Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Workspace Wednesday! Three new Monster High Repaints, Modifying Clawdia Wolf's Toothy Grin

I usually post an update every Wednesday over on Tumblr, but I've been so busy the past couple of days, I wanted to take a moment to go a bit more in depth with the new doll projects I'm working on.

Image of Clawdia Wolf Elissabat and Draculaura Monster High Repainted Dolls
NO PICTURES D:!  We haven't got our faces on, yet!
You might notice that Clawdia here is looking a bit different.  That's because I wanted to try removing her teeth with the cut and superglue method which has always been popular with Barbies.  I loved Clawdia's character and her doll is absolutely fabulous, but dolls with perpetual open mouth smiles are unsettling to me O_O.  Speaking of Elissabat and Draculaura, I posted a comparison video between the two over here on my Youtube channel, confirming that they are two different sculpts.

Image of Clawdia Wolf
THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES
NO, NOT EXACTLY, BUT EQUALLY TERRIFYING O_O.  This was a moment in the removal process that I found particularly hilarious.  I was laughing so hard, I messed up the first time trying to bond the lips back together with glue.  Sorry, Clawdia.

This is the video I posted for the method I used, though there are plenty of other tutorials available on the web:


Basically, you're just cutting out the teeth with an exacto blade, evening out the opening, adding a few drops of super glue, and then pinching it shut until the glue cures.  Then, you'll end up with how she looks in the first photo above.  One thing I need to recommend is that you use a craft blade instead of the straight blade I had to make do with.  I've lost my darned Xacto and have NO idea where it disappeared to.  It was too late to go out and find a new one, so I grabbed the blade from my scraper.  Kids, please don't ever use sharp objects on your own, always get a parent to help you!

I'm very happy with the way she turned out and can't wait to finish her makeup.  As I mentioned in the video, I ended up with a bit of discoloration from the glue (turning white as it cured) because of her dark skin.  This didn't matter to me, as it was painted over, but if you're planning on keeping her lip color, you might want to think about touching it up afterward :).  Thanks a bunch for reading!  Clawdia and Elissabat's customs will be available in my Etsy shop a little later this afternoon!

6 comments:

  1. Love it!! You make me want to buy a second one to try this with! XD

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  2. This is so clever! I can't wait to give this a go. Does closing her mouth change the shape of her cheeks or are my eyes just playing up?

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    1. Since she was molded with such a huge smile, bringing them down does widen her face a bit :). I'd love to see your results if you try it out!

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  3. Your work is amazing. I was really disappointed with the big toothy smile on this doll (so I have not bought one)- and now I can fix that! Yay! Nefera needs friends.

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    1. Thank you :)! If you decide to try it out, I'd like to see it!

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