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

[Elkhound]

What was the reaction at the Schola to the new student's arrival in an outfit that *showed her legs*?   I'm sure it caused great alarm and consternation.

[Evie]

LOL!  If you are referring to Rothana's black and white outfit, don't worry, she's definitely going to change out of that before she ever appears in a Schola scene.  I haven't made any Schola robes for her or Sister Therese yet, but I just received some scraps of the same linen fabric that I used to make Sister Helena's robes and hood, so hopefully I'll get around to costuming the other two magistrae properly soon.

[Elkhound]

Someone did a fanfic about Alaric getting dumped in 21st C. Gwynned; how about the reverse--someone from the 20th or 21st C. getting sent back to the time of the stories?  (I know it has been done before.)

[Evie]

I don't dare write myself into a time travel story going back to Kelson-era Gwynedd.  I'd make an utter fool of myself....      

As for a fictional 21st C. character going back to that time, there'd be a lot of obstacles for that character to overcome in order for that story to be realistic, the language barrier being just one of those obstacles.  Though I've seen such stories done quite well despite that.  Connie Willis is one writer who handles time travel stories very nicely, IMO.  And of course, with Deryni magic in the picture, some magical 'short cuts' could help with such things as translations, culture shock, etc.

[Evie]

I haven't done much craft stuff with the Mini-Deryni this week because I've been busy with other things, such as putting together a new bookshelf and a storage cabinet for my craft supplies.


Calling it a night by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After assembling the new bookcase and storage cabinet, I created a mini-dio on top of the bookcase and left Duncan and Helena chillin' up there at the end of the workday.

Shortly after I went to bed, I heard teenage giggling coming from the living room.  Peeking in there to see what was so funny, I eventually spotted this sight.


Pranking by evian_delacourt, on Flickr


Really? by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I don't take that many pictures of my littles, do I?


Hmph! by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

So of course I had to take some more photos, just to be difficult, before I went on back to bed.

In other news, I went to Home Depot yesterday, where I bought a large sheet of pink foamboard (used for home insulation).  It is the same sort of foam I used to make the stone wall I often use for a backdrop in photos, only this foam is just a little thinner (.75" thick rather than 1", since they didn't have any of the 1" thick foam that was large enough for what I needed).  I had this cut down into lengths that will be used for three walls of Duncan's study, with the fourth wall being left off to allow for photography.  There was enough foamboard left for me to get three other walls cut to the same dimensions, which I will end up using for my modern dio unless I mess up on one of Duncan's walls and need to use one of the spares to replace it.  And there were a few smaller scraps that I can find other uses for.  I haven't taken photos of those yet, since they're nothing more than pink rectangles of foam at the point, but I'll post some pictures once the room begins to take shape.  And then my problem will be furnishing it.  I already have some of the smaller props, but unless I can find someone willing to make the furniture for me, it looks like I'm going to need to learn some woodworking skills.  Fortunately I have some ideas on how to make a few of the items despite my very limited skill set.

Richenda and Araxie should also be getting their new bodies in the mail this week.  The ones I ordered from a mail-order shop ended up being too tan, so I had to return those for a refund, but in the meantime one of my online friends told me he had two similar but paler bodies (the same color as Helena's) that he could send me, so hopefully those will arrive on Monday or Tuesday, and I'll have more poseable bodies on them very soon.

[Evie]

So, it turns out that I will be able to make it to Dragon*Con after all, and since this is the last weekend before the con, I've spent all day doing project stuff so that the littles will be ready to visit KK next weekend.

Now I'm trying to narrow down which ones get to come with me, since we're just taking a small car this year (as opposed to our van, which is non-functional at the moment), and that means I will have much less space for extra stuff.  So at the most, I will be carrying two doll cases with me, each of which will hold five Mini-Deryni comfortably.  (Six at most, if they're on their sides and if at least one is very petite.)

Here is the selection I'm thinking about bringing:

Case 1--Duncan, Helena, Alaric, Richenda, Derry
Case 2--Kelson, Araxie, Nigel, Cardiel, Rothana
Possible alternates--Father Nivard, Grub, Briony

Of these choices, Araxie, Derry, Nigel, Cardiel, and Rothana have never met KK before.  With the exception of Helena (whom I'm pretty much inseparable from), I've steered the selection towards canonical characters, since that way KK will actually know who they are.  I'm very fond of Denis, but he's had a chance to meet KK before, plus he's also had his own solo adventure at Chattacon, so he's graciously offered to remain behind and allow someone else to take his place.  (Besides which, I don't have enough vestments to go around, and Cardiel didn't want to meet KK while naked!)

Possible alternates, if the littles don't mind getting crammed six to the case, would be Father Nivard (he'd like a chance to show off his nice new hair and tonsure), Grub (who isn't canonical, but she says she's extra little and will fit in a case easily, and she wants to have fun at a con, and she'll be verrrrrry good for Sister Helena), and/or Briony, just because...well, she's Briony.     She's already met KK, since she showed up in a package full of goodies KK sent several months ago, but she hasn't seen her since she got a new body and proper clothes.

So, thoughts? 

I've spent the entire day doing repaints, so now Nigel has Haldane black hair going silvery and Haldane gray eyes, Cardiel also has his prematurely gray hair (a bit whiter than Nigel's, both because he's older and also because his original hair started off a lighter brown), Helena's freckles have been retouched, Richenda and Helena got manicures (just a coat of gloss sealer on each nailbed, since action figure hands are large enough that you can see their nails clearly), Sophie got her green eyes with gold flecks (yes, I have a Sophie now!  That story's for another post), and Araxie got a complete makeover.  She's been rebodied twice since her original paint job, and because half of her original faceup was done in watercolor and half in acrylic paints, for some reason the watercolored bits had all worn or washed away despite the clear sealer I'd covered them with, so when I took a good look at her face, I could tell there was no way to fix her without starting her eyes from scratch.  So she got an acetone wipe and I had to start completely over on her face.  That was scary, and I'm still not 100% happy with how she turned out, but she looks a LOT better than she did before I wiped her, so I can live with that.  At least now she's not too embarrassed about her looks to meet KK.

I will post pictures when I have better lighting conditions to take some in.  Maybe tomorrow.

[Jerusha]

Have you posted pictures of Nigel and Cardiel yet?  I don't remember seeing them, although it might be a senior moment. 

Now, remembering Denis at Chattacon, can Helena really make sure Grub is a proper young lady for the trip?  Or will Grub smuggle the Jane hat into her pack and stride off on to her own adventures? 

I think Father Nivard should make the trip.  I think KK would like to meet him.  And he can hear Grub's confessions.    

[Evie]

I think I've posted photos of both, but only one of each, and before any repainting to make them look more like their book descriptions.  Nigel modeled my experimental "chain mail" (actually painted plastic mesh) armor, though he looks better now that he's got black hair that's going silver.  And Cardiel started out as a thrift store action figure find, with nondescript brown hair and brown eyes, but after digging around a bit in HD for a physical description, I discovered he's supposed to have gray eyes and steel gray hair, so I've repainted him accordingly.  Despite all that gray, the shades turned out varied enough that he turned out looking pretty nice, I think.  I'm hoping the sun will be out tomorrow and I can get a few photos taken of everyone with their makeovers.

I'd kind of like Father Nivard there too.  He can keep Duncan company if Alaric is off with Richenda, or if Helena decides to go shopping with the other ladies.  And you're probably right about Grub.  There's no telling what that kid'll get up to. But at least she'll have several possible confessors to choose from. 

[Evie]

Group shot by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

These are most of my canonical Mini-Deryni (Denis Arilan graciously gave up his spot so that Archbishop Cardiel and Fr Nivard could appear in this photo, since there weren't enough cassocks or other vestments to go around), plus Helena (who isn't canonical, but  I just wanted a chance to show off her cute new freckles).


Stage left by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

A closer view of Bishop Duncan McLain, Archbishop Cardiel, and Sister Rothana (who still needs proper Schola robes).


Center Stage by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

King Kelson and Queen Araxie are in the foreground, and behind them we see Father Nivard, Duke Dhugal MacArdry McLain, and Duke Alaric Morgan.  Araxie's eyes could use more work (not to mention a better faceup artist!), but they're better than they were before, and I also recolored her lips, which had faded almost down to bare skin.  Hopefully this time the sealer will actually protect her faceup!


Stage right by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Prince Nigel, the Iron Duke, sits in the foreground, while Duke Alaric stands beside Duchess Richenda.  Sean Earl Derry and Sister Helena stand in attendance beside them.


Bishop Duncan McLain by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

My first and favorite Mini-Deryni!


Archbishop Thomas Cardiel by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I think he looks more distinguished now that he's got his prematurely gray hair.  (And given that I'm depicting the Deryni in the late 1130s, several years after canon, it's not really "premature" anymore!)  I just noticed he could use a touch-up on his eyebrows as well.  Fortunately eyebrows often tend to be darker than hair anyway.


Princess Rothana of Nur Hallaj by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Rothana looks more like the princess she was born to be in this silk gown, though I hope to have a simple gray Schola robe ready for her everyday use soon.  (This is actually the doll I had in mind for Mirjana, but I couldn't afford her at the time.  I think she makes a lovely Rothana as well, though.  We just won't tell Dhugal how close he came to getting a Rothana look-alike for a bride....    )


King Kelson Haldane by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Kelson didn't have a makeover today, but he just wanted his photo taken.  It's good to be the King!


Queen Araxie by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The first faceup I did for Araxie was done in a combination of watercolor pencil and acrylic paint.  For some reason, despite being sealed, the watercolor eventually washed away during the two times I had to remove her head to put it on a new body.  This left her with no lip color or shadowing around the eyes, and with peeling eye paint.  I had to remove the original eye paint completely and redo the lips today.  Hopefully this time the sealer will work!  She's on a permanent body now, so hopefully that will also help--no more head tugs under hot water for this poor lady!  I'm still not entirely happy with how she looks, but maybe if I can get better at painting faces, she can get another makeover in future.


Prince Nigel by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I reeeeally need to finish this suit of armor!  Nigel originally had dark brown hair.  I darkened it to Haldane black and gave him Haldane gray eyes, then once his hair was dry, I added some gray in.  I didn't want him as gray as Cardiel, since he is younger, so I just gave him a lighter silvering.


Fr John Nivard by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

For the...what number is this?  Third time?...I mixed up a shade of sea green that was nearly white this time and tried to lighten John's eye color just a tad to make it more of the "Miami coast" sea green that KK envisions.  It still looks darker in photos!  *headdesk*  I don't know if I've got magic paint or if John has magic eyes.


Duke Dhugal MacArdry McLain by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duncan's laddie also didn't need any makeover today.  He just wanted to get out of the carrying case and stretch his legs a bit.


Duke Alaric Morgan by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Again, Alaric hasn't had a makeover recently.  He has a nifty new body like Duncan's waiting for his head to move to it, but that will require some plastic surgery that I need to practice a few times on spare heads before I dare risk messing up his.  Needless to say, that's not something I'm planning to work on in the next few days before DragonCon!


Duchess Richenda by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Richenda is on a brand new body and is still getting used to it.  She likes being able to stand on her own now.  I might need to let out some of her clothing; she was barely able to get back into this gown again!  Oddly enough, that wasn't because of her increased breast size, but because her wrists are bigger.  Even though her hands are removable, her wrists barely made it back into her beaded and embroidered sleeve cuffs.  And I swear her hair wasn't this disheveled when I first posed her, but then Luke tried to jump into the scene, and it must have gotten messed up when I hastily intervened and had to rearrange a few of the figures who were lolling against the backdrop, looking tipsy!


Sean Earl Derry by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Alaric's lieutenant is still in fine form and enjoying his crop of curly hair.


Sister Helena (Elen Angharad ferch Ednyved) by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Helena's original freckles had become almost completely nonexistent after head swaps to  two different bodies, so I retouched them while I had the watercolor pencils and fine tipped brushes out. They look very pronounced in this closeup, but in actual size and normal lighting they are only faintly visible.   For me, as far as freckles are concerned, the lighter the better, since they end up getting magnified and darkened tenfold in photographs. I want her looking sun-kissed, not polka-dotted or like she's got chicken pox!


That's it for tonight's photos.  I'll see if I can find the pictures of Richenda and Araxie getting their new bodies, so you can see the comparison shots between how they looked on their former bodies and their new, hopefully permanent ones.  But that can wait for another time. 

[Aerlys]

Wow -- what an artist! Not that it's easy to choose a favorite, but I especially like how you captured Rothana, Kelson, Nigel, and Dhugal... especaily Dhugal. Did I ever mention that I have a thing for Healers?

Too bad they all can't go to Dragon Con with you. BTW, I think Briony should go, too.

[Evie]

Wow -- what an artist! Not that it's easy to choose a favorite, but I especially like how you captured Rothana, Kelson, Nigel, and Dhugal... especaily Dhugal. Did I ever mention that I have a thing for Healers?

Too bad they all can't go to Dragon Con with you. BTW, I think Briony should go, too.

As much as I love Duncan, Arilan, Se, and Joram, one would think I had a thing for priests, but it's just that KK has this really frustrating habit of dressing most of my favorite men in cassocks!  *sigh*  I'm drawn to healers too, as it happens.

I quite enjoyed Dhugal's makeover.  I wish I could have added a bit more copper to that "copper bronze" hair, but that was as red as I was able to dye over his original brown hair.  I bought some lovely coppery doll hair with the idea of rerooting his head, but he's got an older style of Ken head with an impossibly tiny opening in the neck joint that won't allow me to get even needlenose pliers inside to pull out the old hair, so I just added a few extra strands of long hair to the existing hair, rooting it in at the nape of his neck under the bottom layer of original hair, so he could have a Border braid.  (I did the same thing on Kelson's head.)  In the sunlight, you can see more of the auburn tint to his hair, but it's harder to see with indoor lighting.

[Evie]

And here are some pictures of Richenda's and Araxie's recent rebodying.  Warning--Doll Nudity ahead:


Body donors by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

These two action figure bodies arrived in the mail a week or so ago.  The headless one is a pale ZC Eve body, which is the same kind that Helena is on.  That one is meant for Richenda.  It is paler than her head, so unfortunately there won't be a perfect color match like Helena has, but I tried a tan version of this body on Richenda and it was way too dark.  It was even too dark to suit Rothana!  So I traded it for this one.  Since medieval women tended to dress in layers, one wouldn't expect her to have as much sun tanning on her body as on her face anyway.  The body with the head on it is a ZC Nikita body that will go to Araxie. 


Spare head by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's the spare head, which I might put on another body someday.  Perhaps with her eyes repainted, she could be Dowager Queen Jehana, or she could always end up as a lady-in-waiting or a Schola student.

Here are Araxie and Helena on their new bodies!  Oddly enough, when viewed in person, Richenda's head looks like a closer color match to her body than Araxie's head does to hers, but in photos it looks like the opposite is true.  This was before yesterday's makeovers, so you can see the damage to Araxie's first faceup that I ended up having to wipe off and repair.  Richenda also had some minor damage (some paint peeling on her lips, hard to spot here) that I patched up, and I made her eyes a more intense blue, since they're supposed to be the deep blue of the lakes in Rhelljan or some quote like that.


Reclothed by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

And here they are with their clothing back on.  There were a few moments when I wondered if I'd be able to get the old clothes onto the new bodies.  Araxie definitely could use the side openings lengthened on that bliaut to ease some of the tightness over her new hips, and Richenda's arms nearly didn't go through the sleeve cuffs.  I was worried about the fit of the bodice over her larger breasts, but her larger wrists turned out to be more of an issue!

[Aerlys]

From Evie:

Here's the spare head, which I might put on another body someday.

Unfortunately, Spare Head Three has gone a bit balmy...

[Evie]

From Evie:

Here's the spare head, which I might put on another body someday.

Unfortunately, Spare Head Three has gone a bit balmy...

ROFL!!!   

[Jerusha]

Perhaps the new doll head could be a potential Sofiana of Andelon?  I'm not sure if we have a good description of her, other than her elegant grace and commanding presence. The new head does seem to have an eastern look.