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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Re: Work In Progress--Deryni Action Figure Project (was Duncan Action Figure)

Started by Evie, March 11, 2012, 08:52:30 PM

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Evie

"Uh oh...busted!"


"Uh oh...busted!" by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duncan's naughty kitteh gets caught getting into Richenda's jewelry chest.  I bought this for him thinking she looked a bit like Liath, but she's a bit fatter than I imagined Liath being, so maybe this is Pregnant Pouncer?   :D


This tea smells funny by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

She's very curious about my Lapsang Souchong tea.  It smells smoky; is it on fire?


Where am I? by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Wandering around and exploring my desk.   :)

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie


Show and Tell by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duncan shows pregnant Pouncer off to Richenda and all but begs her to take one of the kittens off his hands.  Richenda smiles sympathetically but finds a quick excuse to scurry off to Court.   :D


Court finery by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duncan compliments Duchess Richenda on her new tiara with its Corwyn green emeralds.  The tiara also helps with holding down the veil edges.  I only needed to use one hair pin to secure both veil and wimple, with the tiara helping to hold the veil in place.  Granted, that one hair pin is firmly anchored in Richenda's head....   ;D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

I love the cat!  As a healer, couldn't Duncan figure out how to keep her from having kittens, though?


Evie

Before the fact, he probably could have, although Pouncer really seems to be more Brother Everard's cat than Duncan's (she's actually one of several cats who roam the Basilica and castle grounds, but Everard's the one who has assumed caretaker responsibility for her), so I don't imagine Duncan would tamper with someone else's cat unless asked to.  Finding prospective owners for a new litter is another matter; Brother Everard had already made it clear that he was looking for homes for the expected kittens.   And after the pregnancy became known, Duncan might have religious scruples against terminating it, especially one far enough advanced to make a cat's belly as swollen as this kitty's tummy looks in her side views.  Besides, unless the castle grounds are already overrun with mousers, another generation of "pest exterminators" would probably be welcome enough.  The cats probably come and go fairly freely, whether within the Castle grounds or outside its walls in the city and surrounding area, so there'd be some natural population control due to the inherent hazards of both medieval city life and predation, and there's also a good chance that visitors to Court might choose to take a kitten or two home with them when they leave, so all of those factors would help to keep numbers down to a manageable level.

(And since you've read Visionaries, you already know where all the kittens from this litter will wind up!  ;) )
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Alkari

LOL @ Cute Kitteh Liath sticking a nose into everything.   

Richenda reminds Duncan that the family already has Tiger in residence at Coroth, and he is Boss Cat around the family there.   At least, he thinks he is the boss, because Alaric simply cannot manage things without his snoopervision.


Elkhound

Quote from: Alkari on June 13, 2012, 04:45:46 PM
Richenda reminds Duncan that the family already has Tiger in residence at Coroth, and he is Boss Cat around the family there.   At least, he thinks he is the boss, because Alaric simply cannot manage things without his snoopervision.

Wouldn't Tiger be pretty old by 'now', if we are talking about the time of "Visionaries"?

Evie

Not really.  IIRC, Tiger was a kitten when he was adopted shortly after Kelson's wedding, so that would have been in mid to late 1128, depending on how many weeks after Kelson's wedding that story was set.  So in the summer of 1136, when Pouncer's kittens were born, he'd only be around 7, possibly verging on 8.  Well past his kitten years, but still far from venerable old age where most healthy kitties' lifespans are concerned.  Cats who are mostly raised indoors can usually expect to live into their teen years, barring health issues or accidents.  Cats who are more free roaming have more of a chance of encountering predators and other hazards that indoor cats don't have to worry about, so general life expectancy is lower for those, but even so, if outdoor cats or indoor/outdoor cats can avoid those dangers, they can potentially have just as long of a lifespan.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Alkari

Three of my four cats lived to over ten years (the other escaped and got run over at age 6 :(  )  and two of them lived to 17.   So family pet Tiger, who sleeps on Briony's bed and likes to sit on tables to 'help' Alaric and Richenda with administrative matters, is very much alive and active.  :D


Evie

Today, I tried a new experiment--customizing a doll from scratch, so to speak!


My first ball-jointed doll by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This is a Obitsu 27 cm Ball Jointed Doll (or BJD).  She is my very first BJD, and she's on the smaller end of the 1:6 scale figures available to customizers, usually able to fit more or less into Barbie clothes, although she is a little smaller than a Barbie, so sometimes the clothes need a bit of alteration.  The body was ordered separately from the head.  Obitsu makes a variety of female body types in three bust sizes and two primary choices of flesh color.  This one is a Soft Body Type 2, fleshtone (also called natural), medium bust, with magnetic feet.  There are also a selection of heads available, some designed for painted eyes and some with eye openings that you fit acrylic eyes into.  This body also has magnets in the feet, so she can be posed in any number of positions either on her magnetic base (that black disk above) or on any magnetic surface.  The three wedge-shaped pieces at top right are alternate neck pieces, in case a collector wishes to attach some other brand of head to this body, such as a Barbie head.  The joints are much more articulate than the Fashionista Barbies' and Kens' jointed bodies.  I'm looking forward to seeing what this figure can do!


Close up of Obitsu Face by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's a close up of the Obitsu head I selected to go with the body.  This is head style W3, I think, and this one came prerooted with dark brown hair, although it also comes bald (for rooting it yourself or if you wish to use a doll wig with the head) or rooted in a variety of other colors.

Let's check out the articulation:


Test pose 1 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

She wasn't quite balanced in this extreme a pose, but maintained it well enough with the desk behind her to lean on slightly.


Test pose 2 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Obitsu makes male bodies as well, so if Annie is ever looking for an acrobatic body for a Jon figure, this brand would be an ideal choice....  ;)


Test pose 3 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

A slightly more conventional test pose, since I'm not out to create a contortionist, after all!   :D


Blanking in the features by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After washing the face and body with a bit of water and dishwashing detergent and then rinsing the detergent off, I began by using an orangy-reddish watercolor pencil and using it to make a light wash of color.  I applied this very lightly to the eye socket area (from the lower rim of the eye up to the eyebrow ridge), nostrils, and went a little darker to fill in the lip area.  I also gave the folds of the ear a pale wash of color to accentuate the shadows, and since Obitsu dolls are somewhat anatomically correct in that they have a navel and (on this body) faintly shaped nipples, I blushed those areas lightly as well to define them.  This is my first attempt at a full-fledged face up rather than just an enhancement of a pre-painted face, and while I read several tutorials and learned about a variety of techniques for doing this, I'm pretty much making this up as I go along.  The "whites" of the eyes are actually very lightly tinted with just a hint of gray, since a pure white in the sclera (the white part of the eye) looks unnatural.  I used acrylic paint for the eyes.  Never use oil paints with vinyl; you will ruin it.


A bit more face like by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After the base paints had time to dry, I roughed in the irises and then the outline of the eye.  (I probably should have done it the way around, but oh well!)  While those were drying, I added eyebrows next, starting with a brown watercolor to define the shape, then when that dried, I mixed dark brown acrylic paint with a little black and added some diagonal strokes to show the direction of hair growth and further define the brows. I also defined the iris color a little more and added a pupil.  Next came the lashes.  Those were brownish black and a major pain; I'm not entirely happy with them, but I figure I can live with them for a first attempt.  The inner corners of the eye got further defined by more of the light orangy-brown watercolor, and once the iris had time to dry some more, I added some paler violet highlights and then the white "light reflection" to simulate light shining on the eye.  The lips got a little further definition--slightly darker color in the crease and tiny white lines radiating from crease to edges of the lips.  (Not sure if you can see that in these photos; it's very subtle.)


Starting to develop a personality by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

As the face takes shape, it begins to develop a bit of personality and attitude.  It's now time to add some blushing.  Blushing goes on the cheeks, as you'd expect, but it also is used (more lightly) to define the nose, the hairline and jawline, the chin, collarbone area, the breast shadows, the navel and the midline crease leading down the belly to the navel, and wherever else you think needs to be accentuated slightly.  I even tried adding just a bit of colored shadow to define her fingers and toes a bit more.


Checking to see if I'm done by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The blushing is done with pastel chalks (the oil-free sort, since oil pastels and vinyl don't react well together), which I made colored powder from by rubbing an emery board on the edge.  I mixed a pink and a "flesh" tone pastel and then dipped a cotton swab into the blended powder, rubbed the excess off on the back of my hand, and then went to work blushing the skin, blowing off any excess powder from the doll as needed.  I used a very light touch; I might need to go back and apply more later, but that's better than putting on too much of it and not being able to get it back off.  The flash makes it look a bit more washed out than it really is, but hopefully you'll see it better in one of the other photos.  Once I was satisfied with the blushing, it was time to seal the painted areas.  I used gloss sealer on the eyes and lips and matte sealer lightly in the eyebrow and eyelid areas and over the lower lashes.  I also dabbed just a tad of the matte sealer in the nostril area.  I think I forgot the ear folds; I'll need to go back and seal that later, definitely before I style the hair!  I didn't use sealer over the blushing because my "matte" sealer isn't completely matte; I made that mistake on Helena's face and don't want to repeat it.  But I've heard there's a different type of sealer called Mr Super Clear that is better for that sort of thing, so I might order some online next pay period.


Completed face-up by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the finished face once sealer has been added.  You can see how the gloss sealer adds more shine to the eye and lip areas.


Closer view of face-up by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here you can see the blushing a little bit better.


Taking down the hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Once I was done with the faceup, I took her hair out of the ponytail holder that I'd used to keep it out of her face, so I could see how her new face looks framed with hair.  One side of the hair got crimped in the mailer package, but that should smooth out once I style it.  I want to experiment with hair curling, but that will need to wait until I can buy some drinking straws to cut up for the curlers. In the meantime, I've just braided that crimped section back to keep it from falling over her eyes.


Who is she? by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I can't think of anyone in the Deryni canon that she quite looks like to me (and I considered the question before I painted her), and given her body size, if she were a Deryni character, she'd need to either be an older teen or a very petite adult to fit in with the rest of my figures.  The only character I could think of in canon who would be that petite might be Meraude, but she looks a little too young to me to be Meraude, so I turned her into one of the characters of my non-Deryni novel-in-progress instead.  However, with this coloring she could also pass for one of the Arilan sisters.  In any case, this body size would also work fairly well, I'd think, for one of the teenaged Deryni in the Childe Morgan series, such as Alyce or Vera.  (Not with this coloring, though, obviously!)


Borrowed clothing by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

As you see, she can fit into a Barbie gown, but it fits her rather more loosely than it would fit a Barbie.  She also tried on Richenda's blue gown, but nearly fell out of the low-cut bodice since I didn't have a spare chemise for her to wear with it . 


With the Deryni by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here you can see how she compares size-wise to some other figures.  She's about half a head shorter than Richenda and positively dainty compared to Alaric and Duncan.  She's a lot paler than them also, and this is actually the darker of the two Obitsu skintone choices, so I'm glad I didn't go with the lighter one!  She may even be a slight bit fairer-complexioned than Helena.

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie

And one more comparison shot:


Helena and Aderyn by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Helena stands next to Aderyn so we can compare skintones.  They are similar, although Aderyn's skin is slightly lighter, I think.  (It doesn't help that the flash is fully on her face and Helena's is in shadow, though.)  All in all, I'm glad I didn't get this body for Helena as I'd originally considered doing.  While it would have matched her facial skin closely enough, she'd have been significantly shorter than Richenda, and I'm not sure how the larger Barbie head would look on the petite Obitsu body.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

Very nicely done.  Perhaps she could be Cass at the age she is in Visionaries?  Or maybe a junior lady-in-waiting?
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

That's a thought. I'd have to go back and make her eyes ice blue for her to be Cass, though actually it would be better if I started from scratch with a black haired head.  (And the same could be said for Aderyn, since she's supposed to have black hair as well.  I wavered between the two heads when shopping online, but in the online picture the dark brown looked only a shade lighter than the true black, and the true black looked a bit harsh against the skintone.  It might look better in other lighting, though, or in a different photo, or even just once color is applied to the face so it's not so pale against the backdrop of stark black hair.  When I rooted the male test head, I used a blend of very dark brown and soft black, and it came out even darker than this doll's hair.)  I'm drawing a blank when I try to think of petite brown-haired canonical characters, and as for my fanfic characters, the only one that comes to mind is Sophie, but I tried back-parting the hair to see if it could be styled in her characteristic double-braid style, and for that to look right, she'd need more matching hair rooted in to create a back part without bald gaps.  And at any rate, her face looks more Cass-like to me.

So sure, we can call her "Junior Lady-in-Waiting #1--Name Pending" or something, though it's a bit odd to have a lady-in-waiting to a Queen I've not got around to making yet.   :D  Unless she's one of Duchess Richenda's ladies, maybe?  Or perhaps a maidservant?  I could make her a little maid outfit.  Or how about a tavern wench?  Who's serving up ale and stew at the Gold Lion these days?   ;)
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

Quote from: Alkari on June 14, 2012, 05:15:58 PM
Three of my four cats lived to over ten years (the other escaped and got run over at age 6 :(  )  and two of them lived to 17.   So family pet Tiger, who sleeps on Briony's bed and likes to sit on tables to 'help' Alaric and Richenda with administrative matters, is very much alive and active.  :D

I know that such ages are possible now (after all, Zane the Insane is about 14), but I wasn't sure about midaeval times when even *human*, much less veterenary, medicine was in such a primative state; HUMANS then didn't live much past 40, so one could expect animals to have a similarly truncated lifespan.

Of course, as much snuggle time as Tiger gets with Briony, who inherited her father's Healing Gift, probably any little bruises or strains or tummy upsets would be unconsciously Healed every night.

Evie

Humans, then as now, had the potential to live just as long as they do today--and fairly often did, barring accidents and untreatable illnesses.  It's just that there were a lot more opportunities for the former and a great many more of the latter to reduce the average lifespan.  That word "average" is important--even today, the most vulnerable people in a population are the 0-5 year old bracket and the elderly, so even now those age ranges are at greater risk, and they were even more so before modern medicine.  Two reasons why the average age of death was skewed earlier in the Middle Ages were that they had a much higher death rate among infants and children of preschool age than we do today, and also women had a higher (1 in 5, I've heard quoted) chance of death with every childbirth.  That didn't mean, however, that if you were 40+ in the Middle Ages, your days were automatically numbered, any more than it's true that people automatically die around age 70 nowadays, or whatever the modern average is.  Sure, some die in their 70s or even younger, but I think most of us have known many people who live well past the average.  There are many, many documented examples of medieval and even ancient (pre-Christian era) individuals living into their 50s, 60s, and sometimes even up into the 70s-90s.  Eleanor of Aquitaine is just one example; she lived into her early 80s. If you survived those first five years of childhood, chances were fairly good that you were a strong and healthy enough person to make it to adulthood, and if you survived the occupational (and in the case of women, childbearing) hazards of young and middle adulthood, then as long as you had a healthy immune system and you had the good fortune to avoid severe illnesses, you could easily live to see your grandchildren.  And, as I mentioned before, in some cases even great-grandchildren. 

So when it comes to cats, I'd think matters would be pretty much the same.  If you had a cat that survived the ordinary hazards of cat life, and he was a healthy cat with no serious problems (malignant tumors, major diseases and the like), he'd probably be just as likely to survive to a ripe old cat age before encountering some final illness that ended up taking his life, not necessarily because they didn't have modern veterinary medicine yet, but simply because elderly cats--like elderly people--are simply more vulnerable.  And even in the modern age, medicine--for all of its advancements--sometimes just isn't enough to save the weakest members of the population, which is why epidemics such as the swine flu still wreak the most havoc among the very young and the very old.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie

Today, I experimented with curling doll hair.  But first, let's see some "before" shots:


Aderyn trying on Barbie clothes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Aderyn shows she is able to wear Barbie clothes, despite being a little bustier than a Barbie and having a more slender waist.  I have the front part of her hair pulled back and braided to keep it out of her face, and it's currently stick straight.


Natural sunlight by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

A closer view of her face in natural sunlight.


Papered and Curled by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Using squares of tissue paper (the sort used in wrapping fragile items or gift wrapping, not the facial tissue or toilet paper kind), I gently wrapped the ends of each section of hair and then curled it, using curlers made from sections of plastic drinking straws.  The curled hair is secured with bobby pins stuck into both ends of the curlers.  I am hoping this will result in spiral curls.

Next, I heated water to a low boil in one Pyrex measuring cup and put ice and cold water in a second measuring cup.  As soon as the heated water started to bubble, I pulled the Pyrex cup out of the microwave, waited a few seconds, and then dipped Aderyn's head in the hot water for about ten to fifteen seconds, then took it out and immediately plunged it into the ice bath to cool and set the curl.  (Before the hair styling, I took the dress off, since I wasn't sure how well it would deal with the hot water if it got dripped on or accidentally dunked.)   I wasn't certain that the curl "took" the first time, so after a few seconds, I repeated this process.  After the second ice water dunk, I blotted her hair with a white paper towel to remove the excess moisture from it so it wouldn't drip and set her aside for a while to dry.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to take photos of this part of the process, since I needed both hands for it.


Curled hair drying by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Aderyn hopes her hair will dry soon so she can get dressed again!


Rear view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The back of her head.  Helena is probably glad I settled for making her hair wavy rather than curling it.  Little does she know that I've saved these curlers...muahahaha!   ;)  :D


Newly curled hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After an hour or so, it was still damp at the papered ends, but less so at the top, so I gently blow dried it with the blow dryer set to Low and held a few inches away.  Once the top seemed fully dry and the curls only slightly damp, I went ahead and unwound the curlers carefully, releasing the damp spiral curls so they can finish air drying overnight, and removing the soggy tissue paper from the ends of her hair.  I may go back through it with a hair pick or a comb once it's fully dry, but I'll try it on a test curl first to make sure I don't risk making it frizzy.  If it seems likely to frizz, I can just leave it in these ringlets and finger style it instead. 


Rear view of curled hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's the view from behind.


Sides pinned back by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I left a bobby pin on each side of the face to pull the front sections back, in hopes that once the hair is fully dry, it will tend to remain slightly swept back rather than falling forward into her face.


Pretty ringlets by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I was worried that this first attempt at boil curling and styling might end up looking like a disastrous perm, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.





"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!