all the in's and out's of 3D modeling I decided to go traditional. I have not regretted it since.

On to Doll Talk:

So my first attempt at a BJD left me uninspired for unknown reasons. Someone mentioned him and I decided to pick him up again to work on. One of my favorite things about air dry clay (La Doll, DAS air dry clay particularly) is that I can do all the wet clay work at home, let the pieces dry and file them down wherever else I am; subway (I'm in NYC), coffee shops, hanging out, sitting in a park. It could get a little messy but a very small price to pay for the convenience of being mobile. Studios can get stuffy I imagine, especially if they are your bedroom!

Anyway, my first BJD's torso which can be seen in previous entries broke. I had him in my jacket pocket on my scooter and I think I crushed him with my knee against the metal of my scooter which shattered the torso. Instead of losing spirit, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to start over and so I did it. Bigger and better. Which ironically, as I work on this present doll, I am imagining making an even bigger one already.

Here are the WIP photos of Elan so far:

 foam core using Yoshida Style techniques

again, Yoshida style

 pieces drying

 sleeping doll

 checking proportions

 attached parts together for anatomy alignment check

cut up the parts

making the joints

Saroko casting a Life spell on Elan. ^_^*

"Wake up, bro."

Saroko has been hibernating for a while. Forever a WIP child for me. I feel like taking him to the park for some pictures today! Good way to take a break and get some fresh air while joints dry.

First BJD Project

 

(BJD plan sketch and actual size reference)

 

So I've been wanting to do a BJD or Ball Jointed Doll for quite some time now. Two years to be exact. My doll making and art practice in general has been kind of dormant; erupting on random occasions mostly in small bursts. I intend to keep my creative high as I always say I do. Video games and shiny things distract me. Mostly video games.

Out of the blue I took my BJD project seriously as I browsed through materials and clay brands I was familiar to. Namely La Doll and La Doll Premier. Both of which were sold out so I settled with Polyform Air Dry Clay. Which I am absolutely in love with. I love working with air dry clay versus polymer clay. Although, polymer clay looks more lifelike once completed. I love the light weight and sturdy quality of air dry clay. Especially being able to smooth over with water and sand down hardened clay with metal tools. I just love it.

I invested in a BJD book called  Yoshida Style Ball Jointed Doll Making Guide. It's ninety nine percent in Japanese but has priceless reference pictures. Gladly, another gracious soul stepping into ball jointed doll making translated the entire book in English for free! Priceless. I printed out the translation and keep it my sheets with the book.

Here's my progress so far!

 

(starting off with the head. he looked angry, eventually fine detailing the face to be younger and less angry)

 (all seated up! a taste of the future. he is ready for life!)