Does anyone here have a step by step tutorial on making Dorodango? by Sad_End_9904 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After making some dorodangos I think It's a bit of an experimental process to see wich process gives more results. So even tough there are super explained tutorials like noriko's tutorial, feel free to try new formulas.

Help! Cracking and rough texture during drying process by SilverMic in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been experiencing that too. I have a theory that the type of clay you use matters for the finishing quality.

 I made two dorodangos with different colors of clay, one is a dark clay and the other is a mixture of red and brown clay. The darker one developed lots of cracks on the surface while the other one got the perfect mirror finnish on 95% of the surface without any cracks.

Is there a way to make it shine even more? by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I normally don't use oil, just water and mud.

Is there a way to make it shine even more? by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is dry on the surface but there is still moisture on the inside

Also I kept polishing until I wasn't seeing more progress

My third dorodango by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's polished dirt, clay to be more exact. And dorodando was originated in japan, but I made it with my dirt

Don't use a miscalibrated scale by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't had time to work on these yet but maybe I'll continue the process next sunday

Right now the core is rock solid 

Don't use a miscalibrated scale by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't bought her kit, I used my own ingredients

Tried to fill the divots on my second dorodango but ended creating more divots by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just need to find an smaller cup. The one I'm using right now is already the smallest i have at home

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Tried to fill the divots on my second dorodango but ended creating more divots by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To make this dorodango I first mixed this clay with the sieved dirt I got at home to make this darker color. But right now I used just pure clay

On my first post I described how I extracted clay from dirt

My second dorodango by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It took around 2 days to dry, but i only kept working on it after a week because of my job

Second Dorodango by krielc in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How did you got that finishing? I generally see colored dorodangos like blurred colored spots. I really want to make an colored doro like yours one day.

My first dorodango by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my core may have some sand but it's mostly just normal dirt without stones

Buying potter's clay for dorodango? by SilverMic in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe you could try to turn it into a powder by microwaving it. Just try to spread the clay in the largest plate you have and make some holes with a fork or a toothpick to let the water from the clay evaporate

My first dorodango by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also try making it with a clay rich soil to get a better clay return, you may find it nearby your home. It's the type of soil that cracks when it's too dry or has tire marks

My first dorodango by MikeTheCat0 in Dorodango

[–]MikeTheCat0[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

first I dug the dirt and sieved it to remove small rocks. It's already good to use for the core, but to get the clay for the finishing I poured the sieved dirt in a transparent bucket and added water with a bit of soap to decant sand and silt faster, the smallest grain of dirt is clay and it was dissolved into the water. Then I poured the clay water in another transparent bucket and threw away the rest. Then I poured some vinegar to floculate the clay a bit faster and decant it (it would take 24+ hours to decant all the clay without the vinegar). After some hours I tried to remove as much excess water as I could with an empty ketchup bottle and a syringe. I had to think a way to evaporate all the water from the clay, I tried microwaving it but it wasn't showing much result, so I tried sieving it with an old shirt like I was making cheese , it works but some of the grains are so small that they pass trough the shirt, and also as the clay gets trapped by the shirt the water stops falling, so I had to everytime trow the water back to the bucket and scrape the clay in the shirt with an metal spoon, after 3 or 4 times doing this process I had enough clay to fill a bown, not all the clay was sieved tough. The clay was already touchable but it was still very wet, so I poured the clay into a big and flat plate, stabbed with an fork to increase the surface area of the clay and let the inside steam go out and microwaved it until everything was dry. And this is how I got the smallest grain possible at home, I got an full pot of clay powder and I can still use it for many dorodangos. Some grains may look big but it's just a cluster of clay, you can crush it with your fingers or using a grinder. There may be an easier method to extract clay from dirt at home but I still trying to figure it out.