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Volks Yukinojo redux thoughts

Volks Yukinojo redux thoughts published on No Comments on Volks Yukinojo redux thoughts

While I’m thinking about it, any BJD with a Yukinojo head would absolutely require an Iplehouse EID Woman body with large bust [and thigh swivels]. If such a body had been available a decade [?!?!?!?!?!?] ago when I was making my 1:3 scale BJD version of Frank, I would have snapped it up because of its perfect adherence to unrealistic, superheroic standards of voluptuousness and muscularity combined. I am pretty sure that is the only 60+ cm body of that shape out there, excluding the discontinued Angelsdoll massive girl body and its unattractive articulation. Not a real fan of Iplehouse’s poseability, but I can’t think of any alternatives with better articulation, comparable height, and equivalent shape.

Ordering from Iplehouse would provide an opportunity to acquire some of their fabulous clothes. High-collared dress showing cleavage and then some? Hot pants? The classic catsuit + corset? A dress with thigh-high leg slits and navel window? Whatever the heck this thing is? In other words, the chance to own in 1:3 scale the sort of over-the-top, ridiculous shit I heretofore have only possessed in digital? SIGN ME UP!

Volks Yukinojo = 1:3 scale Dollmore Klaire?

Volks Yukinojo = 1:3 scale Dollmore Klaire? published on No Comments on Volks Yukinojo = 1:3 scale Dollmore Klaire?

I really want a Dollmore Trinity Klaire, but I highly doubt I’ll ever get one. Therefore I was just thinking about a BJD headsculpt for which I have a sentimental fondness, Volks Yukinojo, and wondering if that sculpt would be a good 1:3 scale equivalent to Klaire. I’ll have to compare my Yukinojo pics to some of Klaire…

EDIT: Klaire has much rounder and blunter nose/lips/chin, while Yukinojo’s are slightly narrower and more rectilinear. However, both dolls’ cheeks/chin/mouths are big and strong. If I closed Yukinojo’s eyes slightly, I could achieve a shape similar to Klaire’s.

Straight white cis dude writes sexist, racist, classist, ageist jeremaid.

Straight white cis dude writes sexist, racist, classist, ageist jeremaid. published on No Comments on Straight white cis dude writes sexist, racist, classist, ageist jeremaid.

“Do teens read seriously anymore?” asks the title of David Denby’s New Yorker screed. Of course not! answers the author, blaming “most of all, screens (TV, Internet, games, texting, Instagramming).” “Screens” have killed teens’ interest in self-development through “serious” reading, turning them into superficial shlubs with no attention span. I’m dying to know how Denby deduced this, since he’s so out of touch with the under-21 set that he refers to them as “teen-agers.” Why should anyone listen to this irrelevant person?

I also can’t help but notice that Denby’s idea of “serious reading” is gendered, racialized, and classed. He cites “Shakespeare, Mary Shelley, Poe, Hawthorne, Twain, Stevenson, Orwell, Vonnegut” as exemplars of the genres that today’s “teen-agers” putatively avoid. Elsewhere in his word vomit, J.D. Salinger, Charlotte Bronte, Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Joseph Heller, and Allen Ginsburg appear as sadly neglected greats. “Wilde, Nabokov, Updike, Vidal” also garner mentions as “sophisticated” author-critics of the 20th century.

Of these 18 authors, all are from the United States or Great Britain, and 16 are white cis dudes, 2 white cis women. There are 2 gay dudes [whoop de fucking doo] and 0 queer women. There are no non-honkies or people of color. All of this “literature” issues from the privileged socioeconomic classes. By contrast, the fantasy, dystopian, vampire romance, and graphic novel genres that he shits on feature a much larger representation of women and/or POC and/or various socioeconomic classes and/or national origins. And Denby hates it.

Shorter Denby: “Waaaaah, my straight cis white dude privilege is being threatened!”

Oh shut up and go hang out with Simon Doonan, another rich old cis white dude master of ageist, sexist, racist vituperation.

Hat tip to Katy Waldman for her criticism of Denby’s crap on Slate.

Humanoid bipedal robot walking around and lifting stuff

Humanoid bipedal robot walking around and lifting stuff published on No Comments on Humanoid bipedal robot walking around and lifting stuff

Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot walks around, opens doors, and lifts things in this amazing video. I wish I had more context, but this is still stupendous. Thoughts in no particular order:

 

  • Atlas’ stability on uneven terrain — with snow on the ground no less! — is particularly cool. I envision its stabilizing, balancing, and flexion systems eventually [if not currently] being incorporated into lower limb prostheses to obviate use of a cane, walker, or similar for some people.
  • I’m not sure why Boston Dynamics decided to design a humanoid robot, but I applaud them for throwing in some humanoid engineering as well. Most obviously, Atlas swings its arms when it moves. It didn’t have to do that; it could have had tighter shoulder joints, but Boston Dynamics mimicked humanoid design and allowed it to maintain its balance with one of the ways in which people who walk can.
  • Atlas pops up almost immediately after being knocked over — recovering just as rapidly, if not faster than, a human. I’m very impressed with its multistage standing, especially the final step, when it pushes itself to its feet using basically just the propulsion from its toes.
  • When the person kept knocking the box out of Atlas’ hands and Atlas continued to walk forward, reaching for the box, I was thinking, Don’t piss off the robot!

 

Filed under mannequins because I sure wish I had one that did that.

EeeeeEEEEEeeeeee suspenders!

EeeeeEEEEEeeeeee suspenders! published on No Comments on EeeeeEEEEEeeeeee suspenders!

I think he was going for some early 20th-century blue collar look here. The thoroughly modern OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEE! body language could be slightly anachronistic, though. :p

As an aside, I should mention that Neftis and Cauchemar3D’s G2M Jack the Ripper Hair supersedes Luthbel’s G2M Horror Survivor Marius spike, brows, and facial hair as my favorite set designed for a male figure. Jack the Ripper has a wonderful messy, wayward look. The hairline and distribution of hair on the front crown convincingly mimic a high, possibly receding forehead. In a market full of luxuriant, bountiful hairstyles created for youthful characters for whom hair loss is just a distant nightmare, Jack the Ripper remains one of the few realistic options for slightly older people. The morphs to alter/remove sideburns and mustache just make this even more versatile. Now that I’ve gotten the set to work on G3F, I do believe that I’ve found Jareth’s preferred hairstyle for whenever he feels like “butchin’ it up.”
 

Continue reading EeeeeEEEEEeeeeee suspenders!

Zombieville Chapter 10.5: Unresearched Ridiculousness

Zombieville Chapter 10.5: Unresearched Ridiculousness published on No Comments on Zombieville Chapter 10.5: Unresearched Ridiculousness

This episode is not at all based on my reaction to the mini tombstone in question. :pContinue reading Zombieville Chapter 10.5: Unresearched Ridiculousness

Thoughts about various iterations of the Girl

Thoughts about various iterations of the Girl published on No Comments on Thoughts about various iterations of the Girl

The Girl, one of Daz’ iconic figures [and, in more recent versions, figure morphs], began life as a toon created by Kim Goossens. Daz or its predecessor Zygote acquired the figure and all rights to it, I guess. From then on, the Girl joined Victoria, Michael, and a small elite of characters that appear in [almost] every generation of figures that Daz puts out.

 

The Girl has four iterations so far. The first was as a standalone figure by Kim Goossens, a contemporary of Victoria 3. The second was a character morph of Victoria 4, called Girl 4. The Girl skipped the next generation of Daz figures, Genesis 1. However, Girl 6 showed up as a morph of Genesis 2 Female. Most recently, Girl 7 appeared as a character for Genesis 3 Female. I put them in a lineup below to compare and contrast.

 

Continue reading Thoughts about various iterations of the Girl

Timonium’s new hair, or, How not to make a wig

Timonium’s new hair, or, How not to make a wig published on No Comments on Timonium’s new hair, or, How not to make a wig

I spent the last two weeks making Timonium a little red version of the Goblin King’s hair. First I ordered a bunch of rooting hair from dollyhair.com. With the delightful name of Vampire Kisses, the deep reddish color has purple tones to darken it, suggestive of both red wine and fresh blood. Perfect color for someone who claims that he sups on “the blood of the innocent.” >_>

 

Then I hand sewed a wig cap from scrap cotton print, using my faux fur pattern as a base [plus seam allowances]. I used a technique that I first tried about 15 [!] years ago to attach the hair to the cap. Holding a small clump of hair between thumb and forefinger, I trimmed the ends so they were even. I applied hot glue all around the end of the clump to stick all the strands together. I hot glued this bundle to the cap, beginning at the bottom center back of the wig cap. Working my way toward the crown in a spiral path, I attached successive bundles all over the cap. Periodically I trimmed the hair to make sure that it was all a single, manageable length. I did final styling — addition of bangs, layering, and whatnot — at the end, though.

 

I can’t think of another way that I could have easily constructed this particular style in this particular size, but I still don’t recommend this method of wig construction. It’s tedious as fuck and highly unrewarding. While I enjoy almost all aspects of doll customization, I found this one a boring chore. I’m never doing that again.

 

On the plus side, Timonium looks pretty cool now!

 

Continue reading Timonium’s new hair, or, How not to make a wig

All my dolls, 02/16/2016

All my dolls, 02/16/2016 published on No Comments on All my dolls, 02/16/2016

Technically this should really be A good complement of my dolls, excluding those who are in pieces and the one that I’ve hidden because I really don’t like it and can’t sell it, but All my dolls has a better ring to it. Continue reading All my dolls, 02/16/2016

Dolls that need work

Dolls that need work published on No Comments on Dolls that need work

For BJDs who bug me:

  • Delmar needs faceup, hair, restringing, and tail. Faceup stalled.
  • Fritillaria needs faceup, eyes, wig, outfit. Temporary outfit completed, faceup, eyes, and wig stalled.
  • Mellifer needs a complete do-over. Stalled.
  • Never the Less needs faceup, wig, clothes. Clothes done, working on wig, mask/faceup stalled.
  • Polly needs a seat belt. Stalled.
  • Thalia needs a shirt. Stalled.
  • Timonium needs a new wig cap and new hair. Working on wig cap. Done!
  • Touralyn needs a new body and clothes. Body in progress.

For Zombieville denizens:

  • Doctor Z needs her own body with appropriate neck. Ordered!
    Done!
  • Sylvia needs a new fat body. New base body procured and cut down. Fats need sculpting.

Whenever I feel like getting more 1:3 scale BJDs…

Whenever I feel like getting more 1:3 scale BJDs… published on No Comments on Whenever I feel like getting more 1:3 scale BJDs…

…[because I know I will in future, though I don’t now]…I’ll probably get one of the following:

  • Angel of Dream Hui Xiang. Long admired and very smiley, she could probably be modded into an OMV easily. She’s also rather cheap, as 1:3ers go.
  • Serenade Doll Lotus. Taking Doll Chateau’s super scrawny aesthetic into the realm of etiolated, elongated fashion illustrations, Serenade Doll pairs an impossibly long-limbed body with a small head. I wasn’t really sold on the doll until I saw this robe, which is perfect for the slim, wispy physique. The clothing convinced me to seriously consider the doll, who would be a late Victorian/early Edwardian ghost.
  • Bergemann Dolls Sassafrass. I usually dislike the blocky, rounder sculpting favored by U.S. BJD sculptors, but I’m a huge fan of THE SMIRK.

Journee, avian therianthrope

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Remember how I admired Ali’s original digital figure, Bod, recently? Well, I ended up purchasing her, and she’s just even more adorable in my runtime than she is in the promos. I ran into some difficulties clothing her until I realized that she is based off Ali’s free human figure Angela. With that knowledge, I was able to purchase her a T-shirt and shorts from Ali’s site [pretty much the only thing that wasn’t a bikini]. I also found some free poses for Angela that worked for Bod with a little accommodation for her different feet. Anyway, here’s Journee, my Bod-based character….

 

Continue reading Journee, avian therianthrope

Facial hair!!!!!

Facial hair!!!!! published on No Comments on Facial hair!!!!!

I figured out how to get facial hair [both transfers from G3F and also from previous figure generations] onto G3F so that it follows expressions! Woo hoo!

I’m also happy because this evening I just sprang for AprilYSH’s Leandros Hair and Beard for G3M. I got it because it beautifully represents the messy ponytail that I see so many people use whenever they don’t want to put much effort into styling their hair — just pull it back and don’t worry about the flyaways. The inclusion of a beard, up to AprilYSH’s usual spectacular standards of modeling, was just a nice bonus.

Now that I’m playing with it, though, I really like the beard. It’s a decent closely clipped style, very realistic, and the alternative trans maps for full hair growth and sparser hair growth are pretty convincing. Once I made a little morph to keep the mustache hairs from shoving themselves up Jareth’s nose, everything worked well.

Continue reading Facial hair!!!!!

Dance moves that “fit the meter”

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One of the most memorable and useful justifications I learned in Latin class was “It fit the meter.” You see — the Latin language poetry I translated in high school followed a rigorous form of syllabification and rhythm known as meter.

 

When we were working on lines, our teacher regularly pointed out poetic devices and asked us why we thought Virgil [because we were doing the Aeneid] — used certain words. Without fail, one kid always responded, “It fit the meter!”

 

This explanation, while technically true, always entertained me. It completely dismissed all sort of sophisticated rhetorical effects and instead focused on wedging language into the appropriate amount of syllables and lines.

 

That being said, I find myself seeing all flourishes that “fit the meter” in a variety of media. When someone is repeating “Yeah yeah yeah” or “Oh oh oh” in a song, those words exist to fit the meter. Rococo architecture is full of curlicues and flourishes that fit the meter. When my digital sets look boring and empty, I may add people and decor to fit the meter. In other words, fitting the meter means filling available space in an appropriate way.

Back to the title of this entry… After watching Michael Jackson’s Bad and Smooth Criminal, I think that a certain number of his crotch grabs and hat tilts occur because they fit the meter — i.e., they fill time and look cool.

Hey look — a mediocre picture of Never the Less!

Hey look — a mediocre picture of Never the Less! published on No Comments on Hey look — a mediocre picture of Never the Less!

I worked on Never the Less today. First I sanded down her stabby Nipples of Doom. I dressed her up, then decided that I should wire her arms. I took off her shirt and tried to shove wire into her arm channels, but the 3mm elastic filled up the holes.

I released the string running from neck to torso, took off the bust, and removed the 3mm elastic from the arms. Restringing her arms with 2mm elastic, I then easily fit wires in her arm channels. Then I had a big huge fight to bring her core elastic through her torso again and out her neck, as AOD apparently suffers an elastic shortage and so must string all dolls with the bare minimum.

 

I redressed her, then decided that she needed a bra. I took off her shirt, put on her bra, then put her shirt on. Then I had a big huge fight with her shoes, which, at 7cm inner measurement, were the exact length of her feet and thus a challenge to put on her.

 

Finally I gave her the brown frizzy wig from my collection of 1:3 scale stuff, restrung her mask with longer elastic to fit around her bulky wig, then collapsed in exhaustion. No, really, I just took a few pictures, only one of which came out any good.

 

Continue reading Hey look — a mediocre picture of Never the Less!

Taste Testing: Jareth, Tomaeo, Nero, and Russell at the bar

Taste Testing: Jareth, Tomaeo, Nero, and Russell at the bar published on No Comments on Taste Testing: Jareth, Tomaeo, Nero, and Russell at the bar

Here’s the photostory featuring Jareth in the aforementioned inimitably Jarethian outfit. Other people include Tomaeo [rainbow shirt], Russell [grey sweater], and Nero [black corset]. As usual, there’s a lot of sarcastic remarks and tongues sticking out.
Continue reading Taste Testing: Jareth, Tomaeo, Nero, and Russell at the bar

NERDS doll meetup and sale in Lowell, MA, on March 5th!

NERDS doll meetup and sale in Lowell, MA, on March 5th! published on No Comments on NERDS doll meetup and sale in Lowell, MA, on March 5th!

Yes! Something doll-related is happening in an accessible location in New England! Lyrajean and I are planning to go and split a vendor table. I hope to publicize VTDL too.

Out drinking with Tomaeo and bros on a weeknight

Out drinking with Tomaeo and bros on a weeknight published on No Comments on Out drinking with Tomaeo and bros on a weeknight

Sometimes I put together outfits that are just so quintessentially Jarethian that they make me laugh out of happy surprise. This is one of them, to be seen in a photostory that occurs during Jareth’s casual night at the bar with Tomaeo, Russell, and Nero.  The title of this picture is Makeup Emergency — Jareth’s explanation for why he took a while in the bathroom. ^_^Continue reading Out drinking with Tomaeo and bros on a weeknight

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