More on Life Size Doll Armature

Last blog post I was writing about beginning to fill out the upper part of the torso.  This post I will be showing the first part of the hip area.  Each section will be built up in layers until the body has a fairly natural look to it.  The goal is not to create a perfect body form, but to make a form that will serve as the base for a dressed doll.  It does not have to be completely correct, it just has to be proportional enough to a fair approximation.

Right now, the top looks too small to go with the current hip construction.  That is because this is the first layer.  There will be more layers, on the upper torso and I have to allow room for the layers to come.  I am building up areas one at a time so I can see where I need to make changes as I go along.  At the moment, I think the hips might be a little wide, but it is a little late to be taking the frame apart.   Everything is glued in place.  I would have to use a hack saw to cut out some of pipe and the glued joints and replace it with new joints.  It might creating more work than it is worth.

I was having a little trouble visualizing the hip area, so I started taping on balls of paper to the supports until I had an idea of where the hips should be situated for the pose I want the doll to hold.  (This doll's position will be static.  Since the frame was glued in place it does not move.)  That step was not really necessary, but it did help me understand the underlying bone structure.  Once I figured out how high I wanted the hip to be, I taped on cardboard front and back and stuffed the area with balls of newspaper.  The rest of the newspaper stuffing was not taped.

After the hip area was stuffed, I covered the entire section with masking tape, including the top and bottom.  I use the masking tape as a buffer against moisture.  The external layer of the doll will be a form of paper mâché and fabric.  I have had projects fail when the cardboard absorbed too much moisture from the mix.  Although there should be some layers covering the cardboard, I prefer to give myself  some extra protection now rather than have to rework an area later if things become soggy.

Next, I will be working on the upper torso again in order to add more shape and bring it into proportion to the hip width.    Once that is done, the waist area will be filled to create a smooth and shapely torso.  The head will be mounted and the shoulders will be padded to match the neck area.  Arms and legs will be worked in to match the rest of the body.  Another layer (or perhaps two will go on to pad and soften the hard edges of the figure.  Then the "skin" layer will go on.  The hair will go on after the skin layer.  I don't want to get goo on the hair while trying to put on the skin.  I do want the hair on before I start adding clothes and accessories.

Check back next Sunday afternoon for the latest update on this project.