Troll:

THE TROLL BODY BY CHRISTEL JENSEN Photos Ray Jensen
The Troll Project Part 1 - The Head The Troll Project Part 2 - Hands and Feet The Troll Project Part 3 - The Body (this page)
Assembling the troll body. This troll will have a bendable body with wire and fiberfill. You need to cut two pieces of wire, one 22 inch (55cm) piece for the body, and one 12 inch (30cm) piece for the arms. Materials for making the body Wire Needle nose pliers Wire cutter Super glue Fiberfill Thread
BODY	Click on picture for larger photo
STEP ONE: Use the longest wire for the body. Bend it in half, and use your pliers to make the twist on top. This is where the head will be glued on.
STEP TWO: Use the smallest wire for the arms. Bend the wire of the body/leg part to each side. Lay the arm piece of wire behind.
STEP THREE: Start twining it around so it is nicely attached.
STEP FOUR: Bend the wire for the body and legs downwards.
STEP FIVE: Start twining it around.
STEP SIX: Use fiberfill and attach it to the body with thread. Make sure you tighten the thread, so the body is stable. Put on more layers of fiberfill if you want it to be fatter.
STEP SEVEN: Continue covering both arms and legs.
STEP EIGHT: Make sure that the wires are the right length for all his parts. You have to cut them a bit to make them fit. It is better to make the wire too long, then cut off some wire, than having the wire too short!! Glue his head, hands and feet to the wire, using superglue.
"Ahh, now I am done. I have clothing and a tail attached to my butt, and I am ready to make a pretty girl my wife.. Anybody interested? (I am rich!!)"
THE TROLL HANDS AND FEET BY CHRISTEL JENSEN Photos Ray Jensen
The Troll Project Part 1 - The Head The Troll Project Part 2 - Hands and Feet (this page) The Troll Project Part 3 - The Body (coming next)
Sculpting troll hands and feet. Trolls only have four fingers and toes. I use the same method for smaller sized dolls too - just add an extra finger. These fingers and toes are rough to fit the troll look. Materials for making the hands and feet: Flesh colored polymer clay (I've used Fimo Soft clay) Sharp cutting blade Knitting and wool/yarn needles and dental tool (optional) Brush with a round back Matt  polymer clay varnish Nail tool or needle Talcum powder Water based antiquing medium
HAND		Click on picture for larger photo
STEP ONE: Start with a log of clay about 1.6 inches (4 cm) long.
STEP TWO: Make indentations for the wrist 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) into the log. Roll a knitting needle around the log.
STEP THREE: Press the 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) part of the log down to your working surface with your finger.
STEP FOUR: Cut away clay from both sides to shape three fingers, the one in the middle being the largest.
STEP FIVE: Cut with a sharp blade to separate into three fingers.
STEP SIX: Start rounding each finger with your hands. It is easier if you spread them apart. Also round the back side of each finger.
STEP SEVEN: Blend the clay with your knitting needle to make a nice wrist shape.
STEP EIGHT: Let the fingers rest over your own fingers, and make the indentations for knuckles.
STEP NINE: Look at your own hands, and try to make the hand more lively. Press the clay with your knitting needle so it will be higher where the finger ends. Smooth it nicely with the needle.
STEP TEN: Make the indentations for the lower knuckles, where the fingers meet the hand.
STEP ELEVEN: Turn the hand and start working on the palm of the hand. Dust a rounded tool (back side of a brush) with talcum powder and press it into the hand. Do not press too hard because it will ruin the front. Make a nice round shape.
STEP TWELVE: Roll a log for the thumb. Roll it more on one end to get a cone shape.
STEP THIRTEEN: Press the thumb into the palm of the hand.
STEP FOURTEEN: Blend the seams with your knitting needle.
STEP FIFTEEN: Make wrinkles with a dental tool or a little needle where the fingers meet the palm.
STEP SIXTEEN: More wrinkles. Look at your own fingers and see where the bendable spots are. There are three for each finger!
STEP SEVENTEEN: Make wrinkles on the front of the hand.
STEP EIGHTEEN: For nails, I like to use nail tools bought from Weefolk. These come in several sizes. This one is called Large. This lovely tool makes a nicely shaped nail every time you press it into the clay. If you don't have these tools, you can use a little needle and make indentations for nails.
STEP NINETEEN: Make a hole by pressing a wire or a knitting needle in the hand. Make sure the hole fits the wire you plan to use for the troll's skeleton body. Make the right hand as a mirror of the left hand - same size, but with the thumb on the other side. Bake the hands on fiberfill for 30 minutes, using the recommended temperature for your clay.
FOOT		Click on picture for larger photo
STEP TWENTY: Start with a 2 inch (5 cm) log for the foot.
STEP TWENTY-ONE: Bend it into shape. Press your thumb down and inward to the clay.
STEP TWENTY-TWO: While holding the front in place with your thumb, use your other thumb to press the clay into the form of a heel.
STEP TWENTY-THREE: Shape the foot and smooth over all rough edges.
STEP TWENTY-FOUR: This is a left foot. Press the clay into a narrower shape where the smallest toes are, and start rounding and forming the leg and flatten the underside of the foot.
STEP TWENTY-FIVE: Make little indentations with a needle for four toes and cut the indentations with a sharp blade.
STEP TWENTY-SIX: Separate the toes and round them with your fingers.
STEP TWENTY-SEVEN: Make wrinkles using a dental tool or needle.
STEP TWENTY-EIGHT: Make nails with a nail tool or a needle.
STEP TWENTY-NINE: Make a right foot. Make a hole in each leg the same size as the wire armature you will be using for the body. Bake the feet on a tile, standing up, for 30 minutes, using the recommended temperature for your clay.
STEP THIRTY: After the hands and feet are baked, let them cool. Apply a water-based antiquing medium with a brush and wipe away the excess with tissue paper. (See instructions on antiquing in the troll head lesson.) Seal the feet and hands with Fimo lacquer.
I am still missing my body!
THE TROLL HEAD BY CHRISTEL JENSEN Photos Ray Jensen
Troll (Norwegian): n. A very large creature seen in the woods of Norway. Living in caves in the mountains, with rooms full of gold and silver. Well known to capture the oldest princess for some hero to rescue. Sculpting a troll face is not that difficult, mainly because the proportions don't have to be as accurate as when sculpting a human being. You can make funny faces and big noses, and they still look like that's what they were meant to be. The lesson is a good choice for beginners in 'humanized' claying.  I hope you will give it a try. This head measures 2 inches (5cm) and his full body around 10 inches (25cm). We will only make the head in this lesson. Materials for making the head: Foil Flesh colored, black, white and translucent blue polymer clay (I've used Fimo Soft clay) Sobo or TLS (attaching unbaked to baked clay) Pasta machine or brayer Sharp cutting blade Knitting and wool/yarn needles Brushes Acrylic antique medium, light pink and red-orange acrylic paint Matt and glossy polymer clay varnish Aleene's Tacky glue Sheep wool for hair Wire or other decorations for jewelry
		Click on picture for larger photo
STEP ONE: Start with a aluminum ball. Crumple it together and pack it hard until you have a shape around 1 1/4 inches (3cm) in diameter. Attach three or four needle pins to make it stand on your work surface while sculpting.
STEP TWO: Roll two balls of clay and three logs. Press them onto the foil. This will make a skeleton and will make the sculpting easier.
STEP THREE: Wrap the 'skeleton' with a sheet of clay rolled on the number 4 setting on the pasta machine.
STEP FOUR: Press the clay sheet slightly in place so you will start to see the bumps underneath. Cut away the excess with a sharp blade.
STEP FIVE: Make indentations with a knitting needle for the eyes.
STEP SIX: Cut an opening for the mouth with a sharp blade.
STEP SEVEN: There are several ways to create eyes for dolls and trolls, including using glass eyes or acrylic eyes. This method shows how to make millefiori eyes. It is a cheap way to make eyes in different sizes, and you don't have to paint them after baking. Start with a thin log of white clay. Wrap it with a sheet of black clay for the iris, rolled on the number 3 setting on the pasta machine.
STEP EIGHT: Blend together translucent blue with a tiny amount of white clay and make a sheet on the number 1 setting on your pasta machine. Wrap the iris with the blue clay.
STEP NINE: Wrap the blue clay two times with white clay rolled on number 1 (thickest) setting on the pasta machine. There will be less distortions to the pupils and iris with a lot of white clay around.
STEP TEN: Reduce to desired size. Bake the cane for ten minutes and slice off pieces for eyes to insert into the troll. If you want the eyes to be rounded, you can either sand the end of the cane with wet and dry sandpaper before slicing, or you can cut and round each piece with your fingers before baking. This can give some distortion to the cane. Tiny eyes shown in the picture are for smaller sized dolls.
STEP ELEVEN: Put your prebaked eyes into the holes. For the nose, start with a ball of clay and shape it into a cone with your finger. Keep the nose big.
STEP TWELVE: Press the nose onto the face.
STEP THIRTEEN: Use a combination of your fingers and a knitting needle to blend out the seams.
STEP FOURTEEN: Make nose wings on both sides of the nose with your knitting needle. Make sure they are evenly placed, include checking from top of the head.
STEP FIFTEEN: Make nostrils from the tip of the nose and down toward the mouth. Make the mark under the nose narrower at the nose and wider at the upper lip.
STEP SIXTEEN: Roll out a thin log for eyelids. Press them on top of his eyes. Blend with the knitting needle.
STEP SEVENTEEN: Make indentions with the knitting needle for the wet line under his eyes.
STEP EIGHTEEN: Smooth and blend away excess clay.
STEP NINETEEN: Make teeth from a flattened log of white clay. Bake it for ten minutes and then cut the log into small teeth.
STEP TWENTY: Put the baked teeth into his mouth. Shape the mouth with your knitting needle.
STEP TWENTY-ONE: Make wrinkles using a wool needle around his eyes and forehead.
STEP TWENTY-TWO: You can also add some warts. When finished, bake the head for 30 minutes according to the temperature for the clay you are using.
STEP TWENTY-THREE: Wait until the head is hard and cold before continuing. It's easier to sculpt further when you can touch the front. Use a sheet of clay rolled on the number 4 setting on the pasta machine. Use a thin amount of either Sobo or TLS for attaching the unbaked clay to the already baked face. Blend the sheet into the baked clay and cut away excess.
STEP TWENTY-FOUR: Make his ears. Remember, make them big. He is a troll!! Start with a ball. Use your finger to roll it into a cone-shape like on the nose. Flatten it on the work surface, and shape it a bit.
STEP TWENTY-FIVE: Press them onto his head. Use the knitting needle to blend them into the front of the head . . .
. . . and also on the back side, so they are firmly in place.
STEP TWENTY-SIX: Make holes in his ear using the top of a paintbrush.
STEP TWENTY-SEVEN: Draw a line into the clay with the knitting needle.
STEP TWENTY-EIGHT: Make a little hole in his earflap for jewelry.
STEP TWENTY-NINE: Using a sharp tool, make a hole for his wire armature body.
STEP THIRTY: Roll out a fat log of clay for his neck around the hole. Attach it to his head.
STEP THIRTY-ONE: Blend again with your knitting needle. Bake the head on fiberfill facing down for 30 minutes. Let it cool.
STEP THIRTY-TWO: Apply acrylic antique medium to give the troll an aged look, but don't use it on his eyes and teeth. Use some water to thin the paint. Apply only on a small area and wipe it off with tissue paper before continuing with the next area. The paint dries rather quickly.
STEP THIRTY-THREE: While wiping the paint off, leave some stains in his wrinkles. Use water on the paper if the paint is hard to wipe off.
STEP THIRTY-FOUR: Paint red-orange cheeks and nose. Thin the paint with water and give the rest of his face a wash. Wipe off the excess paint with the tissue paper.
STEP THIRTY-FIVE: Paint his lower lip with a combination of light pink and red-orange paint. Let it dry.
STEP THIRTY-SIX: Seal the paint with matt varnish. There is no need to seal the back of his head. Let it dry.
STEP THIRTY-SEVEN: Use gloss varnish on his mouth . . .
. . . and eyes.
STEP THIRTY-EIGHT: Spread Aleene's Tacky glue on his head. Lay the wool onto the glue and press it in place.
STEP THIRTY-NINE: Add some glue on top of his forehead, right onto the visible leather the wool is attached to. Drag some of the wool forward and press it in the glue to hide the leather. Trim two little strips of wool and glue them on as eyebrows. Trim also his hair with a scissors. Add an earring to his pierced ear.

---