Hey, everyone. This is Lomi, and lately, I've been busy with some non-doll projects, like working on
editing the first book in my next fantasy series. It's about 125,000 words, so that takes a good
bit of attention, and that's kind of left me with only enough time to do some odd projects.
Originally, I thought I'd try to document some of them as full projects,
but it didn't really work out that way, so instead, here's kind of a hodge podge peek
at everything I've been doing to bridge the gap between bigger projects to share.
First off, I don't know if I've mentioned it here,
but I know I've said on Instagram that I only have plans to add three more dolls to my collection,
then probably switch to fashion dolls if I ever want to do extensive mods on anything else
because I just don't have room for many more big dolls. The three characters left on the list are
Tahl from my Westkings Heist novella series, and Garam and Sera from my Snakesblood Saga series.
I've been working on Tahl and figured I'd plan for Sera next, but this EID model body came up for
sale for a good price due to it needing some work, and I figured I could make it work for Garam. It's
a slightly older EID, but newer than Rune, so he has the old style elbows and knees but the
updated feet with a better post for the S hook. I'll share a bit about the work he needs soon.
One project I thought I'd make a video on was using some leftover trimmings of alpaca fiber
and a few leftover wefts to make a very short alternate wig for Rune,
who got his first haircut in book 3. That's the book in which Garam is introduced, so I thought
it would be fun to make Rune a new outfit and style him to suit that point in the series.
However, my camera was having some problems and it kept shutting off every 30 seconds or so,
which made most of my footage totally unusable because of how badly it was spliced.
I eventually did a factory reset, which took care of whatever the problem was,
but it meant I ended up progressing through most of the wig making without filming.
I guess that's okay, because I didn't really cover any new ground in that process.
If you watch the video about making a short wig for Rhyllyn, all the same information is in there.
While I waited for Rune's wig to dry, I ended up working on repairs to the sleeping head
I got for his kid incarnation. This one's a piece of cake, just filling in where the previous owner
started to carve out one eye. I filled it with Tamiya putty because of how fast it dries,
figuring I could complete it in a day. I was able to, but I think this would have been easier with
epoxy because on such a small spot to fill, I wouldn't have had to sand if I smoothed it well
with water and wiped off the excess. As it was, I ended up spending a lot of time sanding off
the Tamiya putty that dried within two or three minutes of application, so it wasn't quite as easy
as I hoped, even though it was fast. But, at least he'll be ready to color match and paint soon.
I've been working on clothes for Arrios, too, since I started his project and would like to
see his full outfit done before the end of the year. But I've had a lot of trouble with his
sherwani's sleeves, despite the same style working really well for Rune, who is only a little larger.
Ultimately, due to the difficulty I had in fitting the lining and the shoulder ball joint,
I decided to give up on the curved sleeve design I used in the pattern for Rune's masquerade coat,
which I'd hoped to cut down to size and emulate, and ended up simplifying the sleeve into a single
piece. It'll lay differently at the elbow, but that's okay. Hopefully the larger shoulder
opening will work for the ball joint, and adding a longer hem to the cuff means I'll be able to
leave the sleeves unlined, which should improve the way it lays. On the previous attempts, the
lining made it just too bulky. I'm still testing the pattern, but hopefully it'll be done soon.
And then I decided to get right to work on Garam, smoothing out the unpolished modifications to the
neck. I've often mentioned how much I hate sanding, but it's a very necessary part of
modifications. Even though I hate it, I decided to tackle it within a few days of his arrival
because my youngest sister and I often discuss Mark Twain's saying about how if you have to eat
a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning, so the worst of the day is behind you.
So this is how I do it, just eat the frog, get the sanding done,
get the doll all scrubbed up, and the worst of his customization is already over.
I'll be able to look forward to other things, like designing outfits and creating a custom head,
since I've never found one that works well for this character.
And speaking of things working for the character, if you happen to have read the story, then you'll
know there's one glaring issue with this doll. So I take care of that right away with a dye bath.
Ideally, since the character is a little bigger than Rune, the doll should be too...
The model body is slightly taller than the Super Hero body Rune is on,
but it is slimmer. However, I decided that since Garam will pretty much
always be clothed and probably in armor, he'll end up looking bulkier, so it's fine.
Despite the sanding and cleaning of the doll, there were still a few places the
dye took unevenly. Some of this, such as the marbling around the joints, can be explained
by uneven wear. The chest piece took dye unevenly because of the modifications, but I expected that.
But the weirdest was a collection of spots on one leg that rejected dye altogether. On the whole,
though, I think this dye job turned out well, given that it's an older doll with mods.
Even though I started working on yet another character, I'm doing my best not to neglect
my other unfinished projects. I'd ordered some shoes and an alternate wig for Envesi from Alice's
Collections. I'm really happy with the quality, and especially with some boots I got in hopes
they'd fit Firal and Kyt. They do, so that means I can work on a new outfit idea for them soon, too.
Just in case anyone is wondering, the wristband I was wearing was for
the Leira Chronicles urban fantasy book series by Martha Carr, I had the opportunity to meet
Martha the day the box arrived and she took so much time to give me some really specific
and targeted advice on how I present my work and how I can advance my career as an author.
I also met Craig Martelle, who mostly writes sci-fi and also gave me a ton
of excellent advice, but Craig didn't give me a wristband, so he doesn't get a cameo.
Anyway.
Eventually, all my dolls will have shoes. Except,
like... Rune and Rhyllyn, 'cause they got lizard feet instead.
I'll be styling Envesi's wig a little more, but I really like how it looks,
and her shoes fit, so she's well on her way to being complete now.
And I'll be rearranging my shelves to make room for Garam now that he's sanded, dyed, and strung,
but he's got no head, so for now he can just chill with my fabric.
And that's kinda what I've been doing!
I'm hoping to get that sherwani pattern done soon, and once I do, we'll be back to sewing.
That's all for today, though. Thanks for watching!
Bye.