Learning to make doll heads

bikerbob · Post by **bikerbob** » Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:53 pm

well done , how will you get an accurate shape for the rest of the skull ? how are you going to do the mechanical movement of the jaw?

stratzilla setz · Post by **stratzilla setz** » Fri Jan 20, 2023 11:38 pm

bikerbob wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:53 pm well done , how will you get an accurate shape for the rest of the skull ? how are you going to do the mechanical movement of the jaw?

For the skull, most of it will be a rough shape so that the skin isn't overly squishy in places it shouldn't be.
I'm not entirely sure I want to put too much work in the mechanism for the eyes, but I definitely want a moveable mandible with the some form of dentures.

I want the joint at the jaw to have a guide built into the jaw so it doesn't overextend, and maybe come to rest in several positions. I will need to bond the inside flesh of the mouth with the outside portion somehow, but I know that seam will happen somewhere hidden in the teeth. Maybe via 12-24 thick notches on the teeth where I weld the silicone together.

matt gloss · Post by **matt gloss** » Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:13 am

Stixman · Post by **Stixman** » Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:25 am

Very cool stuff...definitely gonna follow this ! And great work too, though I know nothing about 3d printing or artistic endeavors in general...this is good

stratzilla setz · Post by **stratzilla setz** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 2:43 am

It’s been awhile since I updated, but I found out that making custom eyes was more trouble than it was worth, so I decided I just needed to reprint the head so it fit the 32mm eyes exactly. I also took the time to remodel the whole head based on an AI generated (Stable Diffusion) model, so it’s no longer the TIFA head ripped from the video game. Actually, this is the third version I made. The second version was a bit skinny/spooky looking.

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My 3D printer is no longer reliable (motor timing issues) so I went and had the head printed on a heavily modified Ender 3, which has a much bigger print bed (4x the surface area), better print quality with no warping, and requires much less seams to glue and sand together. I barely sanded it. I just sprayed primer on it and acrylic sealer so far. I think the new head looks nicer compared to the older one since the TIFA game model required textures to flesh out the details, and I modelled in the details myself here.

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This is a mock-up I made on my ipad but I expect the final model to look like this before adding in proper lashes and facial hair etc… I still want to mold this head to re-cast it in Monster Clay, and perfect the details for the final cast, which I will make in silicone.

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I also need to design the inner core that will hold the general shape and be neck-mountable. I’d like the eyes to be movable. I originally planned to make the jaw movable but I have no idea how silicone stretches and deforms in that scenario, so I want it to be minimal instead and may just allow a little opening.

May not update this post for awhile.

Bastelhans1+ · Post by **Bastelhans1+** » Sun Jul 02, 2023 8:13 am

stratzilla setz wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:48 am After a lot of sanding, priming, I got the welded plastic pieces to smooth enough to start making a mould.
But first I tried to get some practice with a paint brush to see what I could get done with some basic acrylic and some brushes.
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Basically I learned I will probably need an airbrush, and a lot more practice in the physical medium of painting. Also it will come in handy for when I do some silicone painting since make-up on dolls seems messy and high maintenance. In addition, I think I will have to design and create my own eyes. The regular ones have too small an iris. Even IRL girls and idols wear circle lenses, and unless I’m making my heads petite, it won’t do. Below is a minor phone app enhancement of the iris size.
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By the way… silicone seems a bit pricey. I’m planning on making a silicone rubber mold for casting a Monster Clay duplicate. I will then carve finder details on the monster clay such as wrinkles, pores, as well as smoothing the surface. After that, it will be making the final mould for a silicone head over a skull that I will have to design.

Save the money for the Monster Clay, buy a can of Car/Autoprimer spray and cover your printed Head. Let dry-spray again-let dry-spray again. Repeat this process until the surface is smooth without sanding. Let dry for some days and than polish the surface. Remember the cast can never be better than the original sculpt.