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

[Jerusha]

Excellent results!  You do realize, of course, that now you need to make a Sophie to complete the picture.   

[Evie]

But if I get a Sophie, I'll need a Seisyll too, and then the Arilan girls will insist on having mini-selves....

WHY did I ever think I could do only one or two of these?! 

I am kind of tempted to experiment with more wigmaking, though....

[Evie]

Looking back at his clothed photos, I'm wondering if John is perhaps a bit too skinny?  The canonical John is described in such a way that I tend to envision him with a little bit of "puppy fat" still lingering from his not-too-distant childhood.  Of course, he could have slimmed down by the mid-1130s, as maturing bodies sometimes do, since he'd be in his thirties by then.  But I could also try adding a bit of waistline pudge by sewing another fatsuit for him to wear under his cassock.  It's certainly roomy enough, and if Richenda ever needs to look pregnant for a scene, the padded leotard could double as a pregnant belly as well. 

[Evie]

I repainted over John's blue eyes to turn them more of a sea green:


John's new eyes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr


Sea green eyes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I used a darker blue-green on the outer part of the iris and a paler sea green on the inner part.  It shows up well under magnification, though the color gradation isn't as evident when viewed with the naked eye.  The darker color tends to become more dominant.  On my notebook screen, his eyes still look fairly blue, but the acrylic paint pigment I've used is Viridian Green, with differing amounts of white mixed in to achieve the varying tints.

[Evie]

Lighter eye color by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

KK wanted John's eye color to be a paler sea green, so I mixed the paint to a milky green tint and carefully reapplied the color to the iris.  I kept the outer rims of the irises a darker shade of green in order to replicate the natural color gradation of a human eye, and also because there needed to be a visible boundary between the milky green and the white of the eye so that the iris would be easily visible and well distinguished from the sclera.  (The lighter tint in the eye color may seem vivid and very obviously not white in these photos, but it is surprisingly pale when viewed in person, especially in low light conditions.) 


Repainted pupils and lash line by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Some of my friends on the doll forum also suggested that one reason John's eye color might have appeared more blue than it actually was in the last set of photos was that I had left the original Mattel navy blue pupil color unchanged, so this time I repainted his lash line brown and his pupils a pure black.  This seems to help make the color of his irises "pop." 


John's eyes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Hopefully this enhancement will do the trick, but if not, I might try just painting over the inner iris again with a thin wash of pure white to see if that will make them paler without completely obscuring the green color beneath the wash.

[Jerusha]

You have removed his head, carved out his neck, stuck his head in a plastic bag, made him an incredible wig, and painted his eyes ... and he still looks like the happiest priest ever!   

If that isn't a positive life attitude, I don't know what is!   

[Evie]

ROTFL! 

[Evie]

John's new Paternoster by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I decided to try a different (but still quite period) style for John's Paternoster.  His has a cross pendant on one end and a medallion with a staring pattern (the Chartres Labyrinth, though of course since he is from an alternate world, it would have a different name) on the other end.


Close up of John's Paternoster by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The strand is made up of shiral (or possibly just amber) beads with ebony gauds somewhat reminiscent of Ward Cubes.  I might have alternated ivory and ebony cubes if I could find plain white cube beads the same size, but they have eluded me thus far.  I'm not sure if John could afford a Paternoster this fine, but maybe it was a gift.

[Evie]

Evil lurks in the hearts of men....


Evil lurks in the hearts of men.... by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Evil lurks  in the hearts of men...or at least in my very warped daughter!  This is the sight that greeted me upon waking up this morning.  Apparently after I went to bed, she decided to try posing the figures, John's head popped off, so she just changed her story plot a wee bit.... 


Muahahaha! by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This wasn't how I ever envisioned Duncan getting a-head in life!


Poor John! by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

He makes a nice corpse, if just a tad shorter than I prefer.


Oh the horror! by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Briony turns away from the carnage in horror.  Uncle Duncan, what have you done!

(Don't worry...no Mini-Deryni were actually harmed in the posing of this tragedy!   )

[Elkhound]

Looking back at his clothed photos, I'm wondering if John is perhaps a bit too skinny?  The canonical John is described in such a way that I tend to envision him with a little bit of "puppy fat" still lingering from his not-too-distant childhood.  Of course, he could have slimmed down by the mid-1130s, as maturing bodies sometimes do, since he'd be in his thirties by then.

I'd always envisioned him as being the type who would get so engrossed in his studies/researches/creative projects that he'd forget to eat.

[Evie]

Here's a new project that I got around to this morning:


New belt with pouch by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This belt doesn't really go well with Duncan's cassock, but will look nice with his regular clothing.  I sewed a jewelry clasp to a strip of faux leather for use as a belt buckle.  The pouch is actually a necklace charm.


Belt pouch by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I thought this charm would be the perfect size for a 1:6 belt pouch.  It came with the attached  key.  The flap doesn't open up very well, but it will lift up enough for me to insert a few flat items if I decide to.

[Laurna]

The pouch charm is just the right size, looks great. The belt is great too. Let me ask you. Since Duncan did finally get his knight hood would it be appropriate for a bishop to ware a white leather knight's belt?  I think white would look good with the purple cassock.  I think the brown belt would look great with his regular attire.

[Evie]

Yes, he is entitled to wear a white knight's belt as well, though again, I think he would wear it with secular clothing rather than with a cassock.

[Evie]

Today I got a possible future Derry for the collection.


Possible Derry by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I bought him for his gorgeous blue eyes and long hair (Derry wears his tied back in a war club, according to KK, so it needs to be at least shoulder length to pull off that style), and so I was startled to open the package this afternoon and find his eyes were brown instead.  I had seen a close up of him posted by the seller and they were bright blue.  Upon contacting her, I found out that she had forgotten she'd tinted them brown after she took his original photo, but that the eyes weren't sealed, so some scrubbing with soap and water would turn them back to their original blue.  So here he is after an eye scrub, and if he looks like he doesn't quite trust what I'm going to do to him next, that's why.  I got most of the brown off, but under high magnification I can see a few edges that I missed, so he's due for a second scrubbing soon, poor lad.  If this keeps up, I'll have him more afraid of soap on a sponge than he is of magic! 

His hair is currently straight, but he should have his characteristic curls once I get his tresses loaded up with enough bobby pins and stick his head in boiling water and an ice bath.  His lips will probably also get retouched so he'll look less anemic.  At this rate, he's going to start thinking I'm worse than King Wencit, muahahahaha.....

And if he doesn't turn out looking like I think he will after that makeover, I'll just turn him into an extra.  Because really, those summer sky blue eyes are just too yummy to waste, so I'm sure I can come up with some role for him to play!

[Evie]

Dressed Derry by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is proto-Derry with some borrowed clothes on so he could come back to work with me.  I hope to get started on a nice blue tunic for him at lunch today.  There wasn't time to experiment with curling his hair last night, so maybe that's something I'll be able to get around to this evening.  If not then, I should have time for that during the weekend.  It's not the boil perm that's time consuming, it's getting all that lovely hair into itty bitty curlers first.....  In the meantime, I might just ponytail it to keep it out of his face and give more of the illusion that it's clubbed in back already.  There are also various styles of clubbed hair, so I'll need to see what will work best with his hair length and thickness.  He has super fine doll hair, so it's a little less thick and bulky than the hair on my Barbies and Kens.  That's actually a plus when it comes to styling it in any sort of queue.