Lagoona Made Over As

Marie Antoinette

 

This is Marie finished.  The following photos show her as a work in progress.

 

 

 

Re-rooted with white mohair, piled high. Net is attached to keep hair neat.

 

Beginning of face painting and blushing.

 

 

 

 

Face painting finished.  Mohair curls attached around face.

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning of top.  White silk with lace overlay.

 

 

 

 

 

Skirt is partially finished.  White silk with embroidery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hose and shoes.  I painted the shoes antique gold and pink and added tulle bows with flowers.

Inside of skirt is lined with ruffles.  All of her clothes are hand sewn.  Skirt and top close with snaps.

 

 

          "Psst!  Marie, there is small white mouse on your table! I think he is sampling your tart..."

 

Earrings are antique Czechoslovakian glass beads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marie is now for sale in my etsy shop. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

On a personal note:

 

I am very slowly getting back to my work.  Marie has given me a lift and I am hopeful that I will begin to put some speed on now.

Thank You for all of the support!

 

Cheers, PB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Misty and Echo

¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸. (¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥

Misty started out as a Draculaura.  I took photos as I went along- and- did something I have been careful not to do (until now)...

I erased her photos from the camera before I was sure they had been downloaded to the computer. 

Lots of swearing going on here the other night when I realized what I had done. 

So you will not get to see her transformation, but you do get to see her :)

Misty insisted that she needed a cat.  I made a new pattern, changed it up a bit and then watched as Echo came to life.  He always answers her call, thus his name.

Misty and Echo are for sale in my etsy shop:

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/115264839/misty-and-echo-custom-monster-high-doll



Painting Your Doll

The Physics of Doll Painting

Physics can be fun.  Really.  And interesting.  Honestly.

This is Ginger.  I am getting ready to paint her. 
Her hair is in and her face is clean.

A fellow Monster High dolly friend wrote to me about having troubles with painting her dark skinned doll.  The trouble was, when she sprayed her doll with the flat sealer, she lost color. 

What she is up against is literally how color works-  what it actually is.  What we see as color is actually light waves. Most of what we see is reflected color waves. 

Colors are frequencies.  They are either absorbed by an object or reflected.  If they are reflected, that is the color we see.  Every color wave in the spectrum may be hitting an object like say, an apple, but all we see are reds and yellows.  The apple is not actually red- it is simply absorbing all of the other color frequencies- and reflecting the reds and yellows. 

A white piece of paper is busy reflecting all of the light spectrum colors- and appears white.  While something that appears black absorbs all of the color spectrum light and appears very dark. 

When you paint something with flat color, it appears dull or soft.  It cuts down what is reflected and refracted from the object.  If you put a clear shine on an object, it appears much brighter and can even appear harsh looking.  This is why we use a flat sealer on our dolls faces. 

Our skin (typically) is not shiny - it is soft in appearance. We are cutting what is reflected and refracted by the paint we have applied when we use the flat sealer.  What escapes and bounces back to our eyes is less distinct- because the reflection has been manipulated.  It is being diffused by the sealer.  It lets out less light.

This is also why we add something glossy to the eyes.  Our eyes shine.  They are wet.  We amplify that reflection using the gloss. Gloss lets out more light.

I am not going into deep detail here- that would be a bit of a snooze for most of us.  My intention is to help you understand what you are doing when you paint and use different sealers. 

Paint is used to create an illusion- and how we manipulate the paint determines what it will look like.  If you think you have lost color after applying flat sealer- you have not.  You have cut down the ability to see that color. 



The next question is, how do we solve this problem? 

>>>Add more color.  Make it much brighter than what you are actually going for.

Try it in a place you won't see.  Sometimes I will try a color out on the head where the hair is going to be.

>>>Put white paint down first- and your color on top. 

I often use this technique for lips.

If you want to use translucent colors, and you are painting on a dark surface, you won't see much of the color you use- because the color of the object will reflect through the translucent color.  The objects color will cancel out the applied translucent color(s). 

Example: Violet may appear muddy on a brown object if you spray it with flat sealer. 

>>>Keep adding color between sprayings of the flat sealer.

Adding color in thin layers gives you greater control of how it will look. 

                       

Remember:  Leave a comment and get an entry for the October Drawing :)



Post Script

Photo Shoot

I really wanted to take photos outdoors- but- the weather has been too extreme.

I painted a canvas backdrop for her instead.

Her tail acts like a tripod with her legs.

She had to have a treasure chest.  Some things are glued inside, while others are loose.

She can use the chest as seating if she likes.

Draken is now for sale at Dolly Dolly:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/109419457/monster-high-dragon-with-tail-and-horns

Remember to leave a comment here and get an entry for the September Drawing :)

Modding Part 5

Finishing Draken

If she looks a tad unhappy, she is.  Draken is not big on having fittings.  Usually I fit clothing to Cleo- she is my resident 'model on call' for fittings.  But Draken has some "special" attributes that require I fit directly to her.  Her horns and tail must be taken into account.  This is a dry run- I never cut the actual material until I am sure what I am making will fit properly.  This cape is hand and machine basted.  Once I am done fussing with it, I will rip the seams and use it for a pattern. The yellow fleece cost 1.00 for almost 2 yards in the remnants bin.

I also purchased some light brown fleece when I bought the yellow. I want her to look like she is wearing a fur cape.  One that is well worn.  Using Tulip fabric spray paint and my fingers I change the color and look of the brown fleece.  At the top is the brown with black, bottom is the original color.  Behind both is the yellow that I practiced on.

I rarely fail to make a mess when I paint- which is what you see on the label.

It is important to remember scale when one is working with fabrics and dolls.  A long fake fur cape would look too big and cumbersome.   This fleece looks more like buffalo or a sheep type of fur once it is painted.  This needs to look like something she killed and then made her own.

After Draken is finished with all of her fittings, I will apply her hair.  She will remain a little spitting and hissing baldy until I am done with her garments.  Right now she is clawing her way through my goodie drawer looking for weapons.  As if her fangs and nails aren't enough!  Pretty sure she wants a staff as well.  I will go twig hunting soon if she continues on this path...

Skirt made of batik in layers of shredded single pieces. 

Vest style top made of white felt with faux white fur and vintage embroidered ribbon.



Cape has soft suede ties at the throat. 
I would have fussed more with the hood, but both of us were
feeling pretty impatient- best not push things.  I will fuss after she has hair.



I lined her boots with the same material as the cape. 

Everything fits.  It has been a long day for both of us.  Tomorrow, she gets hair and then an outdoor photo shoot.

Next Post will have her finished and will include some better photos of her garments and her wearing them.

Remember: Write a comment on this post and get an entry for the September Drawing.

Modding Part 4

At Long Last

Remember Draken?

There were thoughts of giving Draken glass eyes, which is why I didn't wipe her eyes off when I started.  My thought was to use the eyes that were there as a cutting template.  Fast forward 3 weeks.  I have this vision of her - and it does not include glass eyes.  So, I began painting over the existing eyes.

The violet on her head is sponged on unevenly- on purpose.  Our skin does not look the same all over- and I do not want her to have a plastic feel when I am finished.  I am also studying photos of lizard markings- to give me a baseline to work from.

Here I started to add detail to the head with paint.  Her horns have a light coat of burnt sienna on them to give them more depth.  I mixed violet with green and painted her horn caps.  The painting on her eyes is just a base coat.  Same for her lips.  The eye color is violet mixed with brilliant blue.  The lips are brilliant blue washed over the violet.  Violet and black were mixed in even parts to make the contrasting color for her ears.  I suspect her ears will not be visible when I am finished- but that doesn't matter.  I will paint anything that has a chance of being seen. 

Continuing to add detail.  Using the same basic colors: Violet, Black, Burnt Sienna and Brilliant Blue.

First coat of Sakura Crystal is on her eyes to make them stand out.

Is that a smile I see on her face?  Think so. 

She has been on hold for so long I would hear her hissing from her project box every time I walked by.   

Looking more like horns now.

Now you didn't think she would be bright violet did you?  Draken relies on the element of surprise.  She likes to suddenly appear from the shadows. Remember she is a Mountain Dragon.  Tall, proud and tough as nails.

After she has had a day to dry completely, I will spray her with Mr.Super Clear Flat before painting any more on her.  This protects what I have done and gives me a slightly toothy texture on which to add paint.

It is getting more difficult to photograph her now.  There are many subtle shades that are hard to capture with the new paint.  If you click on the photos you can see them enlarged and see more of the colors.

Draken needs at least one pair of boots.  I started to make these while she was drying.

They fit.  Next step is to paint them with acrylic black paint.  It will make them look more like leather. 

 I may make her a second pair.  Boots she can wear at home.  These are for outdoors.  I want these to look like the mountain Fairy Folk made them for her.  She protects them and sometimes in the winter she brings them food.  As a Thank You they gift her with things.

Her face has been stippled with violet, black and ultramarine blue.

I keep old brushes for stippling.  The trick is to go slowly and try things out on your palette before you paint your doll.

She will have golden yellow eyes.  This base is orange.  Yellow is a transparent color-- so the base color is important.

Reptile eyes vary a lot.  Some have round pupils, some have slits.  I am thinking slits for Draken.  So I went looking for photos of reptile eyes with slits:

These are real eyes!  I love the top one- looks like it is smiling, and the eyelashes are da bomb!

Well, who on earth would mess with her?  With those eyes, her fangs do not need to be shown.  So I am leaving her lips as is- and sealing them with Sakura Crystal.

Boots Painted with 2 coats of acrylic black.

Flaps turned and held in place with ivory colored buttons.  I chose those buttons because they echo her eyes with their slitted pupils.

Next Post will have her hair and her clothing.

Remember:  Comment on a this post and receive another entry for the September drawing. 

Still taking suggestions for the prize :) ~PB