How to Make Dolls That Blink
- 1). Soften air-dry clay by kneading it with moist hands. Press the clay firmly into the mold to fill it.
- 2). Sculpt a round head back to the face onto the clay while it's still in the mold. Use about as much clay as you used to build the face. Make a half-round shape that blends into the edges of the mold.
- 3). Grip the back of the head shape and gently pull the face from the mold. If need be, wiggle it very slightly from side to side as you pull to disengage the clay from the mold.
- 4). Smooth and refine the shape of the head and how it connects to the face. Use a wet finger to smooth over any seam lines between the two.
- 5). Cut and dig out the eye area of the clay face using the craft knife. Remove the eye and the eyelid and cut a hole deep enough to insert the eyes you bought.
- 6). Press the eyes into the socket holes you just cut. Smear and wrap the clay around the holes to close the eyes in.
- 7). Sculpt the neck and torso. Use a piece of clay about twice the size of the head for a baby doll and three or four times the size of the head for an adult doll. Create an oblong shape (like a fat sausage). Bulk the chest and buttocks area slightly for a baby, but make these areas more pronounced for an adult doll.
- 8). Press the porcelain arm and leg pieces into the torso. Fold and smear the clay around them to seal the limbs in place.
- 9). Let the clay dry according to the manufacturer's instructions or until the clay is hard and dry to the touch and has uniformly changed to a lighter shade.
- 10
Apply a coat of sealant to the clay to make it water-resistant. Let dry. - 11
Paint the doll's skin using acrylic paint. Paint the sculpted clay components as well as the porcelain limbs and the plastic skin portions of the blinking eye pieces. This will give the doll a uniform color. Add a second coat as needed after the first dries. - 12
Glue hair to the doll's scalp (see Resources for a guide to gluing hair on dolls) using tacky craft glue.
