DollsArtCats

                        And the thermometer on the wall says it is negative 21 F outside. :p

This dress came from the show and cost one dollar--and it fits pretty well! A bit loose in the waist, but not so much that a belt won't fix it. Here is another little thing I found at the show (this set I paid full price for, but I liked it a lot: Normally this Magic Mirror girl runs around in a tiny bikini, but it's a little cold for that right now. There were pants as well but I liked the tights with the top. Here is the rest of the dollar haul--some will go to Cat: I did take a couple of photos at the show--they never come out too well (the light is dim and the vendors kind of frown on it). But here is a cool felt old-time Felix the Cat: A group of girls that look like they are saying "You came to the wrong neighborhood"... A small Satanic Circle of kewpies (?) Some of the displays were so great, with antique lace, hatboxes, fancy screens and non-doll props--they really did beg to be photographed, but they will have to wait for when I final...

It's cold here! But it's a dry cold. We did break another outside pipe, which will have to be replaced when Spring rolls around, and had to replace another gfic outside plug, but otherwise it's been OK. I did try to take photos last night when the ice first formed,but they were blurry from not enough light: That is the moon back there :D I did get sort of a partial eclipse photo, again blurry from being hand held, and it was around 4 degrees so I didn't feel like standing around: A rare double moon :D Since I have had The Cold, I have been going through pillowcases--I thought of buying more but they are fairly expensive, so I took some stretchy polyester that I bought from fabric.com and made a slightly oversized, stretchy pillowcase that I can wash easily. And it's super soft without the fuzziness of a flannel pillowcase : It matches none of my sheets, but at this point I don't care. The lights are off at night anyway.

She's actually like a Tiny Topaz ! And this face paint is so full of win <3 She is one of the little fairies, a Mini-Gem--so you would be wise to buy her clothes and eyes as well, because they are smol. More photos: Here she is in white. I might like the gray a bit more, not sure. Full shot: Check out the feets: (These are the option, it looks like the basic version comes with the normal Mini Gem body) She's very cute and I would be tempted if I hadn't just had the cold temperatures break yet another exterior pipe (and one that for years was never a problem :p ) and also have yet another external plug fail . Though to be honest, that one is probably 40 years old and was in need of replacing. To be honest, the whole electrical grid of the house should probably be stripped out and redone, and a new modern box put in, but that is..pricey. Like 20 k pricey. Especially when it also needs a new roof and the plumbing should also all be pulled out and brought u...

Yes, hes a big Granado boy that Sicktress dyed with Rit dyemore*! She's so good at getting it all even, too--and he looks amazing. The dye gives the resin a lot more depth and interest and it wears incredibly well, even on the joints. I'm pretty sure he doesn't need clothes :D *Correction from earlier!

                              This render is very pink :D You can see the key is scalable!                                       The character is Arryn, by gypsyangel, at Daz3d.com

So I actually made something in Hexagon that looks..ok. I now have the instructions, too, courtesy of my friend Andy (thank you thank you) so I will spend less time trying things that don't work and maybe actually get more finished and useful items. This one ended up being 900kb more or less when it was done and zipped (including the maps for painting it) so I am pretty happy with it. I actually got my taxes done in spite of still coughing and generally dragging around, but I have my fingers crossed all will be well for the doll show in Naperville next weekend! It's always a good time :D

Looking like the lead in a K-Drama, Soom has issued a new Idealian "Isabel". I'm a little dubious about the lip paint here, but I like the rest of her styling and especially the awesome "shoe-feets" that come with her--these are new shoes, and very fashionable. I won't be bringing her home (Idealians are quite expensive), but for anyone collecting contemporary styled dolls she is a jewel. check her out here: https://dollsoom.com/eng/shop/item.php?it_id=1547112733

He's for sale on Den of Angels (search for Buff in the full-size category) She wrote about how he is put together: Description: This is the showpiece for my display at the DragonCon Art Show, last year. He is the culmination of months of work! The head is sculpted by me, and it matches excellently to the white skin SOOM Jack fantasy body, though you can only see a small part of the actual body while he is fully clothed. I only made ONE of this head in White, so he is the only one that can possibly be made like this. His hands and legs have been painted in 3 different shades to produce a really living effect on the fantasy parts. His skull helm has been painted gold to take on the role of a crown. Everything about him is entirely custom. He has clear glass red eyes that can be lit from within. It is fairly easy to do. You remove the faceplate and the switch is hidden on the inside of the head. Then you put the faceplate back on. The eyes are lit with an LED, so the battery life...

Gladys (not Glados :D) is a cyborg valkyrie ..a steampunk cyborg valkyrie, so she checks a lot of boxes. I actually like her awkward, skinny body and sweet face, I think she would make a nice fairy  on the doll chateau "human" body (and the extra neck part can be removed if you want a slightly more natural look). Another pic of the legs: But for me, the best look is actually unpainted. See how beautiful this is: The resin makes it look like she's carved out of ivory. I wouldn't want to play with her, she to me looks like an elegant piece of display sculpture. Doll Chateau keeps exploring all kinds of possibilites in the bjd medium! And mostly unrelated, over at Iplehouse, Miss Soo has a cute new faceup: Those new eyebrows just gave her about 50 more IQ points :D She's always been "sort of" on my wishlist, but money, Soo and I have (so far) never been in the same place at the same time.

So here is another render of the Dreamland Models plasma machine, and it's a bit nicer than the last one--it's in a different warehouse, (this one by Stonemason ), and it's a bit darker-- and because of fewer windows, also renders faster. But it still wasn't quite what I wanted, so I hauled out Hexagon ( a 3d modelling program) and tried some things. I need to learn more about Hexagon anyway, so it was a good reason to sit and experiment. And I did learn a lot today--I learned how to use the line tool to make cables, which is something I have wanted to be able to make for literally years, because it is the way you also make things like plant stems, and vines. And seaweed. So here is my crude Plasma Machine, but I am going to paint up the new texture maps I made for it and try those out tomorrow--this is with mostly just color applied to the model, not real painted textures: I think this one looks a little more heavy-duty and menacing--the gorgeous wall and floor ...

I bought a Plasma Generator /particle accelerator* from Renderosity yesterday, and while it is perfectly fine, it looks a little to me like it was built on a budget, so I would like to beef it up a little. Difficulty: my modelling skills. Today's modelling efforts ended up being either very weird or somehow not surviving the dangerous journey from Hexagon to Daz Studio. I will try again tomorrow! * It says Particle Accelerator, but it doesn't look set up right for that. It kind of looks like a non-OSHA approved fusion reactor. In case you would like to see inside a real fusion reactor, check this out:

                                                                             He makes it look so easy--and the sound is gorgeous!

I'm not dead :D I have just had the worlds snottiest cold and I haven't felt up do doing the brainwork required even to write a post, but I DID test one of my friend gypsyangel's new character that will be coming out soon at Daz3d.com. She's Mariah and she comes with these gorgeous fantasy makeups! I did do a doll thing, too-- I finished one more tiny skirt for Cat, being careful not to handle it without a lot of hand washing. It's wrapped in tissue now so it won't get cat hair on it.