Aesthetics Beauty and the Beast | Beast | Update 4/22

Photos coming soon!

So I am a writer. I write things. And one of the stories that I was working on and off for a while now was my own version of Beauty and the Beast. It is, and always has been, my favorite fairytale. For years I have been wanting to shell the Beast character in the story, but no one has ever come close--until I found Impldoll's Chad, of course.

He is perfect. Well, almost. A few mods here and there, and he'll be almost exactly what I have envisioned.

What I am starting with: Impldoll Chad, fantasy version, gray skin

What I need to do:
Mods:
Chad is almost perfect, but he does need to be strung looser. His sculpted hair also has to go to make room for the wig. I will be modding his calves into digitigrade legs, but I'm not sure if I want them jointed. (Think: Soom Wolf as opposed to Soom Chrom).
- Restring ~ half-done; arms next, after my battle wounds heal
- Remove the sculpted hair (in progress)
- Extend remaining carved hair upwards (in progress)
- Fix left ear to match right (done; not possible without significant modding, but close enough for now)
- New! Obtain Phonolus beast parts, dye them, and blush them (in progress) New!

Brushed Yarn Wig: Complete 9/5
I've made a bushed yarn tail before, and I'm in love. I will be making a crochet wig cap so that I can hook the fibers directly onto it, and not have to mess with wefts, sewing, or gluing.
- Dye grey yarn brown to obtain a dusty brown color (done)
- Cut and separate the fibers (done)
- Make a crochet wig cap (done)
- Hook the fibers onto the wig cap (done)
- Brush and straighten the fibers (done)

Additions:
What's a beast without a tail, horns, paws, and claws? I've searched far and wide for the horns, and none matched the exact vision I had in mind--or they were too expensive/wrong size. The paws I will either have to buy and modify, or sculpt my own.
- Make a tail with a wire base for mobility
- Make a set of horns
- Faceup

Outfit:
I've done historical reenactment, so I'm pretty comfortable when it comes to this. I've both made and worn men's historical clothing, so I have a fairly decent idea of how to go about this. I hope to embroider the coat, but depending on the state of my sanity, I may just end up using a trim for the coat instead.
- 18th century frock coat [ref image]
- Hand-embroider?
- Matching vest
- Breeches
- 18th century shirt
- No shoes!

Concept Art and Ref Images:


Wig, horns, and faceup mock-up. I haz good photoshop skillz.

 

@Ipledreamer I actually ordered the head and body separately, because I wanted to hybrid Chad at first. I asked Impl if they could just add the body for me, so what I'd get was a surprise. I... think I got a hybrid body? He has the TGB body for the most part, except for the upper arms; they are jointed like the other 72cm arms.

My issue with the stringing is that it is very, very, very, very tight. (I compared his strings to my 60cm boy and they were 4 to 6 inches shorter.) I did restring him with the longer set of strings, and at least he's not as kicky any more. I feel like he leans too far forward, however. I may sand the grooves in the back of his thighs (butt joint?) a little more to help him stand more upright.

 

Brushed Yarn Wig Progress

I wanted a specific shade of brown for the wig. It had to be this dusty, grayish brown color. Anything that was remotely close was either too dark, too light, the wrong fiber (must be 100% acrylic), or had these weird specks in it. Going off of previous dyeing experiences, I knew a white base would give you a bright, saturated color while a gray base would give you something more muted. So, I went with grey yarn and brown dye for synthetics (Rit DyeMore).

After wrapping and cutting the yarn, I soaked it in water and washed it with soap to remove any chemical residue that might prevent the dye from soaking it. Then, I cooked it in the dye bath for about 30 minutes. Once the yarn was dyed, I cut it into segments, separated them, and bundled them to keep things more organized.
- Separating the fibers helps reduce shedding when it comes to brushing. It will also help educe bulk once I add it to the wig cap.

Updated Photo with More Accurate Color:

 

De-Hairing Progress
I love Chad's sculpted hair, but I want my beast to have long hair, however, so it has to go. Here's what needs to be done:
- Remove the bulk of the hair on the head cap and the edge of the head (blue)
- Blend the leftover hairs into the mods with carving (black)
- Fill in chip caused during shipping? Let's see if the mods fix this though. (pink)
- Fill in gaps on headcap? I have an inkling that some of the hairs are carved into the headcap. Let's see how things look after I get the bulk of the hair removed.

Progress: These are rough mods. I still need to refine them. I intentionally left a lot of resin on the front and sides of the head to allow for smoothing, carving, and blending. Remember: it is easier to remove than to add back.



Note: the blue line on the lower part of the forehead is there just to show where the actual forehead starts (he blends into my wall like a ninja). The upper part will be shaved down some more.

As you can see, some of the blue lines touch the grooves in the head cap. Here's hoping that I don't need to fill them in with epoxy when I am done. I'll see how they look after I smooth them down some more.

 

De-Hairing Progress Continued:

Bulk of the excess hair removed. Now it is time to carve into the forehead and blend the existing hairs into the modded area. The goal is to make them fewer, lighter, and softer the closer they get to the head cap.

As you can see, I have already started on it. I still need to do more though. I also have to fix the shape of the head cap, remove more hair from the back, add the nape... I will probably wait until I fill the gaps in before smoothing the head cap out.

On that note... The head cap definitely had hair carved into it, so I definitely have to fill it in.

Please excuse the blurriness; my phone camera sucks. Hopefully I will learn how to take better photos as this progresses.

 

Wig Cap and Venting Progress

Hello my lovely dears! My sincerest apologies for my long absence. Things got busy for me, and real life must come first. That aside, I've been hard at work.

Here is what my busy hands have been doing:
- Crocheting a wig cap (using tutorial by Kathleen)
- Venting the fibers onto the wig cap
- Brushing the fibers out
- Drowning in wig fluff

Wig Progress:

First image is lighter to show the detail. The color is more accurate in the second image.

After more brushing, straightening, and even more brushing:

Lol I am not even close to finishing venting the wig. I need to dye, cut, and separate more yarn -whimpers-


Notes:
- I started making the hat before Chad arrived. I had to estimate the fit after hair removal. It actually fits quite well!
- I used Kathleen's amazing tutorial. I did add extensions to the nape and widow's peak.
- I added more fibers to the widow's peak. I plan on skipping rows for the rest of the wig. The venting is done with a crochet hook!
- I should not have added the border to the wig cap. Lessen learned!
- I am adding fibers and brushing out rows as I go. I will decide whether or not to straighten at the end.
- The orange line is embroidery thread. I am using it as a placement for the center part, which will have more vented hair to allow for styling.

 

Wig Complete
Huzzah! The wig is done! Unfortunately, the process of venting the fibers directly onto the wig cap stretched it out, so it ended up bigger. I think a silicone wig cap might help.

What's been done:
- Dyed grey yarn brown to get a muted brown color
- Crocheted wig cap
- Separated yarn
- Hooked yarn onto wig cap
- Brushed yarn twice w/cat comb (wide teeth, then narrow)
- Straightened yarn
- Brushed yarn one last time
- Whew!

 

Leg Progress

Eek, the scariest part of the entire project is underway: modding the legs into digitigrade legs. There is no turning back here. Did I mention it's my first time doing something like this?
I've taken a look at a lot of different leg designs, and ultimately went with the single-piece calf, like on Soom Amber. I figured that it would be the easiest to do, and probably the most stable.

Here is what needs to be done:
- Draft a template.
- Mod the knee socket on the lower calf to sit at an angle.
- Carve the calf muscle upwards (most digitigrade legs have a very short calf muscle).
- Saw the calves in half (eek!).
- Saw the toes off (gak!).
- Carve down the cut parts of the calves to take on an angle.
- Widen the channels on the cut parts of the calves to accommodate the new angle.
- Epoxy the calves together at an angle and sand away the excess.
- Sculpt wolfy toes onto the feet.
- Sculpt fur onto the feet and lower calves.

Below is a progress shot. Again, excuse the blurriness; it was dark and my phone camera hates me. Also, excuse the dust. I forgot to wipe it off.



I don't think I am very happy with the toes yet. I'll have to tinker with them some more. I will be adding the paw pads, of course.
The knee actually fits into the joint really well; it's just crooked because it is a curved object laying down on a flat surface. I've tested it out, and so far, he was able to stand on it!

 

BIG UPDATE

First and foremost, I wanted to apologize for my absence. Life kicked me in the bum, and I had to see to that first. On the bright side, I got a TON done for this handsome Beast, so onward!

FACE
I finished sawing off the large, sculpted hair off his his head cap, forehead, and temples. I have since carved the finer hairs back into the carved areas to blend them back in. Most of these carvings are hidden by the wig in the end, but they do give him a more seamless look.
I also modded his left ear. It was a little crooked and a completely different shape along the bottom edge. I think it is also shorter, but I didn't want to build onto it with epoxy.

WIG
I finished the brushed yarn wig! It was dyed a dusty brown, straightened, then each strand individually latched onto a crocheted wig cap. Unfortunately, this process stretched the wig out, so it's a touch too big. Lesson learned.

OUTFIT
The outfit is done! Except for the pants, because I messed up. Please excuse the pins and the silver trim in the first few photos. I didn't finish sewing, and I ended up redoing the silver trim. Everything was drafted from historical patterns, and both the jacket and vest are fully lined.

LEG MODS
75% done. I chopped the calves in half, then epoxied them back together at an angle, kinda like on Soom's Amber, and a handful of their mini and tiny fantasy sculpts. I added some fur tufts to the ankles, and completely sculpted over the feet after chopping off the toes (man I sound brutal here).
At least he stands now--he did not want to stand out of the box, for some reason.
I have since updated the lower leg parts to make them thicker on the bottom. I also adjusted the ankle joint by building up the ball and sanding down the socket. This will make the whole ankle part thicker so the feet don't look so flat and duck-like (seriously, duck feet though).

TAIL
That think sticking out of his butt? That's his tail. I need to get better magnets for it, but it is wired and fully posable.











WHAT"S NEXT?
Great question. The feet need work, and lots of it. I need to refine them, then blush them.
I need to redo the pants.
I may possibly re-do the tail. It looks great, but the way I built it feels bulky when you touch it.
I also need to take photos of his finished face-up and finish up blushing the horns.
Oh, and the hands. I need to finish building onto those with epoxy.
Lastly, I need to finish blushing the horns that I bought.

 

Hey y'all, so I finished up the faceup last night. I think I will do it over, because the blushing is not ideal on the left side of the face and the eyebrows turned out too dark. I also got a chip (maybe I'll turn it into a freckle or mole) and the MSC feels.... a bit tacky and gritty. 99.9% sure it's because of the way I sprayed and the humidity.

So behold, my third faceup ever, and my first in like... 7 or 8 years.

 

You guys, guess who got all all put together?
That's right! I put the horns, wig, and eyes on this guy. He still needs his hands and feet done... but eeee!
I'm also not quite happy with the horns, so I'll be redoing them probably.

Excuse my cat's butt behind Beast.

 

Wow, I did not get any notification for this! Thank you so much! I had to take a mini break to find the right parts for him, but I'll have some big updates soon!

 

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, but life got in the way. I also decided to hunt down some Phonolus beast parts. It took a while, but I finally got them! =D I would have started blushing earlier, but then we got hit by rain.

Unfortunately, they were the wrong color and the thighs came nowhere close to fitting into the Impldoll thighs. They were also heavy, and the Impldoll body doesn't need to get any heavier. So! I busted out my dye and dremel and started modding again. Yay.


What I did:
- Sanded the seams on the Phonolus parts
- Dyed the Phonolus parts brown, then grey. This gave me a color that's close to Beast's wig and face fur.
- Started blushing the Phonolus parts to match Beast's face fur and wig.
- Modded the knee sockets in the Impldoll thighs to fit the knees from the Phonolus legs.

Now, you might ask why would I go through the extra effort of dyeing the beast legs when I was going to blush them anyway? The reason is simple: blushing chips, and when it does, the color difference is obvious. If the undercolor is similar to the blushing, then the difference won't be as obvious. Basically, the dye set the undertone, and the blushing evened it out.


What I still need to do:
- Refine the mods
- Finish the blushing
- Dye/blush the modded knees to match. This will require an ombre effect so that it fades from brown to gray.


Onward to the pictures!


Up first we have the beast parts dyed and half-blushed. The other pictures came out darker, but this picture shows the color the best.
(Yes, that is a makeup brush, which I only use for blushing).




Next, we have the half-finished mods. Yes, they are a bit rough, but with enough sanding, they will be smooth. I sculpted the knee-joint locks inside the knees too. Or whatever they are called--the bit the looks like a notch in the joint is actually from that.

As you can see, the dye did not take evenly. That's okay, because the blushing will cover it up. My main focus was to have an undercolor so that any chips won't be as obvious.





Yay, more blushing. I also added some detailing. I need to do a few more layers of blushing and detailing with thinner lines. The color is dark, but it is closest to the first picture.




And that's it for now!

 

Thank you for the support everyone! This project has really been quite the adventure for me.
@Wolfie Pie Thank you! I was considering the Chrom legs, actually, but I ended up coming across the Phonolus ones first. Considering the size of the Impldoll body though, it looks like the Phonolus legs would have been the better fit regardless.

 

And he stands on his new feet!


Unfortunately I will probably have to redo the blushing, cause MSC changed their formula, and it chips like crazy now.

Alas, I didn't finish his pants in time for the doll meet, but they'r coming along. I based them off of a historical pattern!

 

You're welcome! It was a learning experience for me, one that I felt might be helpful and interesting to others!