How to make BJD hollow?
I remember when I first saw a ball-jointed doll, I was in awe. I had so many questions about the technology and design behind them. But the first question was: “How they made it hollow?”. If you never sculpted one yourself, but you’re intrigued with this art form, you probably have this question as well. Today I’ll try to show how to make a BJD hollow at the first stages of sculpting.
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Making the base
One of the easier ways of keeping the BJD hollow is making a base from a different material. You can use styrofoam, aluminum foil or even crumpled paper. The base will be removed later, and your sculpture will remain hollow.
Start with shaping the styrofoam or other material of your choice. Use a blueprint to keep the proportions accurate. The removable base needs to be smaller than the actual blueprint. Leave at least 0.5cm (~0.2’’) for the clay. I cover it with plastic wrap for easier removal, but it’s optional.
Once you have all the base pieces shaped, it’s time to cover them in clay. At this stage, I roughly sculpt the parts and do the detailing later. The main reason for that - I’ll be cutting the pieces in half to remove the styrofoam. There’s a risk of clay breaking, so I don’t want to spend time detailing the doll just yet.
Cutting the pieces
To remove the styrofoam, cut all the pieces in half using an X-acto knife or a small saw. Air-dry clay is very forgiving, and you can stick the pieces back together without trouble. For that, I use simple PVA glue and cover the seams with more clay. Once the seams have dried, you can start detailing your hollow doll parts!
Drilling and using straws
Sometimes styrofoam base is not an option, especially if your doll is a smaller size. For parts like arms or even the lower legs, I like to use plastic straws. You don’t have to remove them later, and they’re perfect for keeping the pieces hollow. Before adding clay to the straw, wrap it in paper tape - the clay will stick better.
Drilling is another option for making the pieces hollow. In my opinion, it works the best on joints. Drilling the larger elements can be difficult. To be sure that you’re drilling in the straight line, mark the holes on each side of the joint. Drill half of it from one side, then move on to the other.
Do you have other ways of keeping the BJD parts hollow? Share them in the comments below. I hope this was a helpful overview of such a common question. If you want step-by-step instructions of the whole process, check my BJD sculpting masterclass. And don’t forget to subscribe so you wouldn’t miss new articles!
