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Eviecats — Posable Doll Tutorial By Eviecats
Published: 2013-05-20 16:31:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 39424; Favourites: 1018; Downloads: 691
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*edit* I'm sorry about the typos, contest this was for ended today and I am potty training a puppy and a 2 year old sooo... yeah. lol a couple typos
WOW what a lot of work I did this weekend lol
Combined the doll and tutorial took me about 18 hours. I know a lot of doll artists aren't going to appreciate this tutorial because as a whole we're very tight lipped about methods. Considering we're all thriving in an art community, I feel this is a bit closed minded. Also these are so complicated that the idea that someone with no experience in all of the many different aspects of art you have to master to complete one single doll is going to come along and start pumping out high quality business stealing pieces is a bit laughable. That being said, I am ALWAYS happy to "talk shop" with peers or answer questions from beginners. We all start somewhere, lets make sure it's on the right foot! This doll is available for purchase, I am considering trying ebay again since everyone can see the amount of work it really takes to build these majestic creatures.
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Comments: 218
You are so very welcome, that's always great to hear!
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Sounds cool
I've made some dolls myself with different methods and materials now (not all of them are posted here yet^^). For now I found a cool material called "Plastiform" in german. It air dries (not as fast as typical air drying clay. It need up to 2 days) and after that it becomes as light and hard as wood. I really like air drying material :3
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We have one like that here, an air dry epoxy. I've used it in the past to add different ears/horns to resin cast dolls and it's amazing but I never seem to manage to use it all before it dries out and it's quite soft so a tad harder to add a lot of firm details into. Is plastiform the transparent stuff?
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No plastiform turns out in a grey stone-like tone. It is really hard.
At first it is a powder to which you add water and let it soak for about 3 hours. The softness depends on the amount of water you used and the drying process. This is why I really love it. It is easy to work with and doesn't dry as fast as normal clay and about 2 days it is hard as wood :3
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Oh that sounds awesome!
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Thank you for this detailed, concise tutorial. I look forward to trying my own! Time to pull out the sketchbook
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You're quite welcome
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Understandable, but for a newbie like me it's a good jumping off point! So nonetheless, greatly appreciated 😊
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You're the best! I was trying to figure out how to make anthro dolls but nope you showed how to pretty much do it! I have a quick question, I have is dollar store wire is it possible to put that in the oven when baking the molds?
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It depends what it'[s made of, if it's the green rubber coated then NO, the rubber shrinks horribly (this is usually found in garden areas) also copper wire is not good for dolls, it snaps after some wear and tear very easily. If it's silver it's probably steel and okay. If you end up having to find a new wire I buy 16 and 18 gauge wire spools for around 8.00 at lowes/home depot on the asile that has all the hanging stuff, if you ask for "hanging wire" they will know where to send you... higher gauge aka thinner steel wire you can find at walmart in a similar area.
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GREAT THANKS! I have a lowes and a Walmart nearby! I'll keep that in mind, thank you for helping me!
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Wow this amazing! Exactly what I've been searching for! Thank you so much!
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No problem at all
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This is a wonderful tutorial! I was considering trying to make my fantasy beast out of papier-mache and paperclay over tinfoil and wire, but now I'm tempted to try a plush poseable version instead. Will probably look better for photoshoots too.
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does it have the thick green rubber on it? The rubber will shrink in the oven and release toxins so I can't advise it esp if it's your food oven, you could always make the head alone with a hole to glue in later though, I just like to bake mine on the wire because it feels more sturdy. In a real pinch, I "have" baked gardening wire and then put my oven on the deep clean setting afterwards, but it's not technically a smart move probably lol ><
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It doesn't have the rubber coating, no. It looks to be plain galvanised wire...
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Oh you're good to go then!
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Let's just say I were to use wire coat hangers... do you think I would still need to double up in my formation of the skeleton?
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Those are pretty thick so I would say no you wouldn't, but if you have smaller wire to make the legs I would suggest it as coat hanger might be pretty tough to pose, it would make a good strong spine though!
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You can! But I wouldn't bake it, the coating on a lot of them can release toxins into your oven, so just sculpt the pieces off the armature and glue them into a pre made hole afterwards.
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Thank you so much! But unfortunately I realized the problem after I sculpted all the clay onto it so I'm not sure what to do since I spent a long time on it
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Hmmm if it's the rubbery coated stuff it will shrink in the oven, you "could" baked it with a piece of foil under it and then leave the oven and a window open to air out for a bit and then I would def do the self clean setting on the oven before baking food in it again.... I can't "suggest it" because I know the toxins can be hazardous but I'd be a liar if I said I've never done it LOL
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Hi! I'm just starting making my own art dolls and I'm pretty limited on supplies, so I'm improvising! Can you use wire clothes hangers? It's really all I've got for wire.... What do you think?
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Hmmm I bet they are galvanized steel, as long as they don't have a rubber coating or paint on them they should be non toxic to bake.
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Thank you so so much, this is very helpful!
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Sorry if this is a stupid question or if you mentioned in the information above, but I couldn't see if it was there
but when you get to the baking process, do you put the armature in the oven as well?
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I do, steel wire is fine, but avoid any of the coated wire like gardening wire bc vinyl will shrink a bit and release toxins. Also be careful of the wire taking the doll out of the oven because I've gotten some nasty burns from it grazing my arms >< You don't "have" to do it this way, but I personally feel like my dolls are sturdier. I also plant my wire directly into my resin pour molds so they are connected without glue.
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Thanks so much for not being a "tight lipped" artist. I am trying to make some pose able creatures and I have alsofallen in love with shoulder dragon puppets, realistic bears and armatured soft critters that I have seen here and other places on line and I have been trying to figure out how to make them. I come from a Teddy Bear making back ground and sew up the bear then stuff so this is really back to front for me...oh well I am dyslexic so it will probably be a lot of fun!!! All I have to do now is figure how to sneak more hours in the day....
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You are very welcome! If it's any consolation, making a plush base on a fabric blue print alone is very intimidating to me lol! While i don't have that experience I find my way of just fitting to form a lot easier so I'm sure you'll have no troubles
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True! Each to their own. I guess it is just different starting points that is all. If you need any help doing it the 'teddy bear way' just give a yell...I can try to not confuse you toooooo much
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I appreciate it! If I ever get brave and catch up on my to do list i'll shoot you questions!
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Hehe. You sound as 'bad' as me. Hubby has said not to do stuff for others until I clear a path on the back room....sigh. Oh well that will be fun too!
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I did that recently in our bedroom, I ended up consolidating my side of the closet and hanging my 30ish yards of fur on hangers omg it's SO nice to be able to find stuff easily! Cleaning and sorting takes forever, but you find so many lost treasures and feel so good afterwards lol
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Oh I meant to ask how you go with the Pearl-ex, I know a lot of pigments have nasties in them but I wanted to use something like that on teddys and dragons so I wondered if it was safe to use and for kids to handle? Is there a particular type you use that is safe? Thanks again.
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Pearl ex is a very fine powder and it's NOT safe to inhale, not sure what is in it, just going by the warnings on it, I suspect heavy metals maybe? I get the best results from doing my paint job, then mixing a little pile of it with water and brushing it on after the paint is dry. Then you have to clear coat it, or it will come off on your hands. I know other artists that have used it dry rubbing into fur and stuff but again, if it's not safe to inhale I wouldn't risk it. I really like mixing it in with clear resins when casting too, it makes some beautiful intference shimmer colors. The best place I have found to buy it is dick blick online, it's by far cheaper than anything on etsy or in local stores. If you are looking for something a little safer on fur I do know there are fabric sprays that contain glitter, I veered away from fabric sprays to dye my pelts though because they get clogged up no matter who much I washed the nozzles and stuck a pin in them to clear them >< If you do use a fabric spray or paint you want to use a wire pet brush to fluff it up several times while it dries, otherwise it gets very stiff and chunky. I hope this helps you!
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Ahhh thanks for that. I guess that coating it (on clay etc) means it is not rubbing off onto peoples' hands so is safer than just dusting it on a bear. I have heard that eyeshadow is good, not as long lasting but oh well. I will also look in kiddy craft stuff that may have glitter stuff that is safer. Even thought my bears are meant for adults kids are drawn to them so.....safer the better! Thanks for the tip about brushing between coats with spray that is a great hint.
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Hehe I am hoping for the same 'surprises'. I have sort of started so i will let you know how i go...in about a decade or three most likely!LOL
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Thanks so much for this tutorial. I was trying to make one of these by using a sewing pattern of a stuffed animal and it worked some what, though very hard to find the right pattern. This will be great to try for the fur. I bought some expensive fur and dont want to waste any of it. I have made two dolls so far by sewing the pattern first but I have not posted any photos to my gallery yet. They were made with felt until I felt I could get all the steps right. Your directions will help a lot working from the clay back to the fur. I like your eyes too, would you mind sharing your source? Hugs
dollmaker.nunodoll.com/plushie… Pattern for the doll (free download)
www.eyecoltd.com/store/ where I got my eyes( I got some for 5 apiece on sale)
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I'm glad it helps, I started out looking at stuffed animal pelt style tutorials on the internet and quickly realized they weren't for me LOL. My tube method is a lot less erm, technical rather than bringing in a stitch here or there to narrow a point in the chest to belly or something like that. ^_^ I make my own eyes! I bought some glass cabs off etsy and laid them face down on a hand press mold many times so I can now cast about 20 pairs of eyes at once when I mix clear resin. They aren't AS bright as true glass eyes, but an extra wet gloss over the front after you glue them down and you can't tell the difference! 
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I started making 28mm eyes with glass cabs, printing the backs, I have not tried painting them yet. Glue on the back shows on the front so I want to try painting them. That is the next project once I order again. I thought about using the really clear resin to cast some but I have not bought the really clear resin yet. I wanted to say how cool it was that you are putting the fur on the face too. I am going to try that next. thanks again!
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Yeah I get casting craft from michaels for the eyes, it's very expensive compaired to the bulk non clear I buy from smooth on, but eyes are so tiny. ^_^ I have found the easiest ways to do eyes is get a good sized brushed for pupil size and put a drop on the eye, either center or slight off center depending on your taste, let that dry and then start playing with colors. I normally do a ring around the pupil of a bright color to "pop" followed by a base coat on the rest. when that dries I scrape lines in it with a needle and do another coat of a related color in a different shade. You can get much more intricate than this, but it's the basic recipe for my more simpler eyes like my cast dragon doll line. Don't get too frustrated if the pupils are borked at the start, you can scrape it all off and redo it, it takes some practice
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Oh i love your step with the needle to add the small details, that and that you can start over if you need to. I have some Liquitex Iridescent/pearlescent medium that looks fantastic painted on the paper eyes I have been using. I have done some painting of colors over the paper and will try it on flat of the glass eye with out the paper next time. I bought some really pretty fake fur from amazon with free shipping cause I have Amazon Prime. I want to share the links with you cause you have been so awesome with the help you have given.
I just need to jump in there and start using it.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009… pretty short lots of color and pretty would look really cool for a ferret or dragon hybred. not as soft as some of the others
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006… the nicest one I ordered very realistic and soft, looks like wolf fur.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D… looks really cool, great for a asian dragon there is a black and white one like this too that i did not get. I did not like this one as much as the others though.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006… this is so pretty and long and fur is straight looks just like husky fur
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A… very long and soft looks very cool. I got this in yellow and white too.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B… it is slightly wavy not curly like the photo, softer than the last two.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009… looks just like long bear fur the tips are brownish orange and pretty soft
I also got a really fun metal finish and green patina from Sculpt Nouveau. The Bronze looks fantastic, just like cast bronze really easy to apply. I painted it right on my cast resin faces. I got Bronze B with the tiffany patina and then rubbed it with black shoe polish, so fun and cool looking. I mixed bronze powder pigment and brown powder pigment in the resin before it was cast to match the color of the metal finish in case any showed through in the sanding process .
www.youtube.com/watch?v=juUQJd… this link shows the bronze B and how easy it is to use.
the process steps I used involved a little sanding with steel wool that can be seen in this video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKMbK…
I skipped the first sanding with water cause i used only the B coat. I bought the C coat but was just trying it out and did not use C coat yet. I only sanded lightly. I got the bronze, copper and brass. There is real metal powder in the coatings . the information they send is really good and they sent some samples of their other products on wooden chips. It looks really cool. I will post a picture on my page and let you know so you can see my little dragon. Hugs!
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Very cool, I have the mammoth and husky myself and adore them both. We're shopping from the same store, fabric empire but prime free shipping is a good idea, I'll have to get my hubby's password next time I go to buy. ONe thing they might not show on amazon is their fur sales, pretty good stuff for base colors and decent quality! The rabbit fur there is what I do my wild dogs in, when I scissor shape down the legs the colors or more bold, perfect for spots and such! www.fabricempire.com/blow-out-…
also you seem to really enjoy using pigments, you might like pearl ex powders if you aren't using them already, I got a great variety pack from dicblick www.dickblick.com/products/jac… I was buying them from my local jerry's artorama or singly on etsy, I tell you this place is MUUUUCH cheaper, I think the lady on etsy was just buying from this site and reselling them 5 bucks a pop lol grr! I love the white tipped for the best, I have made great use of it in my dolls (mostly the blue but my recent amethyst dragon uses a very hard to find lavender version) I am making an ice blue version of that crystal dragon now and also another cool ooak doll this week that is a surprise ^_^
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Yeah the Pearl ex is what I am using I found it at Hobby Lobby so I dont have to pay any shipping. They were not too expensive. the tag says $4.47. And I also have been using my husbands pigments that he uses for his mimi painting, they are made by Mig. He probably pays too much for them.
Wow the rabbit fur is so nice, Looks really soft. I saw you had used the blue with white tips, the amethyst on a dragon sounds wonderful.
I made a face with lavender eyes and have been wondering what material to use for a body. I love dragons!
The art doll that is mostly finished is on my page now.
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