Custom Female Character

It’ll be interesting to see what you come up with with the new sculpt, and the possible SD head.

Stryker2011 wrote:It’ll be interesting to see what you come up with with the new sculpt, and the possible SD head.

Well I hope for pics this weekend, but I am waiting on some new tools to come in the mail (a bunch of new ball styluses) so it may be Monday before I have anything on the new sculpt (I have found an awesome ear and mouth tutorial on youtube, so that will hopefully shore up those weak areas). I have compared it to the SD head and I am happy to say that my general proportions on it are fairly similar, so hooray for my math being right! I just gotta fix those lips and ears...man they look weird right now. I am going to get an air brush so I can paint these if need be. That being said, I am leaning towards the SD head for this character because, hilariously (and to my own frustration because time and effort, but hey, new skills and its been fun), I am convinced that they made that head from this character. The measurements just match too closely, and the truth is I don't have the skills to match a computer generated and painted head sculpt, simple as that. Sure gonna try though!

The SD head is quite nice frankly, and aside from the hair being utterly horrible, it scales pretty well perfectly with my character. The only things that need changing are the eye color (the muted grey/brown isn't even close), a weird sorta lip at the hair line that should be easy to deal with thanks to my heat gun (it is like it is curving up and away from the forehead, probably for the hair piece, but man it looks bad when bald), and that hair piece. I have never, in all my research, seen such sparse hair. Or felt such bad hair. I have a $2 thing of hair from a craft store that is softer. Just, just wow is all I have to that end. So I am researching the rerooting topic, as well as using sculpy for a hair pad (which I believe some links to that end have been shared, so thank you guys for that!). I did test a bit last night with sculpy and just making her bald and I have to say not bad looking. Bald isn't a look for this character in any media, but she could pull it off, frankly. Hopefully by the time my ordered hair comes in I will know what direction I am going with it and can proceed.

I just want to say thank you all, by the way, for the suggestions, information, and encouragement with this. It's an ambitious project and I am very much enjoying myself with it. I am looking forward to completing it and being able to display it both at home and on here!

Well, this has been an interesting week for this project.

Basically I found the outfit I want for the character (https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/98515) but will be waiting for it to get parted out. I also have the "obligatory" bikini coming (SMcG if anyone is wondering), if for no other reason than she won't be naked on the shelf while I wait for the main outfit to be released (and I don't have to edit in censor boxes anymore, despite them being easy).

I also humbly admit defeat at the hands of this head sculpt, at least for now. It came out better, but not where I wanted it for this character. Much to learn, I still have. As a result, I have decided to just use the SD head I bought, which hilariously enough is, from what I can see, based off the character I am going for (photoshop and blender are great tools btw), so win?

I also bought a s07c, that works better IMO for the character in skin tone, which means I have another body to play with in a different project.

Which means I might as well say who I am working on (this one is for you skywalkersaga lol).

The s07c will become Kasumi from Dead or Alive, which is a fighting game I have been playing since the days of the SEGA Dreamcast and original xbox. She's always been a favorite of mine and I decided that I wanted to do this project with her as the focus. I have had issues with the head sculpts available, but after having the SD sculpt I bought in hand (yes I know that it is what was used, but with a different eye color, for the one Kasumi based outfit set from awhile back, and no, I am not shelling out that money just for eye color, just no, I can figure that out later), I realized that my main issue was with the hair in both style and in color, which will be resolved soon enough. It always looked cheap and "oh hey, here is orange hair, this is that character, right? Right?" which bugged me to no end.

The s09c will become Byleth (female, duh) from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I will pickup my head sculpting adventure here, which may just be easier. Being a game series known for its stylized look, the faces of most characters, especially in Three Houses, are very anime-esq. Since that means face proportions in a normal, human sense are thrown out the window, she should be easier to sculpt. Plus I won't feel as much pressure for it to be as close as possible.

I will link photos tomorrow, I am falling asleep writing this, plus I want to grab some photos with the current stage of progress, as well as the hair I am going to use.

Pics as promised.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/188794355@N02/BL9rt2

Looking good.

Looks quite promising.

Alrighty guys, she is not yet complete because the outfit I want has yet to be released, but (!) for the most part she at least has some clothes to wear (I have more things on order as well (like a shirt!) as I figure out what I want). The head is mostly done as the hair has been, for the most part, successfully glued in place. I did my best to keep true to the game style, but seeing as I am new to this, not a hair stylist, and not rooting the hair but gluing it, I think things turned out well. It is similar, yet different. Her bangs are different, but I kinda like them, her side locks are similar but a bit different, and overall it is quite long (maybe too long as it usually is to the waist. Thoughts?). The hardest part was the part in the hair as it, being nylon, doesn't exactly act the same as actual hair. I got creative and between a Dremel, some darker auburn/orangeish clay, and a heat gun gave her a "part".

My only real complaint is that her shoulders are too broad, but that isn't really a fixable thing, so whatever.

All told, I think things went well for my first attempt at this sorta thing. I imagine I will eventually go back and try a new technique and redo some things. For now, it is just waiting on the right clothes to show up and she is done! On to the next project!

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPr1Y1n is the album of the head on the S07C (yes, it is standing by itself in some of the photos!)

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPr8MHG is the album of what I used as reference for the hair.

That’s looking good! I def see where you’re going now with it now that I’ve seen the reference images. The pale body seems to work really well. Nice job!

Not bad. I would say, if you want the hair a bit closer, trim those pieces that hang down by her ear a bit more (at an angle). Otherwise, looks good.

skywalkersaga wrote:That’s looking good! I def see where you’re going now with it now that I’ve seen the reference images. The pale body seems to work really well. Nice job!

Right?! I’m excited! I put it all together, put the head on and just sat back and went “That works really well!” Now the hard part is waiting for the other outfits I’ve ordered to be shipped, darn preorders.

Stryker2011 wrote:Not bad. I would say, if you want the hair a bit closer, trim those pieces that hang down by her ear a bit more (at an angle). Otherwise, looks good.

Thanks! I’m planning on trimming some of it tonight. Going to make it shorter in the back and clean up the sides a bit.

I think I am going to play with the scalp piece that I ended up taking off and seeing if I can make it to where it’s more receptive to rows of hair. It has, like, 5 rows right now which isn’t much. I have a ton of the hair I ordered left, so I can afford to play with that. May change things up, or it’ll crash/burn. I’m expecting the last one, which will require some thinking on it all and seeing if I can adjust some stuff for next time.

OK, so this will be the last update on this until the final outfits are in my possession, at which point I will just do a new thread. I bought another head, and attempted the hair again on it, using the lessons I learned from the original attempt. I think it turned out much better, though there are some issues still. Those issues though are hardly noticeable unless you are looking for them.

The bangs are new, and much more fitting (not flat and sticking straight out) for the character. The part in the hair is actually, well, a part in the hair. I basically used long stretches of hair, super glue, and a sculpting tool to get it in there. A paint brush and some nail polish remover took care of any lingering glue, and a that same sculpting tool and my heat gun took care of shaping the hair. It is a bit off-center, but now that I know what I'm doing, any future heads should be much easier. Add in some hair spray, and a lot of combing, and it works out to be a pretty nice look.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPFz1yc

Looks pretty good. And sounds like a lot of work, but at least it paid off.

As you guys may remember, I am working on a Kasumi from DOA custom. While she is no where close to complete (stupid pre-orders for cool stuff for her taking too long to release), I have acquired some clothing here and there so she is at least decent around company. I recently picked up an AC Play dress for her (though it is listed as a skirt, so *shoulder shrug*). I started with the s09c body, but went to the s07c as the pale skin tone works better for her, leaving the s09c to do a whole lot of nothing. I also ended up with two separate head sculpts, one with the first attempt at hair, the other with a much better second attempt. Turns out that was a very happy accident as it occurred to me today on the way home that in the lore for DOA Kasumi has a clone (well, a few, but in this case one is enough)...and I have a second head and a second body...

So now I have a "clone" of my figure, who can be both a test bed and a different character (so to speak). That being said, I have photos! Not a lot currently, but I plan on taking some more tomorrow night as she has a more relaxed look. I know the head sculpt doesn't match the body (and her eyes are the wrong color, but thats getting fixed later), but frankly, I don't care at the moment. The way the hair fell I felt was worthy of some pictures.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQ1nEvH

She's looking good and much improved from before. I'm sure the extra items will add to the figure.

Looks pretty good. Is the dress custom?

GubernatorFan wrote:She's looking good and much improved from before. I'm sure the extra items will add to the figure.

Thanks! And yeah, the clothing really helps with the overall appearance and presentation. She is on my table right now hanging out with the Kasumi figma, which is hilariously tiny by comparison. I have a bunch of things on pre-order through BBTS for both figures. I have a black dress with some white accents for the s07c body, as well as the all white assassin body suit. For the s09c (which is what is used in those pics above) I have the black version of the same assassin body suit preordered. Then of course she has this dress. So a bit of a wardrobe for both the Kasumi figure (s07c) and her clone Phase 4 (s09c). I have a friend who is really good with the 3D printed stuff, so I am working with him for some custom armor for Kasumi (shin guards, bracers, stomach armor), so that should look great when done as well.

Stryker2011 wrote:Looks pretty good. Is the dress custom?

I have learned a lot, but no, it is definitely not a custom dress. I am working on one, but it is a good way away still. https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/90074 is what I bought. The quality is overall really nice. Soft material, the screen printed details are well done, it fits quite well also. My only complaints are that it wanted to bleed onto the figure (a fact that I thankfully caught early and am SUPER glad I did this on the s09c and not the s07c. I have since washed it all using Dawn soap, which seems to have done the trick), a button on the waist piece is coming off (I'm replacing that with a magnet when it finally dies), and the fact there are shoulder straps for the corset piece which will only fit if the figure was about 5 cup sizes smaller. I know the promo images in the link use the s10d, but is it seriously that much thinner in the chest/shoulders than the s07/s09? It is like it wants to cut the shoulders it is so tight on mine (and probably would given time), so I just tucked them in for the strapless look.

As for the custom dress I am working on, I did this as a test last night with some gold contact paper and the white fabric I am using. I think it came out fantastic for the first real attempt, though that wording at the top is a super sad attempt at kanji. https://flic.kr/p/2jwAHF5

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQ7rHxX

So a fav outfit of mine for Kasumi has always been the white/red/pink dress thing she has had from game # 1 (player 2 option if I remember correctly). Seeing as I came late to the 1/6th party, I very much missed the SD Ninja Girl 2.0 set which made that very outfit (among others). I've seen the pics, and honestly I wasn't a huge fan of the quality it appeared to have. I still wanted it though because, well, favorites.

But seeing how much it costs for the parted out dress alone, I said "nope" and decided to stab my fingers with a needle and make my own. No, the red you see in the pictures is not the trim dyed in the blood drawn by the needles (I shockingly only poked myself about 5 times). Easily my biggest sewing project to date, I did it all by hand, and frankly I am really freakin proud of myself for how it turned out! It is on the s09c for testing, but the s07c has the overall better aesthetic to say the least. Sides are sewn together, but it is still fairly easy to take off and put on. Stretchy fabric edging is used for the waist band as well as the bra-thing. All told, I have a template and will be making other iterations!

That looks like a pretty good recreation, from what I remember. Stretchy fabric is a good idea. If you're worried about sewing, for some of this you can also use Aleene's fabric glue or fabric fusion tape.

Really well done. Sewing by hand can be a pain (pun intended), and time consuming, but it is also very rewarding when you achieve the look you are going for.

Really nice job!

GubernatorFan wrote:That looks like a pretty good recreation, from what I remember. Stretchy fabric is a good idea. If you're worried about sewing, for some of this you can also use Aleene's fabric glue or fabric fusion tape.

Thanks! So, this particular fabric reacted horribly to Aleene’s. It won’t stick to nothing for any true length of time. I used it to help hold the trim in place, but that was about all it would do on that white fabric. It won’t hold with this being as tight as it is at the waist unfortunately.

Stryker2011 wrote:Really well done. Sewing by hand can be a pain (pun intended), and time consuming, but it is also very rewarding when you achieve the look you are going for.

Thank ya! I was doing a little bit of a happy dance when I saw that my idea was working.

skywalkersaga wrote:Really nice job!

Thanks!

After several months, a ton of trial and error, stabbing my fingers with needles while sewing, she is done enough to post it all here.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmSovFYJ That is the link to the album if you'd like to read any of my comments on the individual photos. Some of the photos are a touch darker than I would have liked, but I think that is due to my flash acting up on me (it has been doing that). Anyway, enjoy!

Warning, this will be picture heavy if I can get the stupid things to load.

This first one is the only one I will comment on here. A comparison from left to right of the SD versions and mine. I am much happier with mine to say the least.
Comparisons by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi Full Body (Front) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi Fully Body (Rear) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi Head Shot by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Kasumi (Details) by T E, on Flickr

Very nice, indeed. That turned out great. Really well done. I like how you did the designs.

Stryker2011 wrote:Very nice, indeed. That turned out great. Really well done. I like how you did the designs.

Thanks Stryker! I have about 6 other variations of the bracers just lying around that were either rejects, or I screwed up somehow but were still good enough to use as a test bed. Sculpey and ball styluses were probably my most used items overall. The good news is a pound of Sculpey lasts a looooooong time The designs on the outfit "flaps" (that the right term?) I just pulled up the game and drew it out on a piece of paper cut to the same size. Then I brought out the paint. Some embellishment, sure, but that I guess is expected.

Very nice job on the outfit and the elaborate patterns/designs.

She looks really good, great job on the sewing and all the other details.

GubernatorFan wrote:Very nice job on the outfit and the elaborate patterns/designs.

Theboo-bomb wrote:She looks really good, great job on the sewing and all the other details.

Thank you both! It was a fun project

Wow, she turned out beautifully! I remember when you first mentioned this project and I'm so glad to see how it finally turned out. Always nice to see these kinds of homeages to favourite characters. The attention to detail is really lovely, and the way you did the outfit is so unique. It really does look custom-made in the best possible way. And the hairstyle looks great, too!

Congrats on finishing her -- I look forward to seeing more creations from you! : )

skywalkersaga wrote:Wow, she turned out beautifully! I remember when you first mentioned this project and I'm so glad to see how it finally turned out. Always nice to see these kinds of homeages to favourite characters. The attention to detail is really lovely, and the way you did the outfit is so unique. It really does look custom-made in the best possible way. And the hairstyle looks great, too!

Congrats on finishing her -- I look forward to seeing more creations from you! : )

Thank you Skywalkersaga! I definitely appreciate the kind words, from you and everyone else! I have learned a ton from you all over these 7-8 months I have been here, that honestly she wouldn't be done if it were not for that!


I will be remaking her sword come spring time when I can get back outside to work with metal (funny enough the one thing I actually do have experience with that is useful to this hobby, but in a larger scale), but until then this is perfectly fine. I am torn on what the next project will be but you will all be seeing it, hopefully with more in progress photos!