This typeset has been sitting finished for months, but I finally got around to getting cover paper and actually learning Chinese stab binding! There was a lot of trial and error and it’s not perfect, but it was a great first try and satisfying to sew. I’ll definitely be using this binding technique more in the future!
Thank you again to @dead-tribadist for writing such a beautiful fic and allowing me to bind it for my friend!
Desert Sunset, made by Shinymist using drag-and-drop on DollDivine and Inkscribble’s Flutter Bug maker, based on and as a non-entry for @winterstarart’s 20k DTIYS
This doll of Grian and Scar took just over ten hours to make across five days, which has been condensed into a 17min speed doll at 30x speed that you can view here!
Alt versions, rambles, WIPs, and reasons this is a non-entry, under the cut.
Alt versions:
The reasons for the slight color differences in the final pieces is how I saved the image - using the in-game save option gave more accurate and vibrant colors but a blurrier image, while using screen capture provided more clarity with muted colors.
This doll was really fun to make! I wanted to play into the blocky shading in the original piece, make the dividing lines more solid, both as a test of skill and as an art style I hadn’t experimented with as much. Shading with draggies can be tricky, and I wanted to see how it could work if I forgo all the DD-typical shading tools and just focus on building lines with colors. I think it turned out pretty well! I couldn’t decide if I liked it better with or without lines, so I’ve posted both. I tried further shading the ground and bodies, but it didn’t work out very well, so I think I just need more practice with shading on this maker.
Flutterbug is a maker I’ve always struggled with in the past, but this was exactly the project I needed to appreciate what it can do. Winterstar’s art style, and this piece in particular, really play to my strengths when making hidden doll scenes. I’ve grown to love the wide array of draggies available, as well as the muted color palate, and of course brush mode which has probably saved me hours! It really is just an optimized ND palate for hidden dolls. I’m excited to try more of the transparency options in the future, and play around a bit more with the multiple shading options. You can read my rambles while making the doll here.
The only thing I’m unhappy with is that Scar’s face is ever so slightly too small. Unlike traditional artists, I can’t just erase and redraw - I’d have to manually remove every individual draggie and rebuild it from scratch. So, he’s stuck with a small head. Oh well! The fact that Grian’s face came out so well completely offsets my disappointment in Scar’s face. The whole time I was building it I was chanting “trust the process trust the process” in my head, and it was well worth it!
It was only after I’d finished the doll that I realized that using Flutterbug instead of Gemsona (as originally planned) would make this a non-entry for me. Unlike works made entirely by Ola, Inkscribble does not have blanket permission to monetize works made with her dollmakers, so I do not feel comfortable entering this into a contest for physical rewards. Therefore, I am treating this as a for-fun only challenge only.
Thank you Winterstar for making such beautiful art, this was super fun to participate in, and congrats on the 20k followers on insta!
I legitimately cried tears of joy when I found your blog, I wasn’t expecting much when I decided to look up my favorite series, thank you so much for existing! I think I’ll take this opportunity to reread the books, stravaganza means so much to me and I’m so glad there are people who still remember and engage with it
Thank you for your kind message! I started this blog as a joke, and I never thought I would actually find this many (read: more than one, me) people who still love and think about this series.
Please do re-read the books. We have a readalong going on at the StoryGraph (instructions can be found on this blog if you scroll a bit) for the first book, and if there's enough interest I can host one for the second book as well.
This year as part of @renegadeguild’s event for FanFic Writers Appreciation Day (FFWAD), I had the honor of binding @isnt-it-pretty‘s fic “Fingernails The Colour of Rust” with art by @pigeon-noises! Both of them received a bound copy of the work, shown below :)
You can view Pigeon’s beautiful art Here and Here!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
This project was super fun and I learned a lot along the way, more photos and description below the cut :)
This project saw a lot of late nights battling the printer, but equally as many nights excitedly experimenting with fonts and designs and layouts. The end design featured lineart tracings of the in-game Scarab and Nilopata Lotus materials, and in total is 312 pages long (284 of which are the fic itself). Making the case was by far the most challenging part of this process - using a foil quill was especially fun to learn, I owe so much to the Renegade binderary presenters. Unfortunately, the dust jacket would not print to size so it’s a bit small, but overall I think the books came out really great!
Thank you again to @isnt-it-pretty and @pigeon-noises, your works are so beautiful and I’m so grateful to have been able to make these books for you!
Be sure to check out the tags #FFWAD #renegadelovesfic (and their variations) to see other’s amazing fanbinds from this event!
Made by Shinymist using draggies on DollDivine’s Gemsona Maker
This is heavily based on two dragon dolls made by Daisycat (CatflowerJosie) on DollDivine’s Gemsona Maker, and the accompanying tutorial and speed doll (linked below).
I made this on the app during a five hour flight so there are definitely more flaws that I’m usually comfortable with. The biggest it’s that colors aren’t perfectly accurate to the drawings qloof has made, I couldn’t get the shading right and it ended up a lot more purple than intended. I’m sure with more time I could figure it out but just call this an artistic choice and I may redo it sometime in the future
The original dragon and tutorial dolls are no longer publicly available, but the speed doll is still up and can be found here:
I would like to thank the DollDivine gods for blessing me with the skill to use Urban Chic Deluxe, as well as gracing my computer with a strong fan and the will to not crash as I worked on this doll for the last two days
I’m gonna continue to tweak it as long as my computer allows, but for all intents and purposes it’s done!
Made by me using draggies on DollDivine + Inkscribble’s Merfolk Maker, inspired by Sorachan’s Tales of Tanjia
Musings + credits under the cut
I’m a little rusty as I haven’t used Neptune’s Daughter in nearly three years, and I’ve never used Merfolk, but I’m very happy with how this came out! I chose Merfolk specifically so I could make the background separate and move them to match. I think I prefer ND for the more vibrant colors and familiar draggies, but learning Merfolk’s scene maker abilities was still fun!
Making a Tanjia-inspired doll on an Inkscribble game really felt like returning home. My style has never fit well with Tanjia’s aesthetic, but I always loved seeing other’s dolls of the world, wishing I could contribute as well. I’m a good ten years too late to the party, but Tanjia will forever remain in my heart :)
