Paper Clay VS Stone Clay?? (Polymer?)

[IssaRissa]

I see. I think I'll most likely move over to LaDoll once my DAS is gone. Apoxie sounds to be a bit on the complicated side for me right now. ^.^"

I would really like to have some books on the subject, but I definitely do not want a book in another language. I hear a lot about the Yoshida book, but it would bother me greatly to not be able to read what he's trying to illustrate. Do you of any good books in English??

[DollyKim]

Most of the Japanese craft books have so many pictures you'll be able to follow along. The publishers know they have enough non Japanese customers, you'll be surprised how good the books are compared to US ones. There is a fan made translation of the Yoshida book on line.

For ball joint doll making the Yoshida book OR the "Alice" book http://dolfielittles.typepad.com/.a/6a0 ... 970d-800wi will work. There is also a Korean book on Esty http://dolfielittles.typepad.com/.a/6a0 ... 970b-800wi I call "pink bow". They're about the same price and have the same basic info although some fine details vary between books.

In English the best and easiest sculpting book to get a hold of is called Pop Sculpture, it covers joints and modern materials like plastics and silicone mold making. It doesn't have much direct ball joint doll making so you'll have to experiment and figure out how to make it apply to a strung figure.

A harder to find book is Learning to Be a Doll Artist by Martha Armstrong-Hand. This covers modeling and casting a porcelain doll with strings but be wary of people over charging for it. She covers useful doll mechanics but you can get similar info from Pop Sculpture.

[famedglory]

I second the Yoshida book. It's a wonderful reference, and generally just a very high quality book. I did print out the english fan translation and keep it with the book on the shelf, but I could understand the book through the pictures pretty well even before I found the translation.

[IssaRissa]

Thanks, DollyKim! Those all sound like great references. Pop Sculpture is definitely a viable option... And you guys are right, so many people like the Yoshida book, there has to be a reason... I'll look out for it.

I definitely want a book about porcelain, so I'll certainly look for that Learning to be a Doll artist book as well. Thanks so much!

[famedglory]

If you're not in a rush, sometime in the next two weeks when I'm done unpacking I can take a few shots of the pages in the Yoshida book so you can see if it's something you'd be interested in.

[IssaRissa]

If you're not in a rush, sometime in the next two weeks when I'm done unpacking I can take a few shots of the pages in the Yoshida book so you can see if it's something you'd be interested in.

That would be great!! I really appreciate the offer!! From what I've seen, the Yoshida book is quite expensive, so I definitely want to make sure it's what I'm looking for before I order it. ^.^

Oh, and I'm not in a rush, I don't mind to wait. I certainly understand how hectic moving can be. ^.^

[DollyKim]

As I said the Alice book will work just as well as the Yoshida, same basic method, just no translation yet but you could compare.

[IssaRissa]

As I said the Alice book will work just as well as the Yoshida, same basic method, just no translation yet but you could compare.

Come to think of it, I have noticed that there are some translations available online... Hmm... I'll certainly be picking up some of these books, I'm not sure which ones yet... Money's tight though, so it might be a while before I'm able.

[DollyKim]

Somewhere in my blog http://dolfielittles.typepad.com/blog/ are progress pictures of my starting a Yoshida style doll or two, I try all sorts of things on there, which might help give you more of an idea.

It works by starting with a base of styrofoam or something else that can have wet clay put on it but is east to carve away then you build up the dolls' skin. What gets tricky is making the joints work but what you did on your doll is quite good so I think you could figure it out.

[IssaRissa]

The joints on my doll were certainly the most challenging part of the sculpt. I didn't take any pics when I was working on that because it really would have been impossible to illustrate what I did. Every step of the way in sculpting I was checking to make sure the joints fit in the sockets, checking the range of motion, removing clay, adding clay. It was very tedious but I was happy with the end result.

I actually really like the way that my wire, paper towel, and tape armature worked. I didn't really have any problems there. (The important thing with the tape was to make sure it was 100% flat, and the pieces were as large as possible. Any corners sticking up would get stuck in the clay and cause problems.) When I slit the sides to pull out the armature it came out super clean and when I put it back together with slip, you'd never tell it was ever apart. I used that process because I found someone doing it online (Lauren Brevner I believe...) who used it to great success AND it utilizes what I already have on hand. I didn't want to purchase styrofoam because I was just trying to do it as cheaply as possible...