finally home

Just finished my last quarter for my sophomore year of college and I'm home for the summer. I've got a lot of projects slated for the next three months and I don't know how many I'll actually get done, but I'm basically taking this summer to explore my options since my major is 100% not working out for me. My dad apparently bought an engraving machine that should be arriving soon so I'm working out how to work with Inventor/Maya/CAD and a whole bunch of other 3D modeling programs in addition to my own game programming project and LED light-up dress... =A= Also a ton of sewing projects that I'm going to try to do. This summer is full of plans and ambition but who knows how it's actually going to turn out?

In the meantime though I've been unpacking and taking pictures of my cuties finally reunited. The hydrangeas are in bloom and they're a little too high up to fit in the picture but the green still makes a nice background.

Thinking of using these as promo cards for my faceup shop since both my girls now have faceups by me, but I'm no longer in any rush to get any promo materials done. Some plans for Dolls & Party in Spain have changed so I've got more time to work on sponsoring stuff ^_^

❤ mura

new company finds

I've been browsing around a lot lately and I've found a couple lesser-known dollmakers that deserve more attention, so I've decided to blog about them! First up is a company I've seen partner with OscarDoll a few times. They only have one size of doll so far, but every sculpt and outfit they make is super adorable! Here are some photos from El's Cat:

I don't know if it's possible to order as an international customer since everything is in Korean, but if I ever decide to make space in my doll family for a non-SD girl I would definitely be up for buying an Aoki.

Another company I've recently come across is DollBom, another Korean doll company.  I don't think their English site has been up for too long which is why they're not that well-known, but they're definitely worth checking out! They carry both 60cm and 26cm girls and boys and I absolutely love the face sculpts! The only real drawback I'm seeing is the single-jointed bodies, but if you're not big on posablility, that can be easily overlooked as the bodies are beautifully sculpted as well.

Hope this little discovery post opened your eyes to some new companies out there =3=

❤ mura

lenny's makeover!

After maybe about 3 months of deliberation I decided to wipe Lenny's old faceup and give her a new one with freckles! I still feel a little bad about it because I commissioned Eludys to do her faceup twice since I messed it up the first time and I wasn't confident in my faceup skills at the time, but it's already been a year and I feel like my skills are adequate enough to justify the money that I've... wasted... by wiping off Eludys's hard work... OTL

Without further ado, here's the new Lenny, now complete with freckled cheeks! I've taken to calling her wonderkid/dork extraordinaire so who knows where I'm going to end up going with that. I'm planning on buying some of those round bottlecap/Harry Potter frames for her too.

Both my girls now have faceups by me. When I get home in a few weeks and reunite them, I'll be taking pictures of them together for more promotional images for my faceup shop! I'm excited. I'm also excited to finally afford that SWITCH Shiho I've been eyeing. I really can't wait to do the faceup on that one =3=

❤ mura

cosplay completion

Finished my doll cosplay of the Kun version of the 화양연화/花 样年华 “In the Mood for Love” outfit from Blade & Soul! Fully handsewn and all patterns drafted by yours truly. If you’re going to Fanime in San Jose, California, I’ll be there from May 23-25th with Polaire so come find us! ^_^

And if you haven't heard of Blade & Soul, it's a Korean MMORPG with art direction formerly headed by Hyung-tae Kim. He's pretty famous in digital art circles, and chances are you've probably seen some of his work! I can't say much about how he proportions his characters, but I can appreciate his clear direction of style in the illustrations he makes.

 
❤ mura

cosplay update!!

Not that long since my last Porii update but here's what's new: shortly after I finished that last faceup on her, she fell and not only managed to chip off that BRAND NEW faceup I finished, but also acquired a very deep scratch in her leg. I'm looking into sanding options but as I am still at school right now I don't have access to a lot of things. Thankfully it's not that noticeable since it's in the middle of the thigh and I have her wearing socks/tights almost all the time =3=

I decided to give her yet another faceup, so here's how she looks like right now:

I'd say it's kind of in between the very first faceup and the last faceup I did on her. Still looking much less innocent than the first faceup (which is good!!). Anyway, here's the cosplay progress! I'm about 60% done - I finally got the materials to finish fitting and lacing the corset piece, and now I just need to finish the neckpiece and draft/sew the wrist guards.

Fanime is in 2 weeks! I gotta hurry =3=

❤ mura