"Snap a Photo, Keep the Memories"
After their date, Cleo and Frankie decided to take a selfie over the bridge they visited. It's always best to live in the moment. But sometimes, once the moment is over, it's nice to look back on a picture or two and cherish the memories that come with it. ⚡💎
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Belladonna Nightshade - Halloween Dark Fairy
Base Doll: G3 Twyla from Monster High
Clothing Pattern: Dollightful's Asymmetrical Dress (read to the end, I have notes about this)
Happy Halloween everyone! Since becoming a doll customizer, my Halloween dolls are usually related to my favorite indie horror game, Bendy and the Ink Machine. However, seeing as I've completed two Bendy dolls already this year, I felt it was time to give myself a break and try something a bit different. My friends over in DollyAnna's Discord server wanted to do a collaboration, so we decided to all make some Dark Fairies for Halloween!
Belladonna Nightshade is a mischievous fae that loves to play tricks and tempt mortals. That said, she's easily bribed with a sweet treat or two, and will usually let you be if you have a little candy or pastry to give her. I haven't decided what I want to do with her yet in terms of a story, but there is a part of me that would love to have her in my Equinox story.
When you consider the fact that most of my other Halloween dolls are black and yellow, it's no surprise she ended up super colorful. XD Would you believe this is my first doll with rainbow hair? Yeah neither did I, but she is! Part of my style is having really colorful and vibrant dolls, it surprises a lot of people that I've never done a rainbow before, but honestly? I'm glad to have finally tackled one! I'm also glad to have worked with another G3. Twyla is very near and dear to my heart, and I was so psyched to work with her mold! You can't see it in any of these photos, but I used glow in the dark varnish on her eyes and neon markings, so that her eyes still glow like the original. I will say, this doll has a lot more acrylic paint than my others, just by the nature of I don't have any pencils in neon colors. It was nice to get the practice in, I feel more confident than I did before in my brush skills. It was also nice to have a doll with dark scleras for a change! I haven't done that since I made Dreamer, it's surprisingly fun to draw on!
I was inspired by a LOT of different things with this one, and I went back and forth on my concepts a lot. Black light skeleton make-up, butterflies, fairies with non-traditional wings, candy, jesters, these were all sources of inspiration, and I think most obviously of all, Dollightful herself. This wasn't intentional, but I ended up using a doll of one of her favorite characters, with a lot of saturated colors which we know she loves, and even her dress pattern! I've been wanting to make this garment for ages, and finally I had a reason to try it!
So those of you who know how this pattern works are probably asking "Kat, how did you make this fit a G3? This dress is supposed to fit a G1 Monster High doll!" Believe it or not, Requiem Arts has a method for easily adjusting G1 patterns to fit G3 bodies. It's as simple as scaling a pattern up to 104% and printing it that way. It's meant for her garments, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work for other doll patterns. So I tried it with Katherine's dress, and I'm happy to say it worked out just fine! I think I probably should have adjusted a bit more on the skirt though. This outfit is essentially two pieces, and the skirt with all the ruffles is a little tight around the booty, it could have used a little more sizing up. So if you own this pattern and want to try this yourself, do keep that in mind!
Do let me know what you think! I had so much fun working on Belladonna, she's so vibrant and fun, I wanna try more fairies like her someday. I also need to try using props more. I got these pumpkins and hay bales on sale, and it was fun using them to craft a little temporary set for photos.
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I finally got all the pieces of Virginia's "Meet Outfit" and did a little photoshoot! (The indoor photos were taken at the historic Hotel Ruby Marie here in Madison WI, where they very kindly allow cosplayers and other photographers to use their beautiful vintage decor as a backdrop!)
Oh, and because I'm super proud of her jewelry, some closeups and info on each:
This is the pendant on her necklace; it was inspired by Victorian-era mourning jewelry, which often contained hair or other parts of the deceased loved one. If you look closely, you may notice her father's photo is actually Jim Beaver as Carter Cushing in Crimson Peak (Edith Cushing was one of my main inspirations for Virginia). I edited the photo for that "vintage" feel. The hair, which is meant to be from her father's beard, was actually taken from Captain's tail! 😅
I made her ring using a blank DIY ring from Etsy and a skull charm intended for nail art
Her bracelet is made from real Jet beads (I made it by taking apart a human-sized bracelet and restringing part of it). Jet was a very popular stone for mourning jewelry in the Victorian era.
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Yes, I did talk to this person while I used their late 18th-century tombstone as a prop. Yes I told him I hope he has a lovely day and thanks for helping me out. Maybe he'll be happy that somebody visited him personally. Yes, I do think about these things.
I also really like photos of dolls when you can see how small they are in the world.
Pssst my asks and messages are always open! I love talking shop.
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Have some more photos of Memory Joey with our roses!
There were so many firsts with creating this doll. First time doing a short hairstyle with flocking, using only acrylic paint for the clothes, doing an older character with a mustache and significant wrinkles, drawing on knuckles and fingernails (especially proud of that), and successfully sewing a waistcoat (and this shirt collar, I have never gotten it right the two other times I've sewn with this pattern)! Also my first completed BATDR custom. XD I have Audrey in the works and Betty as well, but Memory Joey is the first to be finished. Quite pleased with the turnout!
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It's been a while since I posted any new doll pics, so here's Marina getting us back in the swing of things by showing off all the nice green moss in our backyard. In celebration of the nice weather this weekend, she's wearing the Everyday Play Jumper outfit from 2011.
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