MeMyself&Projects (to be updated continuously)

Loving that lightbox experimental picture, came out very well.

I love the photo in the doorframe.

Very nice photos indeed, great job on the lighting and the scenes.

Thank you everyone. I'm trying to find interesting ways of composing shots, so I appreciate the compliments!

MeMyself&I wrote:

Melancholy comfort by T E, on Flickr

The lighting in this pic is awesome. I like what you’ve done here with her outfit and hair. Despite the “perfectionism” and OCD, don’t sell yourself short on how great this figure and head looks. Excellent work.

Stryker2012 wrote:The lighting in this pic is awesome. I like what you’ve done here with her outfit and hair. Despite the “perfectionism” and OCD, don’t sell yourself short on how great this figure and head looks. Excellent work.

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement, Mark! They are appreciated. That photo is one of my favorites and is easily the best of the entire set.

I'm trying to force myself to just roll with it when making/photographing stuff and trust what I've learned when it comes to this character. My first project post for 2024 (a head sculpt tutorial) has forced that (and did some "work" to my carpet -_- ). I do find it interesting psychologically that I'm far more tense about some projects than others.

My final post of 2023 isn’t 1/6th, but is still pretty neat!

A TREX model kit from Bandai, base and paint by me.

Trex by T E, on Flickr

Trex by T E, on Flickr

Trex by T E, on Flickr

Trex by T E, on Flickr

Absolutely gorgeous, whatever the scale!

First project post of 2024 will be a bit of a tutorial I've wanted to do for quite some time: How I paint a head sculpt and do hair. All told, if uninterrupted, this can take two days at most.

The real difference is that I have moved away from purely real hair (and thus wig caps). This is because I wanted to try marrying real and sculpted. That and certain hair styles are REALLLLLLLLY difficult to do with real hair, at this scale.

Like today's style, BUNS!


I had a kas head sculpt laying there with nothing going on as it had been deemed a failure due to another attempt at sculpted hair which I just messed the sculpt up.

After shaving it off, I was left with a head with no hair. So I rolled out some Green Stuff putty and stuck it down. I used a rope of the stuff to define the hair line, then a flattened out piece to cover the rest of the head. I then rolled out two fairly even balls and put them in position.

Using some water, and a clay sculpting tool, I started scribing the lines in for the hair. I started fairly separated, then went back and added more for more detail. I paid as much attention as I could to getting things moving in the right direction towards the buns. The buns were carefully spiraled, or, well, at least I attempted to carefully spiral them.

If I messed up, I flattened it out, and started over. So long as you keep the putty wet, you have a decent working time.




Alas, there ended up being damage to the paint on the ears and on a cheek. I was willing to fix it until I went to paint the hair it's orange (shock, I know). You see, I made an ooopsie and the head slipped from its stand and landed in the paint for the hair...which was a slight wash...which got all over her face...and my carpet...

Sooooo I quickly wiped the sculpt off and spent the next hour cleaning the carpet (didn't totally fail, but it's at least not a bright orange stain now).

Well, orange ruined my paint job so I just stripped it down. That is how we went from this:

The Sculpt by T E, on Flickr

To this

Repaint by T E, on Flickr

Good thing acrylics are easily removed by isopropyl alcohol, well, at least when not on carpet.


This is my work station for painting the details, minus the movable lamp stand that is just out of frame.
The Workspace by T E, on Flickr

The first thing I do is get the white on the eyes using a fine tipped brush. Yes, I know that eyes aren't truly white, but seeing as I am combining videogame/anime with realistic, I think it works. Once the white is done, I switch over to a color called Salmon Rose. I use it for the details around the eyes, as well as the lips and the hot spots on the ears, again all with a fine tip brush. The cheeks are also Salmon Rose, but that is applied by air brush. Once these spots are painted, I moved on to the hair.

Ears, Eyes, Lips by T E, on Flickr


The hair can really be any color, but I wanted orange (again, shock. I swear I know there are other colors out there). No matter what color, just note that one should try working with at least 2 levels, if not 3, of color.

The first I used was a mixture of gold, mahogany, and clear orange, all from Vallejo. This is my base color, and will occupy more than anything the shadows within the sculpt.

The second selection was a 50/50 mix of clear orange and orange fire (also Vallejo). This serves as the midtone and was dry brushed over the surface of the hair.

The final mix was a 2 to 1 ratio of copper and clear orange. This is the highlight color, and helps mimic the sheen of the hair. A very light dry brush was used to get it on the edges and highest points.

Hair Paint by T E, on Flickr


Heading back to the airbrush, I applied a couple coats of Gloss varnish first (on the left), drying with a heat gun in between coats. Gloss was first because it serves as the strongest protective layer when compared to the next varnish, Matte varnish (on the right). Matte was applied after to bring everything together, and unify the paint job.

Not shown is the layer of satin varnish I used on the hair, to give it some sheen back, and lips, as well as the coat of gloss on the eyes to help with the decals the next day.

Sealing the work: Gloss v Matte by T E, on Flickr


I then moved on (once dry fully, about 24 hours) to the eyelashes, eye decals, and eyebrows.

Eyelashes are added using gel super glue, tweezers, magnifying head lamp, and insanity.

Eye decals are made in photoshop using a file I purchased from Etsy to make decals, but recolored and shrunk. I cut them out, and then with still more insanity, I applied them. Once dry I use photoshop again to ensure they are aligned properly and move on to the eyebrows.

Eyebrows are simply really finely cut pieces of the actual hair mixed with clear elmers glue and applied with a toothpick. Quick, easy, and if you mess up a brush and a little water solve the mistake.

eyelashes eyes eyebrows by T E, on Flickr

Now for the hair!

I had made a sort of ridge at the front of the hair when I could easily attach and contour the hair for bangs. Other hair styles would require different, but I find this has worked well. I use Aleene's tacky glue to add the side hair and work may way around the front. I will use a curling iron to fold this row over, cutting it to a workable length once in a more natural position.

Bad hair day? by T E, on Flickr

Then it is just a matter of filling in the top of the ridge, focusing again on a good, even layer. Style as needed, cut as needed.

Hair Styling by T E, on Flickr

Then, once all cut, do the Gubernator trick (thanks Gub!) of a wash of the hair color along where it was glued (do not drown it) to hide glue residue, and you're done!

Finished look by T E, on Flickr


Some of tools I used:

Paint by T E, on Flickr

UV Lamp and Resin by T E, on Flickr

Very cool result, despite the accident, thank your for sharing your process. There re things here I would never try (tacky glue, air brush), but still interesting and educational.

GubernatorFan wrote:Very cool result, despite the accident, thank your for sharing your process. There re things here I would never try (tacky glue, air brush), but still interesting and educational.

I’ve been wanting to document this for awhile now and I’m glad I was able to. I’m curious as to why you would never try the tacky glue or the air brush?

Also, because I know folks are very pro “all actual hair” around here, as am I, how do you all think it’s going with my experiment combining the two? Is it going well, are there things you’d change, do I need to improve on the color matching or paint job itself? Things I’m not listing?

I want to know because I want to make something that works great and looks great.

The personal reasons for this is that I have made 5 total heads which use the wig caps and real hair, but have found that it’s soooo messy and I’m already messy when I work already and it’s just a perfect storm of hair everywhere every time! It was getting to be overwhelming. I know it’s all stylistically up to the individual, but I’d for sure like some input if anyone has any.

Given the hairstyle, I think the mix of sculpted and "real" hair worked very well. Great color-matching, too.
I originally followed Morezmore's hairing tutorial with tacky glue and hate the thing with a passion. It takes too long to dry (patience is not one of my many virtues), makes a big mess when I try working with it, never again. But different approaches work for different people. As for the airbrushing, I prefer the traditional brush approach as it gives a touch more precision, without having to switch between the two, block, unblock, many superthin layers. But if you have the patience for it, you're a better man than I.

Wow! Incredible work! I never realized you made custom heads. Fantastic paintwork. I also really enjoy seeing your sets. It looks as if we're all in for a real treat as we follow your work through '24!

Clean workspace and detailed work. Very well done

Woah, nice tutorial! I'm impressed with that hair sculpting, especially.

This looks sooo good!! I'm very impressed and happy to see your progress since version 1.

Having said that, you want some suggestions:

1) I'd play around with gluing a thin layer of real hair ton top of your sculpt.

2) Alternatively I would keep adding more detail to the sculpt, especially on the buns. While the hair will have some thicker sections, it would appear more flat overall, meaning your scratch tool needs to be finer. And to save you trouble maybe multiple tips would be nice. So... pipe cleaning brush?

I wouldn't have bothered with these nitpicks if you hadn't genuinely welcomes suggestions/ideas. Your work looks awesome!

Wow! Super impressive job on the hair and paint work. Thanks for sharing the process.

Good thread..

Diana wrote:1) I'd play around with gluing a thin layer of real hair ton top of your sculpt.

I wouldn't have bothered with these nitpicks if you hadn't genuinely welcomes suggestions/ideas. Your work looks awesome!

I think that is a worthwhile suggestion -- a few real hairs laid out and glued onto the sculpted ones can perhaps make the transition even better.

GubernatorFan wrote:Given the hairstyle, I think the mix of sculpted and "real" hair worked very well. Great color-matching, too.
I originally followed Morezmore's hairing tutorial with tacky glue and hate the thing with a passion. It takes too long to dry (patience is not one of my many virtues), makes a big mess when I try working with it, never again. But different approaches work for different people. As for the airbrushing, I prefer the traditional brush approach as it gives a touch more precision, without having to switch between the two, block, unblock, many superthin layers. But if you have the patience for it, you're a better man than I.

That makes sense with the glue and airbrush. I like the flexibility of the tacky glue as I am not as steady, especially with small things, and I have glued more hair to my hands with superglue than I care to admit I agree the airbrush is a pain, but it serves its purpose (priming and base coating) nicely. Cleaning it is the real annoyance!

BAMComix wrote:Wow! Incredible work! I never realized you made custom heads. Fantastic paintwork. I also really enjoy seeing your sets. It looks as if we're all in for a real treat as we follow your work through '24!

Thanks! I hope I live up to the hype! lol. Got two figures planned for 2024 and I hope the start of a diorama, so not a ton of big stuff, but they'll be unique in their own ways. That dio is going to be something though!

Valiarde wrote:Clean workspace and detailed work. Very well done

Thanks!

Zes wrote:Woah, nice tutorial! I'm impressed with that hair sculpting, especially.

Thanks! I hope the tutorial can help someone looking to do similar

Diana wrote:This looks sooo good!! I'm very impressed and happy to see your progress since version 1.

Having said that, you want some suggestions:

1) I'd play around with gluing a thin layer of real hair ton top of your sculpt.

2) Alternatively I would keep adding more detail to the sculpt, especially on the buns. While the hair will have some thicker sections, it would appear more flat overall, meaning your scratch tool needs to be finer. And to save you trouble maybe multiple tips would be nice. So... pipe cleaning brush?

I wouldn't have bothered with these nitpicks if you hadn't genuinely welcomes suggestions/ideas. Your work looks awesome!

GubernatorFan wrote: I think that is a worthwhile suggestion -- a few real hairs laid out and glued onto the sculpted ones can perhaps make the transition even better.

Thanks Diana (and by extension Gub's seconding)! And your nitpicks are welcome! See my replies below:

1) I will need to look into this as it's quite an interesting idea. I saw your reply earlier today, and have been thinking about how to do it. I think I have an idea as to how to pull this off, and I have two more heads I can practice on. Hair styles will likely determine a lot of how the process will/could work.

2) I actually have been trying to do as much detail as I can and use exacto blades and a sharp stylus. I have a pipe-cleaning brush, but it sucks to use on the Green Stuff epoxy. It catches realllllly bad, and doesn't drag for anything. I want a new epoxy putty honestly. So maybe it will work better on different putty? Milliput and I do not get along either. Haven't tried Tamiya's yet...

Stryker2012 wrote:Wow! Super impressive job on the hair and paint work. Thanks for sharing the process.

Thanks Mark!

ukshaun wrote:Good thread..

Thanks Shaun!

While I did not intend for this to be posted near Valentines Day, I guess it is sort of appropriate that the theme of this latest project is that of a wedding.

Fun fact about me, but I was a wedding videographer for 15 years of my life. I actually started at 14yrs old, and didn't stop until the end of the 2019 season. I've shot in the rain, snow, wind, sunshine, and even had a tornado touch down a couple miles from a venue once. I've seen simple and elegant dresses, and some truly over the top stuff. I did do some wedding photography during that time, but most of my focus was on the video side or on non-wedding portrait photography. Similar skill sets, VERY different function and timing. I digress though.

So shooting anything wedding related in 1/6th is interesting. So for this, I just focused on making of the dress (I think I got some WIP photos), and the final look. If you can guess who is modeling it, then you have been paying attention :p I plan on making more styles for different characters, but this is one I wanted to do for a long, long time.

Some quick notes:

- The fabric used is the same fabric I have used on other outfits. It is super stretchy and awesome.
- Her boots are the only thing I didn't make or modify in some way. They also slide like they are on ice inside my light box, so that was fun posing her...
- The body used is the S07C and marks my 8th one of that body
- I now have 7 different variations of this character, 3 out of the video game series, 4 of my own devices. I may have issues lol.

As always, the full album is on Flickr.

Full body shot. This thing is skin tight, lemme tell ya. This is also version 4 or 5, I forget which. The stockings she is wearing are about as thin as one can get in this hobby and still keep them in one piece.

The Dress by T E, on Flickr


In researching designs, I noticed that solid color sashes are an option nowadays (I don't keep up, nor did I see too much of this style), so I ran with her fav color pink. It worked out beautifully!
Playing with her bow by T E, on Flickr


*insert cliche bouquet picture here*
The bouquet by T E, on Flickr


I know you can't see her face, but I really like this shot.
Sky views and f/numbers by T E, on Flickr


This is my favorite shot from this shoot. The pose, colors, lighting...they all just work.
The best shot of the shoot by T E, on Flickr

She looks amazing my friend! so elegant and pretty!

I think it's cool that you have multiple variations of the same character. You clearly like that look.

I also have pairs of some of my OCs as 1/6 scale figures.

That last shot is incredible!

She looks lovely. Beautiful work. That head sculpt has to be my favorite rendition you’ve made of this character.

BAMComix wrote:She looks amazing my friend! so elegant and pretty!

Thanks Dal! I appreciate the kind words!

Zes wrote:I think it's cool that you have multiple variations of the same character. You clearly like that look.

I also have pairs of some of my OCs as 1/6 scale figures.

That last shot is incredible!

Thanks Zes! While she is hardly an OC, you have the understatement of the year (in bold) lol. I really need to branch out more lol.

That last photo was a "oh, this may have turned out well -> *reviews in post* -> That turned out better than I thought!" special.

Stryker2012 wrote:She looks lovely. Beautiful work. That head sculpt has to be my favorite rendition you’ve made of this character.

I honestly feel the same way, Mark, especially as I shoot with it more. This rendition turned out so well *happy noises*. It isn't a perfect style match to all the outfits and the like I have for her, but for things like this I am not sure it can be beaten.

In other news, I received my Anycubic M5s Pro yesterday and will be setting it up this weekend. The build plate is huge, so I can only imagine what else I will print on it in crispy 14K resolution.

Currently in my que:

- Extra Ayane HS (she's on her way to getting similar treatment as Kasumi)

- Re-print of Honoka HS (going to go a touch bigger)

- Re-print of Kokoro HS (going to go a touch bigger, and I wasn't happy with some details)

- Re-print of Hitomi HS (going to go a touch bigger, and I wasn't happy with some details)

- New character head sculpts: Princess Zelda (BOTW version), Misaki, Elise, Byleth (female version from FE:3 Houses)

- Accessories: Tablets, cellphones, eye glasses, chairs, tables

- Weapons and armor: Fire Emblem Hector's axe Armads, kunai


I'm open to ideas of things I can print accessory-wise. Seriously, there isn't much this printer won't be able to do.

Beautiful wedding photo sequence.

Is that a resin printer? Does the process require extra steps after the actual printing?

Visisonor wrote:Beautiful wedding photo sequence.

Is that a resin printer? Does the process require extra steps after the actual printing?

Thank you!

And "yes" to both your questions.

The M5S Pro is a new resin printer from Anycubic that I pre-ordered at a realllly nice price all things considered. They even included a $100 worth of resin as a pre-order bonus, so that was a win!

As for the extra steps, really it just comes down to cleaning and curing. I bought a wash/cure station with my first printer and that is what I will use with this one. Once you have the system down, I can have clean and fully cured prints in about 30 minutes or less after the printing is done.

It is messy, if you're not careful. Always wear gloves, and a mask. That said, the detail you can get out of these is insane and totally worth it.

this wedding kasumi have better bangs.. it actually falls downward more..

the christmas kasumi's bangs seem to be ponting to the front like having high winds pushing from the back..