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The Making of a Star Elf (Finished) Update 07/02/10

May 1, 2010

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    1. You're welcome! XD And no it defintiely doesn't look bad. I think it looks awesome! I truly love him. I wish I had a character that needed something like this done, but sadly none of my boys need a full body paint or anything. Unless I decide to do that to Aeirion anyway.... Hmm...

      I'm thinking that the metallic parts should look ok still, but yeah like you say there's always gloss right?! lol
       
      #61 ArcaneDesires, May 22, 2010
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    2. he looks gorgeous, fantastic work!
       
      #62 Phoenix-Faerie, May 22, 2010
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    3. You did a really nice job on this, Karie. I love the artistry and originality involved...the entire concept is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to seeing him with his wig and eyes too!
       
      #63 PoeticSoul, May 22, 2010
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    4. He's so gorgeous! Have you had any problems with Testors and dye? I tanned my DZ Leo with RIT and when i sealed him afterwards it started to sort of drip....I let him dry overnight after dyeing him but it still dripped. Luckily he's a zombie so a little uneven skin is not a problem.
       
      #64 The Lacy Rose, May 22, 2010
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    5. Wow! He looks great! I hope you get to seal him soon! And that nothing...unfortunate...happens before you can. Keep him all safe and sound while you wait for weather to seal! I LOVE the more stylistic star map you did instead of trying for, or commissioning someone else to do a more realistic one...realistic would have been cool, but your stylized one is even cooler...to me anyway. ^-^
       
      #65 Ayas-Shadow, May 22, 2010
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    6. I love all the red and gold designs :D He looks great and he's so unique, anyone who sees him will recognize him in the future. I hope the weather gets better soon so you can finish him.
       
      #66 akikazu, May 22, 2010
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    7. ArcaneDesires - ^-^ Yup, there's always gloss! XD Thanks, I felt a bit intimidated, there are a lot of people watching this that are sooooo much better at this stuff than I am, I felt a bit nervous.

      Pheonix-Faerie - Thanks very much! ^-^ I tried my best on him.

      PoeticSoul - Thank you! I did post a photo in the mini thread with his eyes and wig. ^-^

      The Lacy Rose - Mmmm nope. I haven't had any problems with dripping. Maybe you sprayed too much at once and the heavy liquid couldn't stay in place? The only problem I had was when I cleaned him up after the first try at those stars. It took off some of the dye and I ended up dying him again, but it didn't take long and obviously he's still gorgeous. ^-^;

      Thanks for liking him though! I did what I could to make it look the way I see it in my head.

      Ayas-Shadow - I plan to go seal him RIGHT NOW. XD I wanted a more realistic one, but I couldn't do it, and I don't have the money, or the nerves of steel it would take to send him out to someone to do it for me. So I waited, thought of something new, and did that instead. I think I like it better. X3

      Akikazu - Thanks! ^-^ I like my guys to be unique and recognisable. No point in having a doll that looks the same as everyone else, right? ^-^
       
      #67 KarieChaos, May 22, 2010
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    8. He is looking awesome! I know how hard it can be to paint details like you've done and I have to say great job! Thank you for posting all those great photos too so we can see each step you've done. I can't wait to see him all finished. He's really fabulous already. I wants to steal him. hehe
       
      #68 Russty, May 22, 2010
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    9. I love him!! :D The red and gold just seem to pop.
       
      #69 gintsukimegami, May 22, 2010
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    10. He is going to look so cool and unique with his wig and eyes! I personally love the gold/red/purple combination with the stylized stars. I remember a while back when you first were discussing on the forums your ideas for a star-elf and how to make him. Now that he's so close to being done, it's really awesome to see how he's come together. And I'm glad you're so happy with him, too!
       
      #70 QuearvoS, May 22, 2010
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    11. Russty - ^-^ I'm glad you like it. Really most all I have left to do it eyebrows, I just haven't gotten to them yet. XD

      Gintsukimegami - ^-^ Thanks, I'm glad they do!

      QuearvoS - ^-^ I'm glad you remember me talking about it! And I'm glad you like him, it's been an interesting trip trying to get him painted around the weather. XD Its just not being cooperative.
       
      #71 KarieChaos, May 23, 2010
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    12. Let's hear it for crappy Indiana weather...grumble...I've been messing with a new clear coat for some face-ups (Tree House Matte Acrylic Spray) and it's been a pain in the butt to apply with this muggy heat. I had to apply it indoors just to get it to dry!
       
      #72 QuearvoS, May 23, 2010
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    13. You did a great job on him. I was directed here by a friend as she knows the next doll I'm buying (Sarojin) will need to be dyed a medium grey and she thought this might be helpful to me (which it has). If you don't mind, can I ask a couple of questions?

      Did you sand him/spray him with sealant before you dyed him?
      How uneven would you say the dye turned out? (Sarojin doesn't need to be perfectly even as he is a being born of shadows so a little mottling is okay with me.) I also realize that my experience with the dye will likely be different from yours as Sarojin is a Doll-Love Word-Leaf (although I'm starting off with a WS, blank doll as well).

      Roughly how long would you say the dying process took (at least the initial dye bath)?

      With regards to the body painting you've done (which looks really good, BTW), you'll still need to be fairly careful with your boy or risk chipping the paint even after several coats of sealant. 2 of my boys (Moswen and Jaiseki) have body painting. Moswen has his entire body done in tiger stripes and Jaiseki has some striping as well (they're father and son). Basic handling and putting on/taking off clothes can scratch the paint job regardless of how careful you are. I was aware of this when I first had them painted and that at some point in the future, I'd need to send them back out again for touch-ups. I am careful with my boys, but they've still managed to get some chips/paint rubbed off (Moswen more than Jaiseki mostly because he's my favourite and I handle him a lot).

      I can provide/direct you to pics of my boys if you want to see their body painting. For the most part, you can't see the chips in photographs, but you can in RL. It doesn't bug me yet, but I know I will be sending Moswen out sometime in the future for a touch up. I've had him painted for about 1 1/2 years, BTW.
       
      #73 Iron_Dog, May 23, 2010
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    14. QuervoS - Let me know how that works, I saw some at Hobby Lobby, but I haven't heard of anyone using it. Might be better.

      Iron_Dog - I don't mind questions at all. Let me see if I can't help answer them. ^-^

      I didn't sand Tremis, nor did I seal him first. Since I was dying him fresh from the company, I figured what with seam sanding and finishing and all, it would just be wasting time and taking away some of the lovely details of the body that I wanted. I didn't spray him because if you do, from what I read, you aren't really dying the RESIN. You dye the layer of sealant. I wanted the RESIN to take the colour.

      The process the first time, depending on how you count it, took a good while. Anyone who says the first try is quick lies. It takes time to boil that amount of liquid, and then you have to start dipping your parts in the boiling dye. I started with thirty seconds, and kept going from there. The first dip took three tries dying him over and over again before I was happy with it. It took probably close to a couple of hours, but I was going for a pretty dark shade. If you're wanting something pretty light, it probably won't take as long. The colour turned out fairly even, though along where the seams were sanded it did take a bit differently.

      ^-^ I do expect some chipping, it can't really be helped. I figured it would somewhat, but if I'm careful I won't have to redo it for like a year or so. I pretty much figured that at the get-go. That's why I wanted to paint them while he was strung, so I didn't get too much into the joints where it would rub quickly.
       
      #74 KarieChaos, May 24, 2010
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    15. Thank you! I'm not sure yet if I'll be brave enough to try and dye Sarojin myself. I've dyed lots of things (clothes, objects etc.) but never something I was afraid of completely screwing up/ruining. But, finding someone to do it for me is being a bit of a challenge so it may be something I'll have to muster up the courage to do myself.

      I think, for a close approximation, I'd be going for a grey along the lines of the Soom grey or possibly a touch darker. Sarojin needs to be very noticeably grey for his character, so I'm guess it'll be a couple of hours to do then based on your experience. That's good to know as I wouldn't want to be rushing to do it. As an aside, the shade of purple you got for your boy is about what I'd be aiming for with another character of mine (at some far future date) so it was wonderful to see that it is totally possible.

      Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some way to make the designs permanent? I handle Moswen A LOT and he's held up rather well. I'm not sure how many coats of sealant he got though. And the face-up artist avoided stripes directly on/around his joints so that undoubtedly helps, too.
       
      #75 Iron_Dog, May 24, 2010
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    16. What I thought was strange is that I wasn't the least bit scared to do it. I was excited to do it, I jumped right on board and went for it. It was really easy, not at all hard. I was actually a little disappointed it wasn't more complicated or more messy. XD But then again my friend told me when I was going to try it that I was either brilliant or "Too stupid to be afraid of messing it up" XD

      I told her it was probably the latter. =3
       
      #76 KarieChaos, May 24, 2010
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    17. The Tree House worked about the same as Testors with blushing, but it's still picky and shouldn't be applied too thick or in humidity. Otherwise, I really did like using it. It's super matte too!
       
      #77 QuearvoS, May 24, 2010
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    18. Really? I wonder if anyone in the MSC thread has heard of/tried it. I saw it, since it comes in much bigger cans than Testors and I was hunting HobbyLobby for stuff. All sealant is picky. XD Its just the nature of the beast.
       
      #78 KarieChaos, May 26, 2010
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    19. I decided that he's done, he doesn't need eyebrows, it would just be weird at this point. XD I like him without, it adds character! So, the finished product is here!

      [​IMG]

      Isn't he pretty?

      Thanks for following me this far you guys! ^-^ <3 Keep an eye out for him at random, or in the BBB threads! XD
       
      #79 KarieChaos, Jul 2, 2010
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    20. Yay! Glad you decided he's finished! You know how great I think he looks! ^-^
       
      #80 Ayas-Shadow, Jul 2, 2010
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    21. ^-^ Of course I know! You tell me every chance you get! X3 And I appriciate it! I think I did a fairly good job for my first try, ne?
       
      #81 KarieChaos, Jul 2, 2010
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    22. Oh, he's fabulous! Thanks for the step by step photos. One of my dolls is telling me quite firmly that I need to dye him brown and sculpt him elf ears, so I'm building my knowledge base. Seeing how beautifully your doll came out is heartening.
      Susan
       
      #82 delbelcoure, Aug 2, 2010
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    23. Your doll turned out great. you make it look so easy XD I want to tan a doll now.... someday lol
      Until I realized you wanted a deeper shade of purple ( due to me just skimming the post XD) I wondered why you didn't just get a lilac bobobie. It woulda been too light, and I think slightly grey?
       
      #83 Twilighterleah, Aug 5, 2010
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    24. oh wow! he's looks fantastics! great job! :D
       
      #84 PsYcHo_oTaKu, Jul 20, 2011
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    25. your story , very cute;) I would love to see when all done
       
      #85 G-MA, Feb 13, 2012
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    26. all really good to know as I am getting ready to dye sky blue for my Avatar's Sully and Nettiri
      thanks, a double dip will do ;)
       
      #86 G-MA, Feb 13, 2012
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    27. he looks great;) did you have any trouble with the dye fding or lighter parts after you were done.
      Also I see you decided not to add brows but maybe just a few darker purple dots starting with large to tiny might look really awesome on him. think about it
      Keep up the good work. Really great you just got in and did it with out worry. As at times hard to do as these dolls are very costly.
      hats off to you
       
      #87 G-MA, Feb 13, 2012
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