#bjd tutorial

The main thing about a modification like this is to go slowly and only remove a bit at a time. You can always take more off, but it’s harder than hell to put back.

I took a grey colored pencil and some tape and made a ring around the neck where I would like to take some height off. Since my cutting wheel is thicker I’m going to have to stay on the one side of the line so I don’t take off too much.

I did make note of the curve in front, but ultimately decided that I didn’t need it. If I had kept it I would have used a diamond file mandrel to gently carve that in.

For this I grab my Dremel Lite with a thin cutoff wheel. On the lowest speed I start going around the neck, making sure everything lines up. Double check that you have a good grip on everything and are purposeful with your movements. A dremel bit can get away easily and create unwanted marks in the resin.

As always when working with resin, wear a mask. I also keep wet towels next to me to control the amount of dust that tried to escape.

I love a good, clean cut.

For our next act, the neck needs to be curved down and smoothed. Again with my Dremel, I employ my nail sanding bands. These are made for sanding nails, but I find them perfect for doll modification as they come in different grits from #80 to #240. The 80 grit is harsh and that’s what you reach for when you want to remove a lot of resin NOW, but today I use #150 to start shaping the neck.

This is where you want to go epically slow and check the fit of your doll’s head often. Rotate the head around and check the range of motion and also look inside to see if the neck is making contact with the inside of the head, this way you can judge whether to skinny up the neck more or give a greater curve to the top.

After you are satisfied with the shape and fit, it’s time to do a finishing sand. I like to use a wet/dry #400 by hand because it leaves a satin smooth finish that typically matches most BJD finishes and the “tooth” that their resin already has. Do small circular motions around the neck that way you don’t leave any sanding marks. Double check on the blending between your sanded area and the unsanded area. This is where shadows can reveal an odd ledge and make the mod look unfinished.

Now! Do your final fit check and suede the head if needed for extra grip.

There she is! I probably took about 6mm off in the end, but it was enough to make a difference. I’m so happy to have Enya whole again.

It’s truly amazing to see how far BJD engineering has come. The joints are beautifully made with posability that was just a dream in the early 2000s. I still remember when everyone lost their mind when jointed hands were first introduced and there were close to $200 a pair.

🥰

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I did a quick test run with craft foam and adjusted the pattern a little. 

Test bracers and corrected pattern.

Once it fit better, I sketched out some ideas for future details. For this piece, I decided to go with floral-abstract wave motifs — something light and decorative to start with. 

After that, I carved in the design and added a scale-like texture to the bracers. The idea was to make them look a bit like scales or skin — organic, but still decorative.

Next step was adding the eyelets. For this test piece I placed them before painting, though I think in future attempts I might wait until after the paint is done — it could give a cleaner finish.

Test run:

And finally, it was time for the paint job — starting with a quick test on the first pattern.

The result turned out not bad at all for a first try. I finished it off with a coat of varnish on top.

The only thing that bothers me is the inside. I left it completely untouched to avoid any risk of staining clothes, but the bright white looks so distracting that it almost ruins the whole piece. I’ll definitely need to find a compromise between aesthetics and safety next time.

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All in all, I’m qute happy with the final result and how it looks.

picking fabrics in general for either component, keep in mind your dolls scale and the drape of your fabric, generally you can get away with thicker and heavier fabrics for obi then yukata

if the fabric you have absolutely set your heart on for the obi is not stiff enough for a belt you can add interfacing

with that out of the way on to the print picking! you don't have to stick to traditionally Japanese looking prints like sakura flowers, temari balls, waves and cranes. Anything could be a yukata print if you want as long as it's in scale for your doll, this doesn't exclude large prints! you could get a really cool look with a large print.

generally i decide if a print is too big or not is when i put it up against a doll (or imagine it if my doll is not on hand as the case may be at the fabric store) would a real person look cool wearing this large print? or just odd? sometimes the print could almost work but it repeats too rarely to work.

small repeat prints are great! through the really small ones usually work better for obi then the yukata.

the goal is to pick two fabrics that both compliment and contrast one another, this might sound like a bit of a contradiction but i will explain

first consider the patterns, the goal is so the two fabrics don't blend together, so roughly large prints with small and avoid using the exact same print for both even if the colours look nice together

while you don't always have to follow these rules consider this more of a guideline, i no doubt also forgot to list some options that could work as well, these are easy ways to pick a fabric print

if you really can't decide a solid colour is usually a safe choice, to spice it up you could pick something with a subtle printed texture or variation, also don't discount just textured fabrics! they can make great obi even if they are only one solid colour

if your yukata print is large and organic it could look good with a small regular print or a geometric one

if your yukata print is vertical stripes it could look good with an organic design, small regular print, often repeating geometric pattern or small horizontal stripes (if the striped on the yukata it self are not small)

if your yukata has a geometric print it could look good with a small repeat pattern, or medium to larger organic print

now the colours! this is a little more nebulous and objective but here is a few things to consider

having a bit of the yukata colour in the obi or vise versa is a good way to coordinate the fabrics

one option is to have the colour combo pop! by this i mean you see the colours next to each other and go "yes that feels right!" even if they are quite contrasting

generally monochrome prints can be paired with just about any colour, you would pay more attention to the images of the print it self to make a good match

you could follow the colour pallet! if a print is black and green the obi is too, just in different amounts so it stands out with a complementing print

I would also recommend holding prints next to each other even when you doubt it would work, it's a good way of finding striking combos!

hopefully this will help someone 〒▽〒

1. Could you summarize the overall process? What are the general steps from start to finish?

I will be uploading some vids soon. Try this one first tho.

When you do a faceup, it is a collaboration between you and the sculptor. The sculpture does most of the work. You are bringing the deep parts of the sculpture deeper and the forward parts more forward.

Basically this:

photograph and disassemble doll

wash doll pieces with dawn dish soap and warm water. dry all parts I want to paint.

three coats of Mister Super Clear UV Cut (MSC) sealant on each piece, with a 20 min dry time between coats.

deep freckle/blood vessel texture (optional) with red, blue,brown waterey gouache, spray MSC

dark reddish pink chalk pastel pigments in the deep creases/crevices, areas of blood flow. Correct work with kneaded eraser.

after every layer of pigment that I like, I do another spray of MSC.

lighter pinks or tans (based on skin tone references) on things I want to bring forward (brows, nose tip, cheekbones), another pass in the deep areas, new color on the lips. spray seal

Detail with fine lines under eyes, line texture on lips, wrinkles, lower eyelashes. Check references and experiment. A touch of green in the deepest part of the skull on either side of the nose. You know, where you get sinus headaches.

Pray to Satan and cry as I add eyebrows and hair details with gouache. I start by mapping the brows out with dark chalk pastel then do hairstroke lines with gouache. Personally I am super heavy -handed with my brushes, I need to work on that.

When happy, 2 final coats of MSC

Add Vallejo gloss varnish to water lines of eyes and lips.

2. What general materials do you need?

FYI I have been in this hobby for about 7 years. I have only had to replace Mister Super Clear cans and respirator cartidges in that time. Everything else I have used for nearly a decade. And also used them for other projects!

#1 item you need: a proper serious respirator. You will be at risk of inhaling toxic chemicals when you work with sealants or do any sort of dry sanding. Please please please invest in this item.

Mr. Super Clear UV Cut sealant spray. This gives the resin or vinyl a toothy surface to apply pastel pigments, watercolor pencil, and gouache paint on. The techniques will not work without this surface.

The sealant also behaves like skin, which is made up of several layers of matte cells So the pigment you apply to the resin is suspended in layers just like real skin.

Chalk Pastels I like the mungyo hand-rolled chalk pastel just because when you use a razor to scrape off some pigment it crushes up and mixes better. But any chalk pastel will do. The Xanthi video I will link later has a great idea of just buying a few chalks at a time, because to be honest I don't use all of my chalk.

Small nylon brushes.

A fan brush

A tooth brush (for skin texturing/freckles)

Crappy dollar store makeup brushes (for pigment powders)

Kneaded Erasers

White cloth gloves

ceramic dish for a palette

Some people use watercolor pencils, but I never got the hang of them. I prefer just using brushes. Everyone has their own thing they do.

Paint recs in Next Question

3. What paint do you use? What brushes/applicators do you use? How did you achieve those softer/blended contour lines, like in skin tone?

Goache paint dries flat and matte. It's basically opaque watercolor. I use a damp q-tip to remove it if I make a mistake.

Winsor-Newton is great. I am pleasantly surprised by Arteza's gouache. I have used the same gouache tubes for seven years. You put like a raindrop sized bit on a ceramic dish, that's it. And you can reconstitute gouache endlessly with just a little water.

The trick is to never EVER EVER use true black. nothing is true black unless it's makeup. I use gouache paint on Resin Popia's eye makeup but then soften it with black pastel powder to make it richer.

If you use true black it looks like mud or holes. Dark purples, browns, and greens.

Also don't be afraid to be a bit louder with the colors, the sealant mutes them a lot. Just work slowly and take breaks.

4. How does putting in the hair work?

For resin dolls, you need to make a wig. They are a PITA to make, but it's possible! Check out Mozekyto for how to make wigs. (I'll have more recommended videos further down this post.) Vinyl playline dolls you can reroot, but some people prefer wigs.

5. Where do you buy your base doll? And as far as the reveal in the ~bonus picture~, did he come anatomically correct or was that something you had to add? 👀

The same techniques can use used on vinyl dolls like Rainbow High, Monster High etc. You can get them at goodwill, big box stores, and on ebay. Lots of people sell old toy dolls.

Resin Ball Jointed Dolls are a lot more expensive, so I have spent several years slowly building up my collection. I love vinyl and resin dolls equally.

I bought my base doll from Alice Collections acbjd.com they are a vendor of many resin dolls. I absolutely love Resinsoul.

My favorite doll companies (find them on Alice Collections!) are IslandDoll, Resinsoul, Dollmore, MyouDoll, DollLeaves, 5StarDoll.

Resin Popia is MSD "Mini Super Dollfie" size aka 40cm-52cm. He's 52 cm. SD (Super Dollfie) is around 60-65cm.

I have owned dolls that were considered "prestige artist dolls" in the past, but I always end up selling them because they are so precious I'm afraid to ruin them so they just become dollar signs to me instead of something I love. I'd say $300 would get you a gorgeous resin doll and some clothes for them. Saving up for a doll you really really love is worth it in the end. People also sell used dolls on Instagram. Just please make sure to check the COAs.....

Important Note: I am a Pro-Artist legit BJD collector. AliExpress, Etsy, and Ebay have bootleg dolls that yes, are significantly cheaper, but that is because they steal from the artists that did 99% of the work (and spent tons of their own money) to develop the doll's appearance and engineering. If one cares about supporting artists they should consider the ramifications of purchasing these recasts and propagating the bootleggers. (Especially since a large part of the artist BJD community is from Russia and Ukraine, who have been lately hard hit by war and YET are still making beautiful art for the world to enjoy) I am not pro-bullying though, I am Pro-Education so if anyone wants to have a private, frank conversation about recasts in the BJD hobby feel free to message me.

One silly thing that happened once was I purchased a legit IslandDoll Bru (IslandDoll is always on sale TBH) that was actually cheaper than its recast on ebay. There are a lot of sales during Chinese holidays (11/11, Lunar New Year, Fall Festival) and you usually get a lot of extras like free eyes, beautiful carrying cases, incredible boxes, etc. Resinsoul, the "cheap" BJD company often gives you a gorgeous carrying case for your doll.

Ok enough with the disclaimers now onto doll d!cks haha

Resin dolls are usually realistic when it comes to parts. Realistic in the fact that they add something there...something simple but it's there. Resin Popia has option parts made of silicone that are actually from an action figure company called TB League. Look up "TB League Option Parts" on Ebay. The figures are 1/6 scale making the parts scary and massive at 1/6 scale but funnily enough they make sense at 1/4 scale.

IDK why i got em, I just wanted to have some fun with this doll.

6. Where do you recommend buying supplies?

If you can get to a local hobbyshop that sells models (like miniatures and wargaming figures) please support them first! As vital spaces for geek culture they need all of our support. You can get tiny brushes, Model Paints and sometimes even the sealant from them. Just call ahead they can work something out for you!

Chalk Pastels, Gouache paints I get from art supply stores and as a last resort, Amazon. I use these supplies in other art projects and you will quickly get addicted to gouache painting, i'm sure of it!

Great Videos/Resources

Xanthi's Minimalist Supply List

Xanthi's Male Realistic Faceup (I watch this one so much)

Youtube Channels I like: Enchanterium, Dollymotion, Dollightful, Lomi's Playground, Xanthi

This Book is Great: How to Rock at BJD Faceups