[ + workshop + ]

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:48:39 GMT

Is anyone still reading this? XD; I keep not posting here, so I should probably direct anyone still interested to check out what used to be my personal journal, ruviela.

[bjd] Renato v.3.5

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:59:46 GMT

This is the second time I've taken a dremel to this boy. > >; It's his fourth faceup (hence the .5?), since I'd redone his face once before round two of the dremeling -- it was so hideous, there are no pictures. This time, I've opened his eyes up a little more as well as sanded the tip of his nose to be less pointy. My intent with his faceup was to make him look more mischievous to counterpoint Mikan's softness.

Progression map! Just out of the box to current.

Sometime, I'll do a progression map for Mikan, too! Right now, I'm waiting on a Yeon-ho head from a group order, and contemplating selling my Kd Karon head. Bonding isn't working out as well as it could be, as I can't even settle on a name for him. x x;

[pinky:st] rabyuu

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:23:53 GMT

It's been a while since I've taken pictures of these two guys. > >;

custom pinky:st by me, props by re-ment + megahouse, room by decoart

[bjd] Mikan, faceup ver. 3!

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:49:26 GMT

I gave Mikan a new faceup a few days ago, but didn't get the chance to take pictures 'till today. So, here he is. XD;

Previous:

Current:

Oh man, he looks different because his eyebrows are lower and a little thicker above his eyes. I meant to make him look more gentle than mischievous this time, but it looks like his lips turned out a little more red than I'd like. > >;

Also, I don't think I updated about it here, but the third doll's name is Aiza. He's gone through a few changes himself since he first arrived -- he looks a lot less like a certain surly swordsman, which is a good thing. XD;

[bjd+pinky:st] waffling, Rabi + tentacles

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:41:54 GMT

waffling

I still haven't decided which wig will be this doll's default, nor have I decided what his name should be. > >; 'Karon' does seem like a good name for him, since it's a little less of a mouthful than 'Kagami.' Bwah, I'll see if the incoming wig gives me hints.

Because this wig, though pretty and soft and silky makes me inclined to call him something I shouldn't because there's absolutely no way I could do that character justice. > >; He is really good-looking, though, so I suppose I can't be blamed if that's my idea of beauty~?

Rabi + tentacles

Also, I went to Berkeley with the family today! We walked around on Telegraph and Durant a while. Got some lunch at the Sweetheart Cafe -- their crispy pepper ~~tentacles~~ squids are made of win. :D

I...brought pinky!Rabi along. XD; I've had that Yuki Nagato hair painted to suit him for over a month now. Just forgot to take pictures for posting here. The paint I used was Tamiya arylic gloss, which sticks and covers much better than the Winton I was using before.

[bjd] K-doll Karon, faceup

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:21:08 GMT

This one has yet to whisper his name. Looks like I'm the type who has the doll before a character, ehe. Though... I'm still sorely tempted to model him after a certain someone, but that wouldn't do that someone justice at all! Anyway, here're some faceup photos while I work on cleaning off his unstrung body~

Materials: Liquitex soft body acrylic, Liquitex acrylic gloss medium & varnish, Alphacolor soft pastels, Derwent watercolor pencils, Prismacolor watercolor pencil

Raw. After wiping his previous faceup.

Unmatched resin colors. The headcap is the original color of the entire head, which didn't really match the Domuya NS Flexi body. It was a little greenish? I blushed the face some, and it's a little closer, but it looks like I got a little too happy with the pink. :D;

Current completed faceup. I meant to make his eyes look smokier, but they still turned out light. Gwahhh. There's always next time.

The only thing that bothers me is probably his nipples. They're like... in the wrong place on his pecs. I'm considering sanding those off and just blushing the details on. *cough* All in all, I'm very pleased with him! Compared to Mikan and Renato, he has a nice weight and sturdiness to him. I really love his articulation, too -- so much potential for interesting poses once he's sueded and strung again. Aside from that, I'm expecting everything but his clothes to arrive within a day or so.

Oh crap. My sister just said he looks like grown-up Mikan. XD;

[bjd] sneak peek

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:09:20 GMT

It's the new guy. > > The wig, and maybe even his eyes are temporary, since I'm still waiting on the ones I ordered for him. I got his faceup done today, only to realize that I'd overdone the blushing on his face and his head still doesn't exactly match his body. Ehehe, uh, I was meaning to take him apart for restringing, hot glue sueding, and blushing anyway.

I still haven't broken away from doing super plain faceups, but this one's a smidge darker than normal. We'll see how this experiment goes!

[bjd] Renato, CD Om, eye mod

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:47:19 GMT

Ehe, this is late, but I've finished putting Ren together! That includes doing his faceup, being unsatisfied, wiping it, using a dremel to open his eyes, and then doing faceup number two.

on arrival

first faceup

eye mods, second faceup

Between now and the last post, I attended a day of Dollectable in Frisco! I got to meet r727, along with her Ysrael and Mathey! XD So much awesome. We'll definitely have to do that again~

Right, so I'm expecting a new boy to arrive next week. He's from the DoA marketplace -- an adoption. XD I'm rather excited. No more dolls for a while though, since I'd better be all saved up when U-noa 1.5 girl preorders roll around!

[bjd] Renato, Camellia Dynasty Om, arrival

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:15:47 GMT

A happy interruption to my breakfast of instant apple cinnamon oatmeal~

Compare to Mikan's box.

Renato's #8 of 28!

Inside the white box~

Wong, his cat, who I have since taken apart for modification.

Rennnnn~! Who still needs a faceup, body blush, smaller eyes, and shoes. XD;

I am impressed by how conveniently easy it was to open up and remove this boy's head.

And now for some comparison between my two.

It just occurred to me earlier that the sculpt names of these two are the same, spelled backwards. Om. Mo. > >; Interesting. Anyhow, I'll get to work on these two soon -- it looks like with the arrival of another, Mikan will be getting an overhaul himself. Still waiting on ordered eyes, but thinking about getting 12mms for Renato, since even the 14mms look big on him. I'll need two pairs, actually, since the cat also takes 12mms.

Gwahh... I'm kind of tired. I'll rest more before the next post, promise!

[pinky:st] Nagato Yuki

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:02:24 GMT

Wooooot~! Pinky Yuki came home today, along with two cans of MSC flat. You'd better believe I've got plans for these parts. >D

Let's see if I can make a nice sweater out of that for Kanda, and repaint that hair red for Rabi. It's kind of long around the sides, but the back piece fits him so much better with its mussedness. Is that a real word?

More happy news! I got my shipping notice from hellash of Camellia Dynasty this afternoon, which means Renato will be home in about a week. Oh man, I can hardly wait! Before that, though, I'll have to get through Berkeley orientation this Thursday. ^^;

[bjd] Mikan, option hands

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:24:07 GMT

Still waiting on Om, whose name is Renato. In the meantime though, Mikan's option hands came in~ Wah, this blonde wig meant for that one is starting to look normal on this one. T T;

Hehe, no real shoot with these yet, since I'd like to blush them first. Oh Dollzone, why can't you make more option hands for your 1/4 boys? I wanted the "v" hands, but I don't know if I can get away with those girlish fingers. Anyway, I'm hoping I can take some interesting pictures with these!

I tried to have him poke the dog, but she walked away. ^^;

[bjd] Mikan, body blushing

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:39:47 GMT

So for the past two days, I've been working on and off on body blushing and hot glue sueding Mikan. Wanna seeeeee~? :D

First order of business was to unstring and wash all the pieces. It was kind of scary, since I wasn't sure if I'd be able to put him all back together later. XD; So, after a scrub with a Mr. Clean magic eraser and a quick rinse in cold water, the pieces were left to air dry. The next morning, I hacked up some wire coat hangers and started hang things. For the small parts, like hands and feet, I used handitak and 20 gauge wire. Here's what I had right before the first coat of MSC:

So, while the first coat of MSC was drying, I started making my pastel dust~ For this project, my blushing materials were Alphacolor soft pastels, Winton titanium white acrylic, and Liquitex acrylic gloss medium. The last two items were for the nails.

Uh, I neglected to take any more progress pictures, but it went like... MSC->pastel->MSC->pastel->MSC->MSC. And then nail details in white acrylic, covered with one layer of gloss. :D; Omg, he totally looks like he got a French manicure and pedicure. *headdesk* Hot glue sueding after the manicure dried, and then re-stringing. Here's how he turned out. > >;

The blushing is hardly there, it seems! Wah! Or, at least it doesn't show up well in pictures.

[pinky:st] Queen's Blade, Airi

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:35:04 GMT

I plan to re-organize this journal soon, to make finding things easier. There are so many tags for things that could be condensed! In the meantime, I've been working on a garage kit I bought on eBay some time ago:

after sanding

primed using Mr. Surfacer 1000

after two coats of paint

It's only her hair for now, painted using Tamiya color red X-7. After a third coat of that, I'll try adding pastel dust along the tips, too. I keep taking pictures of the Pink Soap because it works so incredibly well. It's really great brush cleaner! But on different note, I'm waiting on another doll. > > I wanted a girl as my second, but this boy proved irresistible to me:

Camellia Dynasty Om

He's MSD-sized, double-jointed, limited to 28 in the world, and comes with a kitty doll to boot! *_* I don't know his name yet, but he'll be home in roughly a month. Ee~!

[Completed] Mikan, Dollzone Mo-wen, Faceup II

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:22:10 GMT

Second attempt at a faceup for my one and only resin doll. This time, I didn't use the watercolor pencils at all -- I can't seem to make them come out smooth enough for my liking. Maybe I need to sharpen them to a super fine point every few strokes? x x; I don't know. Materials used were Alphacolor pastels, MSC flat, and Winton plus Liquitex acrylics.

And without the wig for a better look at the faceup:

[materials] oyumaru molding material, part iv (conclusion)

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:48:14 GMT

Experiment complete! This didn't turn out too badly, and at least I know what kinds of things to watch out for next time. I got a little too excited checking the fit after the paint was all dry, and I wound up chipping some of the flesh tone around the neck. That could probably have been prevented by a coat of sealant. T T; Anyway, here's how that burnt head turned out:

What the--?! T T; This guy did not need another head change.

[materials] oyumaru molding material, part iii

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:32:24 GMT

I'm not even using the oyumaru right now, so I should probably title this entry something else. :D; Project sculpey head? Open to suggestions.

This is what the burned head looks like after some sanding and puttying and two coats of surfacer. It's kind of shiny, which makes me doubt it'll hold paint as well as the thinned basic putty, but I have yet to try a coat of acrylic. There are still a lot of imperfections (the oyumaru wasn't pushed well enough into the eyes to get the shape).

Left to right: original PVC head, second copy (unbaked), and first copy.

Here's what the first try looks like with hair and on an official body -- there were no modifications to the neck hole of that series 5 casual top. The sculpey fits snugly enough to be held upside-down and shaken around without falling off.

Maybe a little tiny bit more puttying around the chin and this'll be ready to paint!

[materials] oyumaru molding material, part ii

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:21:33 GMT

Note to self: don't watch anime while baking sculpey. T T; Otherwise--

The mouth and brows were altered while the head was soft using a needle tool.

It also didn't help that the oven here tends to get hotter than specified. XD; This didn't happen to the Kanda uniform (should I make a post on that?) because it was built on pvc base pieces I was paranoid about melting -- the thickness of the sculpey wasn't much, so only took a few minutes to set. This copied head, on the other hand, was about 1/2" thick, and the instructions recommend 15 minutes in the oven per 1/4" and didn't have anything in it that might melt, so... I wandered off with the egg timer and watched one episode of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. :D;

Color aside, the head wasn't brittle like I was afraid it'd be -- it's pretty solid, in fact. Tried some hair pieces on it and the forehead turned out to be a little big, so I did some sanding. It's fitting better now (some sets, like the Mon-chan one, fit perfectly) but I forgot to take pictures, so those will come later. After sanding, I painted over the sculpey using some Mr. Surfacer 1000, let dry, sanded again, then filled the bigger holes with tamiya basic putty. When I get the chance to work on this again, I'll give it another round of sanding using something with really fine grit, maybe another coat of surfacer. If all goes well, I'll get to paint afterward~

Also, the oyumaru mold is full of sculpey again. :D; I'll try not to burn the next one.

[scrapshots] Mikan, Dollzone Mo-wen

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:29:39 GMT

Woo! Last Friday my boy's wig and clothes came in, so I was able to take some pictures. Just realized I've spammed them everywhere but here, so here are a few of my favorite shots:

Many, many more pictures here:

dA
flickr

His faceup is okay for now, I think. Planning on using MSC semi-gloss around his eyes and mouth later on. I have some cloth to make into clothes for him, too. The scarf he's wearing in those pictures were just a scrap I cut. ^^;

I'm really very pleased with him.

[materials] Oyumaru Molding Material

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:17:13 GMT

I got this stuff a while back, but I didn't have the chance to give it a shot 'till now.

Oyumaru molding material. I first read about it over at the pinky:st forum, when someone used it to cast parts for a custom -- there's a tutorial somewhere there too, but I can't find the link to it right now. T T; Anyway, it's rubbery stuff that you soften in hot water and can make negatives with. The best part of it is probably that it's supposed to be reusable.

So, here's what I worked with: a Hana head, super sculpey, a pair of cooking tongs, and of course, the oyumaru. Um, It wasn't necessary to take a picture of the saucepan and water, was it? :D; I took one stick of the oyumaru and let it soak in boiling water for three minutes -- looking back on that now, it probably didn't have to be that hot, though. Pulled it out of the pot with a pair of tongs, patted it dry, and molded it around one side of the pinky head. I tried to follow the original seam lines along the sides.

To make it cool faster, I put the part and orange piece in the fridge while heating another stick. The water was definitely too hot that time, since I burned my fingers a little bit trying to apply it as the other half of the mold, and it even seemed like it re-softened the first piece. x x

That lump went back into the fridge for a while. When it was nice and set, I ran my nail around the seam and opened it up to check the original head.

Doesn't look like any major damage was done, but I wonder if it got a little warped in the back from the clear oyumaru being too hot when I applied it. :D; Anyway, I filled the mold up with some super sculpey. After a while in the mold, I got this:

It may look okay in the picture, but there are a few lines under the chin where I didn't knead the sculpey well enough to be smooth. I probably should have been more patient while doing this. :D; I'll bake the copied head a little later and see if I can cut and sand it down to decent-looking.

More on this in a later post!

[WIP] Dollzone Mo-wen

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:30:02 GMT

He still doesn't have a name or any clothes or a wig, but I got overly-excited and went ahead with his first faceup.

With 16mm light green gray eyes.

Materials used were Derwent watercolor pencils in venetian red and burnt umber, Liquitex acrylic paint in iridescent white, Winton acrylic paints in cadmium red and titanium white, and Mr. Super Clear Flat. Tools used were cosmetic applicator buds and an 18/0 spotter brush.

First order of business was to spray a protective layer of MSC on the doll, as instructed by bjd_wtf. In the interest of saving sealant, I only covered the feet, calves, and face. First two only 'cause I'm not too keen on having the black from his boots stain him. :D; After letting that dry a little bit, I started with the venetian red pencil and followed up using the burnt umber. What I applied with those were eyebrows, lashes, folds in the lids, and edges of his mouth. More MSC and drying. The next thing I tried to do was to add color in the form of acrylics and chalk pastels. After a little testing on the head cap, I decided not to go on with the acrylics and pastels after all. > >; Omg, I wonder if I stained the resin already? The acrylic burnt umber doesn't seem to want to come off! Even the chalk is being stubborn.

Well, since it's my first, this faceup isn't stunning or anything -- it looks totally unfinished, in fact. I think I'll wait a while before trying to add blush or taking him completely apart for complete sealing. Eventually, I'll need to find some semi-gloss for his lips and around the eyes.

[New Arrival] Dollzone Mo-wen

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:54:32 GMT

First ever ball-jointed doll box-opening ceremony! This little fella's an NS 44cm Dollzone Mo-wen from junkyspot.com~

Ehehe, I was so happy to find this waiting for me at home today! The shipping was really fast, too. Even the outer box is in great condition, 'specially compared to a few my Pinky dolls came in -- they were marked fragile, but looked as if they'd been punted across the warehouse.

Holy packing peanuts, Batman! XD;

After shoveling a few layers of packing peanuts into a plastic bag. Call me crazy, but I really enjoy opening things slowly. XD; Whee, OCD! Finally get to see that lovely purple box in person~

Even more packing peanuts! Man, these people aren't messing around, lol. It's much appreciated and so is the free snack.

Even more freebies -- a shirt, mango lip balm, a fridge magnet... and of course there are the things I ordered. Why, hello, doll with no face-up, clothes, wig, or name~

Let's see what he looks like, shall we? :D

Dangit, I still don't know how to take good pictures. XD; He looks so much better in person -- I can hardly wait 'till his wig and clothes come in. Maybe then I'll know enough about faceups and maintenance to get down to work. I adore this little guy already, though~

Expect to see more of him in the future. XD;

[WIP] Obitsu Kanda, D.Gray-man

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:29:15 GMT

It was with much excitement and birthday money that I went to Michael's today. XD; I wound up buying four cans of Testor's Dullcote for both Pinky and Obitsu projects, one of which is probably half gone already.

Needless to say, I wasn't satisfied at all with this doll and took him apart for repainting, a better haircut, and a matte spray. This is my second shot at making an obitsu matte, the first one being Ramia (who, for some mysterious reason, has not been featured on this blog). It wasn't too hard to take the doll apart, and I only really needed a phillips screwdriver to undo the joint inside the pelvis piece. After disassembly, I attatched the seven main body pieces to BBQ sticks using HandiTak so I wouldn't have to Dullcote my fingers too. Took him outside to spray just afterward.

While waiting for the first coat of sealant to dry, I scraped off the old faceup on his head with my fingernail and a pair of sharp tweezers. Acrylics probably would have stayed well on the vinyl head if it'd been sealed with something -- I don't think I can use Dullcote though, so it'll probably be done with MSC later. Ugh, it's hard trying to do this guy justice. T T; At the moment I'm about two coats of Dullcote in out of the planned three, but it's getting too dark out to work any more on sealant. > >; Maybe more again tomorrow.

[scrapshots] Busou Shinki, Arnval

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:27:07 GMT

I'm finally posting a picture of Arnval fully-clad in her armor! XD; Took me, what? 4 months? It's a little thing, anyhow, and a little bit lazy since I didn't even set up a decent background.

Armor-less again! Just Arnval relaxing with a cup that looks more like a bowl of tea inside of a $4.99 house-shaped CD holder from Michael's. It fits Pinky dolls pretty well too, and I mean to paint it sometime, but I'm not too sure what colors. The table and seat and tea set are by MegaHouse while the other props are from Re-Ment's Pure Flower set.

[WIP] Rabi, D.Gray-man

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:18:09 GMT

These pictures are all old by now because I am a procrastinator. :D; New ones later.

Woo! More progress with this custom! The main thing for now is to actually finish his hammer, which at the moment still looks like a bbq skewer and part of a toilet paper roll. Credit goes to quatrina for the mallet mats~

Parts list - hair (PK006), bangs (PC001 Asuka), head (PC2001 Arc), eyepatch (AGP-02 Agito), torso (PC2005 Mai), legs (PK013)

This is a side-by-side comparison of one of my earlier projects and the newest. Kanda's uniform is made of super sculpey, and I've long since changed the head on him from Mai Shiranui to RMP Caine. > >; Neither are anywhere near finished.

[WIP] Rabi, D.Gray-man

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:53:56 GMT

This was an experiment using an acetone and Tamiya basic putty mixture to make the modded pieces smooth. It kind of worked. Still, there are some places the could have used a few more coats -- it makes me wonder about Mr. Surfacer. The mixture smelled awful, but it worked and even kind of served as a primer, as shown here by the second coat of paint.

This is turning out well enough, 'cept for the fact that I broke a dremel bit in the leg piece and it's lodged waaaaaaay up in there. XD; This was my first time pinning a PVC part. I don't think I'll do that again until I get something manual to drill with. :D; The pins are just more 24-gauge jewelry wire.