LGH[Blogside]

I seriously do since starting the design on this shirt ….

Anyway, my most recent sewing project is a series of three shirts as an exchange with my friend. First shirt is done … and was used to get the sizing right for her doll. Soom boys are itty bitty tiny X___x; This shirt looked plain so I decided to put something on it, I didn’t have fabric paint available to me, so the best solution seemed to cut out a design in fabric ….

I’ve made a little progress since then, but that’s almost what it looks like now. I really wish I’d thought of the design thing before I sewed the sides of the shirt up OTL. Also, my camera apparently hates red and other saturated colors (like Damien’s hair–which is an extremely bright blue).

So I’ve pretty much decided that while I could possibly succeed in making Crobidoll Lance look a little Asian … it’s not worth all the angst that would go into it. So Toshiya … is going to have a record reshell, even for me. I’ve already got his head up for sale, though I’m hoping someone will just offer me a trade on the head I’ve got my eyes set on for him.

Which is ironically also the mold I’ve in mind for Tarot. They must really look alike or something, because this is two-for-two that I’ve eyed the same mold for them. Unfortunately, it is an event head and so I angst. To get it for both of them I would, at the very least, have to buy at least one of them second hand. Despite the wishes of Luts themselves that no one sell the heads ….

Well, it will all work out eventually, I guess. I just gotta be patient. But man, I hate the anxiety that accompanies being uncertain about things ….

SAY HELLO TO EDEN. "HI, EDEN."

It's bath day here, or just Eden's really. I'll also be attempting to repaint both him and Toshiya. Got to go wipe them next.

So yeah, his body is hanging out, drying on a towel. His head ... ?

>________>

<________<

Eden: *VERY NOT IMPRESSED* :<

Casey:

After my last failure with a yukata I decided to try drafting one from a diagram I'd found ... which is unfortunately in Japanese so I can't read any of the text on it to see if it'd be helpful in my measurements. I've been eyeballing XD;

Subject this time is Wisp, Leslie's ABJD. A.k.a. Impulse tiny (long story behind that name). Since she's so small, however, it's a lot faster to do prototypes and a lot less frustrating when they don't turn out ... and I'd wanted to do her something wa-loli esque or something for awhile.

Anyway, progress shots. Obi is this little hair-tie thing that came in a set with ones I often use as scarves for Eden .... It's very quickly tied. Oh, and the whole thing is currently inside out. But you can sort of see how it's going. Just got to finish up the sleeves, sew on the collar and then hem whatever is left (which will be part of the opening in the front that is not attached to the collar and the bottom.). I also managed to find some lace to trim it with.

(It is mine.)

I am still sorta mad at Iplehouse (And so I haven't written a response to them yet), but that is not what this entry is about!

Instead this is about me discovering how to use my camera better XD; I can't wait to try this out on dolls, but for now have a jpg of my experimental shot to test this new finding:

WOW! It almost looks artsy!

The tutorial section of the website is very bare, isn’t it? Ah haha … oh man the faceup tutorial is so outdated. I mean … it’s from back when Yasuo was a different mold (Ricky Bermont)! I sort of miss that head … but Migidoll Ryu does suit Yasuo much more …. Anyway, back to the topic at hand!

Tutorials. I’m pondering making more.

I need to do a more updated faceup tutorial. A lot of the materials I use have changed as well as my methods. I’d probably leave the old one up as well, but it’d be nice to do a new one too ….

Also I think I’m going to create some photography tutorials. Probably one with some very very basic information about things like aperture, shutter speed, focus, light meters (basic because I’m not an expert by any means), and also a few about photo-editing and editing effects. And probably a thing about “what makes a good photo” … or “how to tell if your photo is a *good* photo.” It seems to me the last is especially important for people just starting.

The old website layout was boring so I uh ... updated it. Same base photo for it really, but it's much shinier now. Yay! It's also much more colorful (but not quite so bad as the neon disaster from awhile ago (though the actual layout turned out a little different from that early preview, the colors were still the same).

Click to go to the updated website (opens in a new window).

I also finally got Toshiya painted, but it's going to be a temporary thing. First because I can't find my gloss to finish it, and secondly because I decided I don't like the blue tint my current water color choice for black hair gives to the eyelashes (it goes blue as it thins, this isn't really noticeable in the eyebrows normally, but it is when I paint lashes). So I'm going to buy a black color when I go to get some gloss this weekend (I'm already making a trip to Cincinnati then, so it's a good idea to consolidate and save gass). I'm still undecided whether to go for a color called Lamp Black or Ivory Black, I'll probably test them at the store if I have the opportunity (my gut impulse is probably the ivory, because I know offhand that it has a warmer base hue and so it won't thin down to blue hues).

The blushing may also be a bit muddy, it was hard to tell when I finished it (because it was so late), and I haven't taken a look at it in natural light yet. Given my previously listed concerns it's become a non-issue, though.

This brings us to another matter. My Iplehouse Mars actually arrived on Monday, however it was not in acceptable condition for a new doll. The damage to it isn't something that couldn't be repaired with sanding (although the headcap would never fit quite right), but it is a brand new doll and should not require sanding by the buyer in order for it to be presentable. I couldn't even paint it right now if I wanted to, the surface is too uneven in texture on his head.

You can find pictures I took of the head to report on Iplehouse's Doll Hospital board in this folder, see for yourself what you think of the quality. (Still no reply from them, though I posted the night before last ... it does seem like someone has viewed the thread other than myself, however, so hopefully there will be a reply soon.)

I understand in this case that Iplehouse is rushing to try to catch up its backlog, and in situations like that in factory production quality does go down. With that in mind, so long as they are able to resolve this in a satisfactory manner I will continue to buy from them in the future (and as I do have plans for another Iplehouse Ryushin, the opportunity would arise). If they do not, then I am afraid I will lose all respect for the company. I had none of these problems when I bought Yukio from them.

(Toshiya is depressed that his boyfriend will not be staying for long this time--but he will be back! Even if Iplehouse does nothing I've little faith in my ability to sand this head as would be necessary to restore it [in particular because it requires sanding around the eyes and that is a delicate process], so it would have to be sent off to a capable customizer. So either way it means more separation time for Toshiya and Damien.)