Ylisande [Completed]

I have been working on this for a few months and just never got around to posting it here, although there have been some pictures on my LJ and DA accounts.. It's really a bit late I feel to be posting her here now, but I'll try to keep the pics and links in order so anyone who is interested can see the development.

I did start building her over a set of twigLimbs junk casts, but there have been so many changes and improvements that you won't spot too many similarities.



This is what she looks like now. I am up to the primer-stage and have sanded all the pieces. I am waiting for the sun as it has been raining for about a week, and I need it to dry up about so we can do another coat of primer or two.

First stringing. These pics got shared with close friends and I got some really good feedback on the sculpt and proportions etc, after making some improvements based on the critique and just continuing to work on her.

Headsculpt is more refined here

And with a quick and dirty faceup

Here she is loosely put together but not strung

Second stringing

Focus on the high heeled feet (she can wear SD16 boots)

A range of poses and angles to show off her joints I have changed the elbow joint since then, it now looks more streamlined when the arm is straight, but has all the function (and none of the hassle) of the first version (twigLimbs).

Finally these are the latest shots after three coats of grey primer. All the scratches and divets have since been sanded out, although you can see them in my appalling photos anyway.. trust me, they were there. Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow and a new coat of primer will reveal no more surface flaws, so that I can move on towards molding.

 

Oh my!! A girl posts and goes to bed, and wakes up in the morning to all these amazing comments ~ it really makes my day. And the sun is shining as well, not a cloud in the sky!!! That means we can get some more primer on today.. and my washing might dry that I hung out 3 days ago in an bout of positive or hopeful thinking.

firefaux ~ thank you so much!

minicurious ~ yes and no.. I mean soon but there are some more preparations to be made. I will only be taking individual orders at a pace that I can handle, and no massive preorders. I will be focusing on making one-offs in different skintones and with costuming etc, plus collaborations with other artists. There will be a basic version available that is to be cast by EnchantmentDoll.com. They will also be handling the ordering for that. The intention is to cast the dolls and have them in hand before we sell them instead of taking preorders.

She isn't specifically sculpted to look like Angie J, but I do have a love for big pouty lips, so that is what I sculpted. I made her purposely multi-ethnic, so that depending on skintone and faceup she can take on many different styles.

Currently the doll is 594mm tall.. so just shy of the 60 cm. Her BWH measurements are a little fuller than your average SD13, but I think she should still fit most SD size clothing, although that is something that will need to be investigated once I have a resin cast...

neck: 100 mm
chest: 240 mm
underbust: 205 mm
waist: 186 mm
hips: @ hipbone: 235 mm; @ buttox: 260; @ buttox with legs in sockets: 265 mm
sleeve length: 175 mm (from top of shoulder to bottom of lower arm)
across shoulders: 115 mm with arms attached; 80 mm without
wrist circumference: 59 mm
flat foot: 70 mm long and 30 mm wide
eye size: 10-14 mm (I prefer smaller) or eyes can be opened and re-bevelled for a bigger size.
wig size: 8-9 inches, I think.

The grey primer we use is CarMaster "Acrylic Primer/Filler", which my b/f applies with a spraygun attached to a compressor. It's the good stuff

z3r0 ~ wow, thanks.. that's a really good point that I hadn't even thought of

chuugokuneko ~ Thank you.. I think I know what you mean XD

BabesbyBarb ~ Oh, you're welcome and thank you for taking the time to look!! I went back and looked at all the things I felt was wrong with the first body I made, and tried to improve on it. I bought myself some anatomical reference books for artists and I even consulted with a medical professional who could give some really good pointers about the shape and placement of surface anatomy by making me understand how the body is put together.. that was just invaluable.

sashimi ~ thank you I'm a definite fan of big lips.. and noses

csnow ~ Thank you so much!!

unoa_im_afreak ~ Bummer.. it's the season for it now, isn't it But I'm glad my doll cheered you up XD

patl ~ No, thank YOU! You pushed me into sculpting a head for this doll when I thought I wouldn't be able to and you are a complete inspiration with the work you do and the support you have provided to keep me going.

Merry ~ Hey.. it's an Aussie! Thank you... I'm overwhelmed.. and totally geared towards getting her finished. The rain these last few days (weeks?) has been depressing.

Caracco ~ Thanks so much.. I really wanted to do something special with this body, push the boundaries a little if I could, but also balance the aesthetic and poseability as far as I could. I already have ideas for how I can do new things with the next doll I'll be making, but I think the first priority will be new headsculpts and optional parts fpr this one. See response to minicurious above for primer info.

marbledhalls ~ Thank you!! Yeah I like the idea of her being Brazilian... several of my inspiration faces were Brazilian models.. my favourite being Ana Beatriz Barros.

Dianna ~ Thank you so much I think she is definitely more adult, and more curvy than most other BJD bodies... she has a pot belly and seriously wide hips. For me its also important that shoes and boots will fit so I tried to make the feet and ankles within spec. I love the sculptural details in Dollstown dolls, but the thicker ankles annoy me a little. Ditto on seeing her cast too, and Tatine too... the race is on

Merangel ~ That's quite a feat in itself, thank you for taking the time to check them all out!! Thank you so much!! I definitely intend to cast her in both a tan and an ebony colour as limited dolls.. still experimenting with those techniques, but it's completely feasible.

LMDoll ~ Thank you I dunno what to say, I think I broke them mold when they made me... and also don't ever grow up.. it could be a big mistake, keep the child inside alive because it is a fantastic source of raw ideas.

mclamm7 ~ Thanking you muchly I hope she will appeal to lots of people with her versatile look.

Bruny ~ Aww, thank you

megan_rosefox ~ I actually mostly taught myself by trial and error, but of course looked at all those Japanese tutorials and studied doll joints and experimented. I wouldn't know where to start teaching.. maybe when I get tired of making dolls I will write a book?

linakauno ~ Thank you.. that is an awesome compliment. I kinda wish the same, but if they did, I would have to buy more of them, and what stops me from spending money on dolls these days is usually that I don't like the body..

saibrrmen ~ Teehee.. thank you.. and please don't die, you have to finish that lovely doll of yours.. and then make many more!

 

Kurosakura ~ Mmmmmm, drumsticks... fresh meat! Thanks for all your support and patience XD

minicurious ~ Her name is one I made up... it's a mashup of Isabel and Melisande. I wanted something that had a fairytale vibe to it but wasn't actually related to anything that is known.

Mandiiv ~ Thank you! I hope the sculpt and the articulation will appeal to a lot of people, and as I said before there will be loads of optional parts as I get cracking on it, and several new headsculpts eventually.

 

ryochan ~ Thanks for the compliments, I hope she will live up to the expectations people have

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Got another three coats of primer on yesterday.. and a finger mark on one thigh because I touched it by accident.. and a scuff on the forehead and nose tip because the head got dropped.. but don't worry, it's all okay. The spraygun gives such a nice surface.. I'll go over sanding everything one more time and pay special attention to some problem areas and then she should be ready for molding.

 

Gelfling ~ yes we've had a week or so of rain... it felt like months because I couldn't get anything done on her.. now its been sunny for two days and the forecast says sun and wind all week, so the conditions should be nice and dry to continue the work.

moniee ~ Thank you.. I know big lips are not to everybody's taste I think the close camera angle makes the lips and nose look even bigger than they are in person. I will make other faces eventually with different features.

jasperjin ~ Thank you so much! I think she will definitely suit a range of skintones

Enaibi ~ Thank you, I'm pretty happy with her at the moment, and I agree.. it's time to see her in resin soon.

Merangel ~ Thanks I like smaller eyes, but I also wanted loads of eyelid where faceup artists can play with colour.. or alternatively those who like bigger eyes can open them up. TheFontBandit did some Photoshop mockups with eyes and faceup, I should post them!!

Sales for basic dolls will be via EnchantmentDoll.com ~ no preorders, sale of in-stock dolls only.

 

Thanks Kaye, I hope you get some sunshine soon!!

csnow ~ Not sure how to address that... I would have to say I am a self-taught hobbyist. I have a Bachelor (Honours) Degree in Visual Communication (graphic design) and I did attend a vocational high school course that focused on drawing, sculpting and art/craft, but none of my training is directly relevant to what I am doing here.

 

csnow ~ Oh yes, I definitely plan to keep doing this, don't worry

oddfae ~ Thank you

Archangel13160 ~ Thank you, I'm glad you like it.

noema ~ Thanks XD

cureilona ~ Thank you for stopping by And for the compliments!!! I'm sanding the parts again today.. and it's cold! And I keep finding all these little scratches and imperfections that I thought I had sanded out in the last round — Aarrgh, will I ever finish???

Allison ~ Awww, that's so sweet!! Thank you, most of the time I am surprised by what my talent brings forth, too

wildefae ~ Thank you, I do try. I'm just glad that the things that are bugging me aren't showing up in the photos

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Anyway, so I'm sanding again today, I've done all the parts except the face.. needed a cup of tea break and some internet. Bloody cold here today and no sun But it's not raining so that's good. Gotta get back to it and sand the face, then wipe everything down with grease and wax remover to take off dust and fingerprints and then we'll get a few more coats on over the weekend and hopefully that will be the end of it. Hopefully....

 

kuroda emi ~ Wow, thanks

cureilona ~ Yup, will do ~ we'll see today if I've sanded enough yet..

skumring ~ Thank you.. can't wait to see the results of putting her in front of your camera!!

MieAga ~ Finally, some critique!! I have filled the knuckle lines since the pic was taken.. I had hoped the primer would fill the lines more, but it just emphasised them. As for the sculpt of the hands.. it's not my fave part to do or to look at, but I think the pictures don't quite do them justice.

Naiara ~ I agree the head is a little on the big side, but well within the range of what is acceptable on a BJD. I also think that with a wig, the face will be in balance with the rest of the body. At any rate I'm not going to embark on an experimental trip to shrink the head this far along, but will try to make the next head a little smaller.

 

Thank you so much I wanted to remove the slot from the front of the hip, and have both rotation and a double joint and still make it look smooth when the double joint wasn't in use. Of course this means there are some lines but overall they are less visible than the usual stringing slots. Glad you like her face, I know it won't be to everyones taste, but I really wanted a mature face with loads of range.. a palette for an endless variety of faceups and ethnicities.

Aww, thank you! Don't be jealous ~ be inspired Your dolls are lovely too!!!

Merci beaucoup!! I wanted a more natural, gravity affected small-medium bustline. I will be making a smaller bust again, and possibly a larger one as well. Since the body is more full-figured overall, I think she can carry a larger cup without looking unnatural.

~~~~~​

The face, headcap, upper- and lower torso, hips, hip-shells, hands, feet (2 pairs), knees and elbows are now ready to mold and I will be starting that today.

The arms and legs have some problems because the original resin was cut, shortened and rejoined, and the superglue in the joins is reacting with the primer creating a different surface texture. We are going to try a couple of different things to overcome this, but in the meantime I have plenty of other parts to mold, so by the time we fix the problem I should be ready to mold the last 8 pieces anyway.

 

Thanks Illves ~ she will be for sale at some point.. hopefully before the end of the (Northern Hemisphere) summer.

I have started making molds now; it's hard work, but also fun.. well, seeing the results are fun anyway