I almost stepped on a fairy in the forest today. Shh… secret here… I actually sculpted her out of polymer clay, and it was great fun. I show you exactly how to sculpt the head of this fairy, and I’ve listed my tools here, so you can try it for yourself. (more…)
I found a little mermaid in a sea shell on the beach! (Ok, not really, but that’d be pretty cool). If you’d like to try making your own mermaid art doll, but you’re not sure where to start, you really need to watch this tutorial series. This project is for both beginning and advanced doll making students. There are a few hacks you can do to make the project easier than it looks, and I go over these hacks in the video. (more…)
Doll makers need to know a little of a lot of different subjects. We need to know how to sculpt our clay to make our dolls, of course, but we also need to know how to sew to make doll clothes. But on top of that, we should know some fashion history so we can better our doll dress designs, especially if we’re making fairy tale dolls.
With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this little video I put together about the history of the hoop skirt. This info is for doll makers, for sure, but anyone interested in fashion or history should get a kick out of it as well.
I made a little video for ya’ll about how I go about painting faces for my dolls, and a little doll painting tutorial to go with it. I use genesis heat set paints since they dry when I want them too (that was always why I liked painting in oils years ago). Hope you enjoy!
Doll Head Armature
I like to start with a tin foil ball, basically the doll “brains”, and then wrap a thin layer of clay on that and bake it. This creates a “skull”, of sorts, which makes everything else easier. I put a new layer of clay over the baked ball, which you might call the “skin”, and then I get to work sculpting.
I love hands because they are so expressive. I hate hands because they are so difficult to sculpt. I have a love-hate relationship with my little hand sculptures that I create. (more…)
OOAK snowflakes; similar but each so unique.
What does OOAK mean? The acronym stands for “one-of-a-kind” and is often used when describing a handmade art doll that is so unique there is no other just like it. When I sculpt a doll, I know there is no other like it because I started from a lump of clay, and I sculpt until I am holding what I envisioned in my head. (more…)
Well, I decided I’m going to write weekly on this here ‘lil blog and its going to be my art diary. You’re going to get the nitty gritty artist life here. The daily art grind: the distractions, the distortions, the ding batty ideas, and maybe some where between all that you’ll find something of value, something you’re looking for. (more…)
My sculpt of The Little Mermaid’s sad sister
Sketch of the mermaids coming up from the water.
There she is, a very sad mermaid. Poor thing. She is so sad because her sister grew legs and frolicked about on dry land, of all places, love struck for some human she hardly met. (more…)
Progress on the Queen of Hearts
I plan to write and illustratate three of my favorite fairy tales in a way children can better enjoy them. So here are the three tales (drum roll please): Anderson’s Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, and, Alice in Wonderland. (more…)
