BISQUE DOLL HEADS, HANDS & FOOTWEAR        PAGE INDEX
The bisque pieces are already kiln fired & will not need to be fired again

This method has the look of porcelain at less than a forth of the cost and time.

Our bisque doll parts are ceramic poured in molds for porcelain dolls.  Our sanding and painting techniques make it nearly impossible to tell the difference.  Ceramic is approximately a fourth the cost of porcelain.  The term "bisque" means ceramic or porcelain that has been fired & is ready to paint.  You may request your choice of flesh colors.  Most porcelain doll artists have to sand, oil & detail their pieces with pigments that have to be fired numerous times.  Our methods in ceramic doll making are far less labor intensive, and with less kiln time.  The painting method is very easy with free instructions on this site for you to print.  We use regular acrylic paints that do not require firing in the kiln.  This method has the look of porcelain at less than a forth of the cost and time.  We manufacture the bisque heads in our studio.  Hopefully, the details below will answer any of your questions concerning these bisque head options. 
Why is the hair not painted or painted flesh colors?      The heads are designed to have real mohair or curly wool glued to the heads for a more realistic look.  The flesh color would show through if there is a part in the hair style.  Use hot glue or low temp glue gun to attach each ringlet of hair.  You may also use Beacon Fabri-Tac clear craft glue.  We will also paint the hair if you prefer, instead of gluing on real hair.
 If you have other questions, please call or email.
MORE INFORMATION BELOW THE PHOTOS:

BASIC HEAD
Ready to paint with any acrylic paint. Eyes have to be detailed & painted. Instructions are in each pattern with step by step photos.  No further firings are needed.		 Head with cut & beveled eye sockets
Paint with any acrylic paint, then set in the eyes (instructions included) Paint with any acrylic paint.  Instructions are in each pattern with step by step photos.  No further firings are needed.  We will select the correct size eyes to fit each head.		 Head with Set in Eyes
Ready to paint with any acrylic paint.  Instructions are in each pattern with step by step photos.  No further firings are needed.		 Finished Head
Hand painted & finished with set in acrylic eyes, choice of color. Glue ringlets of wool or mohair over the beard and hair.   No further firings are needed.
We do not paint the hair or beard unless requested.  Santa heads look more professional with natural wool or mohair applied over the formed bisque beard/hair.
   
  Steps for painting shown above  
This is a sample of skin tones we can paint.  All can be lighter or darker tones.
#266-African American  #700-Native American  #639-Asian   #550-Caucasian

MORE INFORMATION

We manufacture the bisque heads in our studio/warehouse.  They are ready to paint with any acrylic paint.  I prefer to antique with "Liquin" + burnt umber oil paint (antiquing is optional).  This gives a wonderfully natural finish to the bisque.  If you cannot find these and the paint, we will be adding them to the web catalog soon. Instructions for painting and color step by step photos are included in all of our patterns.  The heads are not to be fired again, only painted.
Click to open  & print our free painting instructions.

The different options might be a little confusing, so hopefully this page will help with those questions.

Option #1 is a basic head, hands or boots/shoes.  They are fired and ready to paint.  We usually only paint the faces & paint out onto the beard area a little, since the hair will cover the rest of the head.  The eyes are not cut out for acrylic eyes to be set in.  The eyes in the basic head have to be painted.  We do not offer the option of the basic doll heads with painted on eyes.  I can set in the acrylic eyes for less than I will paint all those eyes!  For you who do not paint, but who want to start, I recommend purchasing the heads with the eyes set as this is the hardest part of the painting process.  Our instructions are very easy, and anyone can learn to paint these doll heads.  With acrylic paint, if you "goof", just let the paint dry, then start over.  Instructions in the patterns & free page are very detailed.

Option #2 (Special Request) is a head with cut out and beveled eyes. The cutting  has to be done as soon as the head comes out of the mold before it has time to dry.  Next, the green ware is set aside to dry.  The green ware is extremely fragile and breaks easily.  We do not try to ship it at this stage.  Then we bevel and sand with round wood "eye bevellers" the inside of the eye ball area.  This will allow the acrylic or glass eye balls to set flush against the eye lids for a natural look.  This is a very tedious step.  Lots of bad words when an eye lid caves in and ruins a doll head.  I wet sand, dry, then dry sand the eye sockets.  The head is then fired, and is ready for you to set the eyes.  We include the instructions.  Be sure to order the eyes.  Just specify color and brand, and we ship the correct size for that head.  Most people want us to set the eyes for them.  We only charge $4.00 + cost of the eyes to set in the eyes.

Option #3 is a doll head with set in eyes ready for you to paint.  If paint gets on the eyes, just wipe away with a damp brush before it dries.  Sprays of any kind must not get on the acrylic or glass eyes as it will permanently dull them.  Use bits of masking tape to cover the eye balls before spraying even hairspray.

Option #4 is a doll head, hands, or boots/shoes painted, antiqued & finished in your choice of colors or flesh tones.  The doll heads have set in acrylic or glass eyes.  The prices listed on the web site are for the acrylic eyes.  If you prefer the glass eyes, we just charge the difference in price.  These finished doll parts are ready to set on a doll.

If you have other questions, please call or e-mail.  I answer all e-mails.


BACK TO BISQUE HEADS PAGE                Back to....INDEX PAGE