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How To Build An Octomaid
by Brigitta Ter Wiel in
Dordecht, Holland
edited by Sunni
Bergeron
Brigitta is a talented polymer clay artist living in the Netherlands. She creates "cartoon" dolls and sells them in local shows and stores. She has been kind enough to give us a tutorial for her creation, The OctoMaid! We hope you enjoy making your own fanciful darling of the sea!
The directions given here are for a doll approximately 25 centimeters (10 inches) tall and 36 centimeters (14 1/2 inches) wide.
Page 1: Supply List, Part 1. The Frame, Part 2. The Head
Page 2: Part 3. The Upper Body, Part 4. The Arms
Page 3: Part 5. The Tentacles, Part 6: Make-up, Hair and Finishing Touches
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PART 1: THE FRAMEWhen I made this doll I first searched for octopus pictures so I knew what their tentacles looked like. |
 Pick up the wire and cut in the following lengths: 1 - 14cm (5 1/2in) |
 Bend about 3cm (1in) of one end of each of the 6 long wires. With paper tape, secure the bent end of the long wires to one end of the shortest wire. Spread them out so they point in six different directions. Down about 3cm (1in) from the other end of the shortest wire, place the middle wire so it resembles a cross and tape it. |
) Click on the picture for a closer look. Where the tentacle and body wires meet, shape the "hips" of your Octomaid with foil. Then form the body with foil from the hips to the neck. When making your foil foundation, be sure to pack it on very tight by pressing hard so there will be no movement when the clay is applied to it. After shaping the foil, wrap it in paper tape so the clay will hold better. |
CONDITION THE
SKINTONE CLAY. [Note from Sunni: You do this by squeezing the clay on all sides. If you are using Fimo, it will crumble. Continue pressing, squeezing, kneading and "smooshing" the clay until it softens and becomes pliable. Don't be gentle!! Get aggressive with it! Roll it into a ball and then a snake. Fold it back on itself and smash back into a ball. Roll it hard to work out any bubbles and lines, then roll it back into a snake, fold it back on itself and roll back into a ball again. Do this until you can bend the snake and no cracks or fissures appear on the stressed side of the fold. At this point, the clay should be ready. If you have difficulty getting the clay to soften, add a couple drops of Sculpey diluent or mineral oil to increase pliability.] |
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| PART 2: THE HEAD In Holland, there are craft eggs made from cotton fabric. I use a "cotton" egg for the head, it's better than a Styrofoam [or plastic] egg because it doesn't melt in the oven. Using tightly packed foil for the foundation is just as good. So, make your head in an egg shape with the measurements shown at the top of this page. |
 Roll a big slice of clay two setting down from the thickest out of your pasta machine. Hand rolling, about the same thickness as five sheets of typing paper. Lay the sheet on your work surface and the head in the middle of the clay sheet. |
 When I sculpt the head I stick it on a pin, a sculpting tool or a knitting needle to hold in my hands. I never hold the head directly in my hands. This helps eliminate fingerprints and keeps the features from being accidentally mashed by straying fingers. Fold the
clay over the head and pinch the flaps up against
the foundation. Cut the flaps away and blend the
clay so it is smooth. |
 Roll a ball of flesh clay so it is about 3.5cm (1 1/2in) big and cut it in two pieces. |
) Click on the picture for a closer look. Press the two halves so they're a little longer, making one also a little wider. The narrower one will be the forehead while the wider one will be the lower half of the face. They should wrap no more than halfway around the head and be separated about .5cm (1/4in) where they eyes will go. Now you get a basic of the face. |
 Using your favorite sculpting tool, work the lines away and blend them together by rolling it back and forth. When you have sculpted the lines away, you push the eyeholes in it with a sculpting tool. |
 Roll a small ball of clay and cut it into two pieces for the mouth. You roll a little log from the two halves of clay and push one side flat. From this you shape the upper and lower lips. With the knife, cut a line where you will have the mouth. |
 Lay the mouth pieces on each side of the cut and blend them into the head. Shape the mouth to be open, smiling, frowning or whatever suits your desires. Then press the tip of a sculpting tool into the clay just above the upper lip to make the indentation that goes under the nose. |
 Take another piece of clay and roll that in a ball. You judge the size depending on the kind of nose you want. Now roll the ball into a teardrop shape. Then, with your fingernail, push the big end of it up to give you a nose. |
 Blend the nose onto the doll head and make the nose holes in it. Now you put the acrylic eyes in the eyeholes and set them so they're looking in the direction you want them. You can also make your own eyes from one of the translucent clays and paint the pupil later before you do the make up. |
 Roll two very little logs and place them under the eyes. Roll two bigger logs that are thicker in the middle and pointed on the ends. Place these on the top of the eye. Blend them all into the head. Now you must make a little space for the eyelashes on the upper lid. With your sculpting tool, slice or press a fine line indented so it is halfway from the top of the eyelid to the eye. |
 You can also make closed eyes. Roll out a ball of clay and cut it in half. Make the halves almond shaped and press them onto the eyes. Blend them into the head. Again, make a little space for the eyelashes. |
| Now is when you can give your doll some character. This is where you add wrinkles or shape the face and cheeks to make the doll look more like your mental visual. If you are going to give the doll short hair, you will want to add the ears at this time. There are no ears in this lesson because the doll will have a lot of hair. | Click Here for Page 2 |
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© September 2000
Page 1: Supply List, Part 1. The Frame, Part 2. The Head
Page 2: Part 3. The Upper Body, Part 4. The Arms
Page 3: Part 5. The Tentacles, Part 6: Make-up, Hair and Finishing Touches