Character Development: Anarchéa (Part II)

Anarchéa just might be the fastest developing doll out of all my BJD's up till now.

Since my last post on her I've been fortunate enough to acquire an almost complete look for her. Including a special wig.

I wanted a specific style for the wig, something I knew could be achieved best with natural fibres. Having made a couple of wigs myself, my perception of getting a certain look right has definitely heightened. So I commissioned J&C Entangled (flickr here: link) to make me a wig out of white suri alpaca that I provided. The style was to be short, scruffy and a little boyish.

I can only say: she nailed it!

As for the outfit, Kia lives in a cold climate, so I had something long in mind. The dress was made out of soft, lightweight jersey fabric and lined with lace trim for that special added detail. Thanks Mom! :D

So far, I think she looks incredible! The arm warmers are a neat extra to make it look a bit less cold. Just her bare shoulders need to be covered up. I hope to take to the sewing machine myself this time. Maybe a little poncho and a matching beanie? We'll see. As for now, I'm head-over-heels-happy!

Can't wait until she gets her Mako Eyes!

To be continued...

Character Development: Anarchéa (Minifee Karsh)

This post is going to be a little log on the development of my latest BJD's character.

Anarchéa (Ann-Ar-Kee-Ah) was someone I didn't originally plan on bringing into doll form, just because I was so torn as to what sculpt she could be. I was primarily thinking she'd be either an Eliya or a girl Karsh. Eventually when I had the funds to get a minifee, Karsh was there on the marketplace and at a really great price so I thought, it must be fate.

She's on the a-line minifee body with the small bust and the model legs. Which is not what I originally wanted but found out is actually perfect for her. Since Anarchéa belongs to a tribe of people that live where it is very cold and the conditions are rough, she has more of an athletic build in contrast to some of my other girls. Because she deals with climbing snowy slopes and collecting thick, heavy logs of firewood every day she should have more of a boyish posture. The model legs accentuate this as they're  straight and the minifee's stance is a bit more towards the masculine side on them.

So much for body rambling.
Anarchéa's personality is like her environment; quiet, eerie, seemingly harsh and always looming. I imagine her to be suspicious, not immediately warming up to strangers. But once she opens up she reveals a great deal of kindness and honest loyalty to whoever lucky enough to call themselves her friend. And there is definitely spunk, lots of it.
You know what they say, still waters are usually deep.

As for plans on the look of the doll, her faceup is the only thing done right now. I have two pairs of eyes on order for her. Yes, two. One pair from Mako, and another pair I found on etsy for a good price, just regular glass eyes but with a low dome which is a must for me.

I will commission a wig for her, I have a certain style I want and I'm pretty sure the person I have in mind will be able to capture it. Clothes are still in the air, I know she needs something warm so I'll have to see if I can find the time to make her something.

I hope you enjoyed this little post on Anarchéa (or just "Kia" if you like), I might do another one to show the progress or make other separate ones for my other characters.

Commissions will open January 17th

Grand opening of my faceup shop/commission services, Shiny Pawprint Aesthetics.

Six slots available. All information is on the blog.

New Year's BJD Resolution and Plans for 2015

The New Year is upon us and like every year we find ourselves contemplating plans and goals.
For me, 2014 was a busy and exciting doll year in which I accomplished a lot. Especially in the field of faceups did I truly excel and start to find my own unique style.

Same goes for photography, I took so many pictures last year and the quality of the images just improved with every shoot. Yup, much was done.

Now that 2014 is wrapped up I feel ready and prepared for what is to come in 2015, and I've laid out a game-plan so I don't get lost and forget what I actually wanted to achieve.




BJD Game-Plan for 2015:

1) Continue to improve my faceup skills in every way. Become more proficient with the airbrush, draw even finer lines, take the doll beyond the limitations of the sculpt. And take better pictures of the heads in the process.

2) Take photos in more extravagant locations, try to go outside more often even with my SD-sized dolls (now that's going to be a tough one!). Get a doll stand and take some awesome outdoor pictures.

3) Sew. I've already acquired a basic skill set, now I just have to focus it on doll clothing. Producing patterns, creating outfits. All my dolls should have a decent wardrobe!

4) Develop my characters' storyline further, take it out of the 'planning' phase and into the 'writing' phase.

5) Two new dolls this year. Which ones is to be determined.

Finally, my New Year's resolution: keep calm. Stay cool, take it easy.

I spent so much mental effort in 2014 with just planning. Pure planning, theoretical, hypothetical. It was all very draining and psychologically exhausting. I don't want to do that in 2015. I want to spare myself the hours and rather use them elsewhere more wisely. Plus, if you plan too much there is no more room for spontaneous decisions, which could just turn out to be the best you've ever made.

So no more sitting in front of the computer and racking my brains with what I could do. Rather let the plan of action come to me.

I hope you all had a great fresh start
and may all your new ideas spring into fruition this coming year.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 25th

That concludes this Christmas series, it was super fun to do and a very good challenge to see if I could upload a picture a day for twelve days straight. I definitely think I could pull off this as like a "Doll-A-Day-A-Month" thing, but that's a completely different level and not on the agenda any time soon.

This set-up took me (and my boyfriend) about an hour and-a-half to complete, with getting all the props in order and having the dolls sit as if they could have just naturally gathered right there. It was challenging to say the least but tons of fun all in all. I included only the best pictures that really show off the best angles here, the conditions to shoot were tough overall so many pictures hit the trash in the process.
I do hope you enjoyed this series, I know I did.


On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A big family to share the love.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 24th

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

All the little things to look forward to. 

Second-last batch for this Christmas series! These are the close-up shots of the Xmas set-up I created with my dolls. On these pictures you see all the details you otherwise might have missed when looking at the whole thing. So look forward to tomorrow when you'll be able to see the bigger picture, and Merry Christmas to you all! 

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 23rd

We're getting so close I can almost smell it!

Somehow I completely miscalculated when this series would end. Originally I thought it would end by the 26th, but now turns out we'll have it over on Christmas Day after all. Alrighty then.

Heather will always be special to me, there's something about her eyes and that little mouth!

Sorry for the tiny picture here but the original is so huge it just wouldn't fit! I recommend to go check it out in full glory on my flickr. Same goes for some of my other pictures here that show up a little too small for comfort.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
All the wonders of his love.
- Heather

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 22nd

Yup, missed another day. Pure Christmas madness has unravelled and I'm loving it!

But here is a special one, I'm so happy the picture turned out this good because the conditions to shoot outside in the past weeks have been horrid. Windy, windy, windy!

Andromeda is wearing her new dress I bought for her on etsy, it was a great price for this amount of work. However the velvet doesn't allow photographs under unnatural lighting. It would look absolutely ridiculous!  Oh well, we managed, and below is a bonus shot where you can see a little more of the dress.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A night divine. 
- Andromeda

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 21st

Would you believe I actually lost a photo?

*sigh* never delete originals too quickly, even off of the camera! I was astounded any such thing could happen really, but it did.

Ah well, this one's not so bad. But the shot I originally had planned for today looked even better in every way. You learn from mistakes.



















On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
The dawning of a new world.
- Féonie

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 20th

D'awwww!
My first tiny bjd arrived yesterday, DollZone Eudora! I bought her from my local dealer and we did a short layaway of three months, an overall perfect decision as I was very cooped up lately and wouldn't have been able to customise her sooner.
She really is quite special, she was from DZ's last christmas event, I don't know how much you had to spend to get her but I can be sure it was a lot! I definitely underestimated her in terms of poseability and size! Somehow I thought she would be smaller?
I can say she poses lovely, she is single jointed so her legs are limited in some angles but I believe wiring would sort that out.

I can't say when I'll be able to paint her. I bought her because, for a while, I'd been itching for a project doll that stands apart from my original characters. She will be a work in progress, I have to buy new colours if I'm going to go for the look I have in mind. Ah, and those eyes! They're so tiny I haven't a clue what size they are. Maybe 8mm? Got to get her some different ones though, these are a little too high-domed and plain for me.

No more slacking off, I promise. I just really wanted her to be a part of this series but couldn't take pictures yesterday.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A little sweetheart to brighten my life. 
- DollZone Eudora (nameless)

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 19th

First shoot with Cedrenn complete! Yeah! It makes me so happy to see him all fully clothed and finished already just merely a month after is arrival.

It makes me proud to be able to incorporate him in this series, I'm excited to see what else I will be doing with him.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

A bright sun to shine on my path ahead.

- Cedrenn 

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 18th

A flashback for today, an old picture of Lune and Andromeda. The first ever picture I took of them together. Lune wasn't near complete, summer was around the corner and Andromeda had just gotten a new faceup. Well, lots of things have happened since then.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
  A sister to be my friend. 
  - Andromeda & Lune

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 17th (Goodbye Robert)

Today I sent Robert off to a new home. I had been debating with myself if I should sell him for a long, long time now. He was the first BJD I ever came into contact with, the first real resin dolly I held. He is the remnant of what I once liked aesthetically in BJDs. This absolute realism, perfect proportions.

But alas, no more.
The same fate my Iplehouse Carina met.
Plus, adding to the fact that I simply can't cope with his unwieldly posing and massive weight, his character just quite blatantly faded away.

So here he is for the last time, as part of the twelve days of christmas.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
                                                 A safe journey to a new home. - Robert



















Below, bonus shots of his sales page that I thought turned out rather nice.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 16th

Yes! On time today, I hope I will be able to keep up with this series from now on.

This is the last shots of Lune's set, there is another lovely close-up of the mirror I shot but that one just didn't fit in with these so it'll get it's own special spot somewhere else.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
The reflection of my inner world. 
- Lune

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 15th

A little late, but the actual 15th was just too busy for uploading dolly pictures.

So here it is, Lune's pictures are all from the same shoot. The theme I was going for was reflection (as in, thoughts) and the mirror is a symbol for that.


On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A mirror to read my mind. 
- Lune

Monster High Venus Mcflytrap Repaint

Me and Monster High dolls…..it's complicated.

When I first started out in the BJD hobby I got myself a Monster High to practise painting on dolls. However, nothing could have prepared me for the frustration that ensued. Believe it or not, vinyl is tough stuff to work on, especially for beginners. It was a battle from beginning to end, the poor doll looked nothing like I had imagined it would. It wasn't the fault of the doll, but somehow my relationship with Monster Highs turned sour after that experience.

I never thought I'd bring up the courage and buy another one but, alas, fate proved me wrong.
Falling in love with the Venus doll, I took the plunge and bought her with the determination to make her into something better that before.

Two attempts later, I can finally say I am happy with the result. I have at last made peace with vinyl, although I can definitely say for sure that it is my least favourite medium to work on. Resin is easy-going compared to it.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Dec. 14th

What better way to start a blog than with a fresh idea?

I've had this little series in mind. I wanted to take photos of each of my dolls and write down their Christmas hopes and wishes. Every doll would get two to three pictures and come Christmas day - voila! A whole lineup of pretty pictures and special words fitted to the specific characters' personalities.

Without further ado, here's "Day 1" of the Twelve Days Of Christmas series. Unfortunately I didn't have the time or means to start the series yesterday, so this a-doll-photo-a-day chain will end on December 26th instead of the 25th as it was originally planned. But ah well, let's roll with it!

Dec. 14. ~ Lune

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

A night under the light of the moon.