How To Draw Eyelashes On Pullip

Note: This article was first written on my old forum in 2012 when I only knew one unmarried customizing guide and had no clue near whatsoever details. It gives a nice overview of how much work making Nareen was just it is also full of incorrect decisions that I would not make again these days. Please larn from my mistakes and do it correct the first time.

How Nero turned into Nareen Demetri

This is Nero. Nero is a Pullip, a Korean express edition fashion doll for collectors. She is roughly the aforementioned 1:6 height as Barbie but has a large one:3 head with movable optics. I bought Nero used on Ebay to customize her. She was supposed to become Giselda, simply when the doll that was supposed to become Nareen didn't look as expected I had to change plans.

Over the next months I volition endeavor to customize this doll to get in look like Nareen. I say "try" considering I never did this before. My only experience with Pullips and so far was to change the optics on 1. I do have experience with assembling, modifying and painting tin can miniatures though.

The main problem about Nero is that she isn't what I expected. I wanted a type 3 doll (blazon 3 and the new type 4 is what most of my other Pullips are) but she is very erstwhile and type 2. Type ii Pullips have a soft upper body - with formidable breasts, obviously. The soft part often dislodges from her hips. Her arms are ugly too, although I practise like the brawl-joints on her wrists.
Of course the hair, the makeup and the eyes are all wrong besides, and she needs some clothes.
Turning this into Nareen will be way, waaaay more than work than predictable.

The master reason why this conversion will accept so long is that most parts of Nareen accept to exist ordered from Ebay sellers from Hongkong and Taiwan.
So, let's go!

Nero'due south body is useless for this projection. Nareen has a very adolescent body with almost no breasts and since this doll is fabricated of rubber and it's hollow at that place's really nothing I can do almost her big boobs.
So the first thing I practise is social club a new body for her. Nosotros'll talk near that later.

Since her body volition be replaced I can't start making her outfit however - the measures would be all wrong.
Let's take a look at the part that I really CAN alter at this point: her head.

The optics are a pale light-green or yellow. It's hard to say since they're covered with some ugly patina. Information technology doesn't thing though since Nareen has gray eyes. I visit the online store of CoolCat, a Taiwanese powerseller on Ebay who specializes in customizing material like this. From hundreds of optics I cull the right ones for Nareen (and order some for Giselda too, postponed is non abased!) and order them. This will take 2-three weeks, which severely limits my current actions.

Anyway, the first thing that has to go is Nero's wig. So let'due south take care of this first.

Yeah, it looks so innocent, only y'all take no idea how hard I fought to go this wig off! That was war!
Since the doll is so old her wig is old as well. The very old wigs have a tendency to fall apart, and indeed - this wig was glued on so firmly and the base material was then weak that it ripped in half a dozen places.
That is lamentable because I'd similar to utilise the wig on my other Pullips but I might be able to fix it later. For our Nareen project it's irrelevant. All that matters is that with the assist of a scalpel and a ton of pulling Nero/Nareen is at present bald.

With the scalpel and some rough sandpaper I remove the worst glue stains. There'due south withal some hair clinging to her head, eww.

The next stride is to remove the scalp. The head of a Pullip consists of three parts. A front, a back and a scalp. Front end and dorsum are connected by three screws and I can't become to the upper screw as long every bit the scalp is in place.

With a scalpel and a flat screwdriver I carefully crack the glue that keeps the scalp in identify. After some serious prodding (geez, this doll uses more mucilage than my previous two together!) the scalp finally gives in to me.
I put information technology bated for a moment.

Those strange buttons on the back of her caput are for the eye mechanics. The one in the centre makes the eyes movement from left to right, the other two are for blinking. Nareen volition be a cracking doll and I giggle like a bedlamite when I imagine all the photos I'm gonna accept of her.
Err... ameliorate get dorsum to the present at present and stop daydreaming!

This is what a Pullip's caput looks similar after the three screws are removed. I advisedly remove the body and put it aside. It won't exist needed anymore.
I besides remove the pins for blinking (they're simply stuck into the centre mech) and put the back of her caput aside. The front with the eye mechanics is what I'm gonna piece of work on next.

To get to a Pullip's eyes three more than screws and two elastic springs need to be removed. I already did this twice by at present and then I have a little bit of feel.

This eye mech is less avant-garde than what I'm used to but information technology still works nicely. Information technology's just a bit more wobbly to work on so I take actress care non to break information technology.

With a scalpel I ready the doll for her new eyes. I lead the pocketknife carefully between the centre globe and the iris to cutting the glue. When I first to prod with a crochet needle from behind the eyes outset to splitter like cleaved ice. This is highly unusual and one time once again I wonder what this ugly patina may be. I make up one's mind non to think about it as well hard else information technology might pitter-patter me out. These eyes will just go in the trash bin and not into my stash of replacement stuff.

Again Nero proves to me that old Pullips don't like to be customized. The gum is super hard to remove and it takes me a very long time to remove both irises and all mucilage stains. If there's even so glue left the new eyes won't fit flushly, so I do my best.

The side by side thing I take out are the eyelids.
Nareen has very thick lashes and thick eyeliner too. Although she doesn't have black eyeshadow in the comic I decide to give some to the doll. Since I will have to draw on a lot of her eye makeup I don't want her to await stupid when she closes her doll eyes. So black eyeshadow it is.

After some thinking I as well identify a 2nd order with CoolCat. This time I order a pair of thick eyelashes because Nero's aren't thick enough for our dear Necromancer. To save on stamp I too order some royal boots for her. Shoes are the but clothes I can't make myself, and so these were on my list anyway. While I'm at it I choose boots of the magnetic variant. That means Nareen will take plateau soles, but those soles have a magnet inside. So if I put a metal plate inconspiciously under a coating Nareen might exist able to stand on her own with no doll stand up, which would profoundly improve whatsoever photos of her. It's worth a try and the boots - while of course non exactly like their comic counterparts - are cute and fit her dress well.

And here we accept the finished eyelids. What an odysee!
First off I roughed them upward a little with fine sandpaper and so they would have new colour. Next I tried to paint them with pastel pencils merely they didn't stick. Seems like my sandpapering wasn't thourough enough (or I was too scared to sand too deep).
So I had to use acrylic paint, only and so her eyelids were completely black (with some purple).

In the end I scraped some dust from mankind-toned pastel chalk with a pocketknife, added some black and purple grit and smeared that on the acrylics with my fingers. This gave some texture and looks similar some skin is shining through. Phew!
As a final step I added some gold wax to the area above the lashes.
With the lashes protected by some masking tape the eyelids got a layer of matte spray varnish. They are done now and wait for their new lashes.

(Notation from 2013: It is always better to basecoat doll parts with Mr. Super Clear matte sealant and so they better take new pigment. If the parts are new and unpainted information technology might exist a good idea to wash them in warm water and some dish washing liquid. The Arrive Own sets do feel like they're notwithstanding a bit covered in mould release agent.)

Today is Saturday and huzzah - Nareen'south new body arrived!
It is a 25cm ball-jointed body from Obitsu. I never saw one earlier but I'one thousand very satisfied. The trunk is fabricated from soft material, the arms and legs are hard plastic. Information technology is incredibly posable and even has 2 spare pairs of hands with dissimilar poses.
Now the old body can be put away.

(Notation for Europeans from 2013: The webshop of Plastikpop has a big selection of Obitsu bodies so you don't take to import those from Asia.)

I'chiliad incredibly lucky. The new trunk matches her head in tone well-nigh perfectly. Information technology looks even better than the original body.
So at that place is nothing I have to do to go far fit.

So far I tin can't decide whether to add her tatoos or not. Of form to be a real Nareen she needs her tatoos. To do that I'd accept to sandpaper her whole torso though and so rub the new colour in and reseal her with varnish. I don't know if this will modify her bones skintone (peradventure creating stains on parts where I can't reach with sandpaper because I can't find a way to disassemble this trunk), and I also don't know how the soft body volition react to varnish.

Okay, the body "only" price 25 Euro and ordering a new one in case this ane gets ruined is easy because I tin can get information technology from a German language shop. It would withal be distressing though.

Maybe I'll try with her legs and if it doesn't piece of work out nicely I'll just put her in a pantyhose similar she wore during the tournament.

Here's a total-body shot of her face front on the new trunk. With the assistance of my husband I got the neck part exchanged. Now all I need is some small rubber bands to steady the caput because it wobbles.

Now that I have the body I tin can become looking for the right fabrics for Nareen'southward apparel in my big box of stuff!

By at present I have also sanded down her scalp and the other parts of her head where there was old mucilage, and I used a handdrill to make her a second hole for earrings. (She only had a pigsty in ane ear, probably a blueprint decision for her original outfit.)

There was nothing decent in my box of fabrics, and then a quick trip to the fabrics store was in order.
Although I beloved inexpensive silk imitates I decided on equally cheap plisse velvet for Nareen'due south clothes. I besides chose to utilise blackness instead of purple considering that's how I depict it on the b/w pages.

Start off I make her arm warmers. For these I cut ii 4x9cm rectangles from the violet fabric. The lower function gets seamed kickoff, and so the sides are sewn together. Before I seam the upper function I put some elastic cord around the sleeve and put it on the doll. Spike the whole matter with a knot, cut off the ends of the elastics and secure the knot with a drop of superglue.

Here you see one finished and reversed arm warmer and the second which is in work.
One note nigh the patterns: One time I tin can write a halfway decent tutorial for information technology the sewing pattern will be shared on this website, of class.

Go on in mind though that you will have to adapt them for your needs. An Obitsu small bust body has different measures than a Pullip, a blazon ane or 2 Pullip has dissimilar measures than a type 3 and if you desire to use a Barbie, Blythe, Momoko, Hujoo, Bratz or whatsoever doll as a base for your own Nareen you'll face up a different body type also.
Sadly I don't have many pictures on how I make clothes, as I oft make wild tests until I discover a pattern that works. And then in many cases there will merely exist the pattern and some explanations on how I assembled the parts.

(Annotation from 2013: Since the plisse velvet widened a lot and probably did so right from the start at that place still is no sewing blueprint. Nareen will probably get a completely new version of her clothes fabricated from other cloth soon and I'll do my all-time to this time make a decent sewing pattern instead of trial and error.)

I experience distressing for Nareen for being photographed almost naked, and so I speedily make her some undies. I don't put that much care into this equally I don't desire to take shots of her later wearing this. Information technology will exist practical for any pictures on which she sits and people tin can peek under her skirt.
Her undie has the basic shape of a diaper and I speedily seam information technology, then describe some cord through both sides.

Add some small bowties and the undie is done!

On this film you see her completed bolero jacket too. This is actually starting to wait like Nareen! :D
I'yard deplorable that there'southward no work-in-progress shot, those pictures were too nighttime AND blurred because I fabricated it in the belatedly evening with artificial light.

I volition add two press studs to the within of the jacket's back.
In the comic the jacket has a hood attached, then of course I'd like to add it here too. A Pullip has an enormous head though, so the hood must be very big to fit. Quite possibly that will look stupid, merely as stupid equally a fake hood that doesn't fit considering it's too pocket-sized.
So I will make it as a single function that can exist attached to the hidden printing studs.

As a side by side step I will remove all clothes to colourfasten them. Pullips are made of a plastic that easily gets stains from dark or very strong colours. I don't know if information technology's the same for Obitsu only I don't want to take the chance. I know anyway that the soft torso is very prone to staining. So the dress will get a bath in a water/salt/vinegar mixture to lessen the danger.

While those dry out I'll start with the first test patterns for the actual dress.

This Saturday Nareen's eyes arrived. (Only vi days from Taiwan to Germany, wow!)
The modest flick shows the eyes in their original package while on the large pic ane of them is already inserted into the eye mechanic. I swear I took inbetween photos but none can be used. Darn rainy weather.

Then here's the details in give-and-take with no pic:
Eye chips are made from polished plastic. They have a ring of laser paper on the backside which tin be replaced by anything you similar, due east.grand. wrapping newspaper or gold foil. The original silver paper shines like a rainbow and I kept it because it makes Nareen's eyes shine without giving them a wrong tint. The chips have no pupil, just a clear spot in the middle. With acrylic paints I start painted the white spots (from the backside) and so painted black over them.
So far the fries sit nicely in her eyes. Should they become loose when assembling the head I'll fixate them with a bit of white gum.

Looking dainty, huh? Yes, she's cross-eyed right now. It was simply a quick test to see how the eyes wait in a face.

Some days ago I bought fine abrasive paper. This sort has to exist used with water.

It was fourth dimension to prepare Nareen for her new make-up and her torso tattoos.
I dipped the sandpaper into a glass of water from time to time and sanded down the torso, ears and face up. This left grey stains on the doll then I had to wash it several times to see where more work was still needed.
The artillery and legs at present lucifer the soft matte body much ameliorate.

Nero's last day has come... I'm a scrap pitiful.
But it'due south for a adept crusade.

I of her cheeks gave me problem. In that location were blotches of the sometime rouge that I just couldn't go rid of, but I kept sanding and sanding until it was better. Today it was so damn nighttime that I had to use a table lamp all solar day long to run into anything. I am very agape of all the stains and flaws that I couldn't run into in the bad calorie-free. Lately in that location isn't whatever other weather than that though and I can't put the doll away until next summer!

Here's some other photo taken directly beside the window. As far as I can see the face was okay by then.
I left on most of the quondam eye lashes and some of the old eyebrows to have a template.

Kickoff I took a black pastel chalk and scraped abroad some of it with a knife.
The middle makeup was made with a cotton wool swab considering my cosmetics swab broke right away. -_- I will have to buy a new one to end it.
The lips were as well made with pastel dust. Here I used a castor and a fleck of water to create a layer of black that is slightly translucent.

For the eye lashes and eye brows I used black acrylic paint. I also used it to paint some lines on the lower lip and to give the upper lip a deeper shade.

Her cheeks were toned with dust from a calorie-free flesh-tone colour pencil. I scraped it off with a pocketknife and just used my finger to rub information technology lightly on her face.
The lips withal need some finetuning because they're not symmetrical, and of course I'll have to finish the heart makeup. I really, really hope in that location will be a day with some decent sunlight soon and then I can cheque for whatever stains that went unnoticed before the face gets a layer of matt varnish.

On a sidenote I ordered the wig today.

At last, a decent picture of the finished head. Today information technology was sunny then I got up early on and finished the face.
I worked some more on the eyelashes and made them even longer, also put black on all of her eyelids. At that place'due south a hint of aureate wax on her lids. The mouth was enhanced with some light gray to brand information technology shiny and her cheeks are nicely pink now. The only thing that gave me trouble is the blackness eyeshadow. I don't know how often I had to sand information technology abroad over again.

(Note from 2013: If you lot desire to it right and then first give the caput a coat of Mr. Super Clear so the new pigment - especially pastels - stick better. Later on you tin can seal the face between important steps. If you mess up afterwards you lot tin wash off the pastels again without destroying everything y'all take achieved and then far. Too, if a pastel colour isn't intense plenty you can seal the face and add together another layer of pastel on peak for more pigments.)

As a final step I used a pocketknife to ready the colour in the corners of her rima oris. Then the head was coated with a layer of matt varnish.
Now I just await for the new eyelashes to get in, then the head can be completely assembled with optics and everything.

Now it was time to take care of Nareen's tattoos.
Afterwards rummaging through my equipment I decided to attempt liquid frisket. This is rubber-like stuff that is unremarkably used on h2o colour pictures to mask areas of newspaper, protecting them from taking on colour. Information technology can be rubbed off with a finger when it's not needed anymore. With an sometime brush and with some pictures from the galleries equally reference I painted thick outlines for all the tattoos.

At kickoff I try to fill the tattoos with colour pencil shavings. It doesn't work. The cotton fiber swab is too thick and spreads paint outside the outlines. A castor with a trivial bit of water works better but the pigments are irregular and grainy. The edge of a paper tissue is too hard and rubs the mask off.

I give up on the colour pencils and take out the acrylic paints.
For the bird I use a bit of ivory and turquoise with a hint of flesh tone. For the pink tattoos I create a mix of crimson, mankind and ivory. The colours had to be thinned down with water to create a nice, smooth effect. Then I let it dry for xv minutes.

When everything was dry out I rubbed away the liquid frisket. What looked like a mess before slowly turned into delicate swirls.

Non everything was peachy though. Some of the prophylactic had suffered from treatment the doll, and some of the pigment came off from rthe difficult plastic of the limbs due to rubbing. I took out a small castor and retouched the areas where pigment was missing.

As a final step I used a scalpel to scratch away paint from the limbs to attain clean, well-baked outlines. The thick consistency of liquid frisket isn't made for accurate outlines, after all. It'south impossible to remove colour from the soft trunk, so retouching with more paint is the only option there.

When I was done it was dark exterior, and so I put the doll aside for today. Tomorrow I'll wash it to become rid of the last loose pigments and rubber stains, then sand abroad any stains. After drying it volition recieve two layers of matt varnish like the caput.
Currently the body is very sensitive for stains due to the rough surface, so the dress has to wait too. Taking measures and trying on stuff at present would be an invitation for desaster.

Bravely I tried to detach the doll to add varnish and it worked. Just the thighs tin can't exist removed from the torso.
I coated everything with two layers of - supposedly - studio quality matt varnish.

And yet desaster strikes. The doll is shut to ruin because the soft rubber torso becomes viscous due to the varnish. Exactly what I was agape of from the start. Within minutes Nareen is covered in dirt and fuzz (no wonder with all the cloth around, the cheap velvet loses a lot of hair).
With a medium grained piece of sandpaper I try to sand abroad the varnish from her torso. It takes me hours until she stops existence mucilaginous and at that signal her tattoos are all damaged and the varnish on her thighs became pasty too due to my sweat and the continued treatment.
The photo shows the leftover stains after roughly two hours of scrubbing. That wasn't the end of it, I kept scrubbing some more.

(Note from 2013: Due to this experience I STRONGLY recommend using only Mr. Super Articulate sealant. Everything else was but rubbish. If it's hard to get in your area, try Ebay. At that place are sometimes merchants who sell information technology. Likewise shops that specialize in model building.)

Finally a good day once again: Nareen'south boots arrived from Taiwan. Many thank you, CoolCat!
(I even got a gratis gift that will make my other dolls happy.)

Since the boots are magnetic and the dust embrace of my desk-bound has a metallic cadre by coincidence Nareen stands on my desk like a rock. She tin can even walk upward the heater horizontally. Cool.
This makes me forget near her damaged body for a while.

With the boots also came the new eyelashes. They are for a Blythe doll and each turns out to exist twice as broad as a Pullip'south lashes. I decide to cut both in the middle and give Nareen two layers of lashes. The brusque lashes go on the outer sides of the eyelid.
The erstwhile lashes are cut away with a knife, then a bit of superglue helps attach the new ones. I put the second row a bit college and then that the hard rims don't stack and interfere with her eyes.

(Annotation from 2013: As it turned out these eyelashes are in no manner different from fake eyelashes for women. So I bought a pack with x or 20 from a Chinese vendor on Amazon - and paid only slightly less for the whole matter than what I paid for simply ane pair. If you plan to customize several dolls this helps enourmosely. Unless you buy make stuff - that'southward extremely expensive.)

Here's a comparing of the new lashes (on the left) with the old ones (on the right, naturally). Quite a departure, huh!
The minor film shows the new lashes from behind.

After the mucilage dried the head was assembled again. I put the eyelids in, then the middle mechanic with its three screws. The eyelid springs were attached to the eye mech over again and the handles for blinking were reinserted.
Then I had to put a rubber band around the upper office of Nareen'southward neck because Obitsu necks are very slim and the Pullip head has a larger hole and thus wobbles. Sorry I can't evidence a moving picture, it took two people to become the rubberband in after the body was inserted into the head front, we had no hand free to take a movie.
The head is withal a bit wobbly but that's due to the movable neck part and the heavy Pullip caput. Let's see how that works out in one case the pilus is on. I hope she won't become a bobble head.

Then the back of the caput was attached.

(Note from 2013: These bug don't exist anymore these days merely in that location are new ones. Obitus bodies now come with a very large neck function and the modern Pullip heads accept considerably smaller holes. In fact I had to cut off two/3 of the height of the neck plus to get the heart mech into the head again. You only need rubber bands now to keep the head from sliding into a very slightly tilted position.)

Hither's a closeup of the finished face. Don't her eyes expect stunning with the new thick lashes?

Time to glue her scalp back on with wood gum too. Btw, before I assembled everything back together I made the handles for blinking sleepy-center ready. While all Pullips tin blink but the newest models can keep their eyes closed. Information technology took me 10 minutes, following this tutorial:
http://www.requiemart.com/pullip/sleepeye.html
I learned everything I know well-nigh customizing Pullips from that site, btw.
So Nareen will be able to cast spells with her eyes airtight.

Next upwards it was fourth dimension to work on her skirt. The showtime try was a total neglect. (For that I cut a large round piece of fabric and made a hole in the heart for the hips. It was way likewise fluffy. I may exist able to reuse it for a brawl gown later on though.) So I fabricated several newspaper templates and kept testing until I concluded up with this shape.
As a showtime step the peak was turned upward and sewn, with a rubber cord inside the hem.

When done I sewed the sides together and then I put information technology on the doll and made a knot. Careful that it sits tightly effectually the waist but still fits over the hips!
Afterwards hem the bottom and slit. As a terminal pace the part in a higher place the slit is gathered a chip. Merely make some loose stitches from the slit up to the waist and pull the string, then secure the cord.

Hither Nareen shows what the finished skirt looks like.
The wig belongs to one of my other dolls (Eternia) just I wanted to get a first impression of what she'll look like after. The black hair makes her eyes shine and I look frontward to the inflow of her wig!
Her wig is directly and longer, of form.

Now all she's missing is the acme, the belt, the hood for the jacket and the earrings. Oh, and hair ornamentation in one case she has a wig.
Of course there's also the lingering pain of having to set her torso and thighs. I must endeavor to mix a colour similar to the old one and repaint her tattoos. The thighs volition need some more than sandpapering to rid them of the stickiness. I will not add more varnish, so I'll take to handle Nareen with extra care.

Overall I'm happy with how she turns out, despite all the errors I made. Information technology'south the first time, errors are bound to happen. If I would exercise her once again I would not add tattoos except for the bird. They vanish beneath her robes anyhow, simply I wanted to have the option of showing her in a bathing suit or nightie too.

(Annotation from 2013: Equally I said, if I had just used Mr. Super Articulate right abroad...)

It'due south Saturday again and Nareen's wig arrived! A new record, equally I ordered it on Mon! And one time once more customs allow information technology pass (rightfully, as it's under the customs limit, but they don't always believe that).
The wig feels very soft and it's shiny.

Look, that can't be right. Nareen's head vanishes nearly completely under the wig. It'due south for a Pullip, why is it so large? On the 2nd flick I even dragged information technology over the eye mechanism in the dorsum and the hair still covers her nose.
I've gotta enquire CoolCat if this is normal and I have to cut it or pad her caput or if they sent the wrong wig size by mistake. If I accept to cutting it I suppose I better get myself special scissors for hairdressers. I expected some cutting (for Nareen's side bangs) but not this much. ^^

As with all things that yous do for a first time I take to acquire some things the hard way also. I thing is that a soft busted Obitsu actually doesn't like a heavy Pullip head. Information technology was bad before but one time the wig was on Nareen'south cervix turned completely floppy and she crashed backwards several times.

It hurt but I disassembled her completely to go to her neck mechanic. Gwen from Requiem Art pointed me to ane of her video tutorials, and while it didn't embrace this particular trouble I remember I found a solution.
After removing the artillery and the pin for the head the upper function of her bust was removable. I couldn't get down to the inner mechanics though. And then I put a piece of soft foam around the cervix piece and secured information technology with a rubber band. When I had put everything in place again the neck was more strong and there's nothing to exist seen from the outside.

If this really helped still remains a mystery though because I couldn't reassemble her yet due to another thing learned the hard way: varnish isn't neccessarily the same equally sealant, and even varnish that works fine on polystyrene and plastic miniatures isn't guaranteed to piece of work on a doll. Nareens confront had become sticky on the sides, same for her arms. Seems like it gets a piddling bit stickier every mean solar day. When I scraped some fuzz away it became obvious that she's taking on a black tint (we live near a decorated street and there'south lots of fine dust in the air which starts to stick to the varnish).
I'll go to the craft/fine art shop later on and see if they have something on sale that specifically says "sealant", then I'll try to prepare her.
If her trunk is ruined... well, sucks but I could buy some other one. If her head gets any more impairment I'll cry tough.

Thanks to Lirael (and Gwen) who advised me on skillful brands, but alas - none of them are on sale hither.

(Notation from 2013: I got the impression that the type4 heads don't wobble equally much but the soft foam trick is withal a proficient idea to utilize since my newest doll is still a tiny fleck wobbly. After all those years Nareen wobbles a fleck again but it helped for a long time and her wig if very heavy due to its length, after all.)

In the meantime I started piece of work on the earrings. I wrapped thick florist wire around a pen in the right size, so cut off the overlapping pieces with pliers. I end was run in a large bead, then I brought the ends as close together as possible, added a driblet of superglue and shoved the bead over the ends and the yet moisture gum to secure the whole thing.
After the glue was dry out I dunked both earrings into silver metal pigment. I rammed some pins through the side of an empty drink can and hung the earrings on them to dry out. (Metallic paint needs several hours to dry. I could take used acrylic pigment instead but it would require several layers of pigment and varnish and still exist a chip more prone to scratches.) When they're dry I'one thousand gonna dunk the other half and put them up for drying over again.
Then I simply have to recollect upwards a adept fashion to connect them to the actual earring slice.

Yesterday I bought a brush-on sealant/varnish that's water based. The source for the stickiness was the propellant in the spray can, said the store assistant.
Subsequently some FUN hours of hard sandpaper piece of work and after repainting her tattoos from scratch I gave her a thin layer of varnish with the castor. It was dry after 30 minutes and it's MUCH better. The only affair I don't similar is that her confront is now very shiny although information technology was matt varnish.
Here's the reassembled Nareen with freshly repainted tattoos and her finished pinnacle.
(In the back you see my ingenious earring-drying device. *one thousand* In the upper right at that place's a moving picture of her superlative loose.)

(Note from 2013: No, it wasn't MUCH better. Her face was shiny like a billiard ball and it was only better for a short time. Then the varnish became gummy and collected dirt. In early on 2013 Nareen had fuss on her confront and a clearly grayness tint. Furthermore the varnish started to peel off on her legs and at the rim of her face. I sandpapered everything possible to become rid of this stupid varnish and this time finally sealed her with Mr. Super Clear. Now information technology'south much, much meliorate!)

Here she also wears her chugalug and jacket and the head-eating wig of doom is back! I was told that information technology's supposed to be this big and just to elevate it as far down as possible in the back and cut information technology on front end. Then, out with the pair of scissors!
Btw, I don't even have to gum it on, as the condom band inside sits tightly on her head.

(Note from 2013: After some years this black condom band left a black rim around her brow though. The colour sank in so securely that even sandpaper couldn't get information technology off once more. And so if you plan to eventually use some other wig on your doll that maybe sits a chip higher have care to get a wig with a white condom or put a silicone wig cap on her, the kind that CoolCat sells. Luckily Nareen will never exist without bangs so this impairment will never be seen by anyone.)

*snip. snip*
Nareen has her side strands. No way back now. I pivot them tightly out of the mode, use some h2o on the bangs and snip snip snippetysnip.
I also close her eyes so I don't accidentally cut her eyelashes.

Holy mackerel, that's a lot of hair. I'1000 a bit at a loss nigh her hairdo. The high ponytail she often wears doesn't await good on the doll because the wig is a bit too bald in the neck for that. Side by side I tried a complect that goes over her shoulder to the front end, similar she wore in the tavern in #2 or so. That doesn't wait good either though, information technology's way too thick to expect convincing. (Too few pilus for ane hairdo, too much for some other! Go effigy!)
A depression ponytail would await skilful merely completely blocks her heart mechanism. Open hair would also be nice simply hey - I know myself. The wig would be ruined within a calendar week when I run around with her to take photos. Two ponytails would work but no. Only no. She looks like a kid like that.

Oh, forgot to mention: Her cervix problem is much better now thank you to the added cream. No more bobble head.

In the cease I give her a ponytail that sits slightly above the eye machinery. The doll is now and then top heavy that she hands falls backwards unless I pose her very very carefully. In the showcase she'll get a doll stand for extra security but I hope I won't demand it that oft for posed shots.

What next? Since she already has the trend to drop backwards I decided confronting adding a hood to her jacket. Perchance I will brand her a hooded cape one day though. For rainy days and wintertime, you lot know. One day I might besides remake her apparel from different fabric because this one isn't that great. The folds are pretty bad in this size and it looks and then fuzzy around the chugalug and such.
The earrings went into the trashbin considering they didn't dry. I suppose at that place'due south something similar to a past-by date on metallic paints so. The pot was 15 years old, he he. I will remake them with acrylic paint.

Since her outfit looks a bit banal on a doll she'll also get some accessoires.
Later on she'll also get more outfits because I promise to have several Seekers dolls one day and take many photos.

Here is the outset accessoire already. It's a picayune felt hip bag on a leather band. I all the same demand some material for the chugalug fastener but it's also late today for shopping.
Since Nareen does have a more or less hole-and-corner knack for fashionable and cute things I used decorative stitches on the pocketbook and added some beads and a sequin on front.

A little bit later: Nareen is basically washed.
I remade her earrings, finished the belt of her little bag and added a tiny handbag or material bag to the belt.

Her regal clothes will be remade very soon from another textile, just to see if information technology looks better then. I can't go rid of the feeling that this textile widens every time I accept to take the clothes on or off. Fifty-fifty the jacket is as well big at present.

Nareen got ii hair decorations. A hairband and several strings of beads on a pin that are simply placed in her hairband.

The doll will soon be ready for photo action so await to meet photos of her in other albums. She'll besides star in a wacky photo comic.

All that'due south left to practice is to assemble some pages with clothing templates for impress-out.

In decision, am I happy with how she turned out?
Yes and no. I'm happy that the face turned out nicely and that I was able to make her earrings and other things simply like in the comic. What I'1000 not happy with is the varnish desaster, of course. Her body is yet a bit damaged from that. The new sealant is a bit also glossy for my taste and also very sensitive to scratches, then for my next doll I'll look around for a more than expensive brand. The dress could be better.
The worst is her head though. The weight from the eye mechanic and the hair still doesn't piece of work well with the frail, movable Obitsu neck. Most of the fourth dimension Nareen looks up to the ceiling because her caput is drawn backwards from the weight.

For my next doll I would either look for one that has a type three body and stick to that or if I'thou gonna utilize an Obitsu body again (I like them for their great flexibility) I might leave out the middle mechanic and just mucilage some prissy optics in place. Or maybe I can go out out the scalp and replace it with leightweight rubber cream? My married man suggested putting a leaden counterweight in her chin but I'm not sure if her cervix wouldn't snap with even more weight on!
In that location's still much to acquire about dolls, in any case.

Conclusion of 2013:

Every bit you can get together from my various notes in the text I learned some things since then. And some I learned in a really rough way. Some weeks ago (I write this in December) Groove finally published the "Make Information technology Own" series, a line of unpainted dolls. All of them, from Pullip to Isul. I ever had terrible problems with customizing considering I was simply sad to destroy an existing character. To this twenty-four hour period I sometimes miss Nero, as well considering of her pretty white lipstick that I never saw on a new doll since then.

I bought one Brand It Ain doll of each kind right away and painted the Pullip version. It was the first time I worked with a type four head and I was surprised by the difference. The caput is now slightly lighter than before since there is no scalp anymore. At that place is just a forepart and back that are screwed together. This mode there is less wobbling, particularly with the soft foam added. Since the new dolls have a much shorter mentum and their neck sits closer to the forepart (I didn't even observe that before!) the neck pin of an Obitsu body doesn't fit into the caput without extra work at present. Every bit I said I had to sew off the upper 2/3 of information technology. The rest is plenty to hold the head in place though. The hole for the caput at present has a weird size so that one side can slightly move into a furrow and the doll tilts her head slightly. Just slightly though. That tin can be stopped past making the sparse part of the cervix thicker. I'll show that some other time but basically that simply ways cutting some record into a sparse stripe and wrapping information technology effectually the neck several times.

If y'all don't want to mess around at all with an Obitsu torso y'all can apply the stiffer original trunk too, of course. The Make It Own dolls come up with one. I even heard that some people but exchange the arms and thus accept the ameliorate Obitsu arms on their Pullips. I didn't try that since I would surely be bothered by the inevitable difference in colours but if the outfit of the doll allows for it this might be the all-time of both worlds.

In any case I nonetheless dearest my little Nareen and that at that place's "fresh" heads for painting without whatsoever remorse for me I took upwardly my old plans for more than Seekers dolls besides. At present I can fifty-fifty make Takchi, Eloya and the other guys provided I tin find decent male person wigs for them. :)

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