How To Create Ball Jointed Dolls by Shannon Rae Treasure
The popularity of Ball-Jointed Dolls (BJD) has prompted a lot of custom doll collectors to start their own designs and masterpieces. The theme for most of these BJD creations is that it verges on the modern scenarios. These ball-jointed dolls are mostly inspired by Asian anime creations since it first started as craze in Japan, China, and South Korea. Thus, most features of the modern BJD are akin to the faces of anime and manga comics’ characters. But the history of ball-jointed dolls dates back in the late 19th century in Western Europe in when the dolls were made of bisque.
The reincarnation of the ball-jointed dolls was observed in 1972 when the Blythe Doll was launched. These dopey-eyed dolls perhaps fostered the emergence of the modern ball-jointed dolls that we see today. Along this resurrection, hobbyists and doll enthusiasts have found this technique to be versatile and flexible when it comes to the movement and pose they want for their creation. Due to this demand, most doll shops right now are catering to this need and most ball-jointed supplies are available at online stores that have mushroomed.
Doll supplies include synthetic mohair wigs, shoes, clothes, doll body joints and parts (ex. feet, arms, head, eyes, and limbs), fairy wings, paints, airbrush, and sealants. There are also other paint materials that are available to make the dolls more lifelike. The doll’s body parts can also very as it depends on the size of the doll that will be created. The materials for these parts are usually vinyl or synthetic polyurethane resin which can be premade or molded for custom orders.
The cured resin results to a smooth skin like texture that is also akin to porcelain yet it is less brittle. The only problem with polyurethane is that it may turn yellow over time especially when exposed to heat or the UV rays. Hobbyists who want to verge on unique customized designs, they can use clay molds to form parts that are not available at the stores. Most of these custom designed parts are used by hobbyists who are into robot figures, vampire characters, and other fantasy and fictional characters.
There are several instructional videos and articles available online on how to paint and string ball-jointed dolls during the assembly process. Other intricate details involve the process of placing mohair synthetic wigs and the setting of Glass Eyes. For would-be enthusiasts who like to start their own creation, check online clubs and forums which will provide better inputs on how to start crafting custom ball-jointed dolls.
About the Author
If you would like to get started in collecting dolls, or introduce a loved one to the tradition of doll collecting it might be a good idea to start with dolls that interest them and are of relatively low cost. Our Generation Dolls are great for younger girls while Monster High Dolls might be better aimed at pre-teen and teenage young ladies.
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