Merry XMas!!!

Memoru Version #2

This is the second time I paint this model as it was, again, a commission, only the first time it was a gift, this time it's a very underpaid job I really need to detox from cuteness now! :-P
I had to rush the job as this is a Xmas present and my customer is coming to pick Memoru up in about... ouch! 15 minutes! I barely had the time to take some shots!
This time I didn't buy it from E because time was an essential factor and we couldn't afford to play the preorders game. so instead I got it locally, paying a lot more and getting a lower quality cast. it wasn't too bad but the flower vines were so brittle it was impossible to sand them without snapping them! :-x Also, now that I finally have clear colors, the flower was cast in white resin. So I decided to go with a pinkish color to meet the taste of a little girl (me, I hate pink!). I also handpainted everything except the flower and Memoru's hair (you can't see the shading unfortunately because I suck at taking photos, but it's the best feature of the model, I think.)All in all I'm not too happy, not too displeased by this work... I only wish I had more time to do a better job.

Wip: Morte by Vispo - Part III: the seat

Time to start working on the seat. I used Ivory as base color and then shaded with pastels.
I think I like how it's turning out... I like how in close up you see some holes because it makes me think even more of old bones.
The light is no good so you can't see that there's a very light touch of gold, especially on those kind of beads at the top and just under them. Also at the base of the skulls' horns. It is quite unobtrusive because I want the focus to be the figure and not the base and also because usually you see the seat painted in metallic colors... I wanted mine to be different.

Wip: Morte by Vispo - Part II

Here is an image of the reconstruction I did to cover Morte's boobs. It's not perfect, I know... but it's my first attempt at something like this so it will have to do!


A general view of what I've done so far...


To be continued...

Wip: Morte by Vispo

This is a beautiful sculpt by Vispo. I decided to alter her bodice a little as originally her breasts are exposed. I don't really have a problem with (tasteful) nudity, but in this case I don't see the point.
I think her face turned out nice, hope you think so too! ^^'



More to come!

Wip: Kaname and Tessa Bontakun - Ref photos

I thought it might be nice to add some ref photos of what I'm working on right now: the first is the artwork the models are based on (I wish all the girls and Sagara in the Bontakun costume were available, but unfortunately they aren't >_<).
The second is just a nice wallpaper of the 2 girls and I'm using this image to paint their eyes... of course I don't expect them to come out looking just like that, I'm not that good (yet? wishful thought! LOL).

Wip: Kaname and Tessa Bontakun - Tessa resculpt

Well well, after many days of putty, carving, sanding, priming and starting everything all over again, this is what I came up with:

Her eyes are not definitive as my thin brushes are ruined and I need to find the time to go to the art store to get some more. So I just made a sort of draft to check the color and the general the effect. Any suggestion would be appreciated!

Finally my display cabinet!

So, after long procrastination, because I *hate* going to Ikea, I finally got my display cabinet, the mythological DETOLF almost any modeler in the world has!
Why do I hate going to Ikea? Well, I don't know elsewhere, but here whole families take trips there as if they were going for a nice pic-nic or something. They bring their kiddies who are free to run around and climb on every piece of forniture. So it's really a nightmare, considering I always get migrains in malls under the best circumstances!
So, after a dreadful Sun morning spent in there, and a dreadful Sun afternoon trying to put the pieces together (not easy!), this is what it looks like:

Too bad I don't have room for another next to it, because it's already almost full!

Wip: Kaname and Tessa Bontakun

I got stalled again with my Goth Devil Girl, so I decided to start something else. Now, these were supposed to be quite quick builds, but then I decided I didn't like one bit Tessa's chubby face, so I started a complete resculpt!

This is a completely new thing for me and so it's taking time as I'm going by the "mess-it-up-and-try-to-fix-it" method! Right now they look weird and scary (Kaname's lips needed some fixing too!).

Anyway, I have hopes!

1/8 Fuyuki Miharu

Over a month went by without a single new entry... I'm sooo bad! But in my defense I can say that I've had so many troubles with my internet connection that I was actually unable to write for most part of this month.
Well, at least I'm back with something to show: this is Fuyuki Miharu, a character from "Welcome to Pia Carrot" I'm absolutely not familiar with. I got her from a member of Hobbyfanatics a few months ago because I was totally in love with her green dress and I saw possibilities. I started working on her 3 days ago after I found out my friend Conny was also interested in her at the time I got her, so we had a chat and I suddenly decided I wanted to see her done.
I must say I'm *quite* satisfied, altough there are 2 things I need to work on a lot above all the others (and there's a lot more, believe me): masking and whites! I hate those, both of them! I also still need to improve photography!
Anyway, enough from me!

Wip: Asuka Angel Version Stage II - Model finished, awaiting for a base

Temporary photos for the model without its base, which hopefully will be ready in September:

Wip: Asuka Angel Version

This is a very simple kit from certain points of view, but a little complicated from others: while it doesn't have a frilled dress or many complicated hair parts, the fact that it is a nude makes it harder to hide gaps (and there were quite a few and nicely sized too!). So I decided to pre-assemble the body and then paint it, which is something I've never done before. While I was at it I also decided to give her a more rounded head as it looked a little flat, and also a hair partition line.
Doing so of course it became quite hard to reach certain areas to sand them. Well, a girl can't have everything, can she?

Painting her eyes was also a little tricky as her legs were in the way! (^_^);;

Back view: I quite like the shading along her backbone and... well... her butt! (^_^);;;;

Since I don't have a proper setting for photos here in Palinuro (and even if I did you wouldn't be noticing the difference!) I took them with and without flash to show better some details.

I have a base in mind for her which involves a bench and some leds but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. However this, just as Shinku's one, will have to wait for September as I don't have the proper materials and shops here.

More to come, I'm currently shading her wings.

I've been tagged, here are 8 completely pointless things to know about me!

Baxojayz tagged me, so let's play along, shall we?

To start:

1) Post these rules


2) Post 8 random facts about yourself


3) Tag and name 8 more bloggers


4) Let them know that they're tagged at their blog


Here we go:

1)My name was supposed to be Giulia, but then my parents fell in love with Ilaria and so that was it. In case I was a boy I was supposed to be called Riccardo, apparently! My father decided I didn't need a middle name: he said it was pointless as one name was more than enough and so it was better to avoid confusion. I actually like my name, so I guess I'm lucky, as so many people I know really can't stand theirs... but I just couldn't imagine myself being called anything but Ilaria!

2)Technically I'm an accountant: the thing is that I hate accountancy and I know absolutely nothing about it. I don't wonder how the hell I managed to take my high school diploma simply because I know how Italian School works: if you heaar that our system is superior to others from a cultural point of view (Italians tend to believe this happy crappy), well, that's just bullsh*t: I went through 3 years of accountancy and bank subjects and I never studied any of them... and yet I managed to get my piece of paper and with quite a nice final grade at that! My real passions are artistic subjects and languages!

3)I used to make soaps from scraps! Big, chunky ones made with caustic soda, olive, almond and coconut oil, cocoa butter and a lot of other nice ingredients. I use to cut them up in pieces and they almost always had a lot of stuff in them: flower petals, glitters, bits of soap in other colors and fragrances... I had a lot of fun making them and they also made very pretty gifts. But I had to give up as I picked this hobby up while living in UK: back to Italy it was really hard to find the raw materials I needed (except for the olive oil of course) and it became quite expensive. So I stopped and a little later I picked up Garage Kits instead! Either way, when I need to relax I have to go creative: messing up with colors, materials, tools and whatnot really helps me unplugging from everything else. This of course doesn't mean I'm good... it just means I enjoy messing up my room (or my kitchen, when making soaps).

4)In London I used to live in a purple room: it was an attic, and I had my bed just underneath the skylight... it would have been very nice if I lived in a country where you could see the stars every once in a while! My friends used to say that my room looked just like me: when I moved in the walls were a horrible yellow, but after a couple of months I decided to paint them purple... well, more like wisteria, I guess! Anyway, it's always been one of my fav colors and by mere chance the door was already purple at the time, so I got a nice lampshade made of tulle the same color in Covent Garden and... well, some paint and brushes. I also used to have tons of candles burning and a blue light pointing at a row of circular mirrors hanging from my skylight, so at night it felt like a cross between an aquarium (and besides, I did have 3 goldfishes, Pippo, Gippo and Carmelo) and a cathedral. I miss that room, it was a mess, but it felt right for me!

5)Got a 3 and 1/2 years old black cat named Akira. Well, at least on the Vet's papers that's his name, but in truth we never call him that since my mother never liked the name. So... well, we usually just call him "gatto" ("cat") which sounds a lot like Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany, I know! What can I say, not everybody shares my passion for Japan and Japanese culture, apparently not even my cat since he doesn't come if I call him Akira!

6)I used to play the guitar: I've never been that good at it but I could manage a summer bonfire with my friends or a couple of hours to entertain myself. I love the folk one, although I'm dying to get an electric one too, but I never really had a chance... besides, unfortunately I live in a condo and my neighbours are already in love with my compressor, which I use mainly in the late evening/early night! I haven't really played in a couple of years, but lately I did find I miss it and so I intend to pick it up again. So a couple of days ago I went to get a new set of strings since mine were really old and one was broken. I couldn't find my usual brand and I was advised about this other one, that was supposed to be even better in quality... Well, as soon as I started the tuning process I broke one, and then a second too... that set sucked, and I also hurt myself with the first one! I wish I had the time to go back to the store and strangle the owner with the remaining ones, but unfortunately I was in a hurry as I was moving to my summer house for the rest of the season... so here I am, with a guitar and no strings! I still hope to find a shop here so I can buy a new set, but I'm so pissed off that the first appointment I have on my agenda in Sept is with that shop owner!

7)When I'm asked which is my fav movie I never know what to answer as I don't really have one. I love to watch the ones I like over and over until I know them by heart and I can act over them, even respecting the pauses and all ( I wish I could really act though!).
I'm really eclectic: among the ones I like the most are Gone with the Wind, Dawn of the Dead (the G. Romero one, 1978), Heathers, Amelie, Thelma and Louise, The Crow, The Godfather, Tootsie, Battle Royal, Breakfast at Tiffany... I don't even remember all of them! Why stick to just one kind when there are so many stories out there to be told? And the same goes for music, books, anime...

8)3 years ago I had eyes surgery: I never got used to wear glasses and I abused contact lenses, so that at the end my eyes were rejecting them. I'm a cry-baby when it comes to pain and so I was pretty scared, but I was also sure I wanted to go for it as I was oh-so tired! The whole operation lasted a couple of minutes per eye, but it took the doc some 15 minutes to have me ready as I kept shaking, and I wasn't supposed to move. In the end it went very smoothly, it was quick and quite painless... but what I'll never forget is the smell of something burning while the laser was doing its job, and thinking Oh my goodness, this is my eye burning! That really could have freaked me out, but in the end I didn't have the time to panic because everything was very fast!
Now I'm perfectly happy and I advise all my friends (well, all my glass-wearing ones) to go for it, but I tend to not to tell them about the smell... I mean, why freak them out? Besides, it was a rather... interesting experience! Let them find out by themselves as I did! Afterall, nobody told me!

Tagged:

Machine Mess

Annya

Christopher

Sophie

Gmobile

Pitanga

Kyle

cwmodels

Rug?

I might have found the right one... I mean, it is perfect, but the store usually sells wholesale and I'm not sure they'll make one single piece just for my pretty face! Besides, it seems to be very expensive... maybe leaving out the fringe will cost a little less?

Otherwise I found a very nice selection of Turkish rugs for dollhouses: they are surely cheaper but they are rectangular, and I don't like that a lot because with the shape of her skirt Shinku really needs a round one; I could settle for a square if the size is right, but rectangular? I really wonder! (?_?)

Shinku with Kun Kun - Completed!

Done! Well, sort of, since I still need to add a base, but as said that'll have to wait for Sept.
Gee, I really suck at taking photos... I'll try to do better with the ones for the contest, with base and withouth watermark.
Anyway... well, it took longer than I expected but still nothing compared to my standard times... there IS hope then! ^_^
Ja ne!

Shinku with Kun Kun Wip - Stage IV - photo

Shinku with Kun Kun Wip - Stage IV

I've managed to repaint her legs/shoes and, while I still have to perfection my rendering of white, I'm truly satisfied with the effect I achieved on her varnished shoes.

KunKun is also painted (he needs a little shading though) and I touched up her back bow, where some paint came off, and her sleeves.

I'm still not satisfied with her eyes, need to work on them a little more.

Pics will follow, didn't take any last night (^_^);

Not much to report because...

...yesterday I had a very busy day and so I was just too tired to paint last night. Too bad: it was too good to be true for me to finish a model in 2 days... oh well, welcome back to reality!

My cat has a mycosis (a fungal infection) and we have to treat it, but with him it's just impossible: between my mother and I we couldn't slap some of that purple crap on his paws and now I wonder, since she's moving to Palinuro tomorrow, while I'll follow next week, how the hell she's gonna handle it alone! (?_?)

Thanks God tomorrow is Friday!