How to use air-dry clay to sculpt dolls - sharing my trade secrets

For years, I have been sculpting with air-dry clays and accumulated several tips and tricks that make the process easier and more enjoyable. I believe that air-dry clays are beginner-friendly and even magical in experienced hands, but it takes a few tricks to make them work better.
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Materials:
La Doll Premix - www.activaproducts.com/la-dol...
La Doll - amzn.to/3LzXRJp *
Premier - amzn.to/3oT5IZu *
PVA glue - amzn.to/3ZaGVyn *
Sculpting tools - shrsl.com/e9np *
Scalpel - amzn.to/3XVsls7 *
Sanding paper - amzn.to/41Y6jHI *
Brushes - amzn.to/3LzTOg4 *
Primer - amzn.to/445W3z4 *
White primer - www.modeldisplayproducts.co.u...
* - affiliate links
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[@rhissannadollmaker9664]

Beautiful doll hands! I love how you get paper clay to stick to the armature wire smoothly. Thank you!

[@Nymphaidolls]

I love sculpting hands! Hands convey so much character.

[@kilodeltawhisky1504]

It's nice to find current content on making bjd from air dry clay, and from scratch! The information about carving dry clay makes sense... This is awesome! Thanks for posting!!

[@recreepy]

I am amazed by the level of detail and realism in your doll and puppet creations. They look like they could come to life any moment. You have a remarkable talent and skill!

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you so much 🫶

[@emilyjohnson5315]

I also love using air dry clay, just wanted to say you are incredibly talented and love when you post a new video!

[@emilyjohnson5315]

could you make a video about your ball joints?

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you! ☺️

[@Nymphaidolls]

I have a video about knee joints on my Patreon. You can also find a free article on my blog at nymphaidolls.com But thank you for suggestion, I think I can make one in the future. 👏

[@goblin1226]

This was incredibly helpful. Thank you so much! 👍🏻 i've only just started with sculpting dolls, but it's a lot of fun and i always feel like i'm bringing a little creature to life haha 😀

[@annettegreen5474]

It's been so hard for me to find a good tutorial on doll making with air dry clay! Thank you so much, this was brilliant! And I love your dolls. ❤

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you for watching! 🫶

[@DaLareira]

thank you so much!! I follow your dolls since a lot of years, you are an really good artist! good luck and kisses from Spain

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you so much! 🫶

[@jeanmarie905]

You´ve got a great talent there, thanks for the tips im suscribed from now and its my first video.

[@Nymphaidolls]

Welcome aboard! ☺️

[@KatjaTheAutiArtist]

Thank you

[@dollplexus74]

best video ever,

[@RoothieDoodles]

This video is such a god send! I always come back to reference your super helpful tips! I'm trying out the la doll clay myself and I noticed that even after a few days of the clay being dried out, I'm still able to leave a nail dent? Is that normal and will it go away when varnished/ sealed? I've tried adding a primer as well and after that stage it didn't do much to "harden" the clay to make it no longer dent-able. The exact type of clay I'm using is the La Doll Satin smooth natural stone clay.

[@Nymphaidolls]

Some dents are definitely possible, but after spraying with primer it shouldn’t be the case anymore. Unless you use force to leave a dent. Maybe the layer of clay is too thin? Or you’re not waiting enough time for the primer to dry? Usually primer is touch-dry after a few hours, but it takes up to 24h to really dry. I feel that my prototypes are quite resistant, because I sculpt in many thin layers and use grey primer in a few thin layers as well. This helps to form a good structure. In the end, the air-dry clay won’t be as strong as resin, porcelain or even air-dry casting slips.

[@bugbitez]

i love it its so detailed and amazing! i have a question tho.. how do you connect them together? is it after they dry or do you glue them in somehow

[@Nymphaidolls]

Like any other ball-jointed doll you connect it with elastic string or steel springs. For air-dry clay dolls it’s usually the elastic string. ☺️

[@jillianumo-etuk7224]

sorry i am late but i wanna know is activia la natural stone clay good and i really love your dolls

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you! It should be good, but I never tried it. La Doll is from Activia brand and is stone clay as well.

[@chuaclarice3503]

Do you happen to know the difference between ladoll red vs. ladoll blue (premix)?

[@Nymphaidolls]

It’s a very slight difference. I like both. Premix (blue package) is a mix of La Doll and Premier clays. So it’s a little bit smoother and more pliable. But the difference is quite small.

[@olesiabockelie3289]

Hi, thank you very much for the video! Do I understand it right that you prefer porcelain over air dry clay for your dolls? Can you tell why?

[@Nymphaidolls]

I still sculpt all my dolls from air-dry clay but cast them in porcelain later. For me, it elevates the doll to another level and it becomes this precious art piece. Another factor is longevity. Porcelain can last for hundreds of years if cared for properly. I love the look and feel of porcelain, but still sculpt with air-dry clay every day. ☺️

[@olesiabockelie3289]

@@Nymphaidolls thank you :)

[@mi.n.u.co.]

for the more intricate shapes like the (bottom & top part of the legs) do u shape them naturally?

[@Nymphaidolls]

Can you elaborate? I’m not sure I know what do you mean.

[@kilodeltawhisky1504]

​@@NymphaidollsI'm wondering if she means the ball part of the joints...?

[@Nymphaidolls]

@@kilodeltawhisky1504 If that’s so, then yes, I sculpt them myself. I show how I do it in one of the BJD sculpting videos.

[@KingofL85]

Hi do you know anything about padico stone paper clay?

[@Nymphaidolls]

I haven’t tried it, but Padico makes La Doll stone clays as well, and they’re my favorite to sculpt with. So I’d think other stuff from them is good quality too.

[@lainify]

Mabey I wasn’t listening good enough but how do I make it hollow? U said something about foam but I don’t really understand how I’m supposed to use it?. ❤

[@Nymphaidolls]

There’s a video on my channel about sculpting ball-jointed dolls from air-dry clay, watch it ☺️ You’ll see a section where I show that I cut biggest parts in half and remove the core. For small parts like arms, you can use paper straws.

[@lainify]

@@Nymphaidolls thank you so much I’ll go cheek it out!

[@Jilianity1]

How do you connect the ball joints together?

[@Nymphaidolls]

Using elastic string or if it’s a porcelain doll - steel springs.

[@zehraardal3001]

Hello, how can we get porcelain doll materials?

[@Nymphaidolls]

I get most of my materials online. Check out The Porcelain Place, they have a lot of stuff for porcelain doll making.

[@zehraardal3001]

@@Nymphaidolls thank you 😊

[@GM-qq1wi]

Those hands are so cute

[@Nymphaidolls]

Thank you! 🫶