Ruse -- 27cm mature tiny

Hi all,

I started work on a new doll a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I'd share the progress here. I'll be using some modified parts of my first doll, but there's a lot that I wanted to improve on.

Some ideas of how I imagine her...


Anywho... onto the pictures!

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cont...

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Thank you for watching and please feel free to comment and critique!

 

Hey again! It's really encouraging to read your comments - thank you very much!! I really appreciate them!

Maggs, yes I have a -mental- list (a long one)! To summarise, I wanted to improve her jointing and her proportions. Also, her first head is too big and so are her hands, her feet are too small, her legs are too thin, her arms are too long... ad infinitum :p

kwmelvin, thanks!! I wish she was all one colour

armeleia - nuh uh! I just delayed posting until I had some progress :p

Jphobia, I'll try to get some more pictures of the joint soon - it's a bit experimental (...and difficult to manoeuvre with one hand).

Runy - How are you?! Are you still working on your dolls? I hope that you are. I'm always hoping you'll post! )

shoelace and glimmer - thank you very much for your kind words!

A minor update. In fact, there's probably no difference visible at all (despite the fact I pretty much spent the whole day on her)

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All pics are on flickr.

 

Just a quick picture of how the face is progressing. I've since cut the headcap and added a nose.

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...not quite symmetrical yet!

 

Trying to do little bits here and there...

I've done some more work on her face and arms. Hopefully the next update won't be sooo far away!! I'm gearing myself up to start work on her hands and feet.

 

Trying to find time here and there...

Features by aneemal, on Flickr​

What dyou think?! All feedback welcome - good, bad, ugly! :p

 

You've made me so happy by saying that, liu! I don't usually trust that I can follow a plan...

 

firefly: thank you! I can't wait to have her done, but it's taking me a while - as usual!

nezuMOUSII: hehe, you should see the nose on my previous doll - it was a real honker! Let's see how this one turns out! EDIT: She's there in my avatar <-----

Jphobia: I'm happy you see an ethnic influence... she's based a tiny bit on my twin (non-identical) who's up and left me for Australia!! Anywho, I agree with you about the jaw-line. I will try and strengthen it - thanks for pointing that out! )

armeleia: I appreciate you saying so! You've created a bunch of really great faces (in a short space of time) and I admire how you manage to infuse each one with a little personality of it's own!

 

A bit of progress, albeit slow...

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I've started another face (present in the first photo), as I'm not sure the one below is exactly what I want. I'll keep it, but I'll work on the new one alongside.

Any comments, critique welcome

 

Thanks glimmer, I really hope so!
Lol, Jphobia trust me nothing's anywhere close to being perfect!! :dead On dolly no.1 the elbows kept swivelling around too easily, so hopefully this design will be more controllable.
Thanks kwmelvin! I wish she were all one colour...
About the lower torso. It's basically an inversion of the normal type of joint, so that the ball is on the lower piece. I haven't got any photos yet to explain, but I'll endeavour to get some when it's looking a bit neater!!

I've been working on the new face...

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Don't know how I'm going to get her smooth. How do people sand such minute areas - like around the nose in particular!?

Thanks for looking!

 

Aha, thanks Jphobia, I will try to get me some sponge-sandpaper! I'm very happy to hear you like the face so far!
Thanks Aminoff! I decided to re-do some parts of the body because I found the different materials and their colours distracting and I lost all the details that I was trying so hard to save! >_<
crowtree, your kind words make me so happy. And thank you for the tips too - I will try the dremel bits.

Here she is as she is today - no wig, but not a great photo... sorry!

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Looking forward to getting some more work done on her in the coming days... yay for bank holiday weekends! *whohoo*

 

Thanks for the tip twigling! I will certainly try that out. Glad you like her so far!

Ok, so I know it doesn't look like I've done anything since last time, but I have ...honest! Ok, not *so* much, but it's the little things. The things that I don't want to realise need changing when it's too late! So, I've been trying to refine the lower torso joint and the overall shape of the limbs, before I start cutting them up! I figure I should do my best to sand her all over before I do the jointing. I figure it's easier to sand larger pieces! Anywhoo... onto the photos!

aneemal on Flickr​

The boobs are a bit lopsided and too far apart. Anything else that troubles you?! Please feel free to let me know! Thank you! )

 

Jphobia, I always find the boobies difficult to shape ... I want them small, but not too 'perky'. I'm chasing after that teardrop shape that's hiding in there somewhere!

fairysquisher, lol I love your username... reminds me of 'Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'! Thank you for your kind comments. I'm still battling with her shape and trying not to wreck it with the joints! The lower torso joint especially...

Flowers in her hair​

What do you think?

P.S. Anyone else out there working on their ironing board? It's not like I don't have a desk... it's just that it's full. :p

 

*Sneaks back in*

Ummm... hi!

A year has passed, more or less. I tried to give up dolls and doll-making, but I failed miserably. Making things makes me happy! That's not exactly a noble objective but well, we're not hurting anyone, right?!

So, I hope it's okay if I rejoin the forum activity (although I never really left!) :arrr

I resumed work on what was once my 'new' doll. Here are some more recent photos, taken in the last week...

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I'd appreciate any feedback you have, particularly in regard to the proportions. Do you think I should lengthen the shins? I know the head is large, but that's intentional because I think big-headed dolls are cute. If I can follow through with them, I have some ideas for alternative heads to fit the same body... if I ever get that far.

Thanks for reading )

 

Oh thanks, Aminoff! I'm getting happier with the joints as I keep working on them, and I'm hoping they will translate as well into porcelain... I'm hoping to cast in porcelain this time, rather than resin

Good idea, Morgan! You're right, I think feet should be next on my agenda! Having feet would also help me do some test-stringing. Yep, feet it is!

Sunday, I did some work to her torso. Here I've lengthened it and tried to carve some basic detail. Also, I lowered the curve of her hips. I prefer the overall shape now, but I still think the transition of the joints could be smoothed out further still...

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It's nice to be back

 

Thank you!

Thank you so much, Amily! Honestly, they're not as complicated as they might seem!... When I test-string her, I'd like to make a short video clip to show how the parts fit together and how they move )

Oh, WOW! Sailor, that's a huge massive compliment and greatly appreciated *^_^* I would love to trade and have your soldier has her companion and protector!!! lol

The 'prototype' is 23cm and depending on the shrinkage rate of the slip, the porcelain version might end up somewhere between 18.5 - 20cm... which originally worried me, as being too small, but then I remembered these:


Omi-Kopto 12 by box_x_dolls, on Flickr

So delicate at 14.5cm. I think they're stunning

I'm feeling all fired-up about this project. Before I go to sleep, I go through in my mind how I'll set up each mould and the process that follows... I count moulds instead of sheep, lol! :XD

 

Hey Sailor, I tried to view your tumblr, but the url doesn't seem to be working?

Thanks a lot, Susan!

Today I took some progress photos of how I'm tackling the feet. This is how far I got:
(not yet finished)

2 << 1...​

>> 3 > (still) 3​

I started the hands the same way, but still debating how to do the fingers. I tried using wire, but I don't think that method's going to work for me.

As always, thanks for looking!

 

Six months later...

I thought I'd resurrect my thread with some new photos, because I am still working at this doll even though I feel as though she's a completely different doll from how she started out. I was in half a mind to make a new thread, not least of all because I'm ashamed to admit that I started this thread nearly three years ago now :XD Yikes! But hey-ho, my hope has been boosted by the fact that she is strung! And I've given her a new name too.

Click the images for descriptions.

Mid 2012...


Today...




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Critique and feedback are welcome and appreciated )

 

Thank you so much, sailor and HystericalParoxysm - your comments really mean a lot to me!

sailor, you might be right about the neck. I like the aesthetic of long necks, but not oddly long. I will take off a couple of mms when I work on the neck joint some more. The part I'm really struggling with at the moment is the shaping of the belly. I want that lower torso joint to be smoother, but in general I feel like the contours of her lower belly and hips aren't right at all. I've been looking at your lady for inspiration and I think I need to study some reference material too, to help me with that area.

HystericalParoxysm, you're right too! The upper arms are thinner, but not by design - so that's also something that needs fixing. Although I think the elbow is the widest point of the arm(?), I do think it would look better if I made the lower arms slimmer. Yep, it does help for posing, being that thin up top - I wanted her arms to fall naturally at her sides. Also, if this makes sense I'm going to go back and try and make them fall at an angle from the elbow, so they don't just fall straight down.

Will hopefully post more progress soon! )

Thanks again, for your encouragement!

 

Thank you for your comment Allison! I hope oneday to be able to try casting her in porcelain, so I also want to thank you for the information you share on your website!

Thanks Morgan! I do agree - I need to shorten the neck and perhaps widen it at the base (so there more of a slope into the shoulders).

Here are a few more pics showing some progress with the jointing. I really want her to be able to hold this pose (knees to chest) quite easily, so I'm working on making the joints lock. In the second photo you can see the 'lip' on her back which will help the upper torso lean forward (although it should be this visible).



Sorry for the poor quality of the photos! Thank you for looking! )