Saturday, September 18, 2010

Commission Work + Customizing 101

Laura wants a pink lemonade inspired girl! She's still a WIP, but I have worked really thoughtfully & carefully to give her the most amazing girl ever :D Laura was one of the first to really show interest in my customs and I appreciate her so much!

Customizations so far:
*sand matte(d) -This means taking fine and extra fine grit sanding sponges and sanding away the shiny plastic finish on her face. Customizers sand matte to prepare the face for new make-up. A lot of Blythe owners sand matte their dolls out of aesthetic preference. I sand matte my girls because having a shiny finish makes photographing them a little harder. You have big glares and reflections to worry about. I also think sand matting makes the Blythe's "skin" look more realistic.

*full face up - A face-up is basically where you sand matte off all of the doll's stock make-up and redo it however you want. For me, this is a complete art form! It's amazing to see a doll's face transform into a piece of art! Her face up is sealed with MSC (Mr. Super Clear Flat) This spray protects your work and really makes the new make-up pop. (It also can be used to matte the face without removing the stock make-up.

*heavy lip carving - If you've ever seen a stock Blythe mouth, it's basically a painted on lip shape. Carving is used to give the doll a different expression. I use x-acto knives and needle files for carving. When I add the dremel, this is the most intense carving I do because I am completely changing the shape of the mouth. With light carving, I try keep the mouth shaped like the stock mouth but more defined.

*nose carving - I consider this when you define the shape of the nose (a lot of people call it buttoning the nose) or carve out nostrils. I do this with an x-acto knife and sometimes the dremel.

*reroot - This is when you remove all of the stock hair from the scalp and reroot in the color(s) of your choice. Above, is a reroot in progress. shades of pink and lemonade yellow nylon hair.

Next I'll work on painting the lids of her eye mechanism, changing her eye chips, giving her new lashes, and finishing her reroot. I'll share morecustomizing info with you then :D

 MK

12 lovely readers said...:

Gwen said...

oh wow.
i never knew how amazing these could be.
i used to think they were creepy (the eyes man...the eyes!) but yours are always super gorgeous!

apparentlyjessy said...

This pink lemonade Blythe is looking gorgeous already. I love how you tell us how things are done, its a real art work, and you are so talented at it!

Anonymous said...

Wow such work involved! I have one blythe myself and always thought about doing a custom redesign, I'm not sure if you've scared me off or inspired, he he he :)

great work!

fee
xoxox

Samsara said...

wow i've been dying to better understand how to customize blythes! now do you do all the carving after you sand the face? and what paints do you use for the makeup?

i'm so excited to try this with my blythe!

Melly Kay said...

thanks yall!

Gwen - haha everyone always says it's the eyes :P I guess I'm drawn to slighty creepy things :P

PetSugar - yes all the carving is done after sanding. think of the sanding as the prep work for the face-up and carving. I use soft pastels for my make-up some people use airbrush. I'm sure there are lots of things you can use...it's all trial and error. There are certain things you shouldn't use on a Blythe's face, will share more about that later!

MeeshOne.Love said...

so cute! these dolls totally creep me out...but i know i'm gonna want one ones of these days. haha! and a super dope custom creation? what more could i ask for? you know i'll be buzzing when the time is right! you so creative girrl!

Courtney said...

These still creep me out a bit but I am sooo crazy interested in the whole process! It was so fun to read and I was sad when it ended. I hope you write more about the process. I am a sucker for processes...

Marthaamay O_o said...

That is very clever!

jacque said...

wow. she's my favorite and she's not even done!

you're so talented, mk!!

♥B said...

wow you are so talented! I think that is seriously amazing how much the dolls look different from the stock photos! How did u get involved in this??

Melly Kay said...

thanks yall!

Jax -- how r u?? you've been in my thoughts...hope all is well!

brittni -- Well after I saw Blythe for the first time on a random blog, I knew I wanted one. Then when I started researching them I discovered that people were customizing, I knew I wanted to try it so I just joined a few Blythe forums and did a lot of searching on the net for customizing tips. A lot of it I just figured out on my own too. :)

Diana said...

Oh wowowow. I had no idea there was full process to this. I can see why Blythe community appreciates it more now.