A friend of mine introduced me to ball joint dolls a few years ago and I was immediately fascinated by the beauty and artistic qualities of these dolls. I looked up all the information I could find on making a doll on YouTube and the web and little by little I started to collect the materials. Unfortunately it was difficult to find the process documented from start to finish. I think it’s because it is a difficult and time consuming process that gets interrupted by life all too often. I had a few false starts myself and almost thought that I might not be able to do it.
Due to unforeseen circumstances I find myself with time now and so I pulled out my tools and decided to go for it. I’m going to do my best to post all my progress from start to the completed and dressed doll. I will be making a male SD 1/3 scale doll. I will be using air dry stone clay for the body and I will not be casting it in resin, it will be a one of a kind doll.
I started by making a body form out of wire, straws, paper and masking tape. I will be using straws for the arms and legs. The form for the head is made out of paper paper and masking tape on a straw. A lot of people use Styrofoam or aluminum foil but after looking at a lot of sites and videos I decided to go with the masking tape, paper and straws. I’m not sure it will work but that is the point of this blog. Below are pics of the plan that I am following and the skeleton. The next post will be the first layer of clay.
AJL Design BJD 