Head Armature & How to Attach the Face to the Head

• 0:00 Two Methods to Build the Head

(Not the face -- We'll start on the face in the next video)

Begin method 1 and method 2 in the same way by smoothing a lump of raw clay into an egg shape

~ For method one, place the lump right on the baked head

~ For method two, sculpt the lump on a sculpting board, bake it, and then add it to the head with liquid clay

You might be asking yourself why not just add some clay to a ball of tin foil and sculpt the head with the face all at once. There are many doll artists that do just that, however, I’ve found it far easier to sculpt a face on a hard surface, be it an already baked head or a sculpting board.

• 0:07 Method #1
• 0:08 Form shape of skull with tin foil
• 0:15 Smooth out flat surface where face will go
• 0:23 Bake

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• 0:31 Method # 2
• 0:32 Lump of clay onto a sculpting plank that's easy to hold
• 0:40 Trim off a layer of clay to get to the clean clay
• 0:43 Cut off sides of lump to make a rough egg shape
• 1:02 Use wooden tool to smooth out edges of face
• 1:15 Remove face from board with the long blade (see 4:24 for better demo)
• 1:19 Bake face (leave it on the long blade to bake)

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• 1:24 Back of Head
• 1:28 Cover a tin foil ball with clay
• 1:33 Bake the ball of clay

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• 1:57 Combine Baked Ball and Baked Face
• 1:36 Use raw clay along the seam, and liquid clay
• 1:42 Ball should rest toward top of face jaw bone hangs down from cranium (see illustration)
• 1:56 Bake
• 2:00 Let cool completely, then cover back of face with more liquid clay
• 2:07 Add a bit of tin foil
• 2:15 Add pancakes of clay on top of tin foil, joining face and cranium
• 3:02 Smooth
• 3:14 Bake
• 3:17 Sand the seam, and smooth on just a little more clay
• 3:25 Bake (This is not noted in the video but you'll probably want to sand after the final bake)

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• 3:26 Baking Discussion
• 3:45 A separate oven thermometer is necessary for baking polymer clay
• 4:02 Different clay brands have different instructions. Follow your brand's instructions on the packaging