Fine Art Doll Gallery

Trade Secrets

Dollmaking Tips to and from Dollmakers

Clay Finishing

I have found that if I apply a thin coat of Liquid Sculpey® to a baked piece, especially the face, it helps to even out any fingerprints or rough areas. Then I bake again, it really makes a difference in the finished look of the piece.

Clay Preparation

There are many types of polymer clay. Cernit^® is the strongest; however, is the most difficult to work with because it does not have good "memory." It is also extremely "squishy" and needs to have some of the plasticizers leeched out. I like to mix this clay with another strong clay, Premo^®. Premo^® has a wonderful "memory" and has an excellent blending ability, which works well with reducing the negative aspects of Cernit^®.

Keeping Clay Clean

Raw polymer clay is like a dust magnet and will attract dust, dirt and oils.

You need to have a clean workplace and to make sure you do not wear a sweater or dark clothing, as the fibers of these will get into the clay. I have found wearing a clean, white tee shirt is very helpful. You also need to make sure your hands are very clean. I also keep the part of the clay I am not working with covered with plastic wrap to avoid unnecessary handling.

Dirt will get in the clay even following these steps, so having a sharp, crafters Xacto^® knife is often needed to scrape this excess off.

Leeching Clay

I leech out the plasticizers by flattening the clay out and placing it in between two pieces of white typing paper or copy paper. Place under heavy books and then after a day, take out and re-condition. If it is still too soft, repeat until the clay is how you want it. I have found 3 times was the maximum, otherwise over-leeching will dry out the clay too much. I add un-leeched Premo^® to this mixture.

Smoothing

Before I cure a piece, I always go over it with a small flat sable brush and a dab of baby oil. This allows me to get rid of fingerprints and any little nicks in the clay and cuts down on the sanding process after the piece is cured.

Costuming

Beading

As far as costuming with beading, I embed the beads into the clay by licking my wooden sculpting stick and dipping that into a bag of beads. I usually get about 4 on the stick and lay them on and gently push in slightly more than half way. They will stay in once the sculpture is baked. I glaze over them with a small amount of Gloss Sculpey Glaze® to seal them in even more. (After the baking process)