Clay molding doll head. Dolls made of polymer clay

If you have not tried to create your own, author's dolls, then today's master class is for you. Today we have a polymer clay doll for beginner needlework craftswomen. This master class will be conducted by Natalya Shanaeva, whose work we have a whole section on the manufacture of such toys.

When creating dolls, you can use different materials. There are needlewomen who make dolls entirely from polymer material or from cold porcelain. But this requires skill. Therefore, it is easier for beginners to start with a combined product: the head, arms and legs are made of polymer clay or other material, and the body is made of a frame and synthetic winterizer.

clay doll

Frame for a polymer clay doll for beginners

This doll does not have a pattern. It is made on a wire frame with elements of polymer clay - so it will bend the arms and legs. To make it, you should imagine in advance the dimensions of the future doll. To do this, you just need to draw it on paper in the form of a 1: 1 diagram. In the process of work, you can check the dimensions.

You need to start with a wire frame that matches the growth of a doll without a head. You can take any wire for the frame, but so that it bends well and can withstand the weight of the head, and the legs - the weight of the entire doll. For beginners at this stage, it is important to observe the proportionality of the body in order to easily create any frames for future toys in the future.

Clay doll frame

Polymer Clay Doll for Beginners: Details

The next step is to work with polymer clay. Here it is worth proceeding from what you want to make your doll. In order for the head to have the ability to turn and tilt - it must be sculpted separately from the neck, if your doll will be a lady with a neckline - then you should sculpt the head separately and separately the shoulders with the neck if you plan to sculpt, for example, a cowboy with a shirt open on the torso, then the torso itself must be done with anatomical correspondences. Therefore, beginners should take into account all these nuances.

For our doll, we blind separately the head, legs and arms. We will make the head like this: we roll up a ball of foil of such a diameter that is equal to one fourth of the doll's height, we will apply a layer of polymer on it. Instead of polymer clay, you can use cold porcelain. Next, we sculpt the nose and lips, with the help of beads we make out the eyes. Everything is done arbitrarily, but taking into account the correct arrangement of details on the face of our future polymer clay doll for beginners. On the top of the head, a small hole is additionally made in the center for gluing hair.

We sculpt the hands for the doll from a single piece of clay so that the thin details do not break, and we make the legs up to the knees.

Clay doll elements

Polymer Clay Doll for Beginners: Assembly

We collect our doll. We wrap the wire frame with double-sided tape, on which the synthetic winterizer will subsequently be glued. Instead of padding polyester, you can use any other material to make the doll's body - paper napkins, foam rubber, strips of fabric or even toilet paper ... Where necessary, you need to use glue. When winding the wire frame of the doll, you need to strive for the anatomical similarity of the resulting figure.

Now we need to attach polymer clay parts to the frame. There are two ways.

First

Hands and feet are immediately molded to the frame. To do this, you need to pre-wrap the areas for the arms and legs with foil. As soon as the details are molded, they must be removed. They dry separately and when they are ready - the foil should be removed.

Second

You can simply make a pair of handles and legs separately, during the manufacturing process of which make holes to the required depth to further secure them to the frame. When sculpting legs, you can immediately sculpt them with shoes - sandals, shoes or boots.

To attach these parts to the beginner polymer clay doll, you will need to apply glue and glue the parts to the frame.

We wrap the frame of the doll

Hair for this doll is made in this way: pieces of yarn of the same length are cut and tied on a thread. They are glued on the head, starting from the back of the head and up to the top of the head. At the crown, several strands are glued into the hole to create a bang.

For beginners, this will be the easiest way to make hair. If you don’t like this method, then you can use it, here you will need to knit a small hat, tie yarn and then glue it to your head.

Making doll hair

Let's put a manicure on the doll's handles. We will make the face expressive with the help of felt-tip pens, and mark the lips with nail polish. Facial expressions must be thought out at the stage of sculpting the head. Then it will be easier to give the doll the necessary expression.

We give the doll a manicure

Now beginners can only dress up the doll - sew clothes for her. In our version, this is a knitted long red dress.

Doll dress made of polymer clay

The doll on a wire frame can stand, sit, change the position of the hands - it is multifunctional and mobile.

So another master class on creating a polymer clay doll for beginners has ended, as a result of which you were able to master the manufacture of doll parts from different materials. Such a toy will certainly be popular with children, because it can be given any position.

In your version of a polymer clay doll for beginners, of course, it will look different, since the basis of its manufacture allows you to create completely different toys on the subject.

If necessary, increase the volume of the cheek. To do this, put teardrop-shaped plates on the cheekbones. Having carefully smeared them, form a cheek.

Separate the cheek area from the mouth area with an arcuate nasolabial fold that starts at the wings of the nose and ends at the corners of the mouth.

As you look at the profile, make sure you add volume to sculpt your mouth.

Use the tool to mark the incision of the lips. Separate the upper and lower lips.

The upper lip is wider than the lower one, as if hanging over it. Both lips, both upper and lower, have a special peculiar shape. According to the plan, fashion the lips of the doll.

Chin, lower jaw.

Decide on the shape of the chin, sculpt it and shape the line of the lower jaw.

The lower jaw has an inclination towards the back of the head, divides the profile of the head in half and ends with the earlobe.

Neck.
Blind a quadrangular plate 5-6 mm thick from plastic.

Roll it up into a cylinder.

Stick and glue the neck to the head at the level of the rounding of the back of the head and behind the line of the lower jaw.

Spread the lower part of the neck a little to the sides in the form of a "skirt". Make the edges of the "skirt" thinner. If necessary, set the tilt of the head. This will give the doll dynamics and liveliness.

The neck is hollow inside.

On the back of the neck, below the level of hair growth, a brand (signature of the author) and the year of manufacture of the doll are put.

I never sculpt a whole neck in plastic or use different bases for it. Firstly, it makes the head heavier; secondly, a very thick layer of plastic requires a certain firing, and this does not always work out; thirdly, with a hollow neck, the fastening of the head to the stuffed body is much stronger.

Ears.
Everyone's ears are different, but their structure is the same. The ear is shell-shaped, made of cartilage and ends in a soft lobe. The size of the ear is equal to the distance from the tip of the nose to the superciliary arch. It is attached parallel to the nose in the middle of the profile part of the head, the back of the ear has an angle of inclination equal to the angle of the nose.

To sculpt ears, roll a plastic ball with a diameter equal to half the size of the nose. Cut it in half and fashion two blank ears.

Ears can be sculpted quite schematically. They can be molded anatomically correct or exaggerated. expressing the character and figurative affiliation of the doll. The main thing is that the ears are proportional and properly attached to the head.

Glue the blanks to the head and sculpt your ears.

It is very important when working with polymer plastic that your hands are constantly clean.. If the work is still dirty, I suggest you several ways to clean it up:

1. Use regular wet wipes (not paper). Such napkins have an impregnation, which, when lightly wiping the plastic, removes a thin top layer of dirt and small hairs. In this case, the surface is well smoothed. Often I specifically use wet wipes to bring out a smooth shape.

2. If the dirt has strongly grown into the plastic layer and is no longer erased by anything, then it can be removed by cutting off the extreme thin layer of the contaminated area with a tool.

The article uses materials from the book: Nadezhda Gnesitskaya "The Story of a Doll". To fully familiarize yourself with the materials of the book, we advise you to purchase it from distributors or the publisher.

Everything you wanted to know about needlework and

With the advent of polymer clay in the market of materials for needlework, its popularity is constantly growing.

Among the many types of creativity with its use - from crafts with children to the manufacture of jewelry - it is worth highlighting the creation of toys from baked plastic. Author's dolls made of polymer clay are delightful and boast millions of fans, which is not surprising, because this is an affordable and exciting form of creativity that suits many: housewives, mothers, and especially creative people.

Making polymer dolls as a hobby

This fashion hobby has many useful sides, here are just a few of them:

A new hobby will give your child the opportunity to make a unique doll, exactly the one that you dreamed of as a child, or that he himself came up with.
You can embody any of your fantasies or favorite images from books.
The original creation will serve as a highlight of the interior and will attract the attention of guests. Imagine - your favorite fairy, queen or princess from a child's imagination will come true with your hands.
An author's doll is a great way of self-expression. You will be able to reveal your vision of an image or a character, reflect the inner world in each activity, saturated with your own energy.
Author's dolls made of baked polymer clay are a gift that everyone is happy about, and women of any age will simply be delighted. You will always know what to give to relatives, relatives, friends.
Stress relief and warmth. Working on a lot of details is a long and laborious process, but that's why you can carefully work out every little thing, and the feeling of beautifully and efficiently executed work is an excellent anti-depressant and powerful psychological boost among the routine of constantly returning, eternal homework.
And finally, if this one is to your liking, then by developing your skills, you will be able to make dolls for sale, offering your unique, unlike any other work, creations.

How to move from plans to action

In order to start creating masterpieces, you need to have at least a little experience in, an interesting idea, diligence and a little patience. It is better to start simple - perfectionism at the stage of mastering this hobby is a big hindrance.

Excessive striving for perfection often prevents novice craftsmen from completing the work just because the first craft did not turn out quite the way they wanted. So don't expect everything to be perfect the first time. But you can count on a pleasant time and an interesting character.

Yulia Krel's work

Doll maker: Julia Krel

What materials are needed for work

Go to a craft store, rummage through your homemade jewelry box, or order a kit online that includes:

Flesh colored polymer clay. For the first doll, a small (40–70g) block from Cernit or Fimo firms is suitable, and in the future it will be necessary to use other clays created specifically for sculpting dolls, for example, Fimo Puppen or LaDoll.
At least one stack in the shape of a small rectangular spatula made of metal. Developing his skill, each master himself selects the stacks he needs, while beginners can start with a basic set of dental stacks. Do not neglect the available items that can replace stacks at first: needles, rounded ends of pens, pins with round heads, simple plasticine stacks.
Copper wire, aluminum foil for baking - you need it to make a frame and create ingots of different parts of the body, on top of which you will sculpt from polymer clay.
Fabrics. For the first doll, unless you are a professional seamstress or an experienced sewing lover, but only, it is better to use natural fabrics that are not capricious and easy to sew. They are needed for the calf and doll clothes. You will also need a filler (cotton wool, wool, holofbayer) or a bandage to form the torso
Depending on what kind of doll body you will make.
Acrylic paints for face painting. Only basic colors available: black, white, red and yellow. Such a set will allow you to make brown-eyed dolls. In more complex and realistic works, dry watercolor, blush or powder (necessarily matte, not mother-of-pearl), oil paints are used as tinting substances.
Wool, yarn left over, or finished synthetic hair - your choice. Polymer glue, for example, Dragon glue. With the help of these materials create doll hair.

Depending on the artist's preferences, skills, materials available, or style of the doll, the process for making a DIY baked plastic doll can vary markedly. But the option described in this manual is the main and most common.

How baked plastic dolls are born - a step-by-step description

Each magic has a clue, the process of creating polymer dolls consists of a complex but understandable process:

The master draws up a sketch of the future doll, taking into account the image and proportions.
A wire frame is formed, which will be the "skeleton" of the doll.
Where there will be arms, legs and head, blanks are created - basic forms of aluminum foil.
A layer of polymer clay of uniform thickness is applied over the blanks. This is followed by the design of the face: they increase the desired volume or create notches to get the intended features. The palms and feet are made separately and attached to their places at the end of the work.
Before baking, parts of the future doll are tinted. To do this, use artistic crayons - dry, blush, powder. And in the process of baking, the master can, if necessary, tint the doll with oil paints.
After firing the doll, or rather the frame with the head and limbs, build up the body: wrap the wire arms, legs, torso with a bandage to the desired volume. In the process, the bandage is fixed with thread or glue.
The torso created by the bandage is sheathed with a cloth so that the bandage is not visible.
Next, the doll made of polymer plastic acquires clothes: depending on the purpose of the toy, it is sewn into an “attachment”, that is, on the doll itself (interior, decorative, figurine), or separately from the figurine, making it removable (toy).
Now it's time to draw the face: with the help of acrylic paints draw eyebrows, eyes, and lips. Eyes, and if necessary, lips, then varnished.
The final step in the process is the hairstyle. Depending on preferences, hair is created from wool, yarn or special strands of artificial hair.
The baked plastic doll is ready, and can serve as a gift, home decoration or a toy for a child.

Where can you apply your work?

Author's toys have a very wide range of applications. You can make figurines based on your child's sketches, adding him to the creation of a simplified version of the character. The ability to create dolls will help to revive your favorite fairy tale, embodying its characters, which will turn the house into a cozy fairy-tale chest, where each room has its own “inhabitants”.

Doll from the collection of Nina Kim

Having got the hang of it, you will be able to make dolls at the request and orders of your friends, taking into account their wishes and bringing them joy with your gifts. And having accumulated enough experience, you can place your products in online stores dedicated to handicrafts and create your own small business based on a hobby.

Polymer clay is such a unique material that sometimes you wonder what you can do with it. Any decoration is obtained in its own individual and unusual. Each toy or figurine made of polymer clay carries a piece of the author's soul. Such things can even be observed among collectors. But dolls created quickly and simply from polymer clay with their own hands are considered to be of particular value.

It can take more than one month for the master to create one doll. After all, this is a rather painstaking work that not everyone can withstand. First, as elsewhere, an idea, an image is thought out, after which the choice of species is determined. After all, the doll can be both static and articulated. After that, of course, a drawing is drawn, which describes all the details with exact parameters. And only after that you can prepare material to create an idea.

Consider for a start the neat work of experienced craftsmen

There are not so many people in the world who are engaged in the creation of dolls from such material. But at the same time they managed to become quite famous. Their work can be found in specialized magazines, on websites. Below, as a general acquaintance, photos of author's dolls made by hand from polymer clay will be presented.

Each doll is good in its own way. They are very different, but this does not make them less attractive. Any experienced collector is willing to pay a pretty sum to have such toys on his shelf.

We sculpt a polymer clay doll ourselves in a step-by-step MK

If you are already familiar with polymer clay, you know all its subtleties, then you can try to make a doll. But get ready for the fact that such an activity will take a lot of time and effort. Don't forget to think over all the details, from what color your character's skin will be, to small details on clothes or additional attributes for a complete look.

Before you start, you need to prepare. To make a doll you will need:

polymer clay;
knives of various designs;
emery of different hardness;
pliers;
wire;
primer;
brushes;
paint and glue.

For clothes, you can choose absolutely any material. For hair, six is well suited for felting.

In itself, the creation of a doll is a very complex process, therefore, we will try to describe the whole mechanism as clearly as possible.

First, decide if you want a articulated doll or a static one. There is also a simplified version, when the head, arms and legs are made of polymer clay, and the body of the pupa is sewn from fabric. The most difficult option is to make a articulated doll, so we will opt for a static one.

Make a drawing, think over the image of the doll. Think about what size it will be, what features it will have. Make sure you have all the required materials.

After you have thought over the details, decided on the size, you can take the wire and make a frame.

The frame is the basis of the product, it gives it strength. The wire itself should not be twisted much, it is best to have another type of wire, thinner, with which you can wrap the structure. We cover the frame with foil, smooth it, seal it and compare it with the drawing.

Now let's move on to the mold itself. We start with the head. Take a small piece of clay, knead it well so that it becomes more plastic, and proceed with the implementation. As a result, you should get a similar blank.

Then you can send your workpiece to bake for a short period of time, but if you are using self-hardening clay, then this is not necessary. The product must be sent to the oven so that the workpiece becomes denser and does not lose its shape in further work.

After that, we begin to give volume to the head, sculpt the forehead, cheeks, lips.

Then you need to smooth out all the bumps, making the face more realistic and alive.

Using a needle, cut through the eyes.

Remember to compare the symmetry of the face to make the work neat.

The head is ready, now you can apply some paint. Masters recommend using pastels or spray paints to give the skin of your doll the desired shade.

Re-bake if necessary. Then you need to sculpt the ears.

We continue to sculpt. Now let's get to the body.

We sculpt arms, legs, we try to do everything carefully so that there are no defects.

We smooth out all the bumps. Now you can start detailed sculpting. Start with your fingers.

If you want, you can add small details, such as making the collarbones more expressive or slightly highlighting the ribs. Each doll is individual, so decide for yourself how it will be different.

After all the details are done, you should send the doll to the oven or just leave it to harden, but you need the material to harden and become more durable.

Then start sanding. Use different skins.

And do not forget to make a small parting at the crown. This can be done at any time while sculpting.

Now you can completely paint the face. Show your imagination, use any paint, pastel, acrylic, even a watercolor pencil will do, which, in this example, is very good at drawing freckles.

After the makeup is completed, cover everything with varnish to fix the result.

Hairstyle. Here you can use any material, for example, silk threads, or you can buy a special wig in advance, directly for the doll, but here you can not guess with the size. Try to buy a regular wig and make a hairstyle for a doll out of it. But in this lesson we use wool for felting. You will also need glue.

Currently, many needlewomen are engaged in modeling from polymer clay, this has become a fashionable activity. This material provides room for imagination and possibility. A product made of polymer clay is an author's work, each toy is unique and carries the warmth and energy of the hands that made it. These do-it-yourself dolls made of polymer clay will be a great gift.

You can sculpt such a doll with the children, it will be interesting for them. You can sculpt their favorite character from a fairy tale, cartoon, etc. Girls will be delighted with the princess. When creating a doll with a child, you can entrust him with bending the wire for the frame, drawing lips and eyes. If the eyes are not beautiful, then you can erase them and draw new ones.

Necessary materials

For making polymer clay dolls it is important to prepare all the materials and tools that will be needed in the process:

Polymer clay from which the doll will be made;
Wire for the frame;
Glue instant;
Sticks and stacks for shaping the face and curves on the body;
Pliers;
Sandpaper for sanding irregularities;
Paper and a simple pencil;
Filler, a synthetic winterizer, holofiber or synthetic winterizer is suitable;
Cotton or linen fabric;
Thread, needle, scissors.

In addition, it is necessary that the house has an oven with a thermometer for it.

head sculpting

You will need the following materials:

Foil;
Wire;
Polymer clay, for example, deco.

To form a head for a doll, you need to consider this photo master class:

1) Take a piece of wire and bend it into a loop.

2) Then wrap foil around the tip of the wire.

There should be enough foil to make a ball of it with a diameter slightly smaller than the doll's head.

3) Then apply clay about 3-5 mm thick on the foil.

4) Using plastic stacks, form hollows for the eyes, nose, chin, lips, etc.

5) Then the head blank is baked in the oven.

Manufacturing master class

To make both a regular and a articulated polymer clay doll with your own hands, you need to consider how to make it step by step.

1) The manufacture of the head was considered separately. Then you need to make hands. To do this, take two pieces of wire, bend in half and twist.

2) Then stick clay around the wire, forming handles.

3) Twist 8 fingers and make hands also sticking around them with clay.

4) Using stacks, form thin fingers and nails.

5) The legs of the doll are made in the same way as the arms, in the same sequence. Let the limbs dry, remove excess wire.

6) Sand the arms and legs with sandpaper.

It must be remembered that all the details of the doll must be proportional to each other.

7) The body of the doll will be made of cloth. To do this, you need to make the appropriate patterns and cut blanks from the fabric.

8) Sew the textile parts, leaving a hole for the filler.

9) Turn the parts on the face and fill with filler.

10) Insert the blanks of the arms and legs inside the soft part, gluing them to the glue for a moment.

11) Sew all the details together, sew up the neckline of the future doll.

12) Glue the head. After that, you need to proceed to the design of the face: draw eyes and lips, glue the hair.

Hairstyle for a doll

To make hair, you will need an old wig, wefts or yarn, glue, thread and a hook.

Step-by-step creation of a hairstyle for a doll:

1) On the top of the doll, you need to make a hole and draw a spiral with a simple pencil.

2) Glue the hair along the drawn lines.

3) Then take a bunch of hair, spread it with glue and glue it to the hole in the head ...

4) Then gently comb the hair and make a hairstyle, for example, a pigtail or a bun.

Face shaping

In order to draw the doll's face and make up, it is best to use acrylic paints. If makeup is not provided, then only two colors of paint are needed: flesh and black.

Body paint is initially pink. In order to achieve the desired shade, you need to dilute it with water.

The doll's face must be covered with diluted body paint in several layers. Lips can be painted with undiluted paint. Give her a blush to her cheeks.

To draw the eyes, it is worth practicing first on paper so as not to spoil the face. To do this, you need to take a very thin brush. With black paint, you need to draw the upper and lower eyelids, then draw the cilia. You can draw an iris with diluted black paint (in the end it turns out gray). The pupil is drawn with black paint.

As a result, the face is ready, the doll has become a real beauty and will delight its owners. It can be given as a birthday gift to a child.

Video on the topic of the article

In this section, you can watch a video on how to create a beautiful polymer clay doll.