nero

shopping list (so far)

watercolor pencils, specifically red-brown, dark brown, white, and black (i used a random cheaper brand from my local art store)

acrylic paints (brown, white, black, and a lighter pinkish brown for freckles and eyebags)

milliput epoxy putty (much cheaper alternative to apoxie sculpt with the same properties!)

mr. super clear matte

red-brown spray paint 

and of course;

nendoroid doll body (alternatively the obitsu-11 body which is very commonly used)

one or more nendoroid faceplates

nendoroid hair piece, front and back

neck peg thing holder!!! luckily i have like 5 from my other nendoroids

authentic nendoroid parts are quite pricey, so i did use bootleg ones. they turned out to work just fine though, and the quality was a decent imitation.

process

this was a fun but tedious project, as well as my first time customizing/working with dolls. i had preordered an official nendoroid doll of phoenix wright and used it as the body and base. i’ve seen a lot of people use the obitsu11 doll as a cheaper alternative, but i quite like the articulation of the nendoroid one. i’ll definitely try the obitsu body for any future projects though, just to compare the two.

i designed face plates for this custom digitally to give a general idea of what i wanted.

prepping + sketching i prepped my bases by drilling a hole in all the ears (to imitate his wound) and spraying a thin spray of msc (mr. super clear) before going in with my watercolor pencils to sketch the features. this was my first time using any spray products, and despite kinda ignoring the temperature recommendations it went pretty well. although PLEASE WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR WHEN HANDLING MSC!!! it is toxic to inhale and MUST be handled with a respirator mask and gloves!!! this was kind of a nightmare to do as i am AWFUL at symmetry, but i did well enough with his main face plate

completing the faceplates the process of doing a face up was pretty simple–spray msc, draw the face, spray msc. in total i did four layers of msc, i believe. (first layer sketch, second to redefine and strengthen the pigment, third for acrylic paints and adding details, as well as a final top coat to protect the face plate) make sure to clean the face plates properly before spraying as it'll seal any dust on the surface!!! i also added a little tissue made of polymer clay and super glued it to one of the face plates.

(trust me i added his freckles you just can't see them here)

hair the hair consisted of modifying a purchased piece. i sawed off little pieces to shape it closer to robert’s in-game model. i mixed together the two part epoxy putty to fill in any rougher cut off parts and adding a little hair piece sticking out. i then sanded and smoothed everything out before spraypainting the appropriate color. the original plan was to try out my new airbrush and add shading to the hair, but the sculpt alone was good enough to give dimension and i didn’t want to darken it too much. i definitely should’ve sanded the pieces a bit more, but i did NOT have the energy to!!!! 

clothes

i actually forgot to document my progress regarding his outfit..... but of course, it consisted of:

- his sdn shirt

- trousers

- shoes

- sdn headset

i bought the clothes online and modified them. i made the really stupid decision of modifying and trimming BEFORE painting/dyeing the shirt, which completely fucked up the results, as i used glue instead of sewing. this was the first time dyeing fabric for me, and i am AWFUL at working with textiles so this was such a nightmare....

the dye was a purple-blue color so i ultimately just painted the shirt with a mix of acrylic paints and fabric softener. i (attempted) to embroider the sdn logo which worked out okay imo!!!!

i used some leftover fabric and aluminium tape to make a belt and glued it on.

i made the headphones by glueing together random bits and pieces i had laying around, and then adding a layer of mod podge to secure and soften any sharper edges or transitions, before finally painting everything. i probably could've sanded everything a bit, but FUCK SANDING!!!!!!!

this was overall a very fun project!!!! making a custom doll/figure has been something i've been interested in for a very long time growing up, so it was very satisfying to finally get the chance to fulfill that dream. i used a bunch of new techniques and materials which will be very helpful in the future!!!