Hi everyone! Thought I'd show you some progress photos of what I'm working on at the moment. The photos are pretty horrible, but that's not the point of this, so whatever. Also, please ignore the ears, I only put them there for fun, since I had a bit leftover clay when I decided to stop for the day, hahaha! It was also a good way of seeing how symmetrical/assymmetrical the head's jawline was. This isn't a new head to be honest, but since I have decided to really start out fresh and new, I started this new thread. I hope that's okay with the mods? If not, let me know. The head's first progress shots can be found here. As you can tell, he's way, way different now! Anyway, that's it for today, ciao!
Thanks a lot! Yes, I think I can call the lips finished, and the nose is mostly finished as well. So I'm satisfied.
My back collapsed on me for a few days last week, so sadly I was unable to sculpt, but now that I'm back in action, I've fiddled some with the little guy, haha. Pardon the horrible, horrible light, it's already dark here and I don't have any decent lamps, unfortunately. The light also made me realize his nostrils are totally off. 8D Way to go! As you can see, he got himself a second eye. It looks a bit off though, not sure what to do about that. Depending on the angle, it doesn't look all that bad actually. What do you guys think? I have also worked some on his forehead and cheeks. You probably can't tell, but.. yeah. The changes are there, haha.
Well I haz lip jelousy! His eye is def. a little off. I dont have good advice since the head I am working on has that problem as well, its driving me crazy! everytime I fiddle with it I seem to make it worse. My only advice is use a mirror to check your work continuously, and perhaps use the grid drawn on the face to guide for symmetry. I would like to hear others suggestions though.
Haha, thanks. :P And yeah, I'll start using a mirror from now on, cause I seriously go "blind" after a while of staring at the same damn thing for hours on end, haha. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind.
kwmelvin: Haha, thanks! I will. GuroDoll: HAHA, I make it look easy!? XD I've had sooo much trouble with this dude, it's not even funny, hahaha! But allright, thanks!
Time for another update! These photos aren't all that good.. and they're slightly outdated, as I have fiddled around some more with his eyes since they were taken. But oh well, have patience, new photos will come! :'D I can officially say that I absolutely HATE sculpting eyewells! It is so damn hard to get them symmetrical! Does anybody have any good advice on how to sculpt them? Perhaps a link to a decent tutorial? I am also having trouble seeing if he's horribly asymmetrical elsewhere or not, mostly because of the two different clays I've used. Been thinking about perhaps painting him all white at some point, just to see how good or bad it is... is that a bad idea if I have to work some more on him after I've painted him?
I don't know about the eyewells, since I'm also having some problems getting them right, but I keep practicing, so maybe some day? Anyway, after all that rambling, I've heard that it is easier to model the eyewells over some actual eyes, so you may want to try it? :confused: As far as paint goes, I've seen plenty of WIP pix with painted parts. Many people use Primer Paint. Not only does it help fill-in little dents and scratches, but they can sand it between applications of modeling clay? :confused: Here again, I'm mostly going by what I've read here at The Joint. Someone with actual experience may contradict everything I've posted here. Note that that doesn't stop me from posting!
Yeah, i think I've seen some people do their eyes like that... I'll see if I can try it for the next project, it feels like it's a bit too late for this project, since I'm mainly carving out the eyewells right now. Or, hmm.. I don't know. Blaaaah! XD Aaah yes, Primer Paint! Where can I find that? Is it a special brand of color? *runs off to google it*
Oh by the way, ever since I started using a mirror to look for asymmetrical issues, I have had to work like a madman on his features, cause damn, he looked totally off! But just now I took a look on him in Photoshop and mirrored an imagine of him and.. well, it doesn't look that bad now, does it? Trust me, it looked like complete SHIT before! Again, ignore the eyes, cause they don't look like that anymore.
....man, a lot of updates today, huh? I couldn't help myself, cause I got some advice from some friends on another site, so I sat down and fiddled some more with him. So, this is what he looks like now! As you can see, I have added more clay around the eyes to start over once it dries. I've also worked some more on his nose, which was cute, but a bit too small for his face. I personally think he looks manlier now, haha. HOWEVER... What do you guys think of his nose ridge? Too low? Or is it allright now?
He looks overall pretty symmetircal to me. the left lip is a little thinner? than the right perhaps. I know what you mean re the mirror thing - getting my head symmetrical is driving me crazy. Definitly paint with primer, it makes it so much easier to see the issues like sanding needed and symmetry. I use Mr Surfacer. I tried car primer, but that didnt work so well for me. Mr surfacer is great.
Luscious lips and a nice profile too I think before you modded the eyes they may have been just a bit too close together. The spacing is better now, but maybe they could be a tad larger? Otherwise, nice work )
glimmer: He does? Awesome, haha. I think I might have stared a little too much at him... But yes, something is indeed up with his lower lip, so I'll look into that. Okay, I'll see where I can find Mr Surfacer... Hmm. That or "gesso", cause I've talked to another swedish BJD artist who uses that and it seems to work well for her. So we'll see, but thanks for the tip! aneemal: Thanks! Haha, yeah, they were totally off... urgh! And yeah, I haven't worked on them at all, I've just put clay around them in order to close them a bit, so yuppers, they're going to be a bit bigger and detailed once I'm done.
It's looking great so far hun Love the lips! And yes, eyes are the most difficult part >.< Keep it up! : D
Blargh, having second thoughts about this little head, because it really is little. It's too small for an SD but too big for an MSD. D8 What do I do? Perhaps I should skip it altogether and start a whole new head? I am tempted to do that, actually.. But.. blah, I don't know. :T Opinions, anyone? EDIT: I mean, I could always try adding some more chin and add some more forehead and cheeks to him.. But would that really look okay? I don't know. D: EDIT2: Ahahaha, okay, comparing to my SOOM Chrom, he's only missing a tiny bit chin and some forehead... So I suppose he could still work out as an SD. XD;
I have this same size problem for my "sd" doll. She's 55cm but her head must be 6.5" (and going up) If it really is that small, then it's a damn shame. I'd say you should complete it anyway; there must be something he fits. I think he needs some emotion in his eyes. The nose was nicer when you had the bridge curved in, but a fuller bridge with that shape would be far more attractive. (And maybe a millimeter chopped off the tip of the nose too) His forehead is much better now that it's fuller, but I think the eyebrows need to be shaped with whatever emotion you're going to put in the eyes. That's the most fun area for me to sculpt. :XD Keep it up! He still looks great.
Jphobia: Thanks a lot for the input! I have worked on him since I last posted, so he's a bit different now, but I'll make sure to take a look at that nose. I got complaints from other forums that his nose looked weird with the way it was curved in, so that made me change it. Now I'm not sure what to do, haha! We'll see what happens. I'm not so sure what emotion I will be going for though... Hmm. Might have to ponder on that one for a while. Anyway, this is him today; His forehead + eyebrows aren't even halfway done, I have only added some clay and made some basic shapes. I have given him nostrils and worked some on the general nose shape. And, as you can see, he's got eyes! I went crazy with the knife and carved out big ass holes in his face (he looked like a scary skeleton ;_; ) and then put in the eyes and clayed 'em back up, then did the basic shapes you can see now. They're not even at all, I know, but I'm getting there. Also re-did part of his lips. That's it for now, dinner time!
glimmer: Thank you very much! :'D Glad I'm not the only one who thinks he looks calm and not.. sedated or something, haha!
Update Ahoy! As usual, I can't stay away from this little guy, haha. The more I work on him, the more I like him. I wish I knew his name though... Anyway, here are some photos of him from just ten minutes ago! As you can see, I fiddled with his eyes some more, removed the glass eyes and.. I'm pretty damn satisfied. Sure, they're not that perfect, but they're way, waaay better than any of the eyes I sculpted before! From now on, I will ALWAYS put the eyes in and sculpt around them on every project I ever start, hahaha! Still a little hesitant about his jawline - what do you guys think? Is it too round? Should I slim it down a bit? Not sure. I have also added the basic ear shapes, haha. They're not perfect either, but I think they are placed quiiiite okay, right? Other changes I've made are the right corner of his lips, some stuff on the forehead, the chin.. yeah. Minor differences, but they're there. Also, here are some pics of him with eyes in place... I... honestly can't believe I have sculpted this thing myself. XD Is it okay if I think he's pretty? XD; (Say no and I'll curse you, all voodoo-style, cause I have put down a looot of effort in this dude! :P )
Just a little something to show how he's, uh, evolved? Kinda fun to see how he went from cute and stylised to cute and.. a little less stylised? I like where he's going.
Thanks a lot! c: How do you mean, too thick? Would you mind illustrating what you meant, so I won't misunderstand? (English is not my first language, afterall. :P)
It's pretty hard to explain but it's how fat the eyelids are. But it might not be a problem, it might just be the photo. ^^;
Haha, okays. xD Well, they're still "under construction", so I'll see what I can do about that later on. ^^
I love his jaw and nose and mouth! I think there's something off around the eyes, though I'm not sure what. I think maybe the viewer's right eye is shaped differently than the left, maybe closer to the bridge of the nose and tilted slightly. He's lovely though! I understand the sizing issue... I have a head that's small for SD, but large for MSD. It annoys me.
Thank you very much! And yes, his eyes are a bit off indeed! I'm not sure which eye to change though, so we'll see what happens next! I won't be able to work on him until either tomorrow or on Monday. Yes, the sizing issue is really annoying. But when I compared him to my other dolls, he's got pretty much the same size as my SOOM Chrom! So all hope isn't lost yet, haha!
Maybe you could try priming him so he's all one color, then taking a photo and playing with it in photoshop to decide which side you like better? The two colors might be distracting you and making it harder to see what you're working with. Lately I've been playing in Photoshop a lot to try to get my symmetry right. It's helpful!
Yes, I have actually been thinking about doing that. But what primer is considered the best? A swedish girl I've been talking to a lot uses something called "gesso", which is a thick, white acrylic basecolor. It supposedly works really well, so I'm tempted to try that, but how is Mr Surfacer? And what about spray can primers? ....I should probably look this up in the Materials section... *runs off to do just that* (But if anyone feels like explaining - please do so!
Okay, so I have decided to get my hands on some gesso and coat the head with that first and then finish it all off with a layer or two of Mr Surfacer.
Gesso Gesso is one of the traditional art materials, dating from ancient times. Older types of gesso used a rabbit skin glue as a binder. Modern gesso is usually acrylic based, Mr. Surfacer is a lacquer based material. Ref: http://www.swannysmodels.com/Surfacer.html I find it somewhat annoying that the ingredients of some of these modern materials are not readily available to artists, for health and safety reasons.
I know, I know, still no new progress, but I decided I wanted to try putting him on a body, so here goes; This is him on a WS B&G Boy body Type 2. I think he looks really good on it to be honest. But it's a very big difference from the head that actually belongs with that body, my Migidoll Jina - the Jina looks like a real bubblehead compared to this guy, haha! I also tried him on a SOOM SG Male Body and, uuh, let's just say he looked weird on it xD; His head is a tiny bit too small for it, sadly.
Cool! He really fits quite well. How long(hight) is the head? XD There has been many ratio issues with dolls. I'm glad he fit in that body.
I think it looks very natural. Less of a stylised size and more like a real guy. I thought you meant he was ridiculously small!
Joankagami: Thanks! Um, I'm not sure what side to measure him on to be honest. XD; Jphobia: Thank you! Haha, no no, he's not ridiculously small, just - like you said - not very stylized in terms of size. I think he looks good like this. The problem is - will the rest of the hobbyists out there think the same? I can imagine people would overlook him because of him looking a bit weird together with dolls with bigger heads. Then again... I don't know, people might be waiting for this sort of thing? Who knows.
Top of head to the level of the chin --while on a stand/neck. I am basically asking for the hight of the head so I can compute head:body ratio-like in drawings. Souldoll made a 1/5(?) size bjd. 52cm tall http://www.souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=2023 http://souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=2047 I don't really know how many are already sold.
Matters what you think looks great. You'll always have me as a fan, and probably other people are looking for a more naturally proportioned doll too. I've seen threads on it both here and DoA. You'll always find a wig the right size for him aswell as there's just so many to choose from.
Joankagami: Oh, allright, as I thought then. Well, his head is 8 cm in height then, unless I did something terribly wrong. 8D; And yeah, I think those Souldoll dolls look awesome. I'm just not so sure they're selling allright? Haven't seen that many of them around. But I can imagine lots of mature mini doll collectors would find them interesting, as they are not quite MSD, not quite SD. Jphobia: Yeah, well, I think I like both really. Some bubbleheaded dolls are really cute that way, but when they go for a more realistic look.. I tend to like smaller heads. Or.. yeah. I dunno. XD; But I'm going to go with this head for now and see what happens. I'm thinking of starting on a body for him, but.. I need to finish the head first and stuff.
Jphobia: That is actually quite logical, haha. And now that I think about it, I think I do so too. Not that my dolls follow that rule much (I have a MigiDoll Jina boy and he's quite the bubblehead compared to my SOOM Chrom).
Mooaaarrrr! Okay, symmetry is slowly and painfully killing MY SOOUULLL!!11! Well, it's not that bad, but sometimes I feel like throwing myself out the nearby window. :'D One of his eyes is still looking totally off (his, in the front photo, left one) and his jaw gave me mucho frustration earlier, but now I think it's looking pretty allright? And yeah, his ears are totally off, not sure what I'm gonna do with them. DX And here are some other photos in somewhat different lighting to show off his features a bit better... or something.. I dunno, I thought he looked kinda pretty.. XD And yuppers, I know his eyes are totally off in the last two photos 8D
He's looking so lovely! I'm not sure what I like about his face, I guess it must just be all his features go well together Looking forward to seeing his progress. Also I think his proportions are totally perfect on that B&G body.
glimmer: Thank you very, very much! ;w; crowtree: Thank yooouuu! And yes, I too like how well he fits that body! It makes me so happy to see that people seem to like what I'm doing! When I started sculpting, I didn't think he'd end up looking this.. good, to be honest. I guess I underestimated myself? Haha. Anyway, as for updates, I'll be ordering grey primer (either gesso + Mr Surfacer 1200 or Mr Surfacer 500/1000 + Mr Surfacer 1200) soon, hopefully today if I can find my way around the internet, haha.
So.. update time! Wee! My boy now has ears! They're not perfect and really rough so far, I'll be working some more on them later today, I think, but the general shape is pretty okay. As for symmetry, I've worked some more on his jawline (which I'll sand down just a tiiiny bit, I think), his darn eyes, his cheek bones and part of his forehead. I'm thinking that I can't really get his eyes much better than they are at the moment. I mean, I can't struggle with them forever, I gotta move on! I'll try to make one of them a wee bit bigger though, as it looks smaller compared to the other.... urrgh.. *can't help herselg* XD; Anyway, photos! Just for... uh... fun? Some extras. c: The main thing bothering me are the eyes.. meh. >_<
glimmer: Hehe, thanks a lot. But his, on the photo, left eye is a bit smaller than the right one and it needs a minor change in the inner part of the eye, towards the nose. *english fail* XD Also, in the photo where you can see him from upside, it is pretty obvious that one eye has "sunken in" to the head more than the other, so I'd like to change that as well.
