The Best Online Reborn Help Forum!

angelamuscles · Newbie

Rooting a 6 in clay doll

Aviva · Senior Member

Heck I don't know, but what I would think is you would have to hand apply it with glue..very carefully. But I'm not sure, so don't run off and glue it on, How did you get the head soft?

Mo · Senior Member

I think you would have to glue hair on clay, i think thats wht many reborners do with a head made fully from clay. I haven't tried reborning a 6" baby yet soo Lol. Good Luck!

Lucia · Veteran Member

Hi, I can tell how I did with some of my clays. I finished and bake all the front of the face, and head, part of the neck in the back, and lived the area to the hair. To this area, I use to sculpted but dont bake. i use to live some days, and sometimes live in the refrigerator, then the clay will get more hard, then you root the hair ( I never rooted mohair, I rooted acrylic), very carefull, it is not like rooting a vinyl, because if the clay gets worm it will come with the needle. After finishing the root you bake. I hope it helps you.
Good luck.
Lucia

-- Edited by Lucia at 15:44, 2009-02-04

(your photo was removed per the rules of the forum. Please post a "link" to your photo instead. Photos are only allowed in the "artist showcase".)
Pat B. Moderator

-- Edited by Buffington at 21:42, 2009-02-06

angelamuscles · Newbie

Hi,

The soft clay is clay that is fresh and you add on top of the head after you bake it. Then you add hair clippings to it.

My thing is how to root in soft clay? Or if you do try to root it. Thanks.

Lucia · Veteran Member

I may not understand you Angela, do you mean the same clay you used to scupted the doll?Or it is another kind of clay?.
I dont add more clay to my dolls head after baking.I just sculps the top and area of the hair after I finished all the front, face, etc and had baked it. And then I sculpt the top and area and then I root the hair, and after that, I bake it. And to root in this area that is not baked yet ( the hair area) I live the head some days with the top and hair area scupted but not yet rooted, outside, or even in the refrigerator, because it will keep the clay little bit hard and easy to root. I am sorry my English may not helping you to understand. But this is the process I developed myself. It is easy and it works. It may take more time than rooting a vinyl head.
You may be talking about another process I dont know, but I hope this can help you anyway.
But, it is just occuring to me if you finished the doll, baked all and after that, you are trying to add clay to the top and hair area and then root it, well, this is be very hard, it is really hard and may be not possibel to do,unless you have enough and much room between the baked clay in the top and the new soft clay. You may need to root in transversal lineas, just to make rooms to the hair.
Hope you understand.

Lucia

Buffington · Guru

There are several ways to put hair on your sculpted heads:

1. As Lucia said (I understood what you were saying) you can sculpt the head (face and all else but the scalp. Then bake. After your sculpt is cool then sculpt the scalp where the hair goes. She puts her head in the refrigerator so it will be cool and firm. Some clays get really warm when they are handled and it makes rooting more difficult. Root as usual but do so softly as your clay is definately softer than viny. You may have to take something like a toothpick and after you insert your needle with the hair on it, softly hold that hair in the hole you just made or it might come out with the needle. Then you would just close the hole with the toothpick, sealing the hair in place.
She is also right stating that this is a very time consuming job!
Our own Danielle Zweers makes her entire head and then right before baking, takes a knife and cuts a line all around and removes the scalp from the sculpt. Then she also bakes it and then when done puts the scalp back and roots the same way.

2. You can bake the entire head, scalp and all, then take some strands of hair and glue them to the scalp. I believe AD does this on some of their dolls. Welcome Home Emily for one as I have her so I know.

3. Get yourself a small natural cap wig to fit. Apply it to the sculpt before you bake the clay. Press it firmly onto the head in the proper position and bake. Pat Moulton does this with her sculpts.

I hope this helps :)

angelamuscles · Newbie

Thank you all. All of your comments are helpful.

Lucia · Veteran Member

I liked this techincs, thank you Pat!

Lucia

Buffington · Guru

You are welcome. I got a lot of my tips for clay from Danielle Zweers.