~~ Granado Doll Discussion Part 9 ~~

Oh please do post what you can--I am dying to see what people did and while Granado shows some of the contest photos, I suspect there may be more than they upload and the photos are shown kind of small on the site.

 

Still haven't completed mine ^^° Thinking of just sending 'that one' pic I already took ^^°

 

Snowy, Nihlus says SNOWY PLEASE show the world my hotness!! (Does model moves for you).
hehe! Besides, his fingers are too small to use your camera so he needs your help!

 

Not just doll collectors. I see that attitude everywhere. The world will end if they don't get whatever-the-heck-it-is. I was (well, still am on occasion) an anime cel collector and there was that very attitude, if someone got a particular cel there was always someone else whining about how they HAD to have it, it would look better in their collection, ad nauseam. The person who was lucky enough to get it usually had to hide that they got it, just to avoid the backlash. Then there were those who would grab coveted items just to keep others from getting them or to resell at a grossly inflated price.

There is something about pirate clothes. . . once you get some for them they just don't want to give them up! I think it's the inherent hotness factor in them. They did say you just couldn't post the photos used for the contest so I don't see why you can't post the ones you didn't use.

 

[MENTION=2583]gabriel[/MENTION]: I hope Pancho fits nicely on SD17. he can share a body with my Dollclans Kien. my head will take a while. I bought some jointed hands & put it all on layaway. (Granado has a very nice system for layaway. like Soom. makes you feel like you're not spending money at all!)
[MENTION=7245]Alewife[/MENTION] [MENTION=669]april[/MENTION] [MENTION=24277]xtal[/MENTION]: the Il Milione thing went on for a long time. add to that the 14 month wait, Anu's illness, Mr K being a diva & it was quite an experience. but....I love my guy to bits.
but, xtal's right. some people collect out of greed not out of love of the object/artist's work.

argh! bring on the pirate!

 

Not a pirate any more...

I commissioned Beyond Wonderland for a King Charles II style outfit... I always thought Charles just NEEDED to be dressed in royal Restoration style garb! I am still playing about with wigs... this one is a bit too thick. I have another that's too thin... And I might need to trim them... but haven't had time. I was lucky to just get some quick photos shot...!

Here's one of the ones from the same shoot, but not one of the (very similar) photos I sent in to Granado. I don't really want to win anything... The contest was just a way to get me off my butt and change my poor Sinjun out of the same outfit he's been in all year!

 

He's Harry Morgan, gone from Pyrate to Governor! Wow!! What a glorious outfit, April!

 

Definitely the right period for Morgan... That's one interesting pirate, eh? (there's a cool m/m series of books about buccaneers who go along on some of Morgan's adventures that I love: Raised by Wolves -- I actually visited Port Royal on a book club trip with the author and some other fans once...)

Hmmm... Now I kind of want to dress him up as Morgan! I rarely see outfits from that period on dolls...

 

[MENTION=669]april[/MENTION] - Aw, it's so great to see your boy again! I remember his gallery threads living in my browser tabs for days when I was agonizing over whether I should get Charles. And this outfit looks really gorgeous on him, I'm sure Granado will love your pictures, too

 

Ahh, I certainly hope so! How are the jointed hands different from the old ones, anyway? Just slimmer as per the ones found in the News section? Those are really lovely~

 

April, your Charles! Soo beautiful!

I can't wait to see all the pictures for the contest! Even sent two myself, for fun.

Got my Andrew a few weeks ago, haven't shared pictures as I want him for myself! Mohaha (or I'm about to order his wig and when it arrives send him away for faceup!) Now I absolutely want more Granado dolls.

 

Oh my. What a superb outfit April! Your Charles looks very comfortable wearing it.

 

april, he looks awesome! I do like that wig on him. Charles II had some very over-the-top wigs, so it works.

gabriel, you're right, the new jointed hands are slimmer but seem to work just as well.

Evoi, you definitely need more Granados. Looking forward to seeing your Andrew when you get him finished.

 

Smaug, thank you so much that would be great.

My NS Little Monica head is pretty much perfect compared to Crobidoll's resin, so if you could do a comparison to Granado, it should give me a good guess.

It's true that the resin can be blushed to match but I'm a perfectionist. @.@ It would be amazing if the match could be close.

That being said, I would totally appreciate any other comparisons of Granado's new normal skin to other companies. There haven't been that many posted yet (I did check/request in the photo threads too!)

 

I just fixed the file size of my photo... I've filled up Photobucket so I'm trying a new photo site: Imagur... It's a bit clunky, but then... Photobucket wasn't that easy for setting the file sizes, either!

(anyone have a great photo-hosting site aside from those? and aside from flikr... never found that one easy to use, either!)

Thanks, everyone, for the Charles love!

I hope you all are taking photos to show us, whether you are submitting them to Granado or not! There can never be enough doll photos posted, to my mind!

 

Happy New Year of the Sheep! by aernath, on Flickr

 

April- that outfit is amazing! Your Charles looks great!

aernath- That's a fantastic photo! Where on earth did you find that SD sized Chinese dragon?

 

aernath, love it! Happy New Year to you too!

 

aernath that is so cool! May the new year be a good one for everyone!

 

[MENTION=669]april[/MENTION] - awesome outfit! [MENTION=9171]aernath[/MENTION] - very cool pic!

happy new year everyone!

 

I still use Flickr mostly, but there are some workarounds that I use (like adding "?details=1" to the end of my URL). Postimage.org is really streamlined but they don't offer different file sizes, just thumbnails. There might be some extra perks for the premium user (I'm just cheap ).

Love that outfit on your Charles, April! Awesome dragon aernath! Given your mad skillz. . . I'm betting you made it!

 

aernath-- love the New Year photo!

I've seen those dragon heads for sale in San Francisco's Chinatown... And down here in L.A., too, I think... Hmmm... just checked ebay, but it looked like they were charging $60 for a 13" long one... which seems high to me, but who knows?

 

[MENTION=9171]aernath[/MENTION] - Haha, happy year of the sheep to you, too! That's such a fun picture, the guys look adorable
[MENTION=669]april[/MENTION] - I also use photobucket. I had imageshack before, it was user-friendly (I didn't use the photo editing tools though), but the pictures sometimes disappeared for days and reappeared after, and that was really frustrating.

 

Haha, awesome photo Aernath! Happy new year to all who are celebrating at the moment! The temple down the road from us had fireworks last night and it looked quite spectacular.

 

Your guys look so happy and warm (emphasis on "warm") in their Hawaiian shirts celebrating New Year, aernath. That's a great photo. I do love your kids....

 

XD
Thanks for this sweet message, fishcake!
It actually motivated me lots and when the sun actually came out yesterday I did what I could. Still, as I wasn't able to work on the props I had planned, I couldn't do all that I originally planned...
BUT! I simply decided to change the title I sent my entry just about an half hour / hour ago (panicking after I did wether it was 12 am or pm Hong Kong time, but I think I should be in). Definitly not going to take a place or anything, but I think it's lots of fun to look at
I also did the shoots how 'it really looked like' to compare later with 'what the photo looks like' pics


I have a pic that didn't make it into my entry thought, that I can show off :3
Nihlus-dressing-up-for-shoot by Wildcard_Snowy, on Flickr
It's Nihlus at work, dressing up in the clothes for his next photo-shooting.
(Look at how flexible he is ;P)


I'll load up my entry of the contest and link to it here when the contest is done and over with :3

[MENTION=669]april[/MENTION]: Wow, Charles looks pretty royal and... demanding? *crosses arms* I'm not bowing before anyone, not even when they manage to look awesome and manly despite the ruffles and pants that look like bloomers to me *hmph*
*still looking* That is an awefully nice looking outfit thought. I like the hair color too It suits him.
(He also looks kind of sinful and tempting to me.)
[MENTION=9171]aernath[/MENTION]: XD seems like your boys are having lo~~~~~~~ts of fun at your place

 

Cool photo Snowy! What body is he on?

 

[MENTION=66160]Quiet and Insane[/MENTION]: It's the 64 body
And thanks, I was surprised that he just held the pose the way I pushed him to without additional help. I think the majority of my other dolls would have snapped back.

That reminds me that I found his high-heel feet the other day. Now I only need to get them onto that DZ body for you

 

Meh. I stupidly lost track of the date and was going to submit my photo now, only to realise I'd just missed the deadline. The worst thing is that I took this photo weeks ago, but didn't send it immediately as I wanted to have another shoot with better light, and finally decided yesterday evening (!) that this one was really best. But then I didn't send it yesterday because I wanted to sleep over it. Haha.

Anyway, because of my own stupidity I can post the photo here :p... And I used it for the Doll A Month group instead.

Wonder by severelysigune, on Flickr

I can't wait to see all your contest entries!

 

Snowy Nihlus looks great! And I am glad you got photos of him in just in time!
Sigune that is a wonderful portrait, I'm just sorry you weren't able to get it in but I totally understand! I had to make myself do everything early just so I wouldn't miss the deadline--but now I am so happy to be able to see it full sized here. It's so sweet!

 

Jade's new outfit arrived and it fits! Now she just needs shoes to go with it. Luckily the skirt is so long you can't see her feet. Sorry about the bad picture. The only ones that come out are the ones I use flash with now. I tried to make it better in photoshop, but blargh. I really hate my camera.
100_2709 by Lucky XIII, on Flickr

btw, if anyone has any good digital camera recommendations (that does not require changing lenses) please, let me know. I need a new one that can take good pics of my dolls

 

Jade looks great! I love that outfit and it suits her personality, too.

I am using a little pocket camera, a Nikon coolpix L620 because I needed an easy-to-learn one. I had the previous version, and I actually liked it a bit more because there is less lens distortion on the macro settings, but the L620 does better in reduced light and you can adjust the exposure. Mostly any camera with a really large lens that is built in will do better than a smaller camera lens, because physics.

Amazon has the best prices but Best Buy is a good place to actually handle the cameras, and sometimes you can hit sales or get them to match prices.

 

Thanks you all, for all the kind comments about my boys! Sorry it was a drop-n-dash, it's been pretty busy around here lately. I can't believe the year is flying by so fast!
I actually got that dragon head from ebay for about $17 total with shipping. I had it in my watch list for ever and ever, and suddenly it was down to the last one, so I bought it fast. I wasn't even thinking at the time, about Chinese new year coming up. lol And I got it not knowing how big it would be in person. I expected it to be much smaller... so I was stymied when it came in, and put it on my really big boys... but that didn't really work... thankfully, inspiration struck, and I tried it on these boys, and voila! Instant photo shoot!
[MENTION=669]april[/MENTION] - That royal outfit is perfect! And I think the wig looks great! He looks like "you knooooow you want to bow to meeeee!"
[MENTION=58178]Snowy[/MENTION] - Nihlus is such a great poser - and that's a great way to show it(him) off! He can do anything! ^_^
[MENTION=56197]Sigune[/MENTION] - Awww, sorry you missed the deadline! I'm like fishcake, I try and get things done early because I KNOW I will forget otherwise (and usually do). I did a shoot early on, entered two photos, then later on did another shoot and entered another photo. Then recently, I did another fast shoot and squeezed in two more photos, so five in total from three different shoots, weeks apart. I don't think I did anything great, but I did have fun! So if you see utterly silly looking photos (if they post some of them like last time), then yeah, probably mine. Since I can't do beautifully lit/posed/dressed photos, I go for fun. ^_^

 

I think having a big fancy camera and a lighting set-up can really make for better photos... But I'm too cheap and lazy for all that...

I DO have some inexpensive photo lights, though. I mostly take indoor photos because they are quick and easy, so lighting is important. Even with those, I can't really get what i want...

I have a small point-and-shoot, so I can't do really sharp focus with a narrow field of view that you can get with the SLRs... Mine is a Canon with the best zoom I could get in something that is small and flat. Zooms aren't useful for doll photos, but are good for just about anything else, and my phone won't zoom worth beans... Otherwise it's almost as good using my phone, which is to say, the camera isn't that great. But I can adjust the shutter speed and f-stop... not that I know what I'm doing with that, but in the crappy indoor lighting, even with camera lights, I need everything I can get!

----

I'd totally miss the photo deadline if I didn't send off the photos I had right away. I'm so absent-minded these days that I just can't even count on making any kind of deadline... Usually I either get lucky or I don't!

But I think taking the photos for fun is the main thing. The contest only helped to get me to actually change my guy's clothes and snap some quick shots.. Otherwise he'd be sitting around for another year in the same outfit!!! --And I recently got that new outfit, so that also got me to move and take some photos.

 

I'm kinda curious to see if any of my guys will do that...probably not. Oh yes, I nearly forgot about that. :P

Fantastic photo Sigune. It's really sweet.

Jade's outfit is very pretty LuckyXIII, and the photo's not that bad. The camera I use is a Canon Powershot D20 (I think the D30 is the newest model). It's an underwater camera though, so the only macro setting it has is for underwater stuff. Not ideal for dolls really. But hey, it works quite well in low light.

 

Oooh, I'm so curious about the contest pictures, I hope Granado shows us all the submitted ones I don't dare post rejected pictures from my set, because they all look pretty much the same (I tried to do something more dynamic, but let's admit it, I always just end up with portrait pics ><).

[MENTION=56197]Sigune[/MENTION] - Awww, I'm so sorry that you missed the deadline, it's such a beautiful moment you captured there... I also had almost a full week delay before I decided on what to submit (really wanted to redo the photoshoot, but the weather was fully non-cooperative). Maybe they'll do another contest next year? That would be awesome

[MENTION=40755]LuckyXIII[/MENTION] - WoW, Jade's outfit is awesome! As for cameras...I use an Olympus Pen E-PL3. It may be an interchangeable-lens camera (not a DSLR though), but I've been just using the kit lens ever since I got it and it works nicely for dolls. Anyway, I just recently looked up a ton of BJD-adequate point'n'shoot cameras for a friend on a really tight budget, so if you don't mind I could shoot you a PM with the ones I found that could work

 

I really like the contests because they make me actually sit down and make stuff for the dolls and finish it I love reading about people's cameras! I've thought about upgrading but I look at the prices for the good ones and think, "I could get a doll for that price..."

 

Thanks for the comment on Jade's outfit. I love it so much.

Also, thanks to everyone giving their 2cts about cameras. I can't afford to get one now (i'm a bit behind on some bills due to some medical things popping up), but I'd like to know what to look for.

 

Do you have a tripod? A good tripod is much, much less than a new camera and does wonders for doll pictures, especially in low light.

 

I actually have daylight bulbs in my room, so it's very bright. Which is why I don't get why my pics come out dark if I don't use flash. I even play with the settings but that only works if I'm doing close ups. For full body, only flash ones come out.

 

My advice about the tripod still stands. But it sounds like you're still using the macro setting for full body shots, which is why it's not focusing without the flash.

 

Yes, this! It took me a while to figure out why things were messed up when I did that.

Something I also found out is that I can use the zoom (even with the macro) and stand across the room and get a less-distorted full body shot. (A tripod here, or in my case an easel, really helps). Also for me the exposures that were washing out, got fixed when I did the zoom.

 

Nope, not using the macro setting. I have used the regular general (auto) setting, which if the flash doesn't go off I get blurry pics. I have also used the setting where you can pick the type of setting you are taking a picture of (portrait, landscape, flowers, bright sun, children etc.) all are blurry without flash. I'll think about getting a tripod. I did have one once, but it was a mini one.

 

I agree with the above wholeheartedly. I took a peek at what camera you - LuckyXIII - use, and it has no image stabilization, and no control over shutter or aperture priority so you can't even compensate for it. If your camera thinks it's too dark, it's pretty much guaranteed to take blurry pics. Now if you have a tripod (or even a stack of books, anything that you can rest the camera on), you can just turn off the flash and let it take the picture as slow as it wants

I'm a huge advocate of the notion that one doesn't need to have a fancy camera to take really good dolly pictures, but there are some things that can really make a difference even in compact cameras. So just for future reference, I'd definitely go for a camera that allows shutter/aperture priority and even manual settings. And as wide an aperture as possible. A nice image stabilization system is also really helpful. Or I'd go with a MILC with the above specs, and that means a bigger sensor, too - much more useful in low-light or indoor situations, than any kind of huge-ass lense on a compact camera (that said, my dislike for bridge cameras borders on irrational, so that might be my prejudice speaking. They are so ridiculously overpriced, in my opinion).

 

[MENTION=40755]LuckyXIII[/MENTION] - Ooo, I got to blabbing so much and lost track, and forgot to mention how much I like that dress for Jade! Really nice corset!

As for cameras... I don't know. I stole my husband's camera years ago and never given it back. lol It's an old Canon Rebel XTi. I use the 18 - 55mm lens and set the dial to no flash, then just point and shoot pretty much. I do ping the light meter of the brightest object first. But really... I could never wrap my head around the whole f-stop ratio mumbo jumbo. I fail at physics.
But the biggest advice I can give is: go outdoors. Best on a mostly cloudy day. That ambient light bouncing all around really makes for great dolly photo lighting, no matter the doll. Indoor shots are just way too much work.

 

Well, darn. I ran out of time for the photo contest. /sadface. I never got my gym props finished! haha... oh well. I can still take some pictures for you guys, though!

 

Take pictures for us! I never get tired of that big hunk of cuteness!

 

[MENTION=40755]LuckyXIII[/MENTION]: sorry to bust in here unannounced, but I was wondering what ISO/light sensitivity you have set your camera to (adjusting aperture and shutter speed if possible might help too)? I know that if I have mine (a simple Samsung PL20 point and shoot) set on too low ISO, like 200, that's great for bright outdoors circumstances but indoors pics are dark and unfocused (because due to the low light the shutter speed takes forever and my hands aren't that steady that I can hold perfectly still for 2 whole seconds) if I don't put the flash on or adjust the setting. I usually manually set it to 400 or 800 ISO for indoors shots, that slightly increases the chance of noise appearing in the pic, but it's heaps better than blurry and dark shots due to too low light. My camera shows on-screen if the light is too low, any decent camera should do that, so you should be able to tell easily if you need to adjust your ISO. Auto-adjust settings are in my experience usually crappy and barely differ from bright-sunny-outdoors settings aka not good for indoor photography. Good luck, your doll is beautiful even with flash.

On topic: Hey guys, I don't have a Granado (yet) but am considering Jaden. Could I see some more Jaden, particularly with custom faceup? The default really obscures his features IMO, particularly the shape of his eyes. I'm thinking of getting a Jaden in tan somewhere down the line and hybriding him on a Dollstown18 male body or maybe EID or something but I don't even know if it would fit^^;;.

 

Shuri- Dollstown necks are 10.5 and Granado's are 11. I think you'd have a little gaping with the Dollstown but someone on this board has a Granado/Dollstown hybrid and it's really pretty. However, I'm not sure what matches Granado's tan. Maybe someone else knows, though! I'm pretty sure Iplehouse EID boys have 12.5 necks so you'd probably have to mod if you want a Granado head on one of those bodies.

 

The biggest problem with the Iplehouse dolls is that the neck doesn't just go up in a column, it makes a mushroom at the top so you have to either sand for days or actually shorten the things, which immediately makes your resale value drop dramatically.

Buuut the Impldoll new Idol body just happens to be the same general size and shape as the Iplehouse EID and the neck is designed for hybriding. Just saying. But you need one of the bigger heads to go on that body--I think someone said Jaden is a pretty big head? Otherwise you can look at the Impldoll Star body. Impldoll will color match for you for an additional 50 USD as well.

That said, I still love the Granado bodies so much more and then you would know they would match in color and size. And in the end the price difference wouldn't be that much more.

 

SQUEE photo contest results are up!! And there are lots of great photos--here are the general entries:
http://doll-granado.com/xe/12725
I think the winners are on the site too, I haven't had a chance to scoot around and collect the urls..

Congrats to everyone who entered!

 

The links are all in the news announcement:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...RANADO-Photo-Contest-2015-Result-announcement


CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! There were a whole lot of great photos entered (and I know they didn't show all of them)!
It's so good to see so many dolls that I recognize from around here! ^___^

 

aernath I saw more of your guys with the dragon! So many great photos..now we can put them up other places too! This one was the favorite of mine that I entered:



I ended up painting a really large piece of cardboard (a "4 way mirror box" that movers use for big framed mirrors) and I was able to use parts of it for the background of all the Mads/Ereshkigal photos I took. So I now have a background, a table prop, and clothes I wouldn't have made without the contest ...and yes, I bought a body today because I had the coupon

I think I saw some photos by Charon too--he makes some impressive clothes!

 

Ooooh, I got a second place!!!! I think I already know who will be coming home with that coupon (if they bring him back XD)

There were so many beautiful pictures - I recognized quite a few dollies from around here!!
[MENTION=16841]fishcake[/MENTION] - your set is so gorgeous, I saw the picture in the montage and went OMG

I think this one was my favourite from my set:



Because it's not a portrait. Ha!

 

Congratulations to everyone who entered! There are some fabulous photos.

 

That was actually my favorite of your set too, [MENTION=13225]Smaug[/MENTION] ! It's got a lot of good action in it, and he looks so badass! ^_^ I love seeing his ears though! Wonderful pointy ears...
[MENTION=16841]fishcake[/MENTION] - Wow! That's your guy?! I was zeroing in on him in the montage too. Awesome looking guy!!! Nice setup and feel to it all. We need to see more photos of him now.

I want to see [MENTION=58178]Snowy[/MENTION] 's pix of Nihlus. The picture is too small to see well in the montage.

Yup, Charon's guys are easy to spot!

I floundered around a bit, and couldn't think of anything good to do with the boys. I had ideas, but they just didn't come out the way I'd hoped. The bottom right photo of the montage, and the bottom left are from my first two shoots ((Titan attacking through a sanctuary window, and attacking a dirt dragon - we had our water line replaced and the front yard torn up and looking like a long dirt snake). I really just got lucky with the dragon head coming in at the right time.

What sculpt (and whose is that) is the seventh down on the left-hand side of the montage? Anyone know? I like him, but can't recognize the sculpt.

 

[MENTION=13225]Smaug[/MENTION] I loved that whole set--I could feel the cold! I'm so glad others thought it was wonderful too! [MENTION=9171]aernath[/MENTION] I think he is one of the V series, maybe 5? He looks so good! I hope everyone posts their entries in here..like aernath I want to see Nihlus larger.

 

I think he's the V-06, just not on the Titan body. I knew which one you were talking about without even having to count.

Lots of wonderful entries! I'm sure it was hard to choose.

 

Congrats, Smaug -- fantastic photos! Getting action shots is always impressive--and in the snow, it's just gorgeous!

Congrats to everyone who entered. Love yours, fishcake!

I hope you all post more of your photos!

...and you all know which ones are mine---

... hmmm... looks like I should re-set his eyes a bit. geesh. I'm so sloppy when I take doll pictures!