Mrs. MerryDollRound

BJD sculptor and collector! MDR dolls -and confessions about my work- and other dolls customs :D [email protected] www.merrydollround.com

[sicktress]

OwO what’s this??? Mermay shoot with Jinjoo!!

[merrydollround]

Forever grateful that you brought her to NYC Doll Con 💖 She is stunning and one of my favorite Fangs 🧜🏻‍♀️

[bunnyscribblesbjd]

ik i already posted yuki's faceup but here's some better documentation :)

yuki is a merry doll round fang (2024 version) in chocolate milk resin

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Nothing against digitally sculpted dolls per se, but the huge speed these dolls are sculpted and sent to production is why now you have to wait 5-6 months for your dolls.

Back in the ol' days, artists would need months to years to finish a doll, digitally it can be done in weeks. Now new dolls are sent weekly to the very few little casters available for artists, and the factories can't deal with the workload as fast as they used to, even if they hire more people.

More new dolls require processing and making molds, so the casting factories spend more time making new molds than actually casting those dolls. And those lumpy and poor engineered new dolls take even extra time, since most factories will do their best to fix those issues before casting.

Not to mention that the amount of new dolls released is not sustainable anymore for such a niche market, and the dolls ordered in every pre-order diminishes, so factories have to make all the processing and mold making to end up casting less dolls, that is what actually makes profit for them. So they are forced to take more orders from artists in order to keep the money coming.

And so the waiting times keep getting longer, and longer...

~Anonymous

[merrydollround]

Can definitely confirm that.

Don't know If it's because of digitally sculpted dolls or just because the number of sculptors has increased drastically.

Few years ago, I could send a new doll or (any doll order from pre-orders) to the caster, and they would start working on the order as soon as I placed it. So the wait would be just for the molding and/or casting, about 2-3 months.

For the last orders, I was told by the caster that there was already a queue of 2-3 months just to start working on the orders, then the additional molding/casting time. So between 4 to 6 months. Every single time.

[merrydollround]

Did you scan Mugi in and send her off to the casters? I'm really excited to see her all done up with a cute faceup and in cute clothes!

Yes! Thanks for asking! I am going to use this question as an excuse for another photo dump of Mugi and Mei Mei, so here we go with 3/? post of their process!

So, I scanned all the pieces! All of them needed some extra work after being digitalized, because the scanner didn't have that much of resolution, so many small details were lost in the progress 🥲

Here you can see how see how all the fang details were lost, I had to re-sculpt them digitally, same with all the nails of hands and feet, and so on.

While I started printing all the pieces, I also sculpted from scratch digitally some of them.

Wirsts, elbow, thight and knee joints were done digitally!

It was a tedious work and I won't do it again because after sanding and priming the clay pieces, I had to print, and sand and prime all over again the resin parts, so it's been exhausting. But it allowed me to test the body posability way better that the clay original, since I could use thick strung elastics just as I would do with a regular resin doll without damaging the sculpt.

In addition, hands will be attached the same way as Fairyland hands (100% give them credit for that), that is a combination of magnets and a system of rotation that will keep the hands in place even If the magnets are not very strong.

Mei Mei head has been also digitalized and printed, so I will be sending them together to be casted.

Some extra photos 🫶

I am so very excited to have them casted!

[merrydollround]

Sculpting Berry!! 🫐🍓💖

Another process photos compilation! Most of them I have already shared them on Instagram or BlueSky, but it's nice to put them all in one place 🫶

So, I started this head on October 2023 with the idea of making a revision of my first head Merry, since 2024 is Merry Doll Round 12th Anniversary, and 12 is my number 😊

So, my first step was taking a quick plaster mold of the original Merry head (head on the right), just of the face. Then I took a replica with clay, and started working on it. This process was very quick, and I didn't take any picture of it.

My idea was to make a similar system as the original Merry, with an additional piece inside the head for the teeth.

She was a cutie already 🫶 But I wasn't satisfied with the teeth, I couldn't make it look natural, so I stored her and I kept working on Mugi and a pre-order.

A couple of months later, I took her out and decided to remake the mouth from scratch, this time making the teeth sculpted inside the mouth! Definitely I like this result way more, it feels more natural!

And that's it! The rest of the job was sandind, fixing asymmetries and priming!

During the entire process I kept calling her "Birthday Girl", and she didn't look like Merry either, so I went for a couple of name ideas, one of them being Berry (B- from Birthday and -erry from Merry). Funny enough, I would use that name all the time when I played Sims, so after sharing her on Instagram, most people agreed she was definitely Berry!

I can't wait to get her casted, paint her face with a strong blush, and put her into lolita clothes 🥰

[berryevilpoptart]

Dolltober Day 25

Bones

(the stunning Merry Doll Round Coppelia girl belongs to my sis)

[nomi800]

[merrydollround]

Part 2/? of Mugi and other dolls!

More process pictures! Mugi is my perfect excuse to buy cute dresses 🥰

The original idea was to make the torso split into 3 parts, with a ball in the middle just because I liked the aesthetics of the ball, but it did not improve the posability (unless I changed the overall shape of the body, but I didn't want to), so at the end I decided to make it into 2 pieces, so it matches the other bodies!

Also redid some joints digitally, so they look way more neat. Making joints and pieces that are more technical is always harder to do by hand, like neat edges and perfect spheres. So being able to make them digitally is a time saver. Just so you can make an idea, it took me several days to make the piece on the left and the surface is still not smooth. For the piece on the right, it took me 30 minutes to sculpt it digitally, and 1 hour to get it printed. It's just too fast and easy 🥹

Mugi current status is practically finished! But before sending her to the casting factory, I want to digitalize her. First of all, because I want to make a human version of her head, with no horns. But also because the casting factory waiting times have gone up like crazy, and I don't want to wait for +5 months to play with Mugi, so I will print a copy to play in the meantime 🥲

Head is all smooth and soft 🥰

I sculpted a lot of hands in cute poses and I want them to be easily interchangeable with magnets, but making hands is super tedious 🥲 Sanding between the fingers, make sure all nails have the same overall shape in all hands...It's the only part that I still have to finish 💔

Last but not least! Please let me introduce you to MeiFang or MeiMei!

My most requested doll has always been an MSD Fang. I KNOW. I am fully aware that this is NOT what people have been asking me to do 😅 But since I don't think I will make a MSD mature Fang (let's say, a shrunk version of the current one) I decided to make a child version of her! I adjusted the features accordingly to the age change, so the eyes are larger and rounder, the nose and mouth are smaller, and her cheeks are puffier. Really hope people still appreciates her 🫶

I am sending you a virtual snack If you read until this! 😆

Thank you so much,

Nuria

[merrydollround]

I haven't posted any doll photo here in literally ages, so let's change that!

So first I'll introduce Mugi, from what I've been calling the Munchkin line (around 42cm)! She came to my mind on December 2022 after my brother mocked me on Christmas about always making dolls that looked melancholic.

I had been wanting to make an MSD doll for a long time, but never found motivation nor inspiration. Quickly after starting Mugi, I made a bunch of heads (it happens once in a while, I get a "frenzy" and I start a few heads or dolls all at once, then some get stored because I don't find them interesting anymore 🫠) I started naming them all with names starting with M, so there is Mugi, Momo, Mei Fang (or MeiMei) and Minette.

Still, Mugi was my favourite of those, so it's the one I've focused on finishing.

Mugi next to Fang, since my idea is that Mugi looks good next to my Juvenille line (small SD). It will be the first time that I make a new doll line that has the same scale as another of my lines. So she can be a little sister!

Tumblr doesn't let me add more pictures, so I will make another post with more of her and the other dolls I am currently working on soon 👀

👉Part 2

Extra: This drawing I made of Mugi 🫶

[the-bjd-community-confess]

It scares me to think MDROund is struggling and has to think of possibly closing shop. They are one of my fav artists.

Maybe part of the problem (besides economy and people having less money) is the scale? Tiny and unusual size dolls are less popular in general. I feel like perhaps switching to working with popular scale (Minifee) could boost their doll sales?

I know it's difficult for artists to follow trends instead of doing their own thing but it's not worse than going under due to low sales. I'm at least hoping Fang will do better for them.

~Anonymous

[merrydollround]

Thanks for your concern Anon! Unfortunately, doing dolls "for popular request" does not equal "commercial success". My personal experience is that most people will ask for this or that, because asking for something is free, then won't join the pre-order for whatever (yet valid) reason. So I took the decision to only make dolls that actually make me happy and excited 🫶

I ended up sculpting an MSD though, named Mugi! It's not what a lot of people have been asking me to do (a mature MSD) but the more childlike style, like Volks MSD or MDD. I am eager to finish her and can't wait to get her casted! 🥰

As for me closing down MerryDollRound, I actually already made my mind about it last year, but I am not mentally ready yet, and I wanted to finish some projects, like bringing back Fang or finishing Mugi. So...we'll see how 2024 goes!

Thanks for your love and support 🥰

Nuria

[glaceleau]

Merry Doll Round Olathe very much needs a new faceup, but since she has SOME faceup it’s not at the top of my list, haha. She’s lovely though! I put her on an old Angel Philia body which matches surprisingly well, but fell over into 5 pieces immediately after taking this photo, haha.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Hi I collect BJDs. Blank janky dolls. All my dolls are blank and faceless. Every one. I don't paint them. I don't let anyone paint them. I just collect blank janky dolls.

~Anonymous

[merrydollround]

A funny thing that happens when I have a doll that I made finally casted in resin is that I find quite difficult to customize it. I usually have the prototype in progress around for months or years, so I get super used it to see it bald, eye-less, nude.

Preparing them for pre-orders as soon as the samples arrive is HARD! 😂

[merrydollround]

Owning a (BJD) business it's not only about sculpting and selling, but also thinking about new ideas, reply mails, dealing with suppliers, paying taxes, improve yourself as an artist and a brand, preparing events, dealing with failure, and lots of other chores that are mentally draining. Personally, my mind thinks about work from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep, from Monday to Sunday. But don't get me wrong, I love my job. And I am so grateful everyday to have such a wonderful, loving and supportive customers (and followers) that make it possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to all of you who support artists over theft ♡ #merrydollround #merrydollroundmota #bjd #art #dollartist https://www.instagram.com/p/BoKWLTBnUca/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9wbsdv4rny8o

[merrydollround]

Chocolate Skin Nanaimo pre-order will start on September 22nd as marked on the calendar! 🐭🐭🐭 I realized later that 3 Spanish artist (besides myself) participated with their art in this picture, please take a look and give them a follow! 🤩✨ #merrydollround #merrydollroundnanaimo #bjd #tinybjd #16scale #cute #kawaii #tinydoll #dollartist #doll https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1eeKHH2HC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qt0r1shx02sn

[merrydollround]

Probably Mae. She has tiny teeth. Also I did a huge cut on my thumb so I am working ultra slowly 😅 Thank you so much to everyone who is joining Dango pre-order 💕 It will be open until the 9th ☺️ Please see all the information on the website! #merrydollround #sculptor #dollmaker #dollartist #dollart #doll #art #bjd

[merrydollround]

Pygmy pouches are now available! 💕 I've been offering them for a couple of years only at events, but now they are available for everyone on the webstore 😉 Are you ready for the next pre-order? Check the calendar If you don't know yet what is coming very soon! Have a lovely weekend 😘 ♥️ #merrydollround #merrydollroundnanaimo #doll #dollmaker #dollsculptor #bjd #balljointeddoll

[merrydollround]

Baby Nanaimo Hard Enamel pins are finally on the website! Limited to 50 and numbered! 🌟 🐋 #merrydollround #nanaimothenarwhalmermaid #hardenamel #pin #pinstagram #pingame #mermaid