Thursday, November 4, 2010

Dolly henna and...karma?


Despite the rain I spent this afternoon giving Uri his lovely red henna tattoos, and they came out great. A little tiny smudge on one, but I'm not really complaining. :P I hope to maybe get some shots tomorrow although that's my really busy day so we'll see. Also, I think that Uri has finally claimed that red wig as his own. Red seems to be working really well for him all over (henna, face up, hair). :)

And in other dolly news we have a rebirth...again. I realized after Chrom left that I missed Paks, not doll thankfully but the character. I missed my little blond zombie killer. :( However I am really happy with having three main dolls. I toyed with the idea of looking for a Luts KDF Bory as that's what I wanted to re-shell Paks as, but I just don't want another doll. Couple with that the fact that Crow's character has fallen by the wayside in my further development of it and well, we have a new Paks!

On a whim today I took Paks' old wig and put it on him, and presto: dolly love! It is an SD wig so it's very full, but it works well for his character. Dolly Karma also seems to be coming together for this little rebirth. Crow had been given Paks' old face up as I missed it, and I still have his eyes. Also oddly enough, when Dru was first purchased (as Bean), she was intended to be a friend of his. Now that I've expanded the storyline on everyone, I can see how she would really connect with Paks. And come one, I *really* miss writing about the zombie-ravaged future. So, photos all around to come!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wigs, wigs, everywhere!

Uri is my only doll who doesn't have a consistent "signature" wig. He floats between at least two regularly, and now I've found a third that I really love him in. *sigh*

Borrowing Kaleb's wig, eh...no.


The wig he came with. I really like this one as it's most
manageable, but not quite right.



This has been the favorite time after time, Kaleb's stock
wig actually. I really like this one, but every now and then
it just doesn't quite work.


Maggie's stock wig. Seriously needs work, but not horrible.
Just too small.


And finally my new favorite. Uri would dye his hair, so such a
color wouldn't be unusual, also he really loves the color red.
I am quite fond of this one with his new face up.



My two favorites are the dark brown/blond mix (Tae Kain wig) and the red fur. I think that for now he will go back and forth between those two.

Also I am *in love* with his new face up. It's very simple and makes him look a little weird, but I love it. It fits him so perfectly! As a story note, Uri is something called a "blood psychic" meaning he can read people's blood. Sort of like a cousin of the vampire. One side effect of this is that both his lips and around his eyes tend to be "stained" red.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

D'oh!


Uri is fully made up and sealed, although not without incident. I did it yesterday and was happy until I realized that there were a few spots of old pastel left. So I took it all off and gave him a really good scrubbing this afternoon and did it again, but better this time. :) It looks like he has a little bit of staining from his old face up, but it's covered by the new one.

In any event I had him almost finished and set him to dry, only to have him dropped by my boyfriend's mom and have his nose smashed in! I've been into this hobby now for over a year and prior to September I'd never damaged a doll. Now in the spans of three months I've damaged two! Dru got a chipped cheek on my birthday, and Uri a dented nose. I boiled both and they've recovered, although I'm not sure if Uri has a crack in his resin or just in his sealant. It looks like the sealant, but I'm not 100% sure.

That being said, he is done and looks great. Very different from any face up I've done before, and not one I'd have thought I'd like. It's very simple, just pastel shading on the lips, around the eyes, and a bit on the ears. And red too, so he looks a bit like an albino, but I love it. It works for his demon look and a bit of his character I haven't talked about yet, but I'll save that for the pictures.

Monday, November 1, 2010

New Face


I decided to bite the bullet tonight and redo Uriel's face up. There was a lot of dirt/pastels under one layer of the sealant that I just couldn't get out without removing the face up, so I finally did it. As soon as I did Uriel decided he didn't want the same old face up, he wanted something very different. How different? Well you'll just have to wait for the photos, but it's nothing like his old one!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Haunted Vessel: Uriel


Uriel
Uriel is the next in line of my dolly loves after Daemon (shhh, don't tell them though!). When I opened him despite the packaging shock and my exhaustion, I knew there was something different. Like Daemon, Uriel gave me his name(s) rather than me choosing them.

Initially I was just doing research for Drusilla's background and trying to piece together who she would have known and a little more about the demon that "helped" her transition. The moment I began looking, the name Uriel popped up time after time. It came to me completely unbidden the first time. I was thinking about one thing and then "Uriel," and then back again.

The second name Uriel gave me is a personal one that I really only use for him myself. In magic there is the concept of a specific name either only used for workings, or even one given by the Gods themselves. These can be public or private depending upon the name and the person. I have a magic name given to me when I started practicing paganism that is mine alone, so it is never shared with anyone. The moment I took Uriel's head out of his box and promised him he'd be safe and happy here, a special name popped into my head. It was pretty forceful, almost matter-of-fact as if he was saying, "Okay, then this is what you can call me." I don't know yet if this name is just for me alone, but that's the feeling I get, so I won't be sharing it here.

Since then Uriel has been much more outwardly active than any of my other dolls. I mention him being a very social doll, and that's 100% true. He shows his personality and facial expressions to more than just me, and has very definite smiles versus frowns and everything in between. When I took him to a psychic I was working with recently, she seemed to understand what I was feeling from him. She was fascinated by his size and looks, and agreed that he had some of his own energy there. She commented on how beautiful he was, and Uri beamed. :)

In the past I have rarely had dolls move, though I know others have experienced this from time to time. Maybe once in my ownership of them they would do something that couldn't be explained by stringing or other influences, but it was very few and far between. Uri however doesn't seem to have those limitations.

Most often I will hear what owners know as the creaking and squeaking of joints moving. I'm pretty neurotic about my dolls, so when I sit them down somewhere, even for a short time, I make sure all limbs are adjusted and placed correctly. That eliminates sudden stringing tension causing kamakaze acts like falling off tables or otherwise. So I usually pose them, step back and make adjustments, and then observe for any other issues before I walk away. When I do this with Uri I never fail to leave the room or close the door and hear the telltale creaking.

At one point I was sure my boyfriend was playing a trick on me although he has an aversion to touching my dolls for any reason. I set Uri down on the counter and did my usual adjustments before walking to the bathroom and shutting the door. Within a minute or so I could hear creaking and squeaking that sounded like he was being entirely repositioned. It continued for the whole time I was in the bathroom, but stopped the moment I opened the door. Uri was still seated just where I had put him, and nothing else was disturbed. Proof positive? No, I don't think so, but I consider it an interesting experience. :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010