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I'm trying to figure out possibility to make ma lady smiling a little bit. No shortcuts, it needs to be true smile with correct mimic. I tried to tune up lips with paintjob, and slightly widen mouth line. But now I'm pretty sure the only proper way is to move cheeks a little bit up, to act like using "face muscles". Then lips, eyes and whole face will show desired smile
Has anybody an idea, or even exp with doing such things ?
Besides, my ideas:
- try to heat cheeks as much as possible (not to make TPE turning to fluid) and make TPE to permanent shape change
- move the cheeks manually and try to glue TPE from behind to the skull
Almost anything is possible with TPE, but be prepared for the unexpected and failures along the way. Facial work is interesting and can lead to flaws that are challenging to correct.
First I would STRONGLY suggest you get a similar spare head to start work on rather than your current one. If you fail and get discouraged you won't have trashed your only head.
Next you should do some research on the human skull and face and the muscles involved in making a smile. Knowing what goes on UNDER the skin will give a better idea of that to emulate.
Heat sculpting the face is possible but care must be used to make sure that while heating bulk areas (cheeks) you don't deform thinner areas (like the nostrils). Practice is needed.
Realistically, with the effort required and potential failure points, I think your best solution is to find a smiling head you like and just get another head rather than do major surgery.
But of you do go the surgery route, please post the results.
Cheers!
... W ...
Any comments, ideas or suggestions are given FREELY for your use and information. Before using, first check to ensure they are compatible with your doll or specific situation. If any tool, chemical or technique is mentioned, make sure to follow all directions and safety instructions of the product. Some tools or items can be dangerous, so be careful. Use all appropriate safety gear, don’t run with scissors and don’t eat the yellow snow. Always keep your mind open.
Thanks dude I have already three the same heads, one is definitely dedicated for experiments.
I tried to buy and "feel" other head models, also smiling ones. But I'm just too addicted to this particular face...
As for reality, I checked out face muscles behaviour, so I'm pretty sure about moving a little bit up exactly marked places near mouth corners.
Do you know (or anybody) what is heating point, when TPE is starting to change its shape/density/thickness? Can I reach this with hairdryer on maximum level, or using kind of gas burner is a must ? (I'm not even sure if heating is worth to try )
Do some searching on TDF for TPE casting, melting heat smoothing to give you some idea of the temperatures and challenges that are involved.
TPE has some interesting thermal characteristics.
To get to your second image I would first target heat sculpting the lips and surrounding area.
Pushing the cheeks up alone won't fix it, since the cheek movement will not "pull up" the TPE below it near the lip edges.
Heat adjusting the mouth to go from full straight to subtle uplift would be a good start.
Then thin the lips a bit (to give the illusion of tension from a smile), adjust the end angles up a bit and add some lip creases.
Typical tools used are temperature controlled soldering irons with various types of tips, heated smoothing/carving tools and gentle preheat of the oiled TPE before carving.
Again there are posts here on TDF with details of the tools used, temperatures and techniques.
Cheers!
... W ...
Any comments, ideas or suggestions are given FREELY for your use and information. Before using, first check to ensure they are compatible with your doll or specific situation. If any tool, chemical or technique is mentioned, make sure to follow all directions and safety instructions of the product. Some tools or items can be dangerous, so be careful. Use all appropriate safety gear, don’t run with scissors and don’t eat the yellow snow. Always keep your mind open.
JRG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 21, 2023 8:25 am
If you don’t mind me asking, what head is that? It’s beautiful!
thanks;) It's old JY doll head. You can google "JY doll Cynthia 170cm" to see galleries.
For me this is perfect face-shape, but true secret of making any TPE head beautiful is paint job and details, like eyes setup in holders... After buy, I always remove whole factory painting and do everything from scratch (eyes, eyebrows, mouth).
JRG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 21, 2023 8:25 am
If you don’t mind me asking, what head is that? It’s beautiful!
thanks;) It's old JY doll head. You can google "JY doll Cynthia 170cm" to see galleries.
For me this is perfect face-shape, but true secret of making any TPE head beautiful is paint job and details, like eyes setup in holders... After buy, I always remove whole factory painting and do everything from scratch (eyes, eyebrows, mouth).
Thank you for responding. Yes it’s a beautiful head, and you do amazing makeup! I’ll assume it’s no longer in production, but I’ll take a look.
I have already three the same heads, one is definitely dedicated for experiments. 
