Dollieh Sanctuary

So I mentioned this boy in that Regarding Recasts thread. I've been meaning to put this thread up and kept having to walk away from it. But hopefully I can finish the post!

For those of you unfamiliar, Angel of Dream's Qing sculpt looks like this, straight from the factory:

Image © Dream of Doll

This is what the little one came to me as:

(These were the preview pictures the old owner sent me when I asked)

Someone had used it as a practice head to try modding. They had sanded the upper lip, unevenly, opened one eye, and gouged the eyelid in the process, and sanded down the lower lip as well. I got it in trade for a hand-made dress, to see if I could restore it. Well, firstly, the little one had a short while as my boy, Aki, but I knew it wouldn't be his permanent shell. Aki got reshelled as a DZ Mo, and now I had a blank head on my hands that needed help. I had carved the scar into his lip to conceal the damage done by the original owner, and it needed to stay. But that face was just too round for what I had in mind.

(holding the fur that will eventually become his wig)

So here we go. Got out the dremel, and sanding barrel, as well as a few grinding stones and burrs, because I had no idea what I was doing this time. Did I mention this is my first time attempting such an extensive mod? I must have taken away a good quarter of an inch off those baby pudge cheeks.






It was also around this point that I realized just how BADLY yellowed he was. You can see stark outlines of the parts I modded and the parts I didn't. I also gave him more pronounced temples to go along with his sunken cheeks. Vincente is a bit of a hapless werewolf. If it weren't for his sister, Vega, he'd have starved to death ages ago. Or got himself hit by a truck, trying to chase it, or something....



He still was a long way from done though. I had taken as much off of him as I was planning, and now it was time to add back in. I had no Apoxie Sculpt, so I scrambled to get something to use. Lo and Behold, did you know Martha Stewart has a line of epoxy clays? They come in a variety of colors, and they're intended to make jewelry with, but they served my purpose. Moreover, they had a pure white, which is something Apoxie does not. Even the stuff marked "white" is not true white, but more of a slight grey. And besides, it was 70% off. (K2! has deigned this is apparently an acceptable enough reason to be given a pardon from Death Row for using Martha Stewart products, so therefore I shall carry on stalwartly with my endeavor) I tinted it with pastels, because at this point I was still hoping to just airbrush him to match whatever body I got for him. I filled in those giant eyes, taking him down from needing a 16mm eye to needing 12mm or even 10, but we'll see when his 12s get here from Junkyspot. I also re-sculpted his nose, widening it significantly, because the narrow little AoD noses have always driven me CRAZY. I like roundish noses on my dolls.





But wait, what's that you see? YES THOSE ARE LITTLE TEEFS! OMG I love his little teefs. My beloved Myrretah sculpted them in for me, because I wanted little fangs, but I wasn't ready to do it myself. She's given me SO much confidence with my sculpting and doll work. I never would have attempted any this by myself. I never would have attempted sculpting an actual doll, or really any of the other huge projects I've been taking on lately.



Next up, she also helped me get the upper lip sculpted in, and I smoothed it out. I also started working on his ears. I've been sanding other parts throughout the process, so when it comes time to prime him, he will be nice and smooth.





Both ears sculpted though they need to be refined a bit. And I need to do something about his chin and lower lip. He looks like he has an overbite like nobody's business.




Remember how I said I need to do something about his chin and lip? I did!




So, all that is done. I'm grinding down the bubblegum sized wads of quick set epoxy in his head that I used to hold the magnets in his head, so they're smoother and more finished, not to mention will not cause difficulties with casting. After that, I'm going to start priming him.

I really am proud of what I've managed to accomplish with this guy. I waffled for a while about home-casting him, but ultimately, I want him in white skin, and I doubt I'd be able to recreate the mods on a new head. I need to learn to make molds, from priming to setting up the mold board, making a mother shell, and pouring silicone. I will be using him as my first attempt to do so, and if I get any defective items, I'll find homes for them with friends that I know will not resell him. I hope everyone here loves him. He's not for sale, so don't ask. The original modified sculpt will be packed away lovingly in a box for safe-keeping.

The beginnings of my next project will be put in my next post.

she is looking great okami cant wait to see what she looks like finished

Oh wow - you've done a brilliant job so far!

He's looking mighty nice there. I really like how his ears came out.

I've never really done any molds for something the size of doll parts before myself (I mold and cast things at 28mm wargaming scale, and occasionally life sized costume parts), but I will say from general mold making experience, that the first couple molds you make probably won't be usable for making good casts (you can get lucky of course, but my first molds were utterly worthless), there really is nothing that beats firsthand experience. I'm sure others here can offer much better suggestions on silicone rubbers and resins to use as the ones I have and use don't seem like they'd work too well for dolliehs.

Ok, next project. This is just a straightforward mod, as the face is not getting changed enough to warrant a home-cast. I got a light tan Fei in a trade recently on Den of Angels, and I fell in love with her. L-O-V-E! She hasn't told me her name yet but we're working on it. After being unable to bond with my sky blue Mei, I really wanted one of those cute girls that I could adore. This is the one.

This is a two-part mod, as both her face and body will be modded. I'm going to make her single jointed legs into double jointed ones, and I'm debating on the arms as well. For the moment, I'm happy with the range of motion the arms have, but I'll see how I feel after I finish the legs. I found a tutorial on Den of Angels right here, and I've been wanting to try it for over a year. Now I can, but I'm being adventurous (again, thanks to the inspiration of my darling) and doing things a bit differently. In the tutorial, the author simply hollows out the joint, and makes a peanut. I love the look of the kneecap being a part of the peanut, so I cut into the leg itself.




I'm waiting on the 1/4" round cutter I ordered online, and I'll be able to finish the socket. I'll be building the kneecap up a bit, and then adding the bottom half of the peanut. Possibly, I'll also bulk up the shin piece as well to give her a little more height.

Now her face I'm both opening and closing the eyes. I know I know, you're thinking 'whut?'. Hear me out. The Fei's eyes are rather wide. I've noticed on the Mei that there is a lot of gapping around the outer corners. So why not close them a bit? But I want to give her a catty, sly look. So I want to open it a bit. It also drives me BATSHIT that not a single ResinSoul mini sculpt seems to have tear ducts. Why? They're so easy to add. And a lot of them don't have eyelids. Huh. Go figure. So ok, here's my concept art and the cleaned Fei.



So, I started on one eye. I accidentally carved too much so I had to patch it a bit. I'll be carving eyelids back in, once I'm done with the rest. I tinted my trusty Martha Stewart epoxy clay again, and it just so happens that I have a pastel that tints it perfectly. She now has tearducts and I'm really happy with the shape.



Then the other eye. I still need to close up the outer corner just a bit, then sand it all down.

oh god i would never have the nerves to cut into a doll like that. >> thats why all my dolls go to you lol

OkamiKodomo wrote:

It's really cool to compare the first and last pics, you've done quite a job modding him! He looks so awesome now.

I am seriously impressed! This is part of why I love this hobby. We get expensive dolls that "traditional" doll collectors would put in a glass case an only ever look at, and we hit them with creativity and a dremel!

Both of these mods are awesome. The amount of hours you must have put in so far, it's incredible, and the result are... wow.

oniakki wrote:He's looking mighty nice there. I really like how his ears came out.

I've never really done any molds for something the size of doll parts before myself (I mold and cast things at 28mm wargaming scale, and occasionally life sized costume parts), but I will say from general mold making experience, that the first couple molds you make probably won't be usable for making good casts (you can get lucky of course, but my first molds were utterly worthless), there really is nothing that beats firsthand experience. I'm sure others here can offer much better suggestions on silicone rubbers and resins to use as the ones I have and use don't seem like they'd work too well for dolliehs.

I had wanted to reply to this sooner but I haven't had the chance. I was already working on the next post about the Fei I'm modding, and as soon as I submitted it, I was off and running. I am working with an experienced caster, and she will be overseeing the mold-making process and explaining along the way. She seems to think we may not have that many failed castings, if I do it the way she teaches me, so I'm hopeful. If it fails, it fails, and we will try again.

I also want to thank all the people for the positive feedback. I was really really nervous about posting this boy. His body will be picked up from UPS tomorrow, so I am excite.

And for an update, I have a picture of the mostly-finished eye mods on the Fei. I still need to smooth what's inside her head, but I have since narrowed her cheeks and temples, and very slightly changed the shape of the ears.