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poeterri · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:51 am Post subject: First art doll

Hello all,

I have posted WIP pics of my first art doll - Sunnie. He's a "Blooming Elf" and I would like to share him with you. He can be seen at:

htt://www.poeterri.ca/sunnie.htm

Thank you!

Terri Ross

ClayBacon · Clay Commander Joined: 09 May 2005 Posts: 43

That is wonderful! It has a very summery feel to it (if that's a word) Smile

By the way, your link is broken on your post, you're missing a few letters in the beginning of your link. I believe the link should be:

http://www.poeterri.ca/sunnie.htm

Anyways, very nice work! The hands and feet are REALLY good. Did you use a mold?

poeterri · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:40 pm Post subject: Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to have a look and thanks for catching the link problem (I guess I was a little too excited about sharing!) You have it right.

Thank you for the complements. To answer your question about the hands and feet - no, I didn't use a mold. Sunnie is sculpted completely by hand. It took some practice. The feet were actually easier than the hands (no armature to create first). I'm working on the clothes and finishing touches now.

Thanks again, I'm glad you like him and who cares if Summery is a word or not, that's exactly the effect I was going for!!!

theraje · Clay Captain Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 14

Wow! Nice-looking work!

May I ask what tool(s) if any you used to get those details? (I want to do figures somewhat similar to that, so any tips you could pass on would be greatly appreciated!!)

Julie · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 8:46 am Post subject: Great work!

Nice job! Can I ask what kind of armature you used for the body? I've tried to do characters in the past but always have a hard time getting the whole thing put together (with the body). Is it very bendable? How is the head attached?

Thanks!

Julie

poeterri · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:59 pm Post subject: Tools and Armature

Thank you all for visiting Sunnie.

The armature is very simple - it's a wooden spoon that I purchased (3 for a dollar in the dollar store). The arms and legs were created with wire. The face is created on the bowl of the spoon. The hands and feet are created separately and added on after.

As for the tools, I use a set of small wooden sculpting tools, but my favorite tool, to create detail is a straight pin. It's simple and gives me a lot of control over finer details.

The best tip I can offer (since there is no right or wrong) is just do it. I did a lot of research before I started this piece, looked at a lot of other people's works, looked for their tips and tutorials, then just dove in and gave it a go.

I hope this helps! Thanks again!!!

Naomi · Clay Captain Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Posts: 26 Location: USA

Terri, Sunnie is very charming. The details of the hands and feet are absolutely amazing! I am in awe of your talent. Bravo!

poeterri · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:38 pm Post subject: Blushing

Thank you so much Naomi, you have really made my day. Your wonderful complement is greatly appreciated and inspires me to keep going.

captainmatty · Starting Member Joined: 10 May 2005 Posts: 9

I've been away for part of the summer and am now just getting back to the forum.
Terri,
What a great first doll!! How did you come up with such a creative idea? Thanks for sharing your work, very inspiring to those of us (me) trying to come up with creative pieces.

Nice work!!

poeterri · Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:53 pm Post subject:

Welcome back CaptianMatty and thank you so much!

The inspriration? Nature. It's full of limitless possibilities!

Terri

catlady13 · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2005 10:39 pm Post subject:

He is truly a sweet looking soul....how did you do the legs...I used clay straight and had the hardest time....too thick here ,,,too thin there...I know it takes a lot of practice....I use wire and foil for the armatures..but I loved the wooden spoon idea....the book I used...How To Make Clay Characters by Carlson, showed the wire and foil armature which is covered with clay and the head starts with a clay spoon shape...why not just use the wooden spoon... Cool

...thank you for the look at this piece..Kathy