Elf Sculpture - part 1

Sad news. My first sculpture is being put on hold.  One morning it fell over and she was decapitated and de-legged. On the day of my friend's wedding it didn't leave me much time. I just placed it on the table and looked at it for a good two minutes and I said to myself, "I have no time".  So she sits now in the corner of my craft desk, repaired and lonely.  I'll return to her but a good break from the heartache is needed.

Good news is that I have started a second sculpture!

This lady elf is 9 inches so far and is made of a mix of Prosculpt and Fimo Puppen. Learning much from my first project, I find that baking in parts helps to make a more detailed and smooth sculpture (more control which means more tedious time involved).

And lookie!! She has a base:

Hair at last!

Ta-dah! 

She is no longer a baldy - yay-

 Starting to wonder if I am posting to many progress pictures. With all the work I have going on she literally the only major art that I have been devoting time to. Sometimes, I'll be working and my eye will wonder over to what I wish I could spend all my time doing. One day I will! News: I am working part-time for an amazing music artist Dane Drewis. I feel happy that part of my week is spent helping talented and amazing people.

It was about 10:30 p.m. when I took the photos so the colors may be off. Her hair has been clipped back for now as I've been working on her dress. Sketching has really helped in planning out how her outfit will be placed together - like puzzle pieces - and I am working on the idea of layers to achieve a particular look. The top layer of the dress is just pinned in how I hope it will turn out (helpful in visualizing the next step).

A while back I found this pleather jacket at a thrift store and I have evil plans to (er, glorious plans), to create a top jacket as well as a cute hat.

More details.

In other news, it was Charlie Chaplin's birthday! He wrote one of my most favorite songs that always cheers me up. "You’ll find that life is still worthwhile... If you’ll just... Smile"

Etsy Shop & Doll clothes

Sewing and sketching away this March. There are new ideas I want to tackle and projects still in the works. I recently added a new item to my Etsy shop called "Spring's Contessa", a fabric book cover for all the ladies who await spring.  Love combining sewing and illustrations!

Realizing my projects involve monstrous amounts of detail and time (makes life interesting...but complicated. Ha!). The past week I've been sewing undergarments for my doll. It consisted of googling, laying about in yards of fabric thrown all over the place, and staring/willing the cut pieces to magically form together.

Here are a few resources that helped me get started in thinking about how I wanted to construct her clothes:

• Bloomers tutorial
• Chemise
• Hemming sheer fabric?

Bloomers. Can't get enough of this word. Made bloomers for the first time! It was very exciting for me...well, it lost its momentum when the first pair didn't fit over her bum. By the time I made a fresh cup of tea I was ready to try once more. Gave it a good glare for measure before starting (making sure to scare it into submission). Above, are the pair I made along with my *bee bustle*. Naming it so because of its appearance (fitting, eh?)

The background of this picture shows only a faction of the mess found in the path of my creative tornado. The next layer is the first skirt layer. Made ruffles that will probably not even be shown when she is fully dressed. But I'll know it's there! Mwuahaha.

Hopefully in the next photos she will no longer be a baldy! My mohair has arrived.

-Cheers-

Doll - Dress Sketch

Happy Wednesday everyone @-->>----

I want to share an article that has helped me accomplish more in a day. The idea has been rehashed many times by different people, but things never sink in until you put it to good use. LISTS. I'm starting to write them (not type), every morning before turning on the computer or checking email. I make lists of things I want to accomplish, and then rewrite them into a schedule. It helps!! -- link --

Genesis paints are fantastic! They go on light, or I am not being bold enough to go heavy at first, but I find layering on the paint in between bakes create a nice effect.

She is still a baldy. The next step of adding hair make me nervous. If anyone has tips they wouldn't mind sharing let me know.

Started to make a cute ruffle. Details, here I come - this is my favorite part. YAY!

Sketchy, sketch, sketch.

Spent all night sketching out ideas of how I am going to put her dress together (while factoring in the limitations of placing them on her frame). I need to channel into my talented friend Vani's sewing skills.

Doll Project - Arg!

Last week was full of a lot of joy and also many speed bumps. First with the joy! I was surprised last week to find an email from Deviantart telling me that someone has purchased a 3 month premium membership for my account.

What floored me was it was by an artist I had admired from afar for many years. The great Hector Sevilla (aka Elsevilla)! So a shout out for Hector, your whimsical linework I drool over, your character designs I adore, Elsevilla Esvilla so kind you are. Thank you -hug-

Bump bump bump...

I baked my first sculpture! Ahh, to wait was hard. Back tracking, if you notice I added 10mm glass eyes. Looking at the sculpture for about 10 minutes, I ripped out the work done previously and smacked them on (took forever to get them just right). After baking, it allowed me to build on top of the face.

The boots were sculpted as well (the most fun part of all, haha). Ahhhh, now I can't wait to get to the stage of sewing her outfit. So where were the speed bumps? Speed bump #1: Didn't secure her head very well so it kept drooping. Fixing it so many times I finally had the courage to rip it completely off and work on the under-structure to fix the source of the problem. Speed bump #2: Cracks after baking. Nooooooo! Thankfully I had Magic Smooth on hand to repair. That is where I am at currently, adding a second layer of Prosculpt over the repaired areas. Now to look into Genesis Paint and maybe eyelashes.

Phew! So much to learn from. In other news, new website discovery. This place gives a lot of food for thought about art and business: www.thestudiosource.com

Doll Project - Faces oh my!

Progress photos are fun, not just from artist that I admire, but taking them too! So here is my adventure so far:

Started with Magic Sculpt (it's the darker of the two sections) this weekend, MS is pretty neat! The draw back is that you have to have to wait about 12 hours for it cure completely. Worked out a skeletal form in the beginning (had to go back twice! Oi...the wait was cruel). Once I started with Prosculpt (using the Beige - Caucasian), time fleeeeew. Bulking out the form in the 2nd pic. Hope this sculpture turns out well when I bake...

To my left is the face of fail, ha. After the 4th attempt of starting a face I decided to let my frustration out by making myself laugh with an alien face.

I remember someone asking me how I went about creating a ceramic bust. The guy sounded really frustrated so my advice was this: Don't be angry!! Keep calm and make sure that you are enjoying what you are doing. Walk away, drink something delicious, treat yourself to a cookie. Check out a few artist and find out techniques that they use. Youtube is fun! So many artist like to share their love (artsy-lets-create-more-fun stuff love).


So, finally getting the groove on. Working with clay, I went about making faces using different ways (depending on my mood). Here is one way:

 

  

Need to ask someone how the whole premade eye thing goes about. Seen them inserted just not sure about how to pick one.  Well, here is where I am at currently. Just ordered some more prosculpt, now to wait anxiously to continue another day.

Oh, and her boobs looked smooshed. I plan on placing a corset on her so I am trying to achieve the boob/cleavage/corset shape. woooo!!!

First Doll Project - Step 1

No kiln! What to do!? Researching over the internet I came across many wonderful doll sculpture artist (many of which are favored by this blog) that inspire my imagination. From a blog created by Natasha Red October (Morezmore), I learned of a product called Magic Sculpt and Pro Sculpt. My mind reeled with the possibilities (bouncing with excitement here). My fingers literally ITCH to sculpt that I am afraid of starting a tic in my fingers (ha!). 

Funny thing is, about a year ago I randomly picked up a magazine I'd usually pass over. In it they featured Virginie Ropars, a beautiful doll sculpture artist that instantly caught my attention. She mentioned that she enjoyed doing so many creative things - sculpt, fashion, sewing, etc - and that this helped bring them all together. I thought, "Wish I could do something like that! I wouldn't even know where to begin" and thus an example of me getting in the way of..well, me. Ha.

And so, a year later I am attempting something I once thought impossible. Poppy King was right when she said that doubting takes up time that is better spent learning.

My art desk is a bit messy now because of my enthusiasm of starting. Borrowed my Dad's power drill to start creating a base to work off of. Probably going to make tons of mistakes but I guess that is part of taking on something new (and exciting - eeeee). Got as far as making a skeleton structure as I await for my magical Magic Sculpt. 

Here is my doll idea: 
Includes lots of keys and a cage like dress (I can do it! >.<)

Inspiration: "I realized that I was the construct of my own cage"