Wednesday, 22 July 2009

I Bawl

Over eyeballs....OK it isn't quite that bad yet but after 9 hours of trying to make just one decent pair of eyes I wasn't far off crying lol.

I knew this would be one of the toughest things....I've tried them before. I have probably every tutorial ever written and have followed them all....but I just can't do it.

The most frustrating thing it is is just so easy yeah ? White clay ball, one black circle, fill with one blue circle, dot with black. How hard can it be right ? Very hard for me I tell ya.

I am almost tempted to buy glass eyes or have him with his eyes closed. But I won't....if he turns out half decent and I've used purchased eyes then I will feel cheated at the end of it all.

So I will persevere....

I haven't done much else yet. I am at a kinds stuck stage. I don't know what pose I want him in. Oh I have many ideas, just can't decide which one I want to go with. I am finding it hard to look at the wire skeleton as anything but and have lost the completed image in my head. I am sure it'll come back...In my excitement I think I've just been thinking about it too hard and my brain has got muddled with too many ideas.

I need an image of my pose...I think I'll see if I can persuade Mick to act the rock star tonight and let me take photos :-) Then at least I'll have something to work from.

I was getting a bit muddled about how to attach the head. I couldn't see the brass rod for a neck method working well because of the lack of movement. I mentioned it to Mick and the next thing I know he has cut me a bunch of vertebrae from brass tubing for my neck...bless his cotton socks. So now I'll have neck movement until I decide how it is going to finally be posed.

He did suggest that I should use this vertebrae method all down his spine but I think that's pushing it :-) That's what I get for being married to an engineer with a very keen interest in anatomy lol

I need to sand these vertebrae down yet but this will give you an idea.



Today I think I'll make the skull. I really need a real one on my desk...and some kind of movable skeleton. Mick has wanted a full size skeleton for years so at least he won't mind :-)



Posted by Tallulah Belle at 16:38

19 comments:

  1. Marsha @ Tattered Chick22 July 2009 at 18:31

    I don't sculpt so I don't know what I'm talking about, LOL, but what if you sculpt the eye socket in the head and then paint the eyes? Hugs, Marsha

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  2. Crafts From The Stash22 July 2009 at 19:08

    Eyes are the bane of my life and I know where you are coming from so for once I am not going to offer any advice. I do however like the way Jodi Creager does hers. Love that neck idea too.
    Debie xxxxxxxxxx

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  3. Tallulah Belle22 July 2009 at 20:20

    Hi Marsha, yes I thought about that....a lot of the doll artists do it. But I am useless with a paintbrush. And I figure if I can't even do it when they are out of the head I'll be no better when they are in the head...only difference is, at least now I can just throw them out. Once they are on the head I'll have to gouge them out lol.

    Glad you understand Debie....I hate them with a passion lol.

    Yeah Mick was pretty pleased with his neck idea too :-)

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  4. Patti22 July 2009 at 20:47

    I love the neckbones. :-D Jayne, remember how little of the eye bawl will be showing. I hope you aren't canning the ones you've made due to one slight wiggle that will never show. ((()))

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  5. Tabitha Corsica22 July 2009 at 21:49

    Will those "vertebrae" still move once the clay is baked? Nikki once mentioned some canes she used for eyes on her blog. Sometimes it is necessary to do the best at what you can and use the talent of others for what you can't. I don't think that's cheating...

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  6. Tallulah Belle22 July 2009 at 21:54

    Thanks Patti...I will set some of them into a practice head and see how they look with lids obscuring some of it.

    Tabitha...no once the clay is on they'll be set. But, while it is like this I can put the head on and figure out his pose than add the clay.

    I would just like to do it all by myself...maybe it isn't cheating but I want to do this so much I am not giving up...not just yet anyhow.

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  7. MiniKat23 July 2009 at 05:20

    The eyes are part of what's keeping me from trying dolls... Someday...

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  8. Eliza23 July 2009 at 05:43

    I've never tried scupting eyes, but sometimes I repaint the faces of inexpensive porcelain dolls, and maybe my method will help. I water down white and black acrylics then paint a slash of white and then a dot of black or brown on top of the still wet white. The watered down paints mix together slightly, creating a realistic looking iris around the edge of the black dot. After it dries, I go back in for touch ups and any other detail work. I'm hopeless at painting eyes any other way, but this method gives a surprising realistic look pretty consistently. Good luck!

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  9. niknik23 July 2009 at 06:26

    Может это Вам поможет:
    http://ljplus.ru/img/f/o/foxi_al/glaz.jpg

    http://mydolls.nm.ru/doll_11.html
    Удачи!

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  10. Josje23 July 2009 at 08:02

    I am fascinated by your approach to doll sculpting. No half measures for you! I love the solution with the bones and the vertebrae. I do not like to work with clay, never did, even as a child. But I will have a go at it once in a while. But I would probably have chucked it in by now if I would be doing the eyeballs like you, LOL! Great job!

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  11. Tallulah Belle23 July 2009 at 16:32

    Thanks

    Kat...seriously, start making eyes now and just keep making them. When you are ready to sculpt you'll have plenty lol. Maybe you'll have the knack for it...I just don't.

    Eliza...thanks for the tip, I'll try that way as well.

    Niknki, thanks for the tutorials...I will translate them and read them.

    Josje, it is the only way I know to do things...that and being raised around all engineers makes me think this way :-) I am too pig headed and stubborn at times to give up :-)

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  12. nikkinikkinikki7224 July 2009 at 09:11

    Hi Jayne. If you get stuck i have eyes for you and also in blue.
    Keep trying but you know you can paint the eyes. And with your patience i am sure you could paint a pair.
    Wishing you luck.
    Thank you for also viviting my blog with your best wishes for michael.
    Nikki x

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  13. julie campbell24 July 2009 at 21:09

    Hello jayne, as you know ~I sculpt my eyes into the face as I work. I have tried making eyeballs and inserting them and it drove me mad ! Maybe if you try sculpting them you might like it ? if you can get hold of Wendy frouds videos she has a very simnple foolproof way of doing it, you might like it.
    Jodi Creager sculpts her eyes so beautifully too her video is fantastic. I'm stubborn like you so just do it my way LOL but sometimes it just clicks when you see someone doing something and you will adopt a little technique for yourself. I love the fact you have vertebrae in your skeleton !!! I rarely do full sculpts as I just have to have movement in my dolls , if you find you are the same there are some good techniques for making a moveable neck,
    you are doing a fab jpb on this and am looking forward to seeing it progress
    julie xx

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  14. Tallulah Belle25 July 2009 at 00:12

    Thanks Nikki...I will keep trying :-) Hope Michael is doing better still.

    Hi Julie

    I would love to sculpt the eyes in then paint them. But, not being an accomplished sculptor I am terrified of getting half decent sculpt..don't laugh it might happen...then messing up the eyes ...i think I'd cry for a week.

    However, saying that I am getting to the point now where I think I'll just give it a go.

    I know about Jodis DVDs but I'll check out Wendy's as well...Frouds work, whilst amazing, isn't' really my kind of thing so I'd not have thought to look at that.

    Yes I think I'll always want a moveable neck. While Micks idea was a novelty I am sure there is something better :-)

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  15. julie campbell25 July 2009 at 10:14

    I know what you mean Jayne, I bought the froud video because I am addicted to tutorials LOL I really am and always find something of interest but I think you will love the way she assembles her dolls and as for the eyes, she basically makes a closed eye and then opens it. Very simple and something I had tried and liked myself.Its fairly simple to sculpt a sleeping eye and then you magically have the lids placed just right when you open it.
    julie :0)

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  16. Texas Belle26 July 2009 at 04:17

    Have you seen this tutorial? http://www.fairiesndreams.com/eyetutorial.html
    Eneida does amazing work and her eyes look very realistic, I think. I've never tried this, so I have no idea how it works, but I thought it looked easy enough, so maybe it's worth a try. I think her dolls are typically around 12", btw, so you would have to scale everything down a bit.

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  17. Tallulah Belle27 July 2009 at 22:55

    Thanks TB.

    I have seen and tried that method already last year but when you scale them down so small and print them out you lose any detail that was in it to start with. Perhaps it works better with bigger dolls.

    Julie..I swear I responded to this but we've emailed since anyhow :-)

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  18. Sans!28 July 2009 at 10:21

    You know, Jayne, I so love reading all about your trials and tribulations. :)

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  19. Tallulah Belle28 July 2009 at 17:01

    Thanks Sans :-)

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