A fresh look at Neph

Gabrielle isn't the only one who got the beauty-spa treatment today; Neph finally got a new face-up. He was my first resin BJD over 4 years ago, and the only one who had a company default face-up. The face-up has faded and chipped slightly over the years, so I decided it was time to redo him. I still wanted him to look like Neph though, so I kept pretty close to his original look.

But what I had never realised, is that the Dream Of Doll Hoo actually has teeth! I'd never seen a close-up of a Hoo's mouth with the teeth showing, and in the default face-up they're just airbrushed over - so if I hadn't wiped his default face-up, I would probably never have known!

Anyway, I picked out Neph's teeth delicately with white acrylic, so now if you look at just the right angle, you can see them. :-)








Look! TEETH!


Ickle teeth!

Gabrielle's new face-up

It's like having a whole new doll. :-)

Who guards whom?

Luspira and her guardian, Satin.
Or should that be the other way around?

Satin: BW CP Nanuri 07

So, it was time for Satin - Luspira's blind guardian - to get his mods and face-up today, in addintion to Galhaia's new face-up!

Eyes opened a little wider using Dremel and fine sandpaper.

Basic yebrow shape blocked in with Inscribe pastel using a sponge applicator; basic lip blushing added with a round filbert brush. You can see his little fangs very clearly here. :-)

Eyebrows shaped using watercolour pencil; liplines added in pale pink watercolour pencil. Light blushing round eyes, nose and on lips using Inscribe chalk pastels.

Lower eyelashes and eyeliner defined with watercolour pencil; further blushing round eyes and on lips with I Kan Dee iridescent chalk pastels.

White watercolour pencil gives further definition to eyebrows and is used to add lighter liplines.

The fangs are picked out with white acrylic paint, and Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium applied to top eyelids before a coat of gloss varnish is applied to eyelids and lips.

Light brown eyelashes complete the face-up.

So here he is complete, with 16mm glass "blind" olive eyes and a Monique wig in platinum blonde - that won't be his default wig and eys however, as I have a Monique joJo wig in Strawberry Blonde and Auburn on the way, and eventually he will have 17mm Masterpiece Eclipses. I will be ordering his Fantasy Doll body in a couple of weeks' time.

Galhaia: Updating her look

Galhaia has had the same look since I first got her over two years ago, and her face-up was starting to get a little chipped in places - so it was time for a complete new look!

Basic eyebrow shape blocked in with Inscribe chalk pastels using a sponge applicator; pastl blushing on lips and lip lines added in dark red Graphitint pencil. Sealed with Testor's Dullcote between each stage.

Definition added to eyebrows with watercolour pencil; further light blushing around eyes with pink and purple pastel. Further lip lines added with watercolour pencil.

Further shaping with darker watercolour pencils; eyes lined with watercolour pencil and lower lashes drawn on.

White watercolour pencil on eyebrows and lower lashes to add further definition. Beauty spot added with dark brown watercolour pencil. Fine white liplines added with watercolour pencil.

Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium applied to lips and top eyelids; lips and eyelids glossed.

And here's the finished result!

A few changes

If you've reached this blog via the "arkadiandreams LJ" button on the Arkadian Dreams website, you might be wondering what's going on.

The arkadiandreams LJ is still online; it hasn't been deleted. However following recent developments with regards to LJ and SixApart (including, but not limited to, the flagging journals issue and the sale of LJ), I decided that I'd prefer to have the arkadiandreams journal more directly under my control - so from now on news and events from Arkadian Dreams (including photoshoots etc) will be posted primarily here on the Arkadian Dreams blog and mirrored over on the LJ.

The other change you might have noticed on the site is the appearance of Google ads. I've endeavoured to make these as unobtrusive as possible however, so I hope they won't prove too annoying to regular visitors. :-)

In other news, the Juri B head is still available for sale, and I've just started customising a BW CP Nanuri 07 head to be Kynaston "Satin" Dane, Luspira's guardian - and a figure from Eric's mysterious past!

Also up for a new face-up is Galhaia, my Juri 05 girl. Expect progress pics of both Galhaia and Satin soon!

Commission: Arien (CP Elf Ttori/Bobobie Sprite hybrid)

Introducing Arien, a CP Kid Delf Elf Ttori girl with a Bobobie Sprite body belonging to redcountess:

Alaric

Continuing with the face-up updating, this weekend it was Alaric's turn:

Eric 2008

Ren isn't the only one who got the beauty spa treatment this week - Eric's had a new face-up too!

The Restoration of Ren

Ren is a restored Cerberus Project Normal Skin Soo Special owned by redcountess. Her previous owner had attempted to mod her by sanding her top lip but only succeeded in sanding off poor Ren's philtrum (the groove beneath the nose) and most of her top lip!

This is how Ren looked when she first arrived:




Closer view of head without wig




The blank head after removing face-up. Note lack of philtrum!


Her first face-up by me, before I recarved her philtrum.

After nearly two years, Ren's face-up was looking the worse for wear and her head had yellowed slightly. After treatment with bicarb of soda and peroxide, her philtrum and upper lip were carefully reshaped by precision sanding with a dremel before I gave her a complete new face-up.

So here she is: the restored Ren!




This is my first ever go at freckles!

It's all about the elves!

Today has been all about the elves - specifically Lysande, my modded BW CP Vampire Elf Yder, and Nimue, my modded Obitsu Gretel elven sorceress!

First up is Lysande. I'd never been 100% happy with his eye mods; I did them with a rather cheap Maplin Dremel-copy, and whilst it was only my second ever effort at opening eyes, Perseus (my first) had gone far better.

This is Lysande as he was:

And this is how he is now:

His eyes are currently 17mm EyeCo silicones, but now I've opened his eyes up more I am going to be getting him a 19mm set so he shall be looking less "startled"!

Next up is Nimue. It's been a while since my little elven sorceress had any love from the camera, so it was her turn for a photoshoot. :-)

Nimue was one of the first Gretels produced by Parabox, a good year before the optional pixy ears came out; I modded her elf ears myself out of Fimo Doll Clay. Her face-up was also done by me.

Both Nimue and Lysande feature on my Commissions page; updated photos are also up on the Gallery.

Arkadian Dreams: Accepting commissions

Shop now open and taking commissions

Prices:
Face-ups: $35 per head
Mods: $10 for eye opening; other mods POA

Payment:
UK - PayPal, Google Checkout, cheque or postal order; International: PayPal/Google Checkout only. I do not charge PayPal fees; the price I quote is the price you pay! Payment must clear before completed commissions are dispatched.

Return Shipping:
Within UK: $5 (Royal Mail Special Delivery)
International: $10 (Royal Mail Airsure)
Discounts available for multiple heads - ask for quote

Timescale:
I aim to have a turn-around of 7-10 days per head; however this is dependant on suitable weather for sealing and spraying etc. Full photographs will be provided at all stages and approval sought before completion and shipping. If you ask for a complete redo of the head, please allow a further week for completion.

For further details visit the Arkadian Dreams website or see my thread on DoA.

Click here for online Gallery of sample work

SoulDoll Paris

A SoulDoll Paris I face-upped for sale on eBay; brand new face-up done by myself in pastels and watercolour pencil, sealed with Testors. He was sold with the Poshdolls auburn wig and 16mm Berenguer Light Grey acrylic eyes shown. His ear was pierced by his previous owner.


















Close-up of face-up.


Close-up of feet showing yellowing on toes - I was his second owner before selling him on.

A Work In Progress: Luspira (modded MNF vampire elf Shiwoo girl)

Yesterday I opened up the eyes of the sleeping MNF vampire elf Shiwoo head that I received as a Christmas gift, and today I did the face-up - the next stage in bringing to life Luspira, my little werewolf girl.

I took photos at each stage so you can see how I currently do face-ups.

This is how the head looked before I started work on the face-up:

I discovered whilst opening up the eyes that the left eye socket on a sleeping MNF vamp elf Shiwoo head is ever so slightly lower than the right - which means that even when you've got the eyes opened up evenly (confirmed by comparing the apertures from inside the head), the eyes will still look slightly uneven because the right eye will have more upper eyelid than the left eye. It is more obvious due to the small size of the head, but will be far less obvious once the face-up is finished. Opening the eyes is made a little more tricky due to how thin the resin is behind the eyes on this particular head mold - slowly and carefully does it.

Blank head with eyes in


Base blushing:

After spraying with a base coat of Testors Dullcote, I apply chalk pastel blushing, including the basic shape of the eyebrows (I use a blend of Inscribe chalk pastels and I Kan Dee metallic chalks). Here, I've used a size 4 flat filbert brush to apply blushing to lips and eyes; I then used a small cosmetic sponge applicator to apply light brown pastel in the rough shape of the eyebrows before neatening up lines by tapping with a kneadable putty eraser to lift away excess blushing. Then I spray with Testors to fix this layer of blushing.

Eyebrows and lower lashes:

Next I define the eyebrows and draw on lower lashes with light, fine strokes using watercolour pencils (here, I've used three shades of brown). Luspira is going to be a werewolf, so I've applied dark eyeliner extending down below the inner corners of her eyes with soft dark Derwent Graphitint watercolour graphite pencils in Cocoa and Black. I've also applied light lip lines with a dusky rose watercolour pencil before fixing with another layer of Testors.

Highlights and glossing:

Here, I've applied further liplines with a white watercolour pencil, picked out the little fangs with white acrylic paint using a 6/0 brush, and added silvery highlights to the upper eyelids and inner corners of the eyes with Windsor & Newton Iridescent Medium before a final coat of Testors. The face-up is completed with a layer of acrylic gloss on the lips.

Finished result:

The head completed, with eyes and eyelashes.


Wearing a Tinybear mohair wig in Midnight and Black.







Now all she needs is her body...!

A New Year, a new you?

He's had the same face-up with minor touch-ups for over two years now (see userpic), so I decided it was high time Marius had a new face-up.