With winter’s end there’s always a new spring of inspiration in me to do more ‘productive’ things in my hobby. I say productive like that because of course it’s a hobby and I should be more concerned with enjoying myself than anything, but the most enjoyment I get is usually seeing improvement in my craft. That of course has it’s own set of problems. Sometimes it becomes a chore to do the things I once just did simply for entertainment, but when I finally put my nose to the grindstone and do things, I feel really accomplished.

Anyways, I’ve got a couple of things I’ve planned to do so far involving specific dolls. There will be a couple parts to this post, mainly for when I get a few goals done or finish a doll completely and am ready to add more goals (so they probably won’t be posted in tandem), but hopefully this will keep me on track.

1. Riyo (Image featured above)
   • Get this poor girl a set of actual clothes instead of just lingerie. My God. This is top priority for her right now.
   • Needs cat ears. Unfortunately because her head is so small I’ve been trying to keep an eye out for the perfect pair. I’d like some long and narrow, almost the standard definition of fox ears in this hobby. Worst comes to worst, I’ll take up some sculpey and try to make them myself. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be good at it.
   • Get a better set of eyes, hopefully with a lower dome so the whites aren’t shadowed so badly. I’m thinking Enchanted Doll Milky #37. The thing with the eyes she has now is you can only see they’re red at certain angles, and that’s a real bummer. When you catch it, it’s pretty. I’m also thinking about taking her down a size to 8mm. Serenade Dolls generally have small eyes, and a few people have said 8mm might be too small, but they were also talking about a different sculpt. Suu specifically has very romantic eyes so I think it would work out, and if not it’s an excuse to give her more lash game.
   • Redo that faceup. It’s not bad, but it’s also not as good as I want her to have. The character she’s based off of isn’t exactly a makeup wearer so I want her to be natural, but I also want there to be a little more life in her features. That’ll just take practice on my part.
     • Long-Term Goal: Order a custom wig for her. I was proud to find the one she’s wearing right now because it’s so close to the OC she’s based off of, but it’s not without it’s quirks. I really want one that fits her perfectly and looks like natural hair, so I’m hoping to shovel out the money for a nice angora wig. There may be a day when I experiment with wig making myself, but today is not that day (and that year is more than likely not this one either).
2. Lou
   • New Faceup. See, the first one I did on him had quirks. Some of the lines were too sharp and as a vampire I wanted him to look… Slightly more dead. Well, I feel like with my second attempt I just ended up making him look like a distant cousin to a were-raccoon. I’m sure most people can see what I was going for, just didn’t do well in the execution (in my opinion). One problem is I was hesitant to add color to him. He’s supposed to be monochrome is how I justified it to myself, but in the end he looks flat, and adding highlights would make him pop more. His face has already been wiped and he’s ready for painting again.
   • Figure out that hot mess of a wig. Don’t get me wrong, I love his wig, but it’s a fur wig, and it’s way fluffier than it needs to be. A lot of people say not to wet or use product on fur wigs, and I know what they’re saying, but I’ve already used wig styler on the white tufts to make them stay. More than likely I’m going to bite the bullet and do that to the rest of the wig, if only to make it look flatter. If he ends up looking a little greasy because of that, it’s okay because he’s a sleaze ball.
     • If the former doesn’t work, time for another custom wig.
3. Atticus
   • Atticus is actually almost done. I liked his last faceup but I really screwed up on the eyelashes, so before I go any farther with him, it’s time for yet another go at his face.
   • A long term goal I’ve had for him is to get him a pair of small wings. Originally I’d gotten the big black wings from Camilla Dynasty and I figured they’d be perfect for him but uh… They’re… Not the best thing I’ve ever bought. Very hard to pose them as heavy as they are, and as weak as the magnets are. So the ones I’ve looked at are the tiny wings Fairyland sells (And yes, I know they’re tiny), and Moonpath wings (also available at TaTa’s Paradise). Neither one are the proper black I want but with an airbrush that’s not really an issue.
   • This isn’t a big one, but I’d like to get him a fancy outfit. Atticus is supposed to be a well-dressed fellow in a suit, but I actually enjoy his big trench coat. Also, he’s Dollshe, so he’s impossible to dress. Why must I love oddly proportioned dolls?

This is just the list so far. I actually plan on making a second one after some of these goals have been met I’ll make a part 2 (and possibly part 3).