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westfallgoing to start journaling my doll customization adventures here! i technically already chronicle everything on my doll instagram, but dw entries are more fun >:)
FYI this post will be image heavy + tags for content ahead: photos of dolls (some of them somewhat hyperrealistic but imo most of them have stylized features), photos of unfinished dolls (blank faces, no eyes, no hair, in-progress modifications), headless doll bodies.
brief primer for those who don't know: i collect and customize ball jointed dolls (bjds) <3 i've admired and wanted these kinds of dolls since i was in high school, but i only started collecting about three years ago. the driving appeal of bjds for me is that they typically come blank, so i can customize them to look however i want them to! i paint all my dolls myself, and recently i've started venturing out into modding them as well.
this is a photo of my current doll shelf!
TtB/LtR: ritsu, sage, lucy, will, elliot
torrance, syd, jacky, alaska, celia, james
nicky, tristen, lyle, shion, cassie, jem
jamie/lena, ezra, ian, seth, scarlet <3
some select closeups so you can see the detail of their faceups (all painted by me!!):
alsooo i have these headless bodies that are just hanging out lol:
left one will go to a nameless boy whose head i currently have in production, middle is roman's, and right is noel's ^__^
noel and roman are headless atm bc i am currently working on modding them and eventually giving them faceups. i already knew i was going to have to mod noel's eyes open because i ordered him in a dreaming sculpt, but i ended up doing it for roman's too because he looked sleepier than i wanted him to.
here's a small process of opening roman's eyes:
this was my first mod and i think it shows LOL. i opened up his eyes by cutting into his eyelids with an craft knife, then sanded the edges. but after looking at it the next day, i realized i had opened up his eyes maybe too much LOL so i closed the inner corners back up with epoxy. after letting that cure for 12 hours, i sanded it smooth and then color-matched with gouache paint <3 despite the hiccups, i'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!
after my first try, i went a lot slower when i modded noel. here's a photo process:
i think it went loads better this time! i'm really happy with the shape <3 it's still just a little uneven under his upper eyelid, but that will get covered when i apply lashes on him anyway, so i think he's good to go and ready to be painted!
i will definitely need a full day to paint both of these boys, but i will make another post with step by step photos when i give them both faceups <3
i know this was a lot of rambling abt a fairly niche craft hobby, but thank you if you read everything <333 hope you enjoyed!
FYI this post will be image heavy + tags for content ahead: photos of dolls (some of them somewhat hyperrealistic but imo most of them have stylized features), photos of unfinished dolls (blank faces, no eyes, no hair, in-progress modifications), headless doll bodies.
brief primer for those who don't know: i collect and customize ball jointed dolls (bjds) <3 i've admired and wanted these kinds of dolls since i was in high school, but i only started collecting about three years ago. the driving appeal of bjds for me is that they typically come blank, so i can customize them to look however i want them to! i paint all my dolls myself, and recently i've started venturing out into modding them as well.
this is a photo of my current doll shelf!
TtB/LtR: ritsu, sage, lucy, will, elliot
torrance, syd, jacky, alaska, celia, james
nicky, tristen, lyle, shion, cassie, jem
jamie/lena, ezra, ian, seth, scarlet <3
some select closeups so you can see the detail of their faceups (all painted by me!!):
alsooo i have these headless bodies that are just hanging out lol:
left one will go to a nameless boy whose head i currently have in production, middle is roman's, and right is noel's ^__^
noel and roman are headless atm bc i am currently working on modding them and eventually giving them faceups. i already knew i was going to have to mod noel's eyes open because i ordered him in a dreaming sculpt, but i ended up doing it for roman's too because he looked sleepier than i wanted him to.
here's a small process of opening roman's eyes:
this was my first mod and i think it shows LOL. i opened up his eyes by cutting into his eyelids with an craft knife, then sanded the edges. but after looking at it the next day, i realized i had opened up his eyes maybe too much LOL so i closed the inner corners back up with epoxy. after letting that cure for 12 hours, i sanded it smooth and then color-matched with gouache paint <3 despite the hiccups, i'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!
after my first try, i went a lot slower when i modded noel. here's a photo process:
i think it went loads better this time! i'm really happy with the shape <3 it's still just a little uneven under his upper eyelid, but that will get covered when i apply lashes on him anyway, so i think he's good to go and ready to be painted!
i will definitely need a full day to paint both of these boys, but i will make another post with step by step photos when i give them both faceups <3
i know this was a lot of rambling abt a fairly niche craft hobby, but thank you if you read everything <333 hope you enjoyed!
