No outdoor photos alas, but here's a close up of his face again.  You can see how I cheat by using masking tape...  He has the old style headcap which has no magnet, just a loop for a rubber band.  I have in the past tried that, but it never really works.  Masking tape is just easier all the way around.

Another slight delay in the 30 Day challenge.  The next question requires me to venture outside with Uri, and unfortunately I seem to be sick yet again.  So we shall see if I can sneak out later today.  Otherwise we'll have to make do with a photo of him exploring the wilds of my room.

30 Day BJD Challenge-Day 27

27). Post a crazy/silly pose!

*caramelldansen music playing in the background*

Face!

It's difficult to get a good shot of Uri's reflective eyes without using my real camera, but I managed to snap this today.  I think I'm going to charge up my camera tonight and maybe take Uri on a little outdoor excursion this weekend. 

Houston we have a face!

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 26

26). Do you have a favorite out of your own dolls?

I feel like the answer to this should be obvious but yes I do: Uri.  He's my dolly soulmate, and one of the few dolls who has really persisted over the years.  Even when I find myself feeling out of the hobby, I still keep Uri with me.  He is the most fun to style, take photos of, customize, etc.  We also have a number of matching outfits and jewelry.  So it's pretty clear he's the favorite.

A bigger picture of Uri's new teeth.  I placed them as such for two reasons:

1. I was aiming for a more bat-like look than a vampire human look.  Most vampire dolls, and also concepts of vampire teeth have the two large canines further to the corners of the mouth, as would be more natural given the configuration of human teeth.  However, Uri is not so much human as a devil.  So I took my inspiration from bats and gargoyles, the latter of which have slightly skewed anatomy anyway.

2. I didn't want to have to carve into Uri's lips to place the fangs.  Fangs wouldn't naturally just sit atop the lips without indenting them at all, especially given the position of the top lip.  Technically you could sand/cut indents into the lips and insert the fangs there, which would look more natural.  I didn't want to cut Uri's lips at all, so I placed them with his anatomy.  His upper lip is fuller and overhangs some, with natural indents on top.  These areas allowed me to place the teeth so that they would appear to be coming out from under the top lip, and sit on the bottom lip without looking too wonky.

Some more claw photos...

30 Day BJD Challenge-Days 24-25

24). Have you ever modded a doll?

25). Done your own faceups?

Yes on both accounts!  A list of the customizations I've attempted thus far: wiring, seam sanding, sueding, dyeing, eye opening, stain removal, claws, teeth, elf ears, henna designs, body blushing, and multiple face ups!  I might have missed some in there as well, but that's the basic gist.  I'll try just about anything once, depending on the dolly victim...I mean volunteer.

More sculpting!

My first foray into additive modifications!

I'm not sure what possessed me to suddenly want to do this, but out of the blue the other day I thought "You know, it would be nice if Uri had pointy ears..." Canonically (in my stories) I've toyed with Uri's appearance, and thought it would be fitting to give him pointy ears.  It's not something that was ever particularly important, but I liked the image of a little pointy-eared devil.

I have never attempted additive modifications before, so this was a little daunting.  I've done all kinds of sanding, painting, carving, eye opening, and such on dolls before.  But the nature of additive modifications is different.  Different potential for messing up, and requiring supplies I have never used.

I ended up buying some Milliput Superfine White sculpting putty, and going to town on Uri's ears.  I was initially looking for a different compound to work with, but this one worked surprisingly well.  Essentially you are provided with two different compounds (they look like rolls of clay) which you mix together for a certain amount of time.  Once mixed, the putty goes from tacky, to moldable, to rubbery, to rock hard (within 24 hours).  I sculpted on some ears for Uri, measuring out two small balls of clay that were the same size.  I went for slightly thicker ears because I was afraid of them getting chipped or breaking off if they were thinner.

The package suggested using some water both on your gloves/tools, as well as on the putty itself to smooth it out.  I completely recommend this.  I had read about Milliput before, and found that some people thought it was too dry/crumbly in comparison to other sculpting mediums.  However, if you throw a little water on your gloves while mixing, and fold it in, it is the perfect consistency.  The same goes for smoothing out things like fingerprints or cracks.  Just dip your finger in water (or a tool I suppose), and slide it over the surface.  It will get a watery film, but it will also smooth out.  You can actually do this up to an our or more later, in my experience.

Twenty-four hours later they were very solid and ready for some light sanding and painting.  I used a sandpaper with a grit of 220, which is very, very fine.  The Milluput sanded quite nicely, and I also did a little sanding of some resin as well to smooth out the appearance.  I then mixed paints and colored the ears as close to his resin as I could, and it's pretty accurate.  I'm sure that color matching and using an airbrush would be superior, but I worked with acrylics myself.

So now for some images!  The mods are not perfect, this I realize.  They could be improved upon, but I love them.  Uri has always been a bit of a guinea pig, and despite the trial and error, I enjoy the results.

Temporary pause in the 30-day challenge, will return soon!

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 23

23). What is your favorite part of the hobby?

I love the creativity involved and the potential for change.  You can style a doll, then style it again, and again. Uri has had more faceups than months with me I think.  He's been tweaked in everything from eye color, face, hair color/length, fashion styles, piercings, etc.  And that in part is what keeps me coming back.  This hobby is essentially always evolving for me because he is always evolving.

I also like the sense of community that is easily found within the hobby.  Yes, a cursory examination of social networking sites would quickly point out that a lot of shit gets through around in the community.  However, there is a great deal of bonding and connecting that goes on as well.  I have made doll friends all over the world through this hobby, and had endless discussions about things that most people would just shrug at (new eye balls?!).  People are always waiting to offer help, suggestions, experiences, and so on.  Yes, there is drama, but what hobby doesn't have it?  I prefer to look on the bright side, and thoroughly enjoy what I find there.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 22

22). Is there a part of the BJD hobby you dislike?

If I had to pick something, it would be the availability of bjd items.  Pretty much anything and everything can be ordered online, but sometimes I need to get something in a pinch, and I just can't.  Things like elastic, spare eyes,and even fur for wigs is hard to come by where I am.  I have had some success in getting comparable elastic, though it's not large enough for a SD doll.  As for eyes, sometimes my local craft store carries them in the doll section, but not often.  Usually I end up having to order items online and just make things work in the meantime.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 21

21). What's your favorite doll scale prop?

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 20

20). One doll you love but will never (probably) get?

A Dollshe Hound.  I love, love, love these boys, especially Bernard.  For a long time I considered getting one, though that was before Uri.  They are just huge and yet delicate, and beautiful in every way.  But they are also expensive, and I believe now discontinued.  They are also stylistically very different from any other dolls I have.  For those reasons and others while I love them, I'm not sure I'll ever get one.  I'm fairly content to drool over other peoples'. :)

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 19

19). What is your dream doll?

I have never been one to have a "grail" doll.  More so I've had grail items or pieces of clothing, but those could then be applied to any doll.  That being said, I consider Uri to be my dream doll.  He was kind of unexpected at the time I found him, but I had always liked Els and wanted to own one at some point.

That aside, I think it's really his personality and energy that make him my dream doll.  He's one of the first dolls I've felt such a connection with, and that has only continued to evolve as the years have gone on.  He is one doll whose fashion and appearance can change with mine, making him extremely adaptable.  Overall he's my favorite, and I can't imagine owning a doll that would be any better.

Cosplay Preview- Mini Party Poison!

This is just a preview of the jacket, but since that's a huge part of the costume, it's kind of a preview of the cosplay too. :)  Uri and I have cosplayed as killjoys before, but not with his own real outfit.  Technically we both have our own killjoy personas (Baby Berzerker for me, After Burn for him), but since I have the Party Poison jacket, I wanted a PP cosplay for us as well.  

So this is the jacket I've been working on for the last couple of weeks.  It's based off a pattern from Undead Threads for a trench coat/duster, but I shortened it.  The details were hand sewn in felt, and the Dead Pegasus patch was embroidered on.  It technically still needs the lighter blue strips on the sleeves, but I totally forgot about those when I bought the fabric, and therefore I didn't buy the felt.  So when I hit the craft store next that will be remedied.  For now it's looking pretty good though.  As a note, the jacket actually sits right, I just forgot to fix it for the photos.  So it's not really uneven.

More to come as the cosplay progresses! 

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 18

18). What is your least favorite company?

I think going based entirely on my own aesthetic preferences and past doll history, I would have to say Bobobie/Resin Soul.  Technically the two are separate companies, but BBB is the caster for RS dolls.  They also produce some of the same sculpts, with RS  having much more updated body styles.

My first doll was a BBB/RS Ju in white skin.  I have also owned a BBB Apollo, a RS Gang, and a newer RS 60cm body.  Unfortunately, none of them stayed because I was quite unsatisfied with their posing ability and aesthetics.  That's not to say they aren't nice dolls, because they are.  Some of the RS sculpts are quite fantastic posers these days.  I've also seen people do some really amazing things with the sculpts aesthetics-wise.  For me though, they just weren't a good match.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 17

17). Do you have a favorite company?

This is kind of a tricky question for me.  Overall, I'd say my favorite company is Volks.  I love their sculpts and the culture they've created to go along with them.  Many companies have large stores, but Volks (to my knowledge) is the only one to have their own compound.  The representatives are all very dedicated and care a great deal both about their dolls and their customers.

On the other hand, I also love Cerberus Project's (CP) sculpts, potentially even more than Volks'.  Technically CP is not a company, it's a sculpting team that sells dolls through Fairyland currently, and previously did so through Luts.  Uri is an old CP sculpt from their time with Luts, hence why he's referred to as a CP Luts Delf El (sculpting team, company, doll size title, sculpt name).  I have always loved everything about the Delfs from their design to their posing capabilities, and of course their personalities.  So aesthetically speaking I suppose CP could be my favorite in a sense.

New face up!

I repainted Uri last night, after he spent a few days with no face.  I really like this new look, though I may be making a slight modification and resealing part of it.  It's not perfect, but it's all part of the process. His eyes are very similar to a way I've been doing my own eye make up lately, which is sort of ganguro inspired, somewhat panda, and all random. :)

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 16

16). What is your favorite item of dolly clothing?

I think I have too many to pick one favorite, but here are a few I really like.

This outfit shows two favorite items, the new sweatshirt I referenced in the last post (which I've been wanting forever), and my favorite pair of dolly jeans.  They fit Uri perfectly, and are really nicely detailed.

This shirt is actually Uri's as well, but I don't have a good shot of him wearing it.  It's a copy of a shirt I have, so when we wear them we match.

This was a dress I got off a doll at Goodwill.  Unfortunately the doll was damaged, but she was beautiful.  She was actually made by a local doll maker, and her entire outfit is handmade.  There is an underskirt/petticoat and little bloomers under there as well.  Extremely detailed, and really beautiful.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 15

15). Can any of your crew stand on their head?

Alas, no.  I almost got Liam (Vols YoSD Yuki) to do it once, but he's not quite balanced enough to do so.  I wouldn't even dream of trying it with any of my other guys.  The larger ones are lovely, but they aren't posing kings by any stretch of the imagination.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 14

14). What does your family think of your dolls?

My sister is somewhat curious and mostly accepting of them.  She'll refer to them by name more often than not, and if she finds something doll-sized will bring it home.  She would never own one herself, but she deals with Uri and the others pretty well.

My mother on the other hand is positively scared of them.  She actually told me once that she's afraid they're going to come to life and kill her in her sleep.  No joke.  She thinks they're creepy, and can't stand their "soulless eyes."

BJD Owner Achievement Unlocked!

Aka Kat gets something she's always wanted for her dolls.

I've been seeing this Nine9Style hoodie on dolls since I got into the hobby, and I think that's half of why I wanted one.  Similar to the fer, it's just a cool item I've seen on a number of dolls I really liked.  Plus, look at that detail!  But I've never bought one, mostly because it rarely shows up in the marketplace, and I didn't want to finagle getting it from the store directly.  But this one showed up on Tumblr the other day and I couldn't resist.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 13

13). Have you ever had a floating head?  What about a headless body?  What do you think you would do if you had either?

I have a floating, and in fact he's been with me forever.  He was one of the first doll parts I bought when I initially joined the hobby, and I've never given him up.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but he is a Fairyland MNF vampire elf Shiwoo head.  I have him in dolly storage, and have for a while.  I've just never kept a body that worked for him, at least not yet.

I have never had a headless body, and I can't imagine ever getting one unless it was very temporary.

30 Day BJD Challenge- Day 12

12). Dollie shoes!  Show us how many you have!

For someone who loves her own shoes very much, I have surprisingly few doll shoes.  In fact, Uri really only has two pairs he wears somewhat regularly.

He has this pair of pseudo converse in black.

And my very favorite boots of his, the super goth platforms.

Arashi is the only other one with nice shoes, but they are pretty awesome.  They are sort of like New Rock boots, and this pair has red metallic flames.  Some of my favorite shoes, dolly or otherwise.