One thing I've had to learn since I started making doll stories is to document what I've done. For example, to make doll clothes, I usually just wrap cloth around the doll and cut it to fit. After making multiple plaid shirts for Sam and Dean, I finally realized it would be quicker and easier to create a pattern and save it for future use.
Which brings us to a new subset of posts: the Monstrous Journey. I know I'll be making more monsters in general, and probably bat-winged monsters in particular, so it will probably be helpful for me to document the process for future use. So this first monster post will contain patterns and DIY tips that may not be of any interest to anyone but me. Feel free to scroll on by and just enjoy the completed Gargoyles if you prefer!
I have a love/hate relationship with the Disney prince and princess dolls. I love the variety they add to the Barbie world, and I love their articulation. But I hate their big bobble heads with a passion! I particularly hated Prince Eric's big bulbous bangs. So with a few cuts of my trusty box cutter blade, off they went!
Aves Apoxy Sculpt is a two-part epoxy type clay. It is an air dry clay: no baking in the oven, which makes it wonderful for doll modification as you can sculpt directly on the doll. Apoxy sticks to plastic, too, so there's no need to glue it on. (In my experience it does not stick to vinyl so it does need to be glued onto vinyl doll heads. In the case of horns, my normal process of securing wires on the doll head and forming the clay over that wire armature works great. A little glue at the base of each horn is all that's needed! Apoxy can be painted, sanded, and carved. It's great stuff!
Unfortunately, I discovered that even if you store it very carefully, after several years, it will start to deteriorate. I had the same tubs of Apoxy for years because, as a miniaturist, I only used a small bit for each project. Since the stuff is expensive, I hastily made a bunch of things to use it up and not waste a single bit of it!
I'm not great at either sculpting or painting, but I don't let that stop me. You can make a good-looking doll without fantastic art skills. He's no fashion model, but he serves my purpose as a monster for my doll story. Most important, I had fun crafting him and will have fun telling his story!
This was a learning experience. I have another doll I plan to cut the bangs off of, and I'll use the knowledge from slicing into Prince Eric to try and make a better-looking forehead on the next doll!
On to wings...
I thought a lot about the wings--over the course of three years!--and every time, the prospect of making articulated wings just made me think, "NOPE!" I know beautifully made wings would make the dolls better, but I also know such wings would be difficult for me to make, and I'd probably be disappointed with the results. Finally I realized that fancy wings would not be any fun a'tall for me to make. This is my hobby. I can decide not to do things that don't excite me. So relatively simple wings it is.
After making a quick pattern for the "sleeping" wings and trying them out on the doll, I decided the "folding" wing pattern would work instead, so I settle on two pairs of wings for each gargoyle.
While waiting for those to dry, let's move on to the flying wings:
Educators use a LOT of velcro, particularly in Special Education, where I learned this tip to make sure both sides of the velcro are positioned exactly where you want them.
He still needs his loincloth and belt embellished and attached so that it doesn't fall off, but he's close enough to the finish line. I'm declaring him done.
Her horns are made of Apoxy sculpt attached to her head with wire. She has her original hair, but I gave her an undercut and flocked the sides and back of her head with cut up yarn flocking. Her dress is a Wonder Woman dress that I embellished with a dark brown gauze top layer and a belt of metal discs. Her wings are a slightly different brown leather-patterned scrapbook paper than the male doll. I was happy to get the scrapbook paper on clearance for 75% off.
The female gargoyle's 'sleeping' form is one of the very first custom monster dolls I ever made. She was an old, basic Barbie doll that I re-rooted with yarn to make a good base to paint over. Her horns are made of Aves Apoxy Sculpt, just like the waking gargoyle versions. I painted the doll, clothes and all, with tan acrylic, then sprayed her with a specialty spray paint called Fleck Stone in 'Travertine Tan'. Here she is with her fabric wings, which still need to be sprayed with Fleck Stone and wrapped around her body.
I made a similar dress to the one I had for the waking version of the doll and sewed/glued it directly onto the sleeping gargoyle. I didn't want to waste my supply of metal discs on something that would be painted over, so I used small circles of craft foam for her belt instead.
Ugh, my lack of spatial awareness strikes again. I knew the folding wings had to be attached precisely so the folds faced in the correct direction. I double and triple checked before marking the wings and attaching them to her shoulders with Velcro. I attached them backwards anyway! The white spots are where I peeled the Velcro off and the top layer of scrapbook paper peeled off, too. Fortunately, her hair covers the tears.
I needed dark blond hair to re-root the Ken Fashionista doll I made into Dean Winchester, so I decided to cut donor hair from this doll and give her an undercut using yarn flocking. So, fun fact: "Roxy" the gargoyle and Dean actually have the same hair.
I'm pretty sure when I photographed her for her part in the story, I put her wings on upside-down. Oh well.
She really has a beautiful face sculpt and I love the lighter blonde streak in her hair. In this photo I have her leaned against the wall to keep her wings folded in as small as possible. You might hide her wings with a hollow backpack or something, but those horns would still give her away. Maybe one of those big Cat In The Hat hats?
Here's both gargoyles, in happier days before 'Bam-Bam' decided to start murdering people.
I love her big "beach feet!" Her feet are bigger than the male's feet.
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