Eli's Creativity Pile

A candid look at my sketchbook, art projects and photographs. This blog is rated 16+. May contain nudity and mature subject matter. Viewer Discretion is Advised.

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I've decided to go ahead and delete some of my art off of here. I may still post photography, and doll projects and MAYBE some art but photographed from weird angles and uploaded in shit tier jpeg format though. I don't know. I would love to hear your thoughts. I am not certain what safe spaces there are for artists to share their art ONLINE. There isn't much of a fantasy artist/doll artist/furry /transformer community in my city and I don't drive so. This is pretty isolating.

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A sketch I did today which I rather liked. I am not certain why he came out looking so young or feminine so it's back to the drawing board but I like where this was going.

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We use markers at work to scratch out bar codes, mark dates, make lists and mark them off. I have Crayolas because my co-workers lost my Sharpies when I let them borrow them. No one wants to use Crayolas so it's a win for me in some ways. Here is some nonsense I did at work. I did this black unicorn on a scrap piece of cardboard during Inventory. It's been sitting in the work room ever since. My ego likes to think it's still there because my coworkers admire it, but I know it's because if it's not literal garbage on the floor, it will remain there until management makes them remove it. I've been documenting it's slow transformation. EDIT: my co-worker was complaining about how certain messes in the work room were still there days later. I said 'ya even this thing I drew is still here. We should throw it out.' and he said our department manager said no because it's "too pretty". TuT I'm still living on that high lol!

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These are some more recent coloured sketches I've done. This time it features @sparkyopteryx 's gorgeous characters Whin and Lorr. He's so good at creating non humans. I don't know how he does it!

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I'm relieved I still draw! These are all on very cheap paper that is not meant for wet media but that's what makes them so fun. Featuring my character Xamielle.

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This is a Valentine's day gift for the person who helps make life worth living; for continuing to provide inspiration, motivation and hope. I love you so much @sparkyopteryx Featuring his character: Dr. Jaanos Xenakis Featuring my character: Xamielle

This shows the work in progress and the final piece. I used a scrap-paper sketchbook made by a local artist, and a 6x6" watercolor pad from the dollarstore. The paints are Windsor & Newton Cottman + Paul Rubens watercolors and the ink is Studio brand micron dupe from the dollarstore.

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"Can we switch bodies?" "For you? Anything." Haha! I put Hazy Dream's head on Woody Sheep's body. The result was very cute! Granted anything involving these two is adorable.

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Cute and Soft

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Beginner Information: "Ball Jointed Dolls" and Blind Box BJD

This is a blind box doll; a doll you buy in a sealed box that contains a random doll from a set with no option to choose which one. It is one of the cheapest legitimate BJD you can currently buy outside of the second hand market. Not all blind box dolls are BJD, and not all BJD have "ball" shaped joints. What makes a doll a "BJD"? BJD's are often art pieces with hollow bodies and held together with an elastic string from it's neck to it's ankles and wrist to wrist with giant beads for joints. Traditionally there are joints in the neck, shoulder, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. Modern BJD have joints in the elbows and sometimes in the waist. The "ball" that allows these parts to move is sometimes ball shaped; "peanut" shaped joints allow for better poses and is the most popular shape these days. Some blind box dolls which are mistakenly called "bjd" are mechanically jointed rather than strung with elastic. This means their parts use a peg and hinge system instead. You usually see this in action figures and dolls like Monster High. This allows for more stability in terms of posing but with few exceptions (but there ARE exceptions!) certain "ball jointed doll" communities do not view these as true BJD. Blind box BJD can be considered designer toy art; that is a piece designed for display as much as or instead of for " play" (customizing is considered play). While "art" is subjective, the idea is that a BJD should be created by an artist or artist team as a unique object or in small or limited batches. They are usually designed for adults or mature collectors. Blind box BJD can be for those as young as teenagers but due to their very tiny and breakable parts are definitely not suitable as toys or for children! BJD-only communities dictate that for a doll to be considered for the community it must be designed as a work of art and to be able to be fully personalized; not only the clothing but the eyes and the hair should be able to be swapped out. This usually requires the doll to have a bald head with a removable section to access the doll's open eye sockets so that the eyes can be changed. Some blind box dolls have painted on eyes and their hair is sculpted which is viewed as being less able to be personalized. However some blind box dolls have the same customization options as standard BJD.

(top left: Penny's Box Antu Dreamlike Teaparty: Hazy Dreams face and hair. bottom left: Penny's Box Antu Cute Beast Magic: Woody Sheep's face and hair without ram horns. Right: Penny's Box Antu Cute Beast Magic: Wood Sheep body , showing the inside of her face with the removable eyes, next to Hazy Dream's hair) Here are two heads by the same designer with interchangeable parts.

(Excuse my messy desk! I've put Woody Sheep's hair on Hazy Dream's head, and her hair on Woody Sheep's head in the background! Hazy Dream is a centaur - that means she has a human head and torso on a horse body. She can stand up on two back legs! There are joints in her knees, ankles and even the middle of the horse body. It allows her to hold all kinds of poses! ) Blind box BJD allow someone new to the hobby to experiment with personalizing their doll this way! Some vendors like Kikagoods even sell optional eyes and clothing, but when buying these please read the descriptions carefully! Some clothing , eyes, doll scalps and optional parts are only designed for certain models and sizes! ₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ What Do People Do With BJD? People like to personalize the dolls by changing their hair, eyes and clothes. More advanced techniques involve modifying the doll through paint, dye and sculpting techniques. However the most fun, popular and accessible thing to do is to pose and photograph the doll! For some simply collecting is enough and for others, finding a community to share these with is. Seeing other people's dolls is interesting too! There is no wrong or right way to enjoy your BJD! ₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ I find these blind box dolls to be an affordable and inclusive way to enter the hobby. They're well made, adorable and easy to play with. Some models also highlight some of the frustration of BJD including difficulty with strung dolls (like string tension, wiring, difficulty posing ) and customizing. Resin dolls can cost above $100USD which is just not feasible depending on your age or budget or what you're comfortable spending on hobbies but these tiny blind box dolls often retail for around $30 up to $50.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ I hope this has helped in some way if you're new to the hobby or just curious! If you have any questions about these please feel free to ask!

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Here are some closer pictures of the stained scratches, and you can kind of see how the eyelids were carved.

I went to the hobby store and bought some fine grit sandpaper and did some work. It's pretty satisfying. I've debated restoring her eyelids to their original shape with Milliput or sculpting a new shape. I think I'm just going to modify her completely. Inspirations are leaning to Brian Froud style fae. She definitely is going to have green hair too. That's the vision I have.

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So, a secret that is not a secret is that I love ball jointed dolls. Since I've been having a killer art block I've been digging back in to my other creative hobbies. I recently won this lot of BJD parts off of Ebay. I bid on it specifically for this girl doll. I gave her head a good clean but had no idea who she was. After much searching I have discovered that she is a Dollzone "Nyu" - she came out in 2013. The eyes have definitely been modded. There used to be a silver plate/sticker inside her head cap and it is now missing but the glue is still there. I don't know if it's legitimate or a recast. Pictures I found of the original sculpt under the cut.

*source: dollysisters14.com

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More TF One Starscream! This is the latest offering from Blokees. I could not resist buying it as soon as I was able to. He comes in a blind box but I opted to buy him open. He is not as detailed as their larger model but he is more stable, less delicate and easier to pose. He looks so elegant!

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I recently acquired this adorable blind box bjd - though I don't like gambling, so I bought her opened because this is the only girl I wanted out of the collection. She is beyond adorable. Full review under the cut!

Like all of these blind box BJD, the sculpted hair makes it top heavy. She has very long hair so she can not stand without support.

Her proportions means there isn't much flexibility in her wrists or ankles but her elbows and knee feature peanut joints so she can actually manage some expressive poses.

The ram horns are held on magnetically and they pop off much too easily, like a knock might make them come off. If you plan to take her some where, be extra mindful of them!

She comes with a small jointed tail that can be plugged in to a socket in her back. It moves up and down, but can be removed for outfits. It's an interesting choice to have the tail feature a peg connection but her horns are magnetic! I wish it were the other way around!

Her eyes are removable printed acrylic. They're lovely from a distance. Her face is delicately blushed, even her chin. The details are immaculate, from the sewing in her clothes to the paint job of her eyelashes. She is adorable and fun to pose, I have no regrets! Customizing: I would very much like to buy her a head back so I can give her a real hair wig. I'd also like to see what she'd look like with resin eyes. Though she does not fit 1/12 under wear due to her wide hips, she did manage to fit in to this adorable kimono I bought from Kika Goods. You do have to watch out for narrow sleeve openings because her wrists and hands are wide. Also, I don't think 1/12 pants would fit her due to her thick ankles and wide hips.

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The art supply stash busting continues! I dug out this sketchbook I haven't touched since getting it a year ago. It has a little surprise sticker on the inside cover!

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One of my 2025 New Years Resolutions was to use up my stash of old art supplies. Some of these included abandoned sketchbooks ; books I'd partially finished before switching to a fresh one. I'm happy to report I've finished up these three! One was started in 2018, one in 2021, and one in 2023!

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Current work in progress. This is at the under painting stage. I just love shaped canvases. It's round? Amazing!

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Despite a cloudy forecast, the sun came out long enough to get this picture of kid Starscream being taken aback by the houseplants.