How to Model the Head of a Doll or Figure

Today we have another demonstration in a series of instructional videos from Marisol Romero about cold porcelain. Marisol Romero is a cold porcelain artist from Argentina, where this medium is very popular.

Many air-dry clay projects call for Styrofoam shapes as armatures for figure modeling  In the following video, while at a craft show, Marisol shows us how to wrap a foam ball and model the head of a doll or figure.  She also demonstrates her method for creating eyes, which are normally painted on.

Sculpting Head and Face for BJD

~ click photos to enlarge ~    

Linda Macario, the Italian doll-maker, has written a wonderful tutorial for creating the head for a BJD (ball-jointed doll) .   LaDoll air-dry clay is suggested.  Creative Paperclay would also be suitable for this project.   Lots of photos demonstrate how to sculpt the Styrofoam core, apply the clay, model the facial features, hollow out the head & insert the eyes and also create the head articulation.

How to Use a Doll Face Push Mold

Baby Face "Scarecrow" Doll by Jorge Rubicce

In this video from the South American TV show "Bienvenidas" (Welcome), Jorge Rubicce demonstrates the proper method for using his doll face push molds.    Rubicce is a well-known cold porcelain clay artist and is designer of these molds, which are much larger than the doll push molds

How to Create a Dolls Head with Cold Porcelain

Many cold porcelain figures, dolls and animals, all start by modeling a basic cute head and then adding the eyes, expression, hair, etc to create the character (such as the doll shown here).

This 'basic cute head' tutorial was originally published in a Portuguese magazine and I have done my best to translate the instructions into English for those that cannot read the Portuguese.  Lots of  different characters can be made starting with this easy to make "cute" head.

How to Sculpt a Fairy Head the Hannie Sarris Way

Great photo tutorial from the late* Hannie Sarris showing us, step by step, how to sculpt a fairy head.   Hannie used LaDoll for this tutorial but says this sculpting technique is suitable for other air dry clays.
http://www.hanniesarris.nl/page.php?page=sculpting_fairy_head&lang=en

Hannie says the basis for the head is a special type of Styrofoam, also used for coffee cups (but, I suppose if regular Styrofoam is all you can get, it'll work also).   She inserts a small dowel or stick completely thru the foam and coming out the top of the head.  This just makes things easier to handle while sculpting.  The hole in the head can always be patched later or covered with hair.

Example of completed fairy below:

Psyche by Hannie Sarris

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*Hannie Sarris passed away suddenly and too soon due to complications from pneumonia on May 2, 2010  

How to Wrap Foam Balls Without Trapping Air

Many air-dry clay projects call for Styrofoam shapes as armatures for figure modeling. On my other blog, "Cold Porcelain Tutorials", we've featured a series of videos from Marisol Romero showing the proper way to wrap Styrofoam shapes with cold porcelain (without getting cracks or trapped air).   The very same methods could be used with any brand of soft air-dry clay.    Check 'Cold Porcelain Tutorials' for video demos showing how to wrap small and large foam balls, half-spheres, double-spheres and more.