Thursday, June 4, 2015

Hiatus update

Well, not a real hiatus so much as a nothin-to-see-here-folks period of time. I'm still very much working on Nadia, it's just that since it's mostly final sanding and such, even if I did take pictures for you all, the camera wouldn't be able to pick up the difference. I assure you all that it is an infinitely tedious task, but it's thrilling to almost be finished with her finally! I've also made the decision to cast her in porcelain! Shakin it up here-- she'll be available in resin later, but for the beginning of her being sold while things are slow, it'll be easier for me to replicate porcelain that resin in small quantities. Once I get more orders for her though, I can just send the perfectly hollow porcelain casts to a professional resin doll casting service.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Mid-body preparations and interest declarations

Heya all! I've been busy sanding my lower-mid torso smooth so I can cast it in resin this weekend; it's just about ready for a coat of spray paint (or five) to seal it. I also made a calf/shin for the lower legs- I only need one because generally, unless it's design-specific, lower legs look the same on each side, so I can just sculpt one and make two resin duplicates. 
Forgive my makeshift joint, as I don't have the proper one with me at the moment.


If you're considering purchasing the doll after it's finished, please comment and tell me so! This gives me a bit more information on how much resin to get.
She'll be around 18 inches total once her feet are added on, and double jointed in the knees and elbows, I plan on selling the dolls for 150$ each
Letting me know you're interested doesn't put you in any position that you're obligated to buy later, but I am giving 25$ off the purchase to folks who commented beforehand [applicable from this point on, to the date that she is posted for sale]
Have a good day!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Holy Hip bones, Batman!

I probably should've posted this picture last week-Oh well! Better late than never, right? I'm all finished with the mid-body, now all I have to work on is the arms and legs.

I'm not sure if you guys were able to read the writing on the side of my reference when I was making the head, but on it (and another reference I've been following for the body) read things like
pear shaped, wasp waisted silhouette, boxy, feminine pooch
I'm proud to be adhering to my own guidelines.

Also, you'll notice I changed the hip joints to be attached to the body instead of the legs; I found it to allow a greater range of motion.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Nubbins

I've got her thighs all finished for the most part though she could use a bit more sanding.
They really do look better than in the picture.


The joints all fit more or less, but I'll have them perfect by the end of the day.
I hope to get her body finished tomorrow!
Will keep y'all posted!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Body Shop

Been doin' some work on the body this week; Just the beginning steps, but I didn't want to just drop off the map too long, figured I'd best keep you in the loop!


 Nadia's very excited to get herself a body!


 Well, I'll be busy making the pieces fit! Toodaloo~

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Face is Complete!

So it's finally finished! I didn't bother to bore you all with the different stages of it, but I snapped a couple pictures of her before I did her final contouring- look at that squishy, sloped face. No definition! She looks like one of those people that look like parrots (no offense parrot-people, I love you, it's just not what I was going for this time)  I also changed her eyes and made them a little bigger. And not just because I messed up on one side and had to even it out.

Cough



She's even Oculus Approved!


    

I didn't mind her at that stage; in fact I almost decided to settle for it--but I wasn't content in that she didn't match my original plan for her, and so I pressed on. I'm extremely pleased that I didn't too, because I'm very proud of her final state! It's just what I wanted her to be! 



Sorry guys, but it's picture overload time.


  As you can see, she actually matches the jaw outline that I originally dictated! Though I decided to make her forehead smaller. 


I'm going to try to make a test plaster-cast of it this week or next. The refined plaster castings are what I'll test-string and make silicone moulds for resin with, as they are much more durable than paperclay, and I don't have to gingerly string them and then subsequently madden myself trying not to break them.

Anyway, stay tuned for work on the body!
And maybe some plaster joints, who knows. 

Monday, April 20, 2015

Let There Be Sight!

The photo got a little tilted when I cropped it, but this is one darn symmetrical doll head so far. I dare say that she is almost as mathematically perfect as my small, mortal hands can muster.

Also, I really like how her eyes turned out.




Feel free to tell me what you think so far!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

So Smooth

So I just got back to doing some sanding on the head! 
 Yes. Yes it's as soft as it looks. So deliciously smooth that it actually feels a little gross on your skin.
 
 And  on top of that it's a lot more symmetrical and spherical on the inside, so that's a plus. I probably won't even attempt to perfect it till it's at least test-cast in plaster.
Now It's time for the most fun and absolutely terrifying part--The face! It's not terrifying so much that I don't feel like I can sculpt a face, but in that it has to be absolutely perfectly symmetrical. I have to employ several mirrors all at different angles all to make sure that everything is just so.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Free Eye Template

I've been out of town on vacation to the beach for a couple days, so I don't have another update for you yet-- but what I do have if a free eye template for you!

A free what?

Well lots of people make their own doll eyes (I'd post a tutorial but there are already so many, I can link you to them in the comments if you can't find one) and to do so, they need a printed iris to attach within it. When I started looking into finding these printed iris design I often found that they were either terribly small or a pay-for-digital-file sort of situation. So, I have here for you a simple larger bunch of iris designs! Some of them are fantasy, and some of them are more realistic; when printed they should measure out to be a half inch in diameter each.
I made them for myself specifically to fit Nadia's larger eyes, but I figured y'all could probably make decent use of them too!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Eye Sockets And A Lobotomy

So I've been busy carving out some eye sockets this morning while I ate breakfast; the most important meal of the day, servin' it up Gary's way-bop!

I took a lesson from Batchix in that shallow eye sockets result in an alien-like facial structure. I'm usually timid in carving things out that I spent so much time building up, so  I was really trying to go past my comfort zone in digging out these bad boys. I'm still not sure if it's good enough, but I suppose we'll see!

I also spent some time with my dearest friend, the dremel, in shaping up her jawline just a little more, though it's still not quite there yet.
Pleasantly close though.
                                     

The final thing I have to show you is that I took the liberty of sawing off the back of her cranium to give her a pretty little lobotomy. One of my next steps will be to make it so it's flush and even and fits together perfectly.
I've got my hand in there for a size comparison and totally not just to hold the head together. Cough.
Hope you guys like the small, infrequent updates, I like to keep you up to date and along with me!


Monday, April 13, 2015

Quick Update

Wowza, nothing for four months and now two posts in a day- bet you didn't think you'd see this much if me! Anyway, I wanted to give you guys a real quick look at my progress so far; I've spent all day building up the shape of the face.
See? Didn't I tell you it'd be all smooth n' pretty? And she's not even sanded yet! Once I do that her jaw will be much more angular, just like my plan.
Muahahaha

Just About To Start Off

I've got my goal sketch for reference to aim for, and my gorgeous albeit lumpy base to sculpt onto (it'll end up smooth, you just watch). Meet -the idea of- the head of Nadia! I opted to post earlier rather than later in my progress today as it's going to be a little busier than I expected, and I wanted to make sure I had something up today as promised.
More pictures will be up soon of my work on her! Let me know what you think of her proposed design!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Back From The Dead!

I sincerely apologize to all those who were following my blog for my disappearance. My family and I moved to an empty lot in the country, in a small trailer without water, and my dolls I had been working on were either lost or broken during the move. Up until now I haven't had the space, resources, or time to keep on sculpting- but am pleased to announce that I've begun a new BJD undertaking; on a sculpt to be named Nadia. She shall be roughly 1 1/2 feet tall, and in the grand scheme of things I plan on casting her in resin and posting her up for sale on etsy, so be sure to follow along if you might be interested (or just like looking at dolls- I do!) I'll post a picture of the beginning of my work on her head tomorrow, as right now I have her base coat of clay drying on the head-core. I've already plaster cast her elbow and knee joints. 
I have to knock those off first because double joints are the approximate largest pain in my hindquarters.