How to Make a Ball-Jointed-Doll

Ball-Jointed Dolls are a simple and fun beauty like none other. Even if it's made of wood, porcelain, or plastic, they are a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Though they seem complicated, it can be rather simple to make one. These dolls serve as a simple decoration or a fun gift.

Materials:

TinkerCad(or any site that allows you to use 3d)

3d printer

Wire

Springs

Acrylic Paint

S-Hooks

Planning out your doll is the most crucial point of the process. This will determine most things about your doll. The design, the structure, and the way your doll is put together.

Basic Design:

Head- For the head, make 2 spheres. Stretch one of them into an oval. Put this oval half way in the other sphere. Then you have the basic shape of a head. At the base of the sphere, create a small hole. If you want to include a nose, make a triangle, put it around 3/4 inside the oval. Rotate until you like the shape. Then group all of these parts together. Create another sphere, the same shape at the hole. This will serve as your first ball joint. For the neck, create a cylinder that is bigger then your first ball joint. Create the same hole you did in the base of the head for the neck.

Torso- The torso is a little bit more simple. Insert a rectangle and shape it to your liking. Remember that there should be lots of space from the head, and that the space should be equal. The Depth of your rectangle should be at least one meter more then the cylinder, so it can comfortably fit in the torso. To lead into the shoulder area, create two right triangles. Turn them away from each other. The ends of the triangle should meet the ends of the rectangle. The triangle should meet the cylinder, leaving at least 1 meter of space in the rectangle. Create 2 sphere shaped holes at the ends of the rectangle, the should also be at the ends of the triangle. Create 2 spheres the same size of the holes. Another pair of ball joints.

Hips- For the hips create another rectangle that should be around 1/4 of the height of the torso. Create two large spheres to make the holes of the hips. Create another 2 large spheres, the same size as the holes. These are another pair of ball joints.

Legs- Then comes the thighs. Thighs have a specific chicken-leg like shape. This shape can be created in TinkerCad using the Paraboloid. Make sure the thighs are as long as the rectangle for the torso. In the base of the paraboloid, make sure it is wider then the sphere you used for the hips. Copy and paste the hole you made in the hips and put it in the base of the paraboloid. Then create 2 small sphere for the knees. At the top of the paraboloid, create 2 holes the same size as these spheres. Creating the calves just calls for 2 equal cylinders. Make the same holes you did at the knees for the top and bottom of the sphere. The feet are just a pair of rectangles with 2 spheres the same size as the knees on top for the ankles.

Arms- Making the shape of the arms is the exact same process of the legs, switched and smaller. For the arm create 2 cylinders. Like the calves, they will have 2 holes, however these holes will be the same size as the shoulders. The spheres for the elbows will also be the same size as the shoulders. Then comes the forearms. The fore arms and the thighs follow a similar pattern. Insert a paraboloid, the base of it should be the same as the base of the cylinder. Make a hole the same size as the elbow sphere in the base. Then you should be done with your forearm. Group the forearms and the arms separately

Hands(OPTIONAL)- If you want to include hands, I recommend using 2 spheres and attaching them to the end of the forearm.

Don't forget to add grooves for your s hooks.

Remember! Dolls are very customizable, use this structure as an intro of sorts to simplify anatomy into basic shapes. As you get more skilled you can add more and more detail to your dolls body!

Use your or anyone else's 3d Printer to print out your doll parts!

Painting your doll is by far the easiest and funnest step. For regular 3d printers that use plastic as their main material, I've found that acrylic paint sticks the best to the material.

Painting:

Gather all of your paints. Pick out a bright color for your base. Colors like green, pink, yellow, or blue would work nicely. This helps you create a color pallet that is cohesive and nice to look like. After you finish painting all your parts this base color, you can begin to paint the details. Mix the paint into a skin tone, paint on clothing, a face, any details you would want on your doll. Keep in mind that you still have to put together the doll later so start with thin coats. Acrylic paints are very opaque so thin coats should be enough.

Actually connecting your doll together is the most difficult part of the process. But it is also the most rewarding.

First you insert the S-hooks into the grooves you made. This will make sure the doll doesn't come apart. Connect these S-hooks to the wire. Then you have a weird little mechanic joint. Insert this joint into the hole you made in each of the limbs. Then boom! You have connected a limb.

Repeat this process for each body part you want to move. Then you will have a finished doll like above.