Aesthetics Flower Children {Dollzone Moment and Anson - Long Term Project}

* If you ever see broken image links in this thread, please let me know and I will fix them. Thank you! *

Hello ^_^

So, I've toyed with the idea of starting a thread like this for my ongoing, long term customization of my Dollzone Moment and Anson for some time now…but it's a bit intimidating!
Recently, couple of the other projects from the Anson and Moment group have popped up here, and that has given me a bit of courage.
So here we are. Thank you for bearing with me.

To begin, let me say that this is going to be slow going.
I have no illusions on that as I've already been working on this for a good bit, so I wanted to state it up front. But this is also a project that I very much want to finish, so I think this could still be fun and helpful.

Let's just begin.
First up in this project is my Moment, who is named Freyr. (For context, my Anson is named Freya. Together they inhabit the magical "True Ravenswood" realm of my dolls' story. They are a bit like forest spirits or guardians.) Moment is made of butterfly, moth, and dragonfly wings. Each side of each of his petals is going to represent a different wing. Once I get him all painted, he also has an elaborate costume that I'll need to sew.

So the process is this: I first outline the pattern of the wing in pencil.



Then it is colored in. Color details are added using pastel, acrylic, and water color pencil.



On to the second wing...



Once again, the outline in pencil. This works well because it gives me a nice, black line. Given the twists and turns of the sculpt, I enjoy having as much control as I can for this part of the process. Especially since I need to make fine lines that run the whole length of the petal/wing. That said, it still takes quite a while to get the design all drawn out. It really takes a lot of stamina to keep a steady hand for so many hours! This is a big part of the reason why I have been working so slowly on this guy. Poor thing. But I know going in that it will be a full day of focus, and sometimes it is hard to start. Also my wrists just give out and then I have to rest them. >.>"

Adding color



Outline of the third wing (I really like how this one came out! ^__^)



And color



Fourth wing outline



Fifth and sixth wing outlines (at this point I decided to try and combine my steps more to minimize coats of MSC)



And color



I had planned to keep these interior wings in an earth-tone palette, but a blue wing snuck in there. ^_~



All the interior wings! ^_^



Now that you've seen the process, perhaps you can forgive my slow pace. ^.^"

 

Starting on the face and exterior wings of the main head!



Main face wings



The dragonfly wing that snuck in there...





The last main face wing



So this is how he stands now



I admit…I'm a little stuck at this point on how I want to incorporate the last two wings on the back of his head. I worry about how the inside edge of the back wings will blend into the area of his faceup. (I hope that makes sense!) I'm considering doing two more dragonfly wings and having the little cells of the wings sort of trail off as they reach the face, a bit like tiles. What do you think?

He also has two wing ears that I will need to incorporate.

Thanks for taking a peek. ^_^

 

Thank you. ^___^

I also plan to have a bit of "moss" growing on him. I intend to apply it much like you would to a miniature, so I might bring that into play as well, especially around the ear petals/wings. But he'll have to be all painted before that step.

 

Thank you! ^_^
I think it's going to look really nice once he's all done. I just have to get there!

Thank you so much. ^__^
I was planning to work on him today…but I woke up with my eye hurting.
Now I have to decide if I want to try and ignore it…or wait till it feels better?

Hehe, I sort of threw the dragon fly wing in there spur of the moment. I had originally intended to have the full moth for the face, but…I think I just get tired and then something random happens, be it a blue wing or a dragonfly wing. ^.^"
Oh goodness though, I thought the butterfly wings were a challenge with their delicate long veins, but the dragonfly wing has it's own obstacles! All those tiny cells made up by the veins. @.@
Part of me thinks dragonfly wings would be best for the back petal/wings…but part of me doesn't want to make any more dragonfly wings! Hehe. ^_~

Thank you! ^__^
I had so many ideas for these flower children. It was really hard to choose, but I really like this one for Freyr. I'm still on the fence for my Anson though…I'll just have to wait and see how I feel after I finish this guy up. They would make a beautiful pair (original idea), but I had another really fun idea for her too…hehe, choices, choices...

Aw, thank you so much!

Thank you! Hehe, I may never want to do anything with butterflies again after this guy. ^_~
Best of luck with your project. What are you doing? ^_^

Thank you. ^___^

Thanks! ^_^
Hehehehe, yes, I think fiddly is just the word.
I've had crazy ideas for dolls before…but this is the first one I've really tried to make happen. I think it will be worth it in the end, but it's quite an intimidating amount of work!

 

Alright, I decided to get to work today. ^_^

First layer of color in the main face petal/wings.



One of my neighbors was standing outside sweeping in his front yard when I sprayed MSC…and he actually stopped sweeping to watch me. How embarrassing.


Afternoon Update:
Ok, all colored in pastel. ^__^



I'm…actually pretty happy with how this came out. Yay!
I still need to spray it and add paint details and such. But I might be done for the day…my fingers are refusing to hold up the head anymore. Eheh. ^.^"

Lol, I can't even type right…I keep making typos…
Yep. Time for a break.

 

Oh! Neat! That sounds like a great project. ^_^
I'd love to see it some time.

 

Thank you! ^__^
Hehe, all the lines can drive me crazy sometimes…but they are worth it in the end.

Thank you so much. ^___^

 

Thank you. ^_^
I sprayed him this morning, so I plan to work on him some more today.

Aw, thank you so much!

Hahahahahaha, you know. You are right. That would keep the dust down. Hehe, that makes me feel better about it.

 

I keep double posting...
But, I really am trying not to let myself stop working on this guy!!

Today I remembered that I'd never taken a photo of the details I added to the very first petal/wing.



It just seemed sort of plain after the other ones.

New stuff now…
I decided what I wanted to do with the back two wings. I am going to use just a partial wing pattern, just an eye spot. I think I will do this on the front of the detachable ear petals too, but with a full color wing on the back of the ear petal.

Here is the pencil outline for those.



And I added in paint details to the wings that I blushed yesterday, painted the abdomen on the face moth, and added color on his actual face.



You can almost see in the photo, but the bottom of his eye wells are painted bright red.
I'm trying to decide if I want to add any more color to his face. I kind of like the contrast between his super colorful petal/wings and his white face…but I'm not 100% sure.
What do you think?

 

Hehe, I agree too. ^_^

Here's a morning photo (not a great photo, sorry about that).



He has bright green blushing now, which I think will work well with the moss I'll add later. Also, I was trying to catch all the pretty colors around his eyes. It's a bit tricky, they want to look all gray in the photos.

You can see the colors on the last two petals for this part back there too.
I'll take a better photo later.

Hehe, and it looks like I'm going to need to buy new brushes after this project...



That totally mangled one is for the blue/green pastels…
And I had to sacrifice a fine (previously for paint) liner brush to do his lips. They are tiny!
Aw well, I do have them to use them. ^_~

So…now all I need to do is spray him again…and gloss a couple things…and this part is done? What?! It kind of felt like I'd never see any progress, hehe. Very exciting. Then it's on to the ear petal/wings, and then the headcap, and then…the arms, and then his clothes. Hm, still a ways to go.

 

Aw, thank you! I'm so glad that you were inspired. ^__^
Definitely keep trying! Hehe, I've certainly had some faceups that were just…uhh…yeah. Practice really does make a difference.

Thank you! ^_^
I had a lot of fun collecting images of butterflies and moths and dragon flies. Translating them into the shape of these petals is always an interesting challenge.

Thanks so much. ^_^
I'm really enjoying seeing him with all the colors now!


I'll probably be busy for the weekend, but I hope to get back to work on him next week.
Thanks again for looking in, everyone! ^_^

 

Aw, thank you!
The Moment and Anson sculpts are wonderful blank canvases. There are so many creative ideas for them from owners. I'm glad you liked my variation. ^__^

Thank you. ^_^
Hehe, yes! For a long time I worked on him just a liiiiiiiittle bit at a time. He's sort of exhausting.
But I think as he comes more and more together I can see how he will look all finished and the gives me energy! Hehe.

Thank you so much. ^_^
I'm really enjoying seeing all the parts coming together to make a whole on him. It's also fun to make a REALLY colorful doll. I usually tend toward rather more natural faceups. Hehe.

Thank you!
Oh, I like that…"monk's work". ^___^
Hehe, it is sort of contemplative. There is so much detail and concentration that the world becomes a pin point. Hehe, perhaps that sounds funny.

 

Oh, thank you so much! ^__^

Thank you. ^_^


Well as a little update…
I live in the desert. It is currently monsoon season, though we are also in a drought. So every evening, the sky grows dark and rumbles and sparks, spitting a bit of rain at the ground. Then last night, finally, we had real rain! I'm so happy. Everything was looking so dry and a bit brown around the edges. That all said, the ground is pleasantly dark with damp, so I don't want to spray right now. I could probably get away with it…as I'm sure given that our humidity relative to other areas is still quite low…but my head sees the water and just doesn't want to do it. ^_~

 

Thank you! ^__^
I'm really enjoying seeing him come together.

I'm anxious to work on him again, but surprisingly, the humidity is staying rather high. And since it is the last coat of MSC on the head&#8230;I don't want it to cloud up on me! >.<
I ordered a new pair of eyes for him, which is in the mail (I think this will be the third pair I have tried) and hopefully by the time they arrive I can get him sprayed and glossed and ready for the eyes. ^_^

 

Aw, thank you so much, DenaliWind! ^__^
I know you do faceups yourself (I really enjoy watching your youtube videos), so that means a lot to me.

 

Oh, thank you for such a kind compliment!
::hugs::

Thank you so much! ^__^

The humidity is finally starting to drop. So, hopefully I can get back to work on him very soon. In the meantime&#8230;I've been a bit sick, so have to get over that first. >_>

 

Thank you! ^__^

Aw, thanks so much. I'm really enjoying sorting through all the moth and butterfly photos and trying to adapt them to the shape of the petal. The patterns are so magical, bold yet delicate. I'm constantly entranced by the beautiful order of the tiny veins in the wings.
Also, hehe, you'll like his outfit then! I'm planning to make him a breastplate in the shape of the head/front of a rhinoceros beetle. ^_~

Aw, thank you! ^__^
It's true, there are so many great ideas for these dolls! It's always a pleasure to see what people are doing with them.

Thank you so much. ^__^

The eyes came in! I think they are going to look beautiful with Freyr. But...I haven't been able to try them in yet&#8230;as he's still not sprayed. I got over my mid-summer cold, or whatever it was (seems silly to have a cold in the middle of summer), but last night it hailed! O.o



So, the humidity went back up&#8230;I can feel it against my skin in the house, so I'll have to give it a few days yet. While I was sick it dropped to 30%, so hopefully it'll drop again and I can catch it this time.

 

Thank you! ^_^
Ahh&#8230;I'm still waiting on the rain. >_>

Hehe, thank you so much. ^__^
I love myths and legends and fairytales.
I don't know exactly how I want to do Freya&#8230;but she will get Brisingamen.

Aw, thank you! ^__^

 

Aw, thank you. ^_^
I'm really enjoying working with so many colors on this guy! Hehe.

I really want to spray him and try out the new eyes!! But the humidity keeps hovering around that scary 70% so I guess I have to wait. >_>

EDIT: Oh! Actually&#8230;
I just checked the humidity and it went down to 47% so the head is currently drying from its last coat of MSC!! FINALLY!

 

Aw, thank you so much!

Here they are!
(Apologies that they are a bit of a re-cap)

First up, a better photo of the last two petal/wings.



And a photo that caught the colors around his eyes...though I think this was actually before I glossed him so the lips and eyelids are now glossed. Eh heh, I realized that the fine paint brush that I sacrificed to blush his lips was actually the one I usually use to gloss with…and I didn't have any other brushes I could use instead! I actually had to go buy a new paintbrush before I could gloss him. >.<



Anyway, I popped his head back on his body (minus the headcap and petal ears, which have their first coats of MSC and I didn't want to touch them) and tried his new eyes in. Yay for new eyes! ^_^

I really like these for him. The reflective pupils make them very otherworldly.

You can see why he's been throughs so many eyes in the photo below…I love the dreaming quality of his eyes, but they just shadow and obscure anything I put in them. These ones look really nice in person though, even if they are still a bit dark in photos.




BUT! Without the headcap, his eyes can glow like this...




Which I love!!


Next up I think I will work on his petal ears and then I can add the moss accents around them too. Very excited.
But, there probably won't be much more from me this week as it is my anniversary on Thursday and I'm spending time with my husband.

I hope everyone is having a great week! ^__^