How to sculpt faces

Jean asks:
I'd like to know how to sculpt faces for dolls and then bake in oven using Sculpy?

Sculpting with clay isn't hard but it takes a lot of practice to get good results so don't be too disappointed if your first faces don't come out perfect. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I am going to direct you to some great photo tutorials that are on the net.

This tutorial is from Hannie Sarris, she is a wonderful doll artist from the Netherlands. This tutorial uses paper clay so you will need to replace the styrofoam ball with one you make from aluminum foil. Just wad some foil up into the approximate shape shown, then continue with the steps. You can't put styrofoam in the oven, it puts out toxic fumes when heated.

Here is a very fun tutorial from Studio Willich which teaches you to sculpt a face directly onto a wooden spoon. She also has a great tutorial on sculpting lifelike fingernails.

Try this tutorial for sculpting an African woman from Lewis Goldstein. He also has a tutorial for sculpting a child's head. Again - you should make a foil armature to build the head onto so you don't have so much weight.

Patricia Rose has quite a few tutorials on how to sculpt faces. There is no text but you can study each photo and see what changes from frame to frame so you know what to do. She also sells DVDs on sculpting.

You might want to check your local library to see if they have any books or videos on sculpting also. My friend MaryO recommends these books:
ART DOLLS-BASIC SCULPTURE AND BEYOND by Jack Johnston
FANTASTIC FIGURES by Susanna Oroyan
CREATING LIFE-LIKE FIGURES IN POLYMER CLAY by Katherine Dewey

Once you have your head sculpted you will need to bake it. I like to use a glass baking dish with a bed of polyester fiberfill. The fiberfill will not melt or burn or give off any fumes. Then just bake following the manufacturer's directions - they will be on the package. Different clays have different cure times. Don't overcook or you may burn your face. After the face is cooked you might want or need to sand it smooth. Use a fine grit sandpaper and then once it is smooth you can paint it.

Best of luck,
Sherry