The Super Sea Urchins of California - Actual suntan [7/9/2023]

California certainly has style! everything works perfectly Ovy.

Aaagh! Your creations are so wonderful!! Love this new character and those bikinis are ridiculous!! Just... genius!! Very creative and beautiful on top! Unbelievable. And very inspiring. Thank you.

I love that sculpt, too, and the way the sisters look together. Kinda wish I had gotten the YMT015B, too. I opted for Ming, which I don't regret, but... oh well.. Got enough unused heads on display.

Nice outfit. And the extra accessories/jewelry, et., look great together.

Very creative and in a way probably better than clam shells for bras a la Ariel. Looking at them from the top they almost look like puffy hats with little beads stuck to them.

Some details shots of the knife we haven't seen yet out of it's sheath and the sublte and not so subtle paintwork on California's face.


It is mostly used when pearl diving, to crack open clams, cut seaweed or fight off predators.


It's a made from a sturdy splinter of a razor clam shell, further reinforced by super razor clam saliva.


In her research, California discovered that everything is better with pearls in it.






The sheath is made of leather.


The holster can be opened and closed and has a very clever simple design, a fact often overseen when confronted with California's other science stuff.

GubernatorFan wrote:More beautiful photos of your beautiful creation. Love them. And I do appreciate you manage to keep them tasteful throughout. Loving the beadwork, which seems even more prominent now -- in fact on both sisters. And even the basic clothing, which is inspiring, as I have been working on something along these lines (minus riccini) on and off these days. What glue (if any) did you use for the pearl in her navel? I ask from the point of view of what works on but does not harm the TPE?
Aristoteles -- I don't know, the combination of giving a sea urchin the name of a great philosopher and references to Greeks (and Greek shipping magnates like Aristoteles Onassis) and the sea seemed both hilarious and apropos. Like naming a Dachshund Maximilian or something.

Thanks a lot. Yeah Capraia got some updates before the Stella Maris shoot, for example the plectrum on a chain.
The clothing is basically just a simple kind of short Kimono. I didn't sew the seams (and no collar) as it was supposed to look as light as possible and I became lazy. Put some knot in at the tips, as it's stretchy fabric.
The glue I used was (it hink) just your regular crafting glue, the white one that goes transparent.

davidd wrote:I like the trusty ancient Seiko diving watch. I'm wearing a not-quite-ancient-but-nevertheless-trusty Seiko diving watch myself at this very moment, with the screw-in crown at the 4 o' clock position.

I'm also intrigued by the shell-like decor around the rim of the goggles. That's a clever visual detail.

Ha, the screw-in crown at the 4 o' clock position is stylish and anti-establishment. And thanks a lot. I think I will used some white paint on the watch in the future, to match the goggle design and to make the Seiko lettering more visible.

BAMComix wrote:California certainly has style! everything works perfectly Ovy.

Thanks!

Diana wrote:Aaagh! Your creations are so wonderful!! Love this new character and those bikinis are ridiculous!! Just... genius!! Very creative and beautiful on top! Unbelievable. And very inspiring. Thank you.

I love that sculpt, too, and the way the sisters look together. Kinda wish I had gotten the YMT015B, too. I opted for Ming, which I don't regret, but... oh well.. Got enough unused heads on display.

Thanks so much! Yeah it's ridiculous and it works, haha. Hlad you were inspired. And unlike most of us at least your unused heads are well presented in those 3d printed cubesof yours.

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice outfit. And the extra accessories/jewelry, et., look great together.

Thanks

Theboo-bomb wrote:Very creative and in a way probably better than clam shells for bras a la Ariel. Looking at them from the top they almost look like puffy hats with little beads stuck to them.

Thanks a lot, yeah I used sea urchin shells as hats in the past, maybe I will use a smaller one as a beanie again.

Love the knife and the sheath and strap. Always amazed when you manage to make something work both aesthetically and functionally, like that. My Lady of the Lake was also with a simple kimono, but I need more lightweight fabrics and stretchy would be a good thing -- your knotting the tips was a brilliant idea.

Brilliant Ovy! very Ursula Andress .

Buckles, tiny straps and keepers on the belts, and even a sharpened edge on the knife, with a binding to attach the blade to the handle -- I'm blown away by your miniature crafting skills!

Impressive talent, impressive dexterity... and impressive eyesight!

Ovy wrote:Some details shots of the knife we haven't seen yet out of it's sheath and the sublte and not so subtle paintwork on California's face.


In her research, California discovered that everything is better with pearls in it.


The sheath is made of leather.
The holster can be opened and closed and has a very clever simple design, a fact often overseen when confronted with California's other science stuff.

Love these three pics. But the whole series is pretty harmonic from the colors and posing. How a little thing like a new knife can lead to such a cool sequence...really liked looking at it

Thanks for sharing your customising technique and what clever use of the shells !
I cant wait to see what you come up with next !

That is an excellent knife and the belt and sheath are ingenious. Your work with natural materials is impressive.

California left her surfboard at her former home, but she might have found a solution.
It might take a while to sort and edit the shots so here a teaser.

GubernatorFan wrote:Love the knife and the sheath and strap. Always amazed when you manage to make something work both aesthetically and functionally, like that. My Lady of the Lake was also with a simple kimono, but I need more lightweight fabrics and stretchy would be a good thing -- your knotting the tips was a brilliant idea.

Thanks a lot.

BAMComix wrote:Brilliant Ovy! very Ursula Andress   .

Thanks a lot. The last time I watched Dr. No was in elementary school I think. But while the white colour was chosen by nature, this character played a role when I chose to give her a knife.

davidd wrote:Buckles, tiny straps and keepers on the belts, and even a sharpened edge on the knife, with a binding to attach the blade to the handle -- I'm blown away by your miniature crafting skills!

Impressive talent, impressive dexterity... and impressive eyesight!

Thanks a lot, glad you notice the little things and the work that goes in there!

Valiarde wrote: Love these three pics. But the whole series is pretty harmonic from the colors and posing. How a little thing like a new knife can lead to such a cool sequence...really liked looking at it

Thanks a lot, the close ups are my favourites.

Allotropos wrote:Thanks for sharing your customising technique and what clever use of the shells !
I cant wait to see what you come up with next !

Thanks for dropping by!

Stryker2011 wrote:That is an excellent knife and the belt and sheath are ingenious. Your work with natural materials is impressive.

Thanks, yeah those 'natural materials' have their charm.

Always nice to see your characters interactive. And I see the apocalypse has not obliterated professionalism and designer concentration.

That should be cool to see. I agree with Ian, it’s always neat to see characters interacting.

soooo wonderful!!
so many useful details and inspiration in the "knife pics" - whilst aesthetically utterly pleasing. Just as usual...

and I LOVE the surfboard series (I have seen some more already ). The interaction is just top notch.

Thanks you three.

lawlaw's thread made me rediscover old unreleased photos in lost folders.

Summertime and global warming. Just random California pics showing her stuff in detail. She is not always wearing that Riccini.

More fantastic pics! thanks for sharing Ovy!

Ovy wrote:Thanks you three.

lawlaw's thread made me rediscover old unreleased photos in lost folders.

Summertime and global warming. Just random California pics showing her stuff in detail. She is not always wearing that Riccini.

Suddenly saw my name...what happened lmao? Oh my god girls with bikinis? How did I never see this before?? California definitely deserves a full novel for this

Inventive and fun, Ovy.

Very nice photos and posing, Ovy. But I got to ask... is there SPF70+ sunscreen in your post-apocalyptic world? Because if she keeps this going, "suntan" ain't gonna cut it.

BAMComix wrote:More fantastic pics! thanks for sharing Ovy!

Thanks Bam!

lawlaw91 wrote:

Ovy wrote:Thanks you three.

lawlaw's thread made me rediscover old unreleased photos in lost folders.

Summertime and global warming. Just random California pics showing her stuff in detail. She is not always wearing that Riccini.

Suddenly saw my name...what happened lmao? Oh my god girls with bikinis? How did I never see this before?? California definitely deserves a full novel for this

Haha thanks, yeah your photo thread made me look for old pics I never shared.

Titan wrote:Inventive and fun, Ovy.

Thanks

GubernatorFan wrote:Very nice photos and posing, Ovy. But I got to ask... is there SPF70+ sunscreen in your post-apocalyptic world? Because if she keeps this going, "suntan" ain't gonna cut it.

Yeah, thanks. I agree, I wanted to color her much more tanned from the beginning, she is California after all and that would be a better contrast with the shiny white outfit. It was when Onesixthpracticals shoecream method became wider known and I wanted to try that, but haven't yet.  I mean I tanned some bodies with pastel washes, but the shoe cream method might yield better results. There is also the risk of the figures becoming orange if there is not enough blue in the tone. The body is slightly damaged anyway, so I can use it for experimenting, California will then get a new one and the slightly damaged one will become black to represent a suit for an armored Space Elf.

It's a problem most of the Mediterran ladies share and they look even lighter on pictures. Tbleague could just use the goo the males are made out of for a third skintone.
But I think it will take some years for...I don't know, more growth of the Chinese middle class, until the niche of tanned skin finds a place next to the beauty standards of fair skin?

Ovy wrote:Yeah, thanks. I agree, I wanted to color her much more tanned from the beginning, she is California after all and that would be a better contrast with the shiny white outfit. It was when Onesixthpracticals shoecream method became wider known and I wanted to try that, but haven't yet.  I mean I tanned some bodies with pastel washes, but the shoe cream method might yield better results. There is also the risk of the figures becoming orange if there is not enough blue in the tone. The body is slightly damaged anyway, so I can use it for experimenting, California will then get a new one and the slightly damaged one will become black to represent a suit for an armored Space Elf.

It's a problem most of the Mediterran ladies share and they look even lighter on pictures. Tbleague could just use the goo the males are made out of for a third skintone.
But I think it will take some years for...I don't know, more growth of the Chinese middle class, until the niche of tanned skin finds a place next to the beauty standards of fair skin?

Well, she is working on that tan, or trying to.
Make sure you check out Onesixthpracticals posts in case he reported something not working long term -- I have a faint recollection about something like this, but it might have been a different kind of shoecream experiment.
Funny, I was just oil pastel coloring a couple of bodies, but going paler this time (they were male bodies).
With all the investment in western popular culture references, it is surprising they are not making tan female bodies. Hot Toys did it a long time ago, when they made base bodies for sale (they had a "Puerto Rican" female body), and TBLeague / Phicen had a tan (distinct from suntan and pale) skin color that got discontinued some years ago. It was still lighter than the current male "suntan" bodies.
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3013-tbleague-phicen-seamless-bodies-with-steel-skeleton-catalog-updated-continually#40050

The detailing on the tiny dive mask, and the knife, is absolutely incredible!

Nice shots. Thankfully she had some modesty.

I gave the body a tan with pastel wash. Light was not good so I stopped after one pose.  But I think the contrast is better now.

GubernatorFan wrote:
Well, she is working on that tan, or trying to.
Make sure you check out Onesixthpracticals posts in case he reported something not working long term -- I have a faint recollection about something like this, but it might have been a different kind of shoecream experiment.
Funny, I was just oil pastel coloring a couple of bodies, but going paler this time (they were male bodies).
With all the investment in western popular culture references, it is surprising they are not making tan female bodies. Hot Toys did it a long time ago, when they made base bodies for sale (they had a "Puerto Rican" female body), and TBLeague / Phicen had a tan (distinct from suntan and pale) skin color that got discontinued some years ago. It was still lighter than the current male "suntan" bodies.
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3013-tbleague-phicen-seamless-bodies-with-steel-skeleton-catalog-updated-continually#40050

Thanks, yeah shoecream will have to wait a bit, for now pastels and the old body will have to suffice.

davidd wrote:The detailing on the tiny dive mask, and the knife, is absolutely incredible!

Thanks a lot

Stryker2012 wrote:Nice shots. Thankfully she had some modesty.

Thanks, yeah maybe she really has some American roots after all.

Those are some “sexy” new shots. That pastel coloring looks great.

That's an interesting setting overall - post-apocalyptic seafarers living on the shore along with traces of giant creatures, with surfer aesthetic and stylish minimalistic outfits that make much more internal sense than the usual chainmail bikinis of standard fantasy warriors

The tan effect looks great! It serves to enhance the muscle tone details of the body.

Beautifully done (as ever), Ovy. Works convincingly, and the posing and outfitting is sexy without being sleazy. I, for one, appreciate that. The contrast is great.
What exactly do you mean by "pastel wash"? Later in the post you seem to still be referring to oil pastels.