Modification Blue Lizard Son: Making my Final Fantasy XIV toon

Hi, all! I've decided it time to create a project thread, because putting this idea out into the world will hopefully keep me accountable.

Like a lot of people, I've become incredibly attached to my Final Fantasy 14 OC, so when I got back into BJDs last year I decided it was time to combine two things I love into one very complicated thing that will hopefully improve my mod skills, help me develop some wig-making skills, and not make me question why I ever thought this was a good idea!

This is Kidai - Warrior of Light, Weaver Red Mage main, and thigh-high boot enthusiast:




I picture him as quite different from his vanilla model, so I'll be customizing him to look like his "proper" self, but the work I have to do remains the same:

1. The head (in progress): I chose a human head as the base, so I have a few things to do here: remove the human ears, sculpt his face scales, attach magnets for his horns, and sculpt and attach said horns. I do have eyes for him already thanks to a commission.
2. The wig: Kidai does keep his hair in a ponytail most of the time, but I see his hair being a little less DBZ-inspired and more wavy. Also, highlights in this game leave something to be desired, but Kidai doesn't have white streaks - he's going gray from stress, and I want his wig to reflect that I've purchased the fibers I'll use to make his wig, but want to have his face scales and horn placement decided before I begin so I don't run into issues with the wig cap.
3. The body: Scales abound. I also need to decide if I'll be modifying the calves on the body to make him his properly rangy, 7'1" self.
4. The tail: I've actually commissioned a 3d printed jointed tail for him, but while I wait for that I want to give making one myself a try. I also him him as someone who wears tail deco, so it'll have to include that.
5. The painting: An NS head and a WS body does not a blue lizard son make! I'll be using primer, spray paint, and a number of sealant layers to get the correct color. I've decided to do the scales first and repaint them later, because I hate the idea of accidentally messing up the paint job by getting the scale pattern wrong.
6. The clothes: This is more of a long-term project, but I plan to eventually make Kidai's canon RDM gear at the end of the Shadowbringers storyline.

Who knows how long it'll take me to get this guy fully put together, but it's more time spent on dolls than I've had in the last six years or so - it's good to be back

 

Phase 1: the head

My initial plans were to use a Dollshe Aramis as the base for Kidai's face, but I happened to come across a photo of Angell Studio's LanLing-SP and immediately went "no, that's him."

A lucky secondhand find and a couple months of layaway later, the head was mine:


The faceup was stunning. I promptly ruined that by sketching out how the scale pattern might work, trying to get it even, and giving the guy the Van Gogh treatment with a jewelry saw.


I still feel a bit guilty about losing that faceup, but nothing gold can stay.

Kidai has purple eyes with thin white limbal rings. XIV canon says Au Ra don't have slit pupils, but I say that's nonsense and commissioned a set of eyes from BlythePanDoll on Etsy to reflect as much:

I may commission a second set that are a bit darker, but I want to see how these look in comparison to the rest of his head before I make that decision.

And this is where I've paused, because I was busy trying to resolve a dilemma that has plagued me since I picked the game back up last year - what color is this guy?

Lighting in XIV varies a LOT, so I can't just grab a screenshot, use a color picker, and call it a day. I needed to see the color in person and feel in my heart of hearts that this was it.

And that's how I ended up with 6 different shades of MTN 94* spray paint trying to find the answer to that question. Next time, we'll see how they turned out!

* MTN 94 is NOT acrylic paint and not something I can guarantee will work on all types of resin - I've done a test spray that hasn't reacted badly to the Migidoll headcap I tested it on about a month ago, but please take care if I post later and it seems like something you might want to try yourself!

 

It's been a while! 2021 and 2022 were...definitely some years, and what little free time I had went to actually playing XIV or working on XIV-related cosplay instead of my dolls

During all that I made even more changes to Kidai's look, some of which took the plans I'd already made and threw them out of the window, but one that worked out in my favor was my discovery that Resinsoul offered a smooth-abdomen version of their 72cm body. One email requesting a custom Pantone color later, Kidai has a body that won't require custom painting:



It's not the exact aesthetic I had in mind, but he'll be clothed most of the time so it's all good. The important things are the general height and the color, and both of those are *chef's kiss* perfection.

You can see some templates for his back scales lurking at the edge of the photo - I want to start with those because they'll be the trickiest, since they'll cross both the chest and hip joints. Also barely pictured is the roller I'll be using to get the scale texture I want (it fell over and rolled off as I was taking the picture - so rude).

So here's my current list of to-dos:

• Send his head out with one of his hands to have it color-matched, get scales added, and his face-up done. My shaky hands are just too much of a hindrance for me, and I can't bear the idea of not being happy with how his head turns out, so I reached out to the incredibly talented @pendrith of Mori Dolls for help with this part.
• Scales! So many scales.
• Removing the genitalia and adding pubic scales (not even a little bit canon, but you can't give me lizard people and not expect me to make them, well, lizards).
• Sculpt new horns and a new tail. I changed Kidai's canon horn shape and decided on a taller body than originally planned, so the tail I have now isn't long enough.
• Commission new eyes. I had an idea to incorporate a Shadowbringers spoiler-adjacent change into Kidai's eyes, so I'll be reaching out to BlythePanDoll for a new set similar to the original ones.
• Wigmaking! I actually left this off the list initially, that's how much I'm looking forward to it
• Work on some of his canon outfits.
• Print a scale version of his primary weapon.

My goal is to accomplish the majority of this within the next 3 months or so, because I have 2 other XIV-related projects I ALSO want to finish in 2023 on top of the other things I have going on. Wish me luck!