I love Kiwi, but....

     I am never getting a tiny from Bobobie or Resinsoul ever again. Their bodies are just so god-awful that even me, a person who quite enjoys mobility and general ease-of-use mods, just can't handle how much work they need.

Why I love BJDs

      Generally, my dolls don't tend to have backstories--they're more like "personalities" I guess. I don't even really bother to name most of them properly. I do write stories, but when I pick sculpts it's usually because I just like the doll or it looks like something I want to play around with.

Frankenstein

     I think I've mentioned this before. I bought a Ringdoll Frankenstein, and I've probably got about a month or two to wait for him. Well, I feel like sharing my plans for this boy from head to toe.

New side project

I found a chair that would fit a Littlefee at Saver's today and decided that it needs a little love.

Here it is:

Dollshe Saint faceup and blog changes

     Okay, so first order of news. 

     The other day, I painted my friend's new Dollshe Saint head. I've never worked with the sculpt before, but it was interesting. He's the old version head (she got him during the sale Dollshe ran before discontinuing them) in their Fresh tone. He's supposed to be a grumpy guy. I'm hoping she'll like it, but she hasn't been online today to see the pictures yet.

     It's just something simple, but the character doesn't call for anything too complex. His sculpt is so intensely angular, I didn't want to go too far with any contouring. Here's to hoping that this translates into "natural" and "masculine". I find that it's easier to do girly faceups, but hopefully someday I will be able to pull off the "manly man" look without going overboard on facial hair. 

     Also. I got tired of the orange-on-gray-on-black theme. It looked really "blah" and it made it hard to imagine anyone would want to stick around to read something so generic. Maybe I went a little overboard, but it was really fun to play around with different colors. I'm very into bright colors. If you like it, let me know. If not, well, let me know, too. I'm open to suggestions. 

~~Aronzo~~

How I wait for dolls

     Waiting. It's an essential part of this hobby. It's supposed to be a virtue, but many people see it as a pain. Sometimes it really bothers me, but it's a necessary process, and can even help owners better prepare for their new doll. I'd like to say it gets easier with each doll, but that's really up to you. This is how I wait...

How I got into BJDs.

     When I was in 8th grade (and my older brother was in 11th) I was really set on being an illustrator or artist of some sort. I liked to draw, mostly, and occasionally put together some jewelry (and even though I've tried to pick up sculpting since then, it still hasn't happened). My brother was in an art class, and just suddenly one day he came from school and was talking about some dolls one of his friends was telling him about. Whether it was to use them for artist models or customizing, I'm not really sure anymore.

Can of worms is now open

     Littlefee Madeliene. LITTLEFEE MADELEINE.

These people are my very-best favorites in the hobby.

     There are people I really admire in the BJD hobby. Really, really admire.

More updates on Kiwi

     Finally, I put my little girl back together. Kiwi is now a human and all the whitening trials, for the life of me, would not work.

     Peroxide, baking soda, nothing did the trick. I did some light sanding on parts of her, but the yellowing is just too deep-set to work with.

My guilty pleasure...

Eyes.

Update on Kiwi

     I may or may not have mentioned that Kiwi is currently the subject of one of my latest little tests. I've been trying to keep most of it a surprise. I'll try to keep this all in order.

One year

     It has officially been one year since I first came in contact with my very own ball-jointed doll. My brother had his Bobobie Apollo already, but wouldn't let anyone see or touch him for any reason. Meanwhile, mine was on her way from the UK.

BJD Modification Tips and Advice

     Some people really enjoy customizing their dolls--a few of them have previous knowledge from other, similar crafts and carry those skills over to their dolls. This guide is generally geared towards budding modifiers who find themselves without any real direction, but I hope that it can be a suitable guide for those with a basic knowledge, or who are even proficient as well.

Introductions

     Hi. I'm just a girl who likes to play around with dolls, and this is just my silly little blog to document the whole process. I like to work with BJD styled dolls--often made of resin, and have hollow parts that are strung with elastic for posing. I find them easy to work with and the possibilities are literally endless. Right now I have five dolls, and I'm waiting for another one to come home.

                  

     First off, we have my Resinsoul Li. She doesn't have a name because I'm just too damn lazy to give her one and nothing seems to suit her anyway. So she's just Li for now. All of the modding and faceup/tattoo work on her has been done by me. She's come a long way since she showed up...Actually I've almost had her for a year now. August 7th marks the first full year of having her around. So I'll probably make up a little post for her on that day, too.

     Next up is Oni, who also doesn't technically have a real name. He's an Angel of Dream Chi that I was able to get my hands on (in parts) for about half the cost, so I didn't feel bad about carving up his body and spray painting it. He was really just a big experiment with a lot of things that I would never dream of doing to my first doll. The list of mods on him is pretty long, and once it was all over I'd decided that I really, really like experimenting. Sorry for his wonky eyes here.

                

     Once Oni was finished, I wanted to try something smaller and more kiddish. So on impulse, I bought the cheapest Bobobie tiny on the marketplace--a deeply-yellowed Elfkin with a ratty wig and a bunch of extra clothes. Say hi to Kiwi, everybody! She's actually the subject for my latest little test on whitening dolls (and having some other mods done), so if I post any new pictures of her, they may look different once that's over. She's got a few modifications as well, including one to improve her sitting and some ear reduction that I never show anyway.

                   

     Milo is a Pukifee Pongpong that I got secondhand, and he's just a little ball of fun. Most BJD's have heads that open in the back so that the eyes can be changed frequently or the head removed as-necessary. His face actually comes off from the front, and you can switch it with other face plates for different expressions, or you can even choose a different sculpt and make him a girl with the same body! Though I've only got two plates for him--open and closed eyes. I just love that little expression he's got, though! Doesn't it make you want to smile?

                 

     And then, most recently home, I have my SD (60cm) girl. Who is also nameless. I honestly haven't done much with her, other than pierce her ears and give both sets of her hands pretty manicures. Not sure if I'm going to keep her much longer, but I'm hoping it's just a matter of finding her "purpose" to me. For the longest time (like, until two months ago) I found it almost impossible to find something that was "right" for my RS Li, but she turned out okay. So I'm hoping something similar will happen with this girl instead of me just selling her. I've been thinking of reworking her faceup, but I also don't really want to mess with it at the same time. I like how the eyes were done, but the lips feel too pale and the rest of her just feels kind of generic. I'd really like to do something more with her.

                 

      Though right now, I'm getting really hyped up about this guy. He's Ringdoll's Frankenstein. I'm already on a preorder for him, and the head I'll use for him is the 2011 (first release) version. He's a limited doll and not *technically* released yet, but Ringdoll had a nice event running last month that offered a preorder on him and his bride (named Eva) that included some nice free gifts. I've got quite a few things planned for him, and he'll probably be the last doll I buy, at least for this year. I've been chasing after him for quite a while now, actually.

                     

                    

      So yeah. That's what it's looking like right now. My brother also collects these dolls, so the group around our house isn't actually so small. I have five (going on six) and he has 3, soon to be 4. I may post his dolls from time to time, but this blog is mostly just to document my work and crazy little ideas. Sorry if this feels a little stiff, I haven't been up to writing much lately. I hope I can post some more interesting things in the future!

~~Aronzo~~