Creature Collage

Customized dolls, a lot of them are Monster High, and/or made into Non - Human beings. They also have stories and personalities, almost always different from canon. I have a lot to say about my plastic kiddos, so feel free to look around.

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Avery is a Mage that comes from a lower class family. Has a short temper, especially when wealthier Mages disparage her line or say that her magic is weak or dirty. Scrappy, loves adrenaline and sometimes takes pretty big risks. She has the scars to speak for her missteps. Avery grew up in a big city and loves it, she can navigate rooftops and side roads with ease, even her first time in an area. Picked up parkour pretty quickly. She's resourceful, quick, and picks up on how things fit together. Lived in a multi - generation household due to cost of living, so is very comfortable in a close press of people. Close to her family and friends, believes the people who surround and support her are the most important thing on earth. When she needs time to think, finds the highest part of the building to sit and talk, whether to herself, the pigeons, or anyone who may have followed her. (So we seem to have reached an agreement, Cleo is simple, but she has a nice face sculpt, and I like working with her.)

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Not going to have any finished any time soon, I'm broke and out of sealant, but I'll toss some of my ideas and progress reports on here till then.

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Lucida grew up in Norway, dancing since she first realized her bones could rattle. Her best friend, a Snow Spirit named Clare, started dancing with her in elementary school, since most other kids didn't want to dance, and Clare liked to try new things. She taught him every thing she knew, and they've been each others default dance partner since they went to their first class. As they reached adulthood they tried dating, but found they didn't like the kissing aspects, but still loved each other in a way that they didn't feel about anyone. Lucida works as a dance instructor, and spends much of her spare time either perfecting her skill, or dancing for fun. Has a good head for numbers, anatomy, health, and music. Walks with that strange sort of floating grace that many dancers do without even realizing it, but since she's a Skeleton, people tend to find it creepy. Is happiest wherever she can move and/or hear music, doesn't take to being in small spaces well. Photo shoot with Lucida! I know, I still need better lighting, but I got a decent background, especially if you ignore the edges in that one picture... I love posing my dolls, I get to put them on display and still see their personality shine through. Her sculpt is a bit thinner than others, so elaborate dance poses were difficult.

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First finished reroot! It’s a bit too thick, but it turned out nice. I like it better than the mess of hot pink she had before. Francesca’s had a bit of base body customization as well, a few spots of pink where skin shows, such as her paw pads and torso bits (tumblr doesn’t seem to like thenippleword). Still not complete, and I’m out of sealant, so she’ll have to wait a while, but gods I love working with the hair. Almost every doll I own with Mattel hair feels gross and sticky now.

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Been experimenting with re - rooting, and I think it’s my favorite part! The silky hair is fun to work with. I wanted to give Florence hair that felt spider - like, and when I received this slate blue that wasn’t grey enough for my original plans, it was calling her name. The silvery grey tone and silky texture brings spider silk to mind, and while the muted color is less jarring against her complexion than the electric red she came with, it’s still bright enough to be reminiscent of the colorful designs of many spiders. As I’m sure you can see by the neck peg, Florence is a knock-off, and a pretty obvious one at that. Her whole body is vaguely soft, and her joints don’t move as easily. I learned my lesson, but she is still very cute and I want to see what I can do with her. And it looks promising!

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Leda is a Gorgon who grew up in Greece with her brother, Theo. They are each others best friend, and get very protective of each other. A human woman once held a sword to Theo’s throat thinking they were the same beasts from old tales, and Leda saw red instantly. She didn’t attack the woman once Theo reminded her of the consequences, and his assailant realized they weren’t monsters and let them go, though not before Leda threatened her life in multiple ways. They met the woman, Helen, years later, and Leda still hasn’t found it in her heart to forgive her. In college, Leda met a Gargoyle named Darcelle, and they fell in love quickly, still going strong. She loves that she has someone other than Theo who can look her in the eye. She’s physically strong and agile, and has a knack for photography, feeling that her social awkwardness lessens when she has something to occupy herself. (I think she looks pretty good! I added some definition to her sculpt and some extra color to her snakes in addition to her face-up. I loved everything about this doll, except that she didn’t have reptilian eyes, so I gave her slitted pupils.)

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Picked a Narcissus... (I oopsed)

I was calling Lisea a Nyad ever since I bought her years ago, but I didn’t look up ‘Nyad’ because I was certain they were flower/plant nymphs? Apparently they’re actually water nymphs and I should have done my homework. *sheepish face* even the mythology buff can make an oops, this why we double check. I changed her description to reflect my findings. What I found is… Some sources cite flower nymphs as being called ‘Limonids’, and/or 'Anthusae’, but I found these terms deeper in the 'heavily cited’ side of the internet, and indeed had never heard them before. Also, that Nyads were specific to freshwater, such as springs, rivers, wells, etc. And there is some debate about saltwater nymphs, so I’ll just let that go. Back to my point, I’ve been using semi - well known names for Species of creatures. Sure, not everyone knows what a Dryad, or a Faun, or a Griffin is, but they are mentioned in known literature. I was trying to be broad, but realize that all 3 of those are mentioned in the Chronicles of Narnia, so that says something. And in spite of the fact that I love Greek mythology, and like to think I am talented at pronunciation, I have a hard time figuring out 'Limonids’, and'Anthusae’. So I think I will call Lisea a flower nymph or spirit from now, and do more research in the future. My mythology nerd cred depends on it.

TL; DR: Lisea is a Flower Nymph.

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Photography with some of my yet-to-be-customized collection. Because small people make me happy! #1 Leda:“No! Don’t look at me without my glasses, I don’t want to hurt you.” Darcelle:“Don’t you know? Gargoyles are immune to gorgon gaze.” L: “What?” D: “I am already made of stone. Also, your eyes are beautiful.” 2. Nitamat Going over the days schedule with her handmaid-er, I mean assistant, Jasmine. 3. Leo’s lazy Sundays. 4. Eva: “Are you sure? Most people don’t like to dance with me since I’m so tall.“ Clare: “Blaming a partner’s height is the mark of a lazy dancer. A true professional simply adjusts. 5. Ilye gets very motivational when walking Leo through her PT.

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Another progress report! Jules' body painting turned out great pretty early on, adding shading to the lines, and a subtle gold to the bolts. I felt inspired to add some oxidation, which is a bit too dark (though lighter than the picture), but still adds some character to the custom. I think Robecca, or at least this version, has a different type of vinyl for the head, because her face is giving me grief, even when I had MSC. But I think I got it down, I added several goopy layers of gloss varnish to her eyes, with no shine spot, to give her an artificial look. I just need to either reroot her hair or make her a wig, then Jules will be ready! I'll post a bio then.

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Geez, Avery has been giving me some trouble! I rushed her first face-up, (I am so impatient with creative processes.) Then scrapped it, found another cleo doll thrifting, swapped their heads because I think the second cleo had a really nice face sculpt, plus I didn’t want her to spend more time on the ‘operating table’. Then, my second attempt started going more smoothly, I found my stride a bit, and now I think I want to give her old head back. We can’t make up our minds, but when she is done, she will be awesome. (Also, another WIP next to Avery, I handle the impatience by having several on the table.)

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Again, I don’t have a before photo, but I do have a photo of my first attempt with Lisea. (Also bonus picture of Lisea with my yet-to-be-customized Dryad. Photosynthe-friends!) I was impatient, I had cheap pencils, and I rushed. So I re watched some face - up videos, got new pencils, and tried again. I am super happy with that face, goddamn! After the fact, I don’t think she should have nipples, as she isn’t a mammal, but eh, they look nice. She still needs a few finishing touches (she really wants her teeth back) but I love how she’s turning out.

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I don’t have an actual before picture, but this is a stock photo of the version of Skelita I got. Lucida was heavily influenced by the Undertale fandom, hence the font name and pupil lights. I also shaded her bone to look more like…well, bone. Her hair still needs some work, mostly the attachment part, and she needs a new dress, but this is the first custom I’m satisfied with. I had to give her two face - ups to get to that point, so she can’t handle much more intensive work. I adore this mold so much, I want a ton of Skelita dolls to work with! I’ll give you all a bio for Lucida later, enjoy!