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.

     Have you ever watched Nightmare Before Christmas? Pretty sure lots of people have. Well Ringdoll is apparently including a brain piece that fits inside the doll's head, so I thought it would be neat to have his head open up like Dr. Finkelstein's--so the world can enjoy that cute little brain of his. So I've picked a hinge at Craft warehouse. I'm going to try to bend the main flaps without curving the fulcrum too much to bend. I even managed to get my hands on a pretty little hinge instead of the masses of generic dollhouse hinges that can be found everywhere.

     Another thing I thought would be interesting is lightning scars. They're the kind of scars left behind when, well, when somebody gets struck by lighting. I think that idea is kind of funny and sad for a doll named Frankenstein, and kind of surprised that not many people have done so with Frankenstein-related artwork in general. The scars themselves could be described as looking like either a strike of lightning, or a branching scar that resembles the leaves on a fern. Because the images of these scars might be kind of graphic for some people, you can see some examples here and here if you like. I plan on doing the scars initially with superglue for the raised, textured surface and then blushing them in a darker color.

     I want his faceup to look sleepless and dead. Basically insane circles under his eyes and dark lips. I also want to contour his face to look thinner and bonier--not to the point of looking starved, but maybe to the point of looking a little inhuman.

     I like the concept of "not exactly" human. I like the idea of robots who are confused as to whether they're alive or not, almost to the point that not even humans can be sure that they're still just machines. The grey area of what can and can't be human is what I find really interesting. That's part of the reason I adore the original Frankenstein story by Mary Shelley.

--SPOILER ALERT--

    The monster is made from stolen body parts, and once brought to life he is considered, even by his own creator, to be a hideous thing that doesn't deserve life. He, naturally, doesn't understand their reactions. They all him a monster, beast, creature, as long as it doesn't give him any credit as a human. And then, in the most human way possible, he becomes angry. He hates people, and especially his maker who would bring him to such an existence. He seeks revenge in any way he can by killing family members and friends of Victor Frankenstein, and eventually framing Victor for the killing of his friend Henry.

     Who is to say that Frankenstein's monster was even a monster to start off with? His feelings of remorse and sorrow and hate are some of the core emotions tied to human nature. And, eventually, upon the death of his master, he quietly leaves to the northernmost ice to freeze and die alone. It's really a sad story.

     The book isn't the reason I fell in love with Ringdoll's Frankenstein, but it has given me a lot of direction as to where I want to go with him.

~~Aronzo~~