Chalyss finally comes home!

Chalyss is my avatar (not the pic by my name here, but the name), a character I created back in 1992 or so, and she's been one of those characters I can insert anywhere. I have a plushie of her and artwork (my one and others) and now, finally, after a 2 year layaway and waiting until a company actually offered a doll that would work, Impldoll kindly whipped up for me a custom red resin Idol Deborah. WHOO!!! And here is her arrival!

BIG box!!
Big Impl box by chalyss, on Flickr

Big box inside said box!
Box within a box- by chalyss, on Flickr

Neat stuff on top! Really pretty, I like the attention to detail:
Box top off! by chalyss, on Flickr

Insert by chalyss, on Flickr
Insert, other side by chalyss, on Flickr

CoA and Magic Eraser:
CoA by chalyss, on Flickr

Head! Small and perfect! The girl heads can take a 7/8 wig nicely:
So small and perfect! by chalyss, on Flickr

Body encased in bubble wrap. No more black carriers:
Lemme out!! by chalyss, on Flickr

Together:
RED! by chalyss, on Flickr

(continued next post)

 

More of her behind her:
The headdress by chalyss, on Flickr

Next to her alter ego/human self, Raechal who is an EID pre-renewal Yur:
The same lady? by chalyss, on Flickr

Dressed, though not in her colors. She has a scheme and black isn't in it:
And clothed. by chalyss, on Flickr

Standing next to her 70cm beau, a Simply Divine Harlequin head on a Sugarable Genie body:
Mal need a mention by chalyss, on Flickr

And some gifts! I guess they took pity on me! The gift heads are the tan Tank and the anti-UV real skin Azalea. SO PERFECT because I wanted both!
Impldoll tans by chalyss, on Flickr

Also a white Abagail for a different doll, part of the promo at the time:
Abagail by chalyss, on Flickr

They also gave me an extra set of hands and high heeled feet!!! She WILL be using these!
Extras! by chalyss, on Flickr

Special addition, an original pic by me of my baby girl. This was published (in glorious color) by Eric Larsen in Freak Force/FreekForce issue 5 or 6 many, maaaannnny moons ago.
First colored piece by chalyss, on Flickr

I am uber super pleased!!! THANK YOU Impldoll for making my girl a reality!! You'll see her a lot in the future, DoA!

Thanks for peeking!

 

Thank you thank you! She IS red, through and through! Very exciting!! Thanks for sharing my happiness with me! *squee!*

 

Thank you [MENTION=56883]kurogane[/MENTION]! This was my first major purchase with Impldoll and they did not disappoint! Fast with responses and very nice! I am pleased with their quality too! (and happy to add some tan comps to the world database! *wicked laugh*)

[MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION], I know, I like that zip-up corset too! *sneaky looks* I wonder if I can cover it with a purple material and make it work for her? Hmmm.... I could paint the silver bits gold... she really does have waaaaaay more gold than silver.... I wonder wonder wonder... Nothing will beat her armor though, so I need to find someone to make that! Thank you for your support, Rubydoll!

 

PAINT! You wonderfully smart person you! *smooches [MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION] without shame* Yes, yessss.... I will look into that! Thank you! I know of fabric paint... is there pleather paint?

MUWAHAHAHA! Credit AND blame! oooh hoo hoo! *coos* More Erica...

 

[MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION], Oh yay! I'll let you ruin your pleather before I mess up mine! I mean good luck!! *snorts* I amuse myself. Seriously, I hope it works out well! Between us, we'll figure it out and be Pleather Painting Queens!

*LOLOLOLOL* CBF (chronic bitch face) is a real and serious problem, young lady! Just ask my sister!



HI EVIE the KID!! Long time no see!! Thank you! They really did a great job on the resin! Almost flawless and any flaws are easily overlooked. I'm really happy with her! (And still trying to put together a tan Roderich, inspired by your gorgeous boy!)

 

RUBYDOLL, it looks great!! What color was it originally? I wonder how well black will let purple show though. But I'm super glad the ink worked for you!!! Thanks for sharing your victory!

 

Oooh! So shimmering purple would probably work! I can always try it; if it doesn't give me what I want, I can get fabric paint or something. Thanks, RUBYDOLL!!! Really wonderful news! *plots to ink the pleather*

Wiske, thank you! Progress will come but I am on vacation for a couple of weeks, so nothing immediately. She'll be fun to play with!

Tegz0rz, they did a great job! Thanks! *L* Thank you but that drawing is soooo old. Maybe I should draw a new one....

April, thank you! I am very pleased with how she turned out!

 

[MENTION=36803]vevet[/MENTION] thank you!! You had that first Karena head- did she go on a Star or Idol body? Or did you hybrid her? I am loving my girl! She's curvy but sturdy and the Idol's long legs fit a comic book aesthetic. YAY!

[MENTION=16841]fishcake[/MENTION] Holy cow! I didn't tell you about her box opening thread?? I am so sorry! How awful of me! I sincerely apologize! I know you were waiting to see the pics! Aw, thank you Fishcake!! I have a few more drawings I'll upload later to my chalyss flickr album- I only made 2 variants of her costume/armor and it was a big deal when she got to the second version (very traumatic for her) so you won't see much variety but that will change! I will work on foam-based armors for her like you suggested with the flesh-colored foam squares I found and I'm pretty excited about the possible variants in her wardrobe! Wheeee!

[MENTION=12785]evie the kid[/MENTION], you should order a big pastel turquoise boy! That'd be a visual stunner and lots of fun, I think!

 

Their layaway plan is awesome! I have a slew of heads on layaway now and a Chad w/body. They'd sent me a sample of the anti-uv tan and my resolve to blush him the way I wanted him went out the window. I had to have him in that color! So tack on $380 more for the chad. *sighs* But that's OK! I'm sure I'll open another layaway here soon and include a bunch of jointed hands. Just the waiting sucks.

 

Thank you Sicktress!! I am totally loving on her!

 

[MENTION=69617]CinDeeCae[/MENTION] Thank you!! Now I am home from a long vacation and eager to work on her!

Thank you, [MENTION=66036]SteamWitch[/MENTION]!! It's a real treat to have her! The industry has finally caught up with my imagination and my girl is here with me! It's very, very cool!

And I need to go get some metallic paint for her black leather outfit... make it purple and blue! Thanks again for the headsup and info, [MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION]!

 

This is all exciting, [MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION]! How amazing to be able to change /black/ pleather into another color AND maintain suppleness! Have you noticed any hardening or anything? I found some pearlescent lilac fabric paint... I wonder if it'd work on pleather. Any suggestions? Otherwise, my venture into pleather-coloring will have to wait until payday.

 

Hmmm... well, if it does need ironing, I suppose low heat and a towel between the surfaces would do it. I'm excited at the prospect of it working! I may have to add a bit more purple to the fabric paint for a deeper color that isn't just POW! PEARLESCENT PALE PURPLE, you know? I hope that doesn't ruin it's effect.

Thank you for the info on the inks and such! Maybe a matte fixative spray would work? I have some liquid brush on, but wonder if an aerosol might not be more effective or at least forgiving. I suppose I shall have to try!

 

THANK YOU!! She was originally conceived to be a comic book character, waaaaay back when Image Ruled the World, in the 1990s. I was a comic book artist back then- indy, of course- but it's where my heart still lies... mainstream comic book super heroes! That was a wonderful compliment!

 

THANK YOU!!!! I waited a very long time for the BJD community to catch up with my needs, and finally it has! Thanks so much for sharing the moment with me!

[MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION], I need to find a spare piece or patch to test it on. Or, if I get impatient, what she's wearing will be the test! I'd really love it work though and the outfit wasn't cheap, so a test piece would be best. I'm getting figidity though... I wanna see and know! And I'll show the results, absolutely! *dolly hugs!*

 

Small update! I found a piece of pleather to test on and will commence shortly! Meanwhile, I've been refitting her original outfit to her. This used to be on an Obitsu Gretel and translated a LOT better than I expected!
Chalyss original costume by chalyss, on Flickr

 

Here's the original from 2007:
chalyss60cmbanner by chalyss, on Flickr

Obitsu has a 21cm bust and my Idol a 31cm! Slight difference! *LOL* I had to add a lot in the back, but still pleased at how well it moved over.

 

Sadly, the material from the original Obitsu outfit is old (8 years now) and not holding up well to any kind of adjustment or movement. So I sat down and painted up the pleather to see what I could see. I have the pics downstairs on the desktop so this post will be updated soon, but for now I'll explain what I did.

Having no ink to use, I instead mixed darker purple acrylic with the metallic lilac fabric paint. This seems to have been necessary as I learned later. I did many layers (but hopefully not so much it'll crack or rub and not so watery as to damage the pleather, which I think might have happened but in the back) and sprayed some MSC matte on it which seems to have worked, but it's too flat I think; I may buy some gloss MSC for pleather because it /looks/ painted now. Fortunately, gloss MSC is muy cheapo.

So the top and choker turned out OK but when I moved on to the bottoms I did something wrong- I tried a bottom layer of the pale metallic stuff alone to get a brighter purple return but I ended up just ruining the bottom layer when I put on the pure acrylic and having to wipe the whole thing and hope I didn't destroy it for the next try. But I definitely need to get more fabric paint, some in blue, and use it mixed (I had a kind of half-fabric paint, half darker acrylic mix). And the gloss spray! I feel brush-on might pull up the paint and even crack the pleather. I'll keep you posted and show some pics!

(Also, IMO: this is a gap-stop measure. I'd much rather have the fabric the correct color and not have to paint it and worry about rubs and cracking! The color is not completely even either, no matter how much I tried to get it fully saturated.)

Pleather painting by chalyss, on Flickr

Pleather painting by chalyss, on Flickr

Pleather painting by chalyss, on Flickr

 

Ugh! Sorry, I was so distracted when writing that post that looking back it seems very stoic. At least I didn't repeat myself too many times! (8 year old nephew was very excited to share some Bear Grylles and 5 Nights at Freddy's videos with me. I didn't want to ignore him but I lose all character when trying to write that way!)

So I added the pics and I don't think it's a horrible result! It's servicable and will do until I can commission some designed clothing. I wish the original material was holding up better but it really, really isn't. Besides, the Pleather outfit looks and IS better suited for the giant body of the Idol. That poor wig she's wearing is so old and was never great quality to begin with... I'm glad the headdress covers all the front bald spots. *L* I got in a new wig today I hoped would work but alas, not even close. *sighs* I think I may have to make my own with some kick-butt yarn, which is fine of course. I didn't know how to make my own back in 2007, so I've at least advanced a bit!

Thank you [MENTION=67684]rubydoll[/MENTION] for all your support and the idea in the first place!!

(Also, it's not finished. I want to make the silver gold and the rest of the black cobalt blue. THEN it will be a Chalyss corset!)