Building a doll from scratch

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:43 pm

YW Mike.
One thing to keep in mind with Daz is that they have a pretty strict license agreement in regards to 3d printing or molding from the models.
It's OK for your own use, but if you want to sell them it may be an issue.

I've been using Makehuman and Manuel Bastioni Lab for the models. They are free with no license restrictions on what you can do with them.
Makehuman is a standalone program and MBL is an add on that works directly in Blender. MBL is moving along a little faster than Makehuman - they just released version 1.4 a couple of days ago.
http://www.makehuman.org/
http://www.manuelbastioni.com/
Check out the fanstasy modifiers with MBL at 2:43...

https://youtu.be/FmvYZT0dbQI

Another free program that you might find very useful is Meshmixer.
I use it a lot for tweaking and cleaning up meshes for printing. It has some nice free form sculpting tools similar to Z brush.
http://www.meshmixer.com/

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:51 pm

I assume the breast will hang down some when you pull the doll from the mold, unless you plan to use very firm silicone and make the boobs solid! Something to consider as the ultimate droop may be different than what a 3D model represents. Gravity being what it is, the fronts may actually point down or if gel filled they whole boob may settle nicely. Hard to say. I know they Sin doll you sold was large chested so hopefully you garnered some info via hands on!!

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:43 am

Yep, aware of the Daz usage issue. Not worried because I'm really only doing it for myself so that will nix the idea of occasionally selling one, which is okay since I'm really not interested in starting a new sex doll company!

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:46 am

With regards about the breasts hanging down when the doll is made with silicone I'm not worried about that either as I took that into consideration when I developed the doll structure. Shouldn't be a problem but thanks for your insight about that.

BigBurrito · Post by **BigBurrito** » Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:49 am

Thanks for letting me into TDF, I'm in the process of a doll build, on a fixed income so my options are limited. I got a Styrofoam head, that i carved out to support the mask i made by melting UR3 from a couple of fleshlights into my plaster of paris mold, got some 26mm eyes from Ebay and made an eye mechanism using RC servos, using PVC 1" pipe for the leg and arm "bones" and using foam rubber to form the body with. My ultimate goal will be using a Rasberry PI, and Ardrino hardware to add animatetronics to her. Got some dental display teeth from ebay, and made a jawbone using coat hanger wire, hotglued to the teeth. I don't have the means to buy a 3D printer any time soon, so i use modeling clay to make the parts, ( still need mouth interior, ears, hands' feet)
I like the idea of getting an inflatable doll and using foam filler to make a body. This is been a dream for me for many years, and the tech is advancing were hardware/software is getting more affordable for a Humanoid robot

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Sun Nov 06, 2016 5:56 pm

Hey BigBurrito, good luck with your project. I'm especially interested in how you'll set up the animatronics you have in mind. I hope you don't mind sharing some secrets about that.

Let me know how it goes!

Aber · Post by **Aber** » Sun Nov 06, 2016 7:57 pm

Daz has a lot of morphs. Some are specific to breasts. There is a breast gravity one. And a large breast one.
I was going to ahem play with this tool but I need to upgrade my MacBook Air for the render times.

BigBurrito · Post by **BigBurrito** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 9:30 am

I'll post any new progress with my doll "Janis" as i make more inprovements, and some pics as i move from newbee status

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:50 am

Yep, Aber. Daz sort of "dazzled" me with what it has. Pretty good stuff.

And thanks BigBurrito. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

BigBurrito · Post by **BigBurrito** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 9:46 am

Trying to get the body shape and feel is the big challenge. The skin i'm using clear silicon thinned with VM&P Naphtha and acrylic paint for skin color, so getting the texture and feel is my biggest hurdle. Using foam rubber for the body and PVC for "bones" and trying to get the joints right, but the body is stiff, and hard to pose. Open to any other ideas, as the doll "Janis" is an ongoing work in progress. Will post pics soon.

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 12:28 pm

I'd be interested in seeing some pics of your project. I know it will be an uphill battle for me with my project as well, especially with all the features I hope to have on my doll. The 3D printing has been going extremely well for me, though, and I'll have some pics of more parts up here soon.

Looking forward to seeing how you're doing!

BigBurrito · Post by **BigBurrito** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 8:25 pm

Well Mike, really wish you the best in your build, you seem to have good tools(3D printer) to make the doll, and open to any ideas. Found a good voice reconition board called NOVI, 89.00 at Amozon, check it out

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 8:40 pm

Cool! Thanks for the info about that.

MIKE238 · Post by **MIKE238** » Fri Nov 18, 2016 3:12 pm

Okay, here are some more pics as things move along. I haven't gotten as far as I hoped by this time as I had some problems to deal with on my 3D printer. At first I found the printer was no longer able to read the SD card upon which the files reside. It turned out to be an easy fix, though, by simply blowing into the slot that the card is inserted. Don't know why I thought of that but it worked! Must have been some dust inside there preventing a good connection. Then the other problem was an adhesion issue on the printer bed. The first layer of the print must have good adhesion to the bed, otherwise you'll end up with a meaningless pile of extruded plastic. In the warmer days that we had a few weeks ago - almost summer-like weather - I had no problem with adhesion. But as the weather finally turned much colder - and I tend to keep my house pretty cold (63 degrees) during the winter to keep my heating bill down - the printer bed got a lot colder and I think that's what caused the adhesion problem. I'm going to use what's called "blue tape" to put down across the bed for much better adhesion. Once I get the tape I ordered I'll be back at it.

So, this first photo shows the printer in progress with one of the upper leg parts:

Here is the finished upper right leg along with an arm:

Here I have a hand attached to the arm - perfect fit!

Next is a photo of the articulated fingers I'll use when the doll is completed, the fiberglass mold is made and the doll is ready to be poured. I still have some work to do on these fingers but at least you'll get the idea of how they will work:

Finally, here is the jaw and the upper teeth. The upper teeth will be attached to the skull once I get that printed:

So that's if for now. I'll have some more photos in the coming weeks.