Modification Dollshe Saint overhaul

Over the years my character Uriah’s traits have taken shape in my mind to the point that for some time now, the Dollshe Saint sculpt has no longer fully encapsulated him. I still love the sculpt, but in my ongoing compulsion to fix things that aren't broken in search of some hazy ideal, I decided to make a change.

July 2019 I ordered a Grown Saint head, thinking a faceup with some added texture on a newer version would be enough to make him feel more... correct. As of the writing of this post I am STILL WAITING for that order–but that’s a rant for another thread… in the meantime I decided to go for it and try some modifications.

But I wasn't about to wipe Uriah’s faceup! So last summer I bought a secondhand faceplate to cut into. Lacking confidence the results would be anything but comical, I kept the project to myself until now.

… Even after I bought the head, I went back and forth about carving into it. Maybe I should use a cheaper practice head or sculpt my own altogether… in the end I concluded starting as close as possible was worth the price and increased my odds of actually finishing the project, so I gambled on myself and went for it.

Before I began, I had a modest list of corrections:

Thinning of the eyelids
Pushing eyes out slightly/eyeball curvature
Shrinking eyes
Carving cheekbones to indent at outer eye corners
Widening mouth

… But as soon as I started I could not stop.





My supplies were tiny files of various shapes and sizes, apoxie sculpt, sandpaper of varying grits, and dental tools (metal pick and flexy gum thing), which I learned about from Lomi’s playground on YouTube. Thanks to her for sharing her strategies, because the flexible thing is genius and I never would have thought of it.





At about this stage I started to wonder what the **** I had gotten myself into.





As you can see, I built up his brow and gave him a frowny forehead, I brought his jawline down to better disguise his neck joint at the side view, I gave him jowl pooches (?) and a big honker of a nose.





My helper trying to put eyes in another doll on my worktable.





I must have built up and sanded back his left eye 6-7 times in search of symmetry, which I eventually realized was impossible due in part to the fact the Dollshe Saint sculpt is itself not even close to symmetrical. The ears are off from the eyes which is off from the nose which isn't at a perfect angle to the brow, and AHHHH

I was also conflicted over how small and low his mouth appeared in relation to the nose and thought about reducing my beloved snout. I was nervous to try sculpting lips and worried even if I succeeded, it would change the sculpt too much to feel like Uriah.





Something had to change, so I went for it.





Mouth too wide/sharp, but coming along. Patching the brow and cheek to sand back for better symmetry and still fiddling with that eyelid. I see why so many artists have switched to digital. Because this stage took weeks and my brain was stuck in a rut, I began to notice how many professionally sculpted and cast dolls are quite asymmetrical. Even my own eyelids don't match.

I felt if I could achieve 80% success I'd be happy.





What isn't shown is the excessive amount of carving I had to do to bevel his inner eyelids, because I had brought the entire eye socket forward.





This is about the point where I finally said I LIKE IT. After this photo I did some excavation of his mouth corners, but apparently there are no pictures of that because I was getting excited and began to rush and really should have spent more time on those final few sanding sessions buuuuut... instead I began to think about how I was going to finish this off, and--





--Acrylic dabbed on with a sponge was not the answer! Looks like he has a skin condition. Still, my first time seeing him all one colour was a breakthrough moment!

 

I've seen enough 'spraypainted doll rescue' threads to be terrified of this inevitability, but finally conceded it was the only option. I put down sealant first, just in case.




Data from Star Trek, is that you?





I could not believe this would work until I had put down enough sealant to eradicate that shine and laid down the first layers of blush and texture. Then the excitement began to increase.





However, I realized I'd been a bit too hasty in beginning to blush and hadn't colour corrected to his body. I tried to yellow him up a little, but the blush caught on the 'texture' I had already flicked on there and suddenly he had yellowish freckles, so I ended up removing this layer.





So here he sat, far too pink. Unsure what else to do, I left him in the sun off and on for 5-6 days, at which point life took over and I didn't get to touch the project for a few weeks.





At last, having conquered road trips, birthday parties, garage sales and garden projects, I resumed his faceup.





I made him a new pair of eyes and tried his old wig on, and... almost choked up a little. I think I just sat there and stared at him for almost ten minutes.





But there was still work to be done. I switched to gouache for my lines a faceup or so ago, and it's like night and day in terms of how easily they thin down and wipe away--except for the black, which is so heavily pigmented it instantly stains the sealant when you lay it down. Brows were nerve-wracking because of this.





I wish at this stage I had messed with his lips more, because those lines don't look right to me. Needed to be softer or blended in somehow. I still may mask off and go back and tinker with that. His mouth is very clearly not symmetrical. It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. In some photos it's nice to be able to pull out a smirk.





Final side-by-side with his 'old' face. He looks SO OLD. But in a good way. That 'scar', by the way, is an oopsie where a divot didn't get filled in properly, so I tried to make it look intentional.





I'm just... I can't stop staring at him in disbelief. I can't believe I sculpted this myself, I can't believe he's mine, I can't believe I didn't notice those lip lines look so weird. I did his first photoshoot yesterday, which you can view here to see him all put together.

Thanks so much for reading!

 

@moonlightnocturne Thank you so much!

@esuko Thank you for reading it! (I'm STILL excited!)

@crystaltheron That is a cool thought. I have to imagine his paleness adds to that, like alabaster.

@Seafoam Shade Many thanks to you for enjoying them and taking the time to tell me!

@Killjoyofkilljoys Thank you! I too was stunned by the differences when I finally put them side-by-side--I actually hadn't done so through the entire process.

@LonelyArtist I'd be so happy if this inspired someone. Thanks for your comments.

@Aiko-chan So very, very glad you took the time!

@mohnblumendolls Thank you! This project was so intimidating and took so long. Your comment means a lot.

@sixtypagesketchbook I was really aiming for a more masculine look, and there's something about fullness around the lips/jowls on a guy that I just adore. Thank you!

@forest.rain I'm so glad you think so. I was concerned I was changing the sculpt so much it wouldn't have mattered that I even started with a Saint, but I think his 'soul' is still in there.

@iamkathybrown 'Mature' is exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you so much.

@Buzzibee Thanks to you for reading and giving your kind compliments! I hope this helps/inspires someone!

@saraquill Thank you very much!

 

@Nekoite You are extremely kind and your words mean a lot. Thanks so much. I'm so glad I took the plunge on this project and followed through.

@sixtypagesketchbook The only downside is now I am side-eying all my other male dolls thinking of changing them too...

@Glace Leau Wow, I totally see it! Especially with his light eyes. I'm glad the sense he's a Saint still shines through somehow.

 

@Anch-Shi It was scary, but it paid off.

@Follow-the-Wind Thank you. I am finding modding to be a pretty addictive pursuit. Once it's a possibility in your mind, you want to change everything...

@PhotoArtitude Thank you!

@Jay Thanks for checking it out!

@skumring The moment I put them side-by-side was really astonishing to me, to see how far I'd come.

@thedarkeststar13 I expect there's a difference between tweaking established features versus versus starting from scratch... especially where symmetry is concerned. I'm not ruling it out, especially since I've been looking for years for the right head for a priest/sorcerer character without success, but with how long this project took... I appreciate your vote of confidence. Leaps of effort have always been my strong suit, consistency my weakness, so I'm thrilled I even got so far as to finish this.

@earth.spirits I'm so happy you like him!

@beatnik I probably wouldn't have recognized him either. I'm stuck now between not wanting to advertise him as a Dollshe Saint to give anyone false expectations for the sculpt, and not wanting to 'claim credit' for the underlying structure by omitting the fact at any opportunity.

@kagami Thank you, kagami! I want to take more photos of him too. Just waiting for an idea and a chunk of time without children around.

@Rosslyn Thank you. I really tried, looked at lots of reference pictures, set it aside to stare at it for a week or two every now and then... feel like I learned a lot through doing this.

@Myuuchan Thank you, Lomi. I love your work too. Without the inspo from your youtube channel I may never have pulled the trigger.

@Idoru I truly am, thank you!

@Xila Thank you very, very much. For better or worse he's definitely OOAK now, and that is a cool feeling.

 

@Reinhart I hope if you do ever try a mod of some sort you will share it too. It's so interesting to watch!

@Blue Alice I already see several things I could change if I ever wipe him again, but for now I am happy to just enjoy him. Thanks!

 

@tenukihandcrafts Oh good, you like his crooked mouth! I'll say it was on purpose, then. I really appreciate your words, I didn't want to completely overwrite the feel of a Saint.

@Valdemagra The progress vs final result probably also looks quite different because the progress photos were taken with my cell phone, which warps the center depth, making his jaw disappear and the entire face slimmer. The final photos and the ones in his gallery thread were done with my camera and are a more accurate reflection of how he looks. Thanks for reading! It really makes the time taken to document feel worth it if it benefits or inspires anyone.

@LaRue Thank you so much!

@HAENULI I recognize your name, as I was in the lolita hobby as well until recently! Wow, how surreal to find you here! Thank you! I love your designs!

@Nefla Such high praise, thank you.

@rainbird Thank you! All the attention this has gotten has shown me it's worth it to document and post more of my projects. The greatest compliment to me is that my energy was infectious and caused someone to act on a fun idea of their own.