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Activities / Kondapalli Toys / Kondapalli Peg Doll Couple

Kondapalli Peg Doll Couple

Kondapalli-Style Village Couple: Painted Wooden Peg Dolls

Level
Beginner
Duration
1 - 2 hours (plus drying)
Budget
₹979 – ₹1,070
Age
8+
State
Andhra Pradesh

Materials

  • Unfinished wooden peg dolls, about 7 cm (2.75 in) tall
  • Acrylic paints, 12 colour set
  • Gold paint marker, fine tip
  • Round paint brushes, sizes 0 and 2
  • Water-based gloss varnish
  • Toothpick, white glue, thick card, fine sandpaper or nail file, newspaper, cloth

Steps

  1. Set up a covered table with your dolls, paints and a mixing plate
    Cover the table with newspaper and put a small plate or lid on it as a palette. Squeeze a pea-sized blob of each colour you need onto it: skin tone, green, orange, black, red, yellow and white. Keep a jar of water and a paper towel beside you. Real Kondapalli toys are carved from soft wood, so this is an inspired-by exercise with wooden peg dolls about 7 cm (2.75 in) tall. Common mistake: squeezing out too much paint, because acrylic dries on the plate in minutes.
  2. Check the dolls for rough spots and wipe them clean
    Run your fingers over both peg dolls. If you feel any rough patch or splinter, rub it lightly with fine sandpaper or the rough side of a nail file until smooth. Wipe each doll with a dry cloth to remove the dust. Smooth wood takes paint evenly and the colour looks brighter. Rough wood soaks up paint and leaves a patchy finish.
  3. Paint the heads and necks in a warm skin tone
    Hold a doll by its base and paint the head and neck, about the top 2.5 cm, with the size 2 brush. Use a thin, even coat and keep the strokes in one direction. Do the same for the second doll. Let both dry for 20 minutes, then add a second thin coat so the wood does not show through. Common mistake: one thick coat, which leaves brush marks and takes ages to dry.
    Tip: Stand the dolls on a lump of clay or a bottle cap while they dry so you do not smudge the paint.
  4. Paint the bodies: green for her sari, orange for his shirt
    Paint the woman's body from the neck down in bright green, going all the way to the base. Paint the man's body from the neck down in orange, leaving the bottom 2 cm unpainted for now. Use two thin coats, letting each dry for 20 minutes. Keep the edge between the neck and the body neat by turning the brush sideways.
  5. Paint the hair, the woman's bun and the man's turban
    Paint the woman's hair black from the top of the head down the back, and add a small black ball of paint, about 8 mm wide, at the back for a bun. For the man, paint a 1.5 cm band around the top of the head in red or yellow for a turban, and add a small pointed tail on one side. Let the first coat dry for 20 minutes before adding a second. The turban should be bold and bright.
  6. Add the borders: dots on her sari, stripes on his dhoti
    Paint the bottom 2 cm of the man's body in white for his dhoti and, when it is dry, add thin vertical orange lines about 4 mm apart. For her sari, paint a 1 cm yellow band around the bottom and add white dots along it about 5 mm apart, using the size 0 brush. Rest your little finger on the table for steady control. Common mistake: dots of different sizes. Dip the brush tip fresh for each dot.
    Tip: Practise a row of dots and a row of stripes on scrap paper first.
  7. Dot on jewellery with the gold pen
    Shake the gold pen well and press the tip on scrap paper until the paint flows. Then make a tiny dot at each side of the woman's head for earrings, about 2 mm wide, and a row of 5 dots in a curve under her chin for a necklace. Add a dot on the man's turban for a jewel. Let the gold dry for 15 minutes without touching it. Common mistake: pressing too long, which makes a blob instead of a dot.
  8. Paint the eyes, bindi and smile with a toothpick or the finest brush
    Dip the tip of a toothpick in black paint and touch it twice on each face, about 6 mm apart, to make two small eyes. Paint a tiny red dot between the eyes of the woman for a bindi, and a short curved line under each eye pair for a smile. Add a short black line above the man's mouth for a moustache. Do the faces last, slowly, with a steady hand. A tiny mistake can be covered with a dab of skin tone once it dries.
    Tip: Rest your wrist on the table and take a breath before you touch the face.
  9. Let the paint dry for 1 hour, then brush on gloss varnish
    Wait one hour so every layer of paint is completely dry. Brush a thin coat of water-based gloss varnish over each doll, working from the top down and turning it as you go. Do not touch the gold dots with a loaded brush, because the varnish can lift them, and let the first coat dry for 2 hours. Common mistake: thick varnish that runs down and pools at the base, so wipe any drip away with a damp cloth right away.
  10. Stick the couple on a small card base and let it dry
    Cut a piece of thick card about 10 cm by 5 cm and paint it dark brown or black. When it is dry, put a small dab of white glue under each doll and press them onto the card about 2 cm apart. Hold for 30 seconds. Leave the pair standing for 24 hours before you move them. Wash your brushes with water and soap, and put the caps on your paints.

Sustainability

Medium - reuses a wooden peg; acrylic is plastic-based. Inspired-by exercise: real Kondapalli toys are carved from soft wood, assembled and painted by hand

Safety

Not for children under 3; keep paint away from the mouth; ventilate when varnishing