Sculpt Dollhouse Dolls and Miniature Figures from Polymer Clay or Epoxy Putty

Figure proportions are important when you sculpt dolls and other miniature figures as they will help determine the age and character of your doll or figure. The average person is measured by artists and sculptors based on the proportions of the head. All parts of the body, even the arms, legs and feet can be related to the size of the head as a comparison to make sculpture easier.

You can adapt the age and appearance of your figure by giving them a larger or smaller head than normal for their height. Babies have heads proportionately larger than the heads of adults, and you can create interesting caricatures by adjusting the size and proportion of the head in relation to the size of the rest of the body.

If you want dolls that are not all the same height and age range, you need to study proportion. Figures that are different sizes, and proportioned according to age, will lend your scenes, or games much more interest than figures which are all exactly the same height as those cast from molds usually are.

The head is the place to start learning to customize dollhouse dolls and other miniature figures. Once you can make a basic head, you can create entire families, make characters of particular ages, or caricature your friends. Sculpting a head is much easier than you think. All the parts of the head fall in regular spaces, and if you adjust those, you will adjust the appearance of your character.

There are some slight differences made much easier by particular materials. If you like making heads with soft or 'plump' facial features, polymer clays which are highly elastic will work well. If you prefer to sculpt in slow built up stages, you may prefer working with two part epoxy putties.

Hands can add expression to a doll or figure pose or hold props for a scene. If you can make miniature hands, you can avoid trying to rebuild plastic and resin cast figures to make them more lifelike. Hands require good attention to proportions and pose, and tools that will allow you to work with very fine details on your chosen material. If you create various sets of hands in your working scale, you can make casts of the hands to easily create suitable hands for a range of characters, without beginning each sculpt from scratch.

Sometimes you need more than a head on a stick. Sculpting miniature doll or figure torsos lets you set heads on different poses, show off jewelry, armor or clothing details. The torso's can be sculpted to show upper arms as well as the chest. For poseable dolls and figures, you may want to limit the amount of the torso that is made from polymer clay or epoxy putty, in order to allow for a dressed body which can be bent and twised into realistic poses.

You may need a leg, a shapely ankle, or a roughened bare foot for a particular miniature scene. Feet are easier to sculpt than miniature hands, and if you don't like the idea of trying to sculpt tiny toes, just sculpt a shoe on the bottom of a leg.

This tutorial shows three easy ways to pad the armature on a miniature doll. If you can make a head and hands you can create the rest of a full figure or doll by padding out a body over a wire armature. The same techniques work for creating a padded body with traditional porcelain doll parts.

Miniature dolls,or dollhouse dolls are constructed of many materials and assembled in many different ways, making it difficult to choose between them. The majority of dolls are chosen for their costume and pose not their features. Here are some suggestions about how to choose one that suits your needs for particular scenes or styles.