Modification In pursuit of Madam Vastra...

A saga of too much imagination, uncharted deep waters and great mentors.

Since her first appearance on Dr. Who, I've loved the Silurian character Madam Vastra. As a Victorian era loving, detective story reading, costuming seamstress/aging demon {me}, this Victorian detective with a twist is just my cup of tea. ;} I have wished a minimee group would form for getting her head made in SD BJD size and that I'd have the funds to participate.

This past year, I enjoyed watching ChilmarkGryphon's nicely presented doll mod project journal. As I finished a Victorian costume for one of my girls this past month, a wild thought drifted in...wouldn't it be lovely to actually dress Madam Vastra? Which led to a concept thread I posted...
/threads/where-should-i-look-seeking-madam-vestra.835319/
Some great ideas and suggestions were made. And I got more serious about the idea.

ChilmarkGryphon asked if I was looking for a premade printed head or something to modify. Thinking how to answer this really got me thinking. After a couple of days of thinking about how she'd fit in with my dolls, browsing doll sites for options, thinking on sizes of heads, and glancing at the mp here, an idea began to form. Perhaps I could modify a head to create the character I've been wishing for...yikes!

Thanks to Chilmark and my friend Maryfairy5, who are both sculptors with experience and diverse skills, who have fielded my questions and encouraged me to go for it. They haven't told me to stop & rethink this mad idea...have offered to mentor me as I learn new skills...and with their help the Vastra project has begun.

Since I don't know what I'm getting myself into, the to do list will need updating as I go. But to begin with this is what I have:
1) Settle on a head & body combination. [Supia Jacob, Granado Nuevo]
2) Make a plan for sculpting and painting head, neck and hands/arms
3) Learn how to do said sculpting
4) Acquire head & body [head's here!]
5) Don't panic, practice working with Epoxy sculpt.
6) Allow more time for everything to work out
7) Sculpt Silurian mods onto head, neck and hands/arms
8) Plan clothes
9) Make clothes
10)Start on Jenny Flint

And here we go!
First I was thrilled to discover just how many great photos of Madam Vastra there are on the internet! From every angle, and photos of the actress under the mask helped me to settle on what I was looking for.



After looking at Impl's Jayla {too small} and Cornelia {not enough face detail for my taste & would need some modifying}; I did a long look through the mp & found Supia Jacob fs. He has a pretty face that's tempted me before. I have a Supia Rosy in my Steampunk Victorian clan. Her head is on the small side which had me hopeful that Jacob wouldn't be too large for the role of a female Silurian joining the steampunk clan. Learning Neve McIntosh, the actress, is 5'10" helped reassure me that the Granado Nuevo body as a 63cm doll would be a good look as well as potentially a good fit for the Jacob head.

In one of the speediest mp transactions of my DoA experience, Jacob arrived today. (Thanks Stormyhorse!!!!) Being a doll with magnetic interchangeable ears makes it much simpler for me to visualize how this is going to work. Nice cheekbones, just enough strength to the chin...


Neve McIntosh preparing to transform:


And Jacob fitting perfectly on my Ordoll Sui's Granado body!!! Good range of motion. Neck doesn't look too thin. Head doesn't look out of proportion.


And a nice height with my Elfdoll Sooah:


For now Vastra will borrow the body while I make plans. But when possible I will have to get another Granado body to modify for her.

I was hoping to not worry about the color of epoxy sculpt. Chilmark's use of Krylon paint to evenly color their Bobobie after modifications had really impressed me. But, after an evening spent learning about the available colors of spray paints...(Krylon does not offer enough shades of green in matte finish...) and another day spent learning a smattering about Aves Apoxy Sculpt vs Magic Sculpt (Aves has yellow and green which I could mix for a good epoxy sculpting color. MS may work by mixing green with tan or white but they have no yellow) the plan now is to learn just what epoxy sculpting entails and try out both products before starting any actual modifications. {In other words, this project may take a while.}

I've also discovered why the director didn't alter Neve's natural eye color. Jacob uses 12mm eyes, the same size as my Supia Rosy does. I have a pair of Eyeco soft eyes in Light Blue which I tried as well as a pair of Dollmore acrylic golden brown eyes. The brown eyes just disappear in her face while the blue eyes add that piercing gaze of Vastra. I want to check for komodo dragon eye possibilities but may stick with the Eyeco eyes, maybe in an even lighter blue gray. (I used to have a pair...)


Now to go rummage through the project journals for more sculpting tips before peppering my dear mentors with too many questions!

 

Morri_P. thanks for cheering me on!

 

Teddy, XD & . It may be a project too far that is for sure! But what the heck! Worst comes to worst I'll play with epoxy the next several months & then pester Maryfairy5 for proper lessons whenever I get a chance to see her. ;}

Hiromi, I'll need all the help I can get so the face structure being so close felt like a sign to give this project a go. Now whether I can learn to sculpt scales well enough while keeping the epoxy thin enough to not lose the face will be a trick for sure. Looking at the head as she stands among my dolls I'm thinking that building out the side crests will be good for rounding her head & making her look less elongated. Hmm...we can hope!

Gamine, you & ChilmarkGryphon have been posting such inspiring project journals lately! The creativity was infectious & nudged me into this. XD
My poor mentors have already offered excellent advice as I imagine all the ways this can go wrong. And my computer has accumulated cookies that will need cleared from spray paint research & resin discussions & tutorials. It isn't fabric, so I'm way beyond my comfort zone. But happily DoA is a great place for giving such projects a try.

thedarkstar13, Silurians have appeared a few times in Dr. Who episodes, as an alternate intelligent reptilian life form on earth. The actress has played three different Silurian roles, each with slightly different coloring to the makeup she wears. Madam Vastra has appeared in several episodes over a couple of the later Doctors. I loved the combining of a sci-fi twist with the Victorian Steampunk where the writers have placed her. Plus she wears lovely purple & black Victorian bustles...which is why I want to get the green about right, as green & purples can work so nicely together.

IndigoFrogs, thank you! It's so exciting to imagine, isn't it?!? Now as to the execution....we shall see how many missteps I discover as I proceed...

 

ziggymoon, thanks! All the planets seem to have aligned for this beginning. Now, over the year, we shall see just what I can learn about sculpting scales & crests...

 

Once I had settled on the Jacob head, I got serious about thinking what supplies I would need. In the back of my head there was a debate going on as to whether a perfectly good doll body would be sacrificed to the role of being a green reptilian.
Learning that Krylon Fusion is sorely lacking in good greens in their matte spray paints was disappointing. From experience Chilmark kindly advised me to avoid other brands as the bond to resin wouldn't be reliable enough. And who wants a finished doll they can't dress & handle??
The next day of epoxy resin 101 gave me new hope as I learned there are green epoxies on the market.
From all of this I've decided that I'll (attempt to) do the green modifications on the head & neck. If all goes well, I'll proceed to also add green to the hands and forearms. I was worried about how to deal with the wrist ball joints but Maryfairy5 pointed out that I could sculpt alternate green resin ball joints for Vastra so they fit & the color won't wear off. If all isn't going well, often in the Dr Who episodes Vastra goes out & about wearing gloves to disguise her scales...so that is the backup option. ;}
But, unless I learn I really love resin sculpting & feel inspired (pipe dreams!), the rest of the body will remain as the company made her for ease of dressing & limiting the modification risks. Which settles the debate as to coloring the body.
Good news is I won't need to worry about resin matches between head & body companies...instead it will depend on resin matches of how I mix the epoxy colors as I work.

My next task is to learn where to buy said epoxies & acquire enough to practice.
Make some sketches from the collected Vastra images to get an idea how to plan her sculpt.
Watch some dragon sculpting tutorials. And then begin to practice on a flat surface before moving on to a practice run. Now where'd I put that bjd size styrofoam wig form head that came with a wig a couple years ago...

Thanks for all the support everyone! My non bjd family is greatly concerned by this recent project proposal so having like minded friends to share it with is a treat.

 

Good point Teddy. I'll keep that in mind as a body is a ways down the list. But the neck for & proportion on the Granado body is really nice... Resinsoul (I think it was) has made a gorgeously well sculpted muscular 72cm male body. And they have green resin. If it were available at 63cm it would be tempting as I suspect Silurian bodies aren't as mammalian as the actress ...but sadly all their other bodies haven't gotten a similar attention to detail & are disappointing. :/
There's time to see what else pops up.

On the positive side, I just located the styrofoam sd size head a wig came on a couple years ago. It's now added to the Vastra work pile for future epoxy practice.

 

VampireAngel13, don't apologize, all your experience is greatly appreciated!!!!
And all good thoughts.
So far, the head seems almost small in proportions to the body & my Elfdoll girls so I'm hoping that means it will be about right with the mods. But since I'm a seamstress, not a sculptor it's all theoretical until I get further along. ;D
I like the 63cm height and will keep an eye out for body options while I'm practicing.

On the Aves site, the good news is they have both green & yellow. Which I'm hoping to mix for a better color. And the yellow is on sale! But it is only available in a 1lb or larger tub...so I'll have plenty to practice with... ;}
Sure wish I could find more Apoxy Sculpt sculpting tutorials to learn what I should & shouldn't do in building her crests. Time to pull out that sculpey modeling book my son & I used years ago...

 

Thanks phoenyxashe!
I'm imagining it all in my head, then need to do some practice runs. Was thinking of building up the crests, with wire support, perhaps using the super glue under the clay in those areas, then building up the outer face shape & nose before (hopefully) spreading a thin outer skin over everything including her lips & eyes where I'll do the texturing and add the linear scale markings. So smooth & pliable for that thin top coat would be ideal & then catching it at the right curing stage for the texture will be the adrenaline crisis stage. ;}

Since I've yet to get that far, feel free to toss experiences & wisdom at me!!!!
I'm going to try a sculpy mockup (there used to be some around here...) Before moving on to Aves practice.

I'm also thinking I can mix all of the Aves color I'll be using first, as it does not begin to set until you add the other part. And just saw a tip that when I start I can mix the two parts together, separate the clay into workable chunks & freeze the ones I'm not immediately using. We shall see!

 

Thanks FastFeet! I'm excited & nervous to figure out the sculpting but loving the head I found & how it moves on the body I hope to use. ;}
I've about convinced myself that my Elfdoll Sooah can cosplay as Jenny for now. Have located my sculpey from long ago but not ready to try any sculpting for a couple more weeks.

 

Good point Ipledreamer. I was thinking about weight & balance as I contemplate ordering a couple pounds of Apoxy Sculpt.
I definitely need to learn more about building up the structure of her crests. Whether to try doing well balanced epoxy constructs or a crushed foil shape covered by thin layers of the epoxy. Getting the head back on & off is another point as the magnets are strong & the fit much closer than many of my dolls.

This is why it's a good thing my schedule is keeping me from dashing along too fast. Better to think it through & receive all the advise I can before practicing on something else before getting to her head.
The current range of motion of the Jacob head on the Nuevo body is the best I've ever had & no nagging flopping to one side or the front as some of my dolls did before I discovered silicone kips. I'll definitely have to keep the weight in mind as I work.
Now to go read your journal.

 

Hmm...trying to get the hang of photobucket on my phone...since the photos are usually already on my phone.
Got logged in but haven't found the photo share links so far.
Anyway, I enlarged & printed off photos of Vastra & the Jacob head at a similar size. The overlay is as good as I could have hoped! I've done one quick color pencil mock up of the crests & some of the scales on the Jacob photo and the results are doable so far.
I still have to wait a couple weeks before starting any practice sculpting. Which will give me plenty of time to get around to sketching the face with the scales a few more times... sooner or later... ;}

 

Figuring it out...


Perhaps I'll get the hang of this.

 

This week I have learned
1: The photobucket app for my phone is not worth the trouble so far. :/
2: Not to panic when my photos disappear from a specific photobucket album I had set up. (Whew! apparently the photos are still on my photobucket account so the links haven't broken for this saga)

In case you were wondering, this project is still percolating along. Between the weather & the return to work there has been more cogitating than action happening on the Vastra front. Please bear with me. ;D

The Jacob head, Mei Xing's Granado body and 2 of my Elfdoll girls have traveled across country with me to my spring job. When we arrived, the Apoxy Sculpt I ordered was waiting. And soon after Maryfairy convinced me to consider an Iplehouse SID body she had for Vastra. (An offer I couldn't refuse...similar size, no waiting for an order, the price was right, and it should be sturdier for supporting the weight of the modified head plus the broader shoulders should work better and the color of the resin doesn't matter as the neck & arms/hands will be green when I finish anyway.)

Here's the Jacob head perched on the Iplehouse neck alongside the Elfdoll girls who stand in for the size of my steampunk clan which Vastra will be joining.

And the issue with the neck...


Its interesting that the Granado & Iplehouse bodies are the same height from bottom of their feet to the tops of their necks. BUT the Iplehouse neck is a cm longer which means her shoulders are actually a cm lower than Granados...


To get the head to sit well on the Iplehouse neck I am going to use the Granado neck for a reference in reshaping it. The Iplehouse neck needs shortened a cm and then reshaped. I felt like a little kid, getting to mark up the resin with a pencil...crazy to be changing a perfectly good body to make it fit! But, that's what mods are all about. ;} I get to go visit a good friend this week who is a jeweler. She is going to help me with the top slice on the neck. And then I will begin carving and sanding the neck to reduce the thickness. Iplehouse necks are a cm thicker as well as a cm longer.


Last night I took a little time to actually work on Vastra! Because my taste in BJDs run more toward the Elfdoll kind of sculpts, the Jacob eyes were a bit too small for me. And once I added the apoxy skin I was afraid they might seem even smaller. So step one was comparing the head to my Elfdoll Sooah. It looks like adding about 3/8" to each side of Vastra's head with the side crests will give her head a similar fullness to the Elfdoll with wig.


Measuring and sketching in the changes for the eye enlargement showed me that it wasn't a huge change but it was still a bit nerve wracking to carve and sand and take off just enough. When I finished the Eyeco eyes she had been wearing no longer seemed quite right...fortunately Sooah accepted a different pair of flat back glass eyes so that Vastra could have her larger Eyeco eyes.


Along with the Iplehouse body, Maryfairy sent along a bag of sculpting tools as a gift!!! If only I were at her house to work on the sculpting...this project would be moving along much quicker! Here is what I've pulled together along with the Apoxy colors I plan to mix for a yellowy green Vastra skin plus the tools Maryfairy sent. The dark leather in the center is emu Maryfairy sent along as a texture reference.


For now I will use the excuse of being busy with work to put off the unknown challenge of sculpting. In the meantime, I'll practice playing with the apoxy and start drawing in the grid of her scales on the head.
I used my fingers to approximate her crests last night but this morning in looking again at the reference photos I see that they wont be as thick as I was imagining (bit more of a base that wide rising to a narrow ridge). Will also need to think some more on how the head cap will still be removable as I plan the shape of the crests... Those reference photos will save me from many a mistake in the long run.

 

The acquisitions made it seem doable. The Doing will be the challenge. ;D
I just mixed up a bit of the magic sculpt Mary sent me & started on the smallest egg. It's actually fun to work with!!! I've been dreading the time frame for how long you have to sculpt before it hardens. And getting the details balanced. If I can convince myself it is fun I may get further on her this spring.

 

Hi maxxxamillion. This sculpting thing is definitely a new skill learning process for me.
I'm just a seamstress who really wants Vastra. ;}
Fortunately I inherited the crafty gene from my grandma who would try anything long enough to do it well before moving on...and I did enjoy sculpting a figure in fimo once while encouraging my son...and ChilmarkGryphon made her resinsoul/bobobi mod look so doable...and my friend Maryfairy may not live nearby but is a quick text away & a long time sculptor. So feel free to add info! That's what I think project journals are useful for: sharing knowledge & experiences.
Yesterday I used a bit of the magic sculpt Mary had sent & sculpted the ridges on the smallest paper egg. It was a relief to learn the clay is very workable to begin with, then will go through the stage when I hope to carve scales in the skin and it was a much longer workable time than I expected. Today the resin is nice & dry & from this first attempt I can see I'll need to plan a bit on the back points of the crests so that I will still be able to get her headcap on & off.
I'm going to use the rest of the magic sculpt today on this first test, try carving scales & adding over the ridges I made. After that I'll start practicing with the Aves Apoxy Sculpt.

I bought 2 lbs of the Apoxy Sculpt so there should be plenty for me to do another practice run or two before I get to the real deal. Using the Apoxy Sculpt for the next practice head will give me a better understanding of it's drying times & my work time frame.
My plan with the Aves is to mix the two colors until I've got a color I like for the final project. Then if there's any left over unmixed color I'll use that first for the next practice. I won't mix in hardener until I need it of course.

I did watch a few videos when first deciding to jump into this project. The heavy metal guy, an artist making dragon masks and the Aves intro were all good for getting an idea what I was getting into. I have a bottle of the special smoother fluid from Aves as they all recommended using it. And i wore plastic gloves ystrdy while working to minimize fingerprints & other issues as I got that also from the videos.

Mostly I need to take the time to really sketch & pay attention to the Vastra mask as the more I look at it the more I see the artist did a very specific radiating grid for her scales which would help with my need for things to be symmetrical & balanced.

 

Thanks! Those were really helpful tips. Although getting me to pay attention to time....well that will mean the dolls are getting me to do another one of those things I don't enjoy...(almost as much as sewing button holes. XD) but I'll try. ;}
My attempt today was putting a thin skin over the ridges I made ystrdy. (It is indeed satisfyingly solid once it cures) this is still using magic sculpt as I had a small sample of it. I learned that marking in scale details & then going back to reshape facial details just mushed up the scales. But I liked working with it in the softer form as it was like what I'm used to from fimo. Wasn't sticky so now I'm curious to see how differently the Apoxy Sculpt is to work with.

I'm also realizing that I will need something for the ridges to rest on while they cure as they should stand away from the back of the head. My first attempt they slumped with gravity before curing. And I was remembering that vaseline on plastic wrap was mentioned in a few of the videos I watched to keep it from sticking to the temporary support.
Good to know vegetable oil is another option. And I'll remember your earning about the smoothing agent.

 

Teddy, my concern was the points which start on her face & end free standing in back...but now that you mention it...I will need to rest her on something while the scales below her jawline set. Hmm....
Maxxxamillion I'm thinking crumpled foil with oiled cling wrap may help with the crests.
Mostly, now that my first practice is done I've learned that sketching beginning & ending points on the actual head will be a big help when starting. A blank egg & my imagination created something scifi like & taught me a lot. Photos soon.

 

Body surgery begun. Yesterday, outside in the wind while wearing a mask, I learned how a dremel works...lots of resin dust!!! And it's a good thing I'll be covering it with Apoxy scales... ;}
My friend had a cordless dremel but had never used it for cutting. I bought the cutting disks & we learned while I performed the neck-ectomy. Now I need to do lots of sanding to reshape the cut edge. Another windy day outside wearing my mask will take care of that I hope!

(Photobucket was apparently doing an upgrade the other day. My attempts to add new photos failed. Hopefully soon I'll be able to update the photo progress)

 

Wise suggestions my friend. But after chopping some I thought it best in this case to get back to hand sanding which I have better control over. ;}.
I'll go back up to visit my friend in two weeks so if the sanding proves daunting I can always try the dremel again. But maybe not the cutting disc next time!! :O

Thanks maxxxamillion!!!

 

Well....the dremel was a learning experience...cutting the height off the neck went fine. But then I got a bit confident & tried shaving the neck. Good thing she's going to get epoxy over that!


Today I took advantage of another sunny, windy day to sit outside & wet sand the neck. Used an exacto knife to help reduce the thickness of the neck, and sanded some more. Also kept in mind the advice about making the neck thinner than what fits the head so that the added epoxy won't make it too wide for the head to sit down properly. Hopefully this is about right.





Now that the neck is reshaped & she's restrung & the head sits on the neck, I think the neck needs to be a bit longer...but adding epoxy at the top of the neck will fix that problem while making sure the peach resin doesn't show.


She is standing barefoot on flat feet next to the Elfdoll ladies who are both wearing heeled boots. So I think her height will be about right once I get her a pair of the Iplehouse Victorian boots.

Body and head now fit together. But before I start sculpting on her I will be doing more practicing.

 

Photos from my previous sculpting practice. (Photobucket is finally back up & running!)
I started by trying out making the bases for three ridges on a spare paper egg.


This stuff dries so rock solid! It is exciting but also daunting to plan well to limit sanding & chiseling later...

Next day I add a thin skin layer & then got carried away with adding a mouth & a nose ,etc...which put the ridges from the day before in the wrong location for the proper head. But this is just a really rough sketch while I play around with a small sample of putty Maryfairy had given me.



For one thing, as I said, I learned I'll need to support the back tips of the ridges or finish working them when the epoxy is beginning to stiffen. And work from the photos of Vastra on more sketches to understand where the ridges are actually located on the head to show well while not interfering with the head cap.
As I reworked the head on the second day I added the skin flaps between the ridges which helps them look better and added more epoxy to adjust the angle. But doing so after I'd marked in the scales taught me to plan better as it flattened out other details I'd sculpted...Rough sketch for sure!
The scale markings are from trying a couple of the tools Maryfairy had sent me along with a small tube I found in my sewing kit. Never know what will come in handy my Grandma always said as she saved all sorts of odds & ends. ;}

But, as maxxxamillion pointed out I will want to keep the volume of epoxy used to a minimum and watch the placement of the ridges so that the balance of the head on the neck doesn't become a problem. This first sketch is definitely way too heavy towards the back.

I'm saving a piece of Styrofoam which appeared with the idea of cutting it to fit the back opening of the head & maybe angle out the Styrofoam so that the crests tips resting on it will be supported & flared out a bit as the epoxy sets.

So next step will be deciding how much of the Apoxy Sculpt is extra for the next practice head. I plan to practice next on a styrofoam head which came with a wig as it has features already molded for me to work over. (Obviously I'm not ready for prime time when it comes to sculpting a head from scratch!!!) And I'll do some sketching from the photos of Vastra to better understand the arrangement of her ridges and the lines of her scales before doing any practice sculpting.

Slowly but surely the possibility of making Vastra begins to seem doable. I hope...

 

Thanks tinyseams!
Right now im neck deep in real world work- modifying a normally interactive & theatrical hat shop for the current situation- yikes!
Good thing Vastra is patient. ;}

 

Proceeding at the pace of a glacier in the Ice Age...I finally spent a couple hours the last couple of weeks on the Vastra project!!!
First free time was spent in mixing up a light green with from the yellow and dark green which were available...
And photobucket has changed the image sharing process again!?!?!?
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20210416_184914430_2.
<a href="IMG_20210416_184914430_2" target="_blank"><img src="https://hosting.photobucket.com/ima...4914430_2.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds" border="0" alt="IMG_20210416_184914430_2"/></a>
Let me know if clicking on either link works. Or let me know what I need to do for this latest "improvement"...

Anyway, the yellow green is nice but will need some goldy brown tones. Either adding some color to the apoxy or in dry brushing the blushing later on.
In the meantime that is set aside while I use the rest of the green to practice with.

 

On a muggy, hot day the apoxy was quite easy to work with once I mixed small amounts of the clay and the activator. Like maxxxamillion said there was a time frame for working with it. It was almost too soft the first 30 minutes, great for another 30 minutes, and then started getting sticky. So after forming crests and working on textures I quit as I was having trouble keeping the crest points upright. Tried freezing it, which solidified the apoxy but then it was quickly malleable again when I brought it back out into my warm workroom. Using alcohol worked great for smoothing. And after trying various supports like pins and foil I finally realized that setting it upside down on a small cup was the best way to retain the shape while the apoxy set.

Looking at more Vastra images later, I see that the center crest will need to be taller and narrower. That her forehead is blocked out a bit squarer coming down from the upper side crests. And that I'm still confused as to what order to build the sculpt in, layer over her face first & let that set before building the crests? Or crests and then the skin as I tried this time? Hopefully next week I'll have another chance to work on this practice head, to see if I can blend in the lower face details & to try building up the crest shape.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20210503_173957613_2.jpg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20210503_173852552_2.jpg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20210503_173843229.jpg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20210503_173836778_2.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/Vastra-2.jpg

Onward!

 

Teddy, does the direct link work? These constant changes are maddening! @@
I did discover the album had reverted to private & fixed that...

 

How about now? :P

 

Woot! Looks like I've solved the riddle.
But it didn't add the final actual Vastra image...
This is the goal. ;}

 

Thanks Teddy! Now if I can just figure out this sculpting riddle as easily! ;}
Clearly I need to get more of the images printed and pinned up to study as I work on her as I make assumptions from memory that I then have to correct. This learning new things process is a lot of work! ;}
And in the meantime real life work has returned with an unexpected flurry which is seriously cutting into my creative free time. :0

 

Thanks maxxxamillion! I meant to only build the under structure of the crests but then couldn't help but add texture. Next practice will be seeing if I can rebuild over whats here and what is the best timing for getting that tall center crest to keep from folding over.
I also learned that I could separate one of the finished side crests from the head while it was still curing, once my too critical eye realized it was out of balance. I reapplied it with white glue & super glue and figured I'd see if adding the rest of the facial skin would be enough to keep it set.
Hopefully working with the sculpted head will help keep the main lines symmetrical as I'm sadly one of those people who can't help but straighten frames on walls...and notice balance discrepancies...