To the people that decided to finally bless us with an old!Genkai figure, I hope both sides of your pillow are cool forever.
That said, the fucking ice block monstrosity of a fig stand was ridiculous. Luckily my Creative Union Genkai has plenty of room on her stand for them to share (with some stickytac under their feet for extra security).
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That dreadlock wig is so so pretty holy shit???? Please tell me you have a tutorial š
Thank you! :D I haven't made a tutorial myself, but I'm more than happy to write out my process for y'all!
TLDR: I roll felt merino wool roving into single dreads and hot glue them to a wig cap I make using a stretchy tshirt type of knit fabric, and fabric glue.
The Wig Cap
I make mine with just plain, white fabric you'd use for things like tshirts (the thinner the better, especially if you're dealing with a look that'll have a visible hairline). There's plenty of guides online about making wig caps, but essentially you're stretching the fabric as tight as you can get over the doll's head (remember to put saran wrap on the head first), using rubber-bands and clips as needed to secure it, and then using glue to set it to shape.
Most people like to use tacky glue, but I personally use Aleene's Fabric Fusion for my doll wigs. For my non-dread wigs, I also like to add a thin* layer of Elmer's Glue-All Max (a resin glue) to make sure the cap doesn't try to roll in on itself when not on the doll's head. I don't bother with the dread wigs because the hot glue will do that.
If you plan to use the Elmer's glue, I'd suggest trimming the wig before applying it when it's just the tacky or fabric glue since then it'll be easier to cut to shape.
*Glue-All Max foams up while drying, so seriously stick to thin layers at a time. Remember to use gloves while handling this glue too.
The Dreadlocks
I used merino wool roving* for the dreads and simply roll felted them using water (hot is best, but I did just fine with room temperature since they're such small pieces) and soap (most felters like using olive soap, but I just used regular bar soap since that's what I had on hand).
All you do is cut the wool to size (you generally want it to be a little shorter than you want since it'll stretch out as you're rolling), separate as needed for however thick you want the dreads to be, and then spray and roll on a towel. If you need a visual, this is the video tutorial I followed for making wool dreadlocks (the "double ended" version is what I make).
Since I'm not a fan of the "grinch finger" look, I bend the end portion of the dread onto itself, spray and roll it again so it has a more blunted end. I leave the other end as is since that'll be glued onto the wig and not visible (plus that thinner bit of felted wool will be handy for making loose top layers that can be played with a styled slightly). A felting needle can also come in handy with blending the blunted end as well.
How many dreads you'll need will just depend on the size head you're working with and how thick the dreads you want are. For thinner sizes, you'll need a lot, but if you want to do really thick dreads (or even wicks), then you really won't need as many as you think.
*I purchased my roving from Sarafina Fiber Art Inc., but you can find wool at plenty of places online and locally that deal in fiber crafting. Sarafina just happened to be the first option that showed up in my googling when I was looking for wool. xD The DO have a lot of wonderful colors available though, and it's great quality! 1oz was enough for two wigs for my girl (she's a mini with a 14.5cm head circumference), and I still have some leftover.
The Wig Cap 2: Electric Boogaloo
Once the cap is all set, I like to flock it. I just cut a bit of the wool up into as small of pieces as I can stand to deal with, and then apply even more glue to the cap and press bits of the wool onto it to help mask any edges that'll be visible and generally just help the dreadlocks blend in with it. Doesn't have to be perfect since most of it will be covered up. Just a step I go through because I use white fabric for the base ahaha.
Attaching
After all that prep work, then you just glue the dreadlocks on! You'll want to use hot glue because the dreads are heavier and stiffer than material like suri alpaca. They just won't stay put long enough for something like tacky or fabric glue to dry.
Yes, it is going to be a mess and you'll probably burn your fingers a few times (and you'll probably be ripping dreads out too as you go hahah).
So far, the two dreadlock wigs I've made were kind of like their own unique puzzles that I had to figure out as I went, so I don't really have any specific tips about how to glue the dreads on.
All that said, you don't really want to do it the traditional way with lots of layers because it may end up way too big and poofy than you want (depends on the specific dreadlock look you want).
For the long wig I made for Marika, I placed the dreads at the parting line first that I wanted to be loose and semi-stylable, and then added a layer of dreads under that that's fully glued to the cap. I'd say Marika's wig is generally 1 to 2 layers of dreads deep (3 in a select few places) for the most part. I used shorter dreads to glue to the bottom portion of the back of the wig to kind of fake there being more than there actually was and not add too much bulk.
For any visible glue spots, you can use the flocking method to mask it. :)
Annnnnd...that's about all I can think of about the process. If anyone has more questions, feel free to send them my way!
Welp. I had a doctor's appointment today, and while I'd planned to mention my wrist problems, I actually had a flare up today so he got to see it in a tender/angry state. Which means...
I get to wear a brace for the next FOUR WEEKS. Plus an anti-inflammatory ointment applied multiple times a day for the duration.
No piano. Limited/modified typing. Modified kneading. He basically said "REST" in all caps and then I have a follow up in a month to check on my progress.
I may be a little quiet around here as I get used to these new, reduced routines. *Sad trombone*
Good news: The knot in my stomach finally loosened.
Bad news: The "coming soon" text on the character selection part of LADS was removed in the update.
Safe to safe, Valko making a return is not looking too promising lmao.
And Infold STILL hasn't really said anything to any of the player base about what has gone down the last week+ (nor any posts about the 6.0 update itself). All they've really posted about was the cancelled in-person events and some hullabaloo about doing better by China and countrymen or what the fuck ever.
I would not at all be surprised if Papergames/Infold tries to just...pretend nothing happened and it is business as usual. They did the same with Infinity Nikki's 1.5 nonsense and it worked out for them (even if the game did suffer for it, imo). I just don't know if it ever will be business as usual again for them, though bahaha. From what I experienced, the backlash from the LADS community was significantly worse than what the "girlcott" attempted.
So uh...yeah. I don't know. I have no intention of returning to the game unless Valko is added (as a love interest, not an NPC or limited character), so I will continue to not log in. :P Maybe when I'm feeling less irate, I might go in to screen record some kindleds (particularly the Lingering Lust ones since those can be a pain to find online), but I ain't in the mood for any of that at the moment.
I'll certainly still be keeping my eye on how things move forward, but yeah.......hm. Only thing I really know is I'm never touching another gacha/live service game from China. I generally give these kinds of games a wide berth to begin with, but being stuck watching creators and companies having to bend over backwards to government interference stresses me out. Hell, I've had to see doll and figure artists in China have to censor their creations due to bullshit regulations, so even my doll hobby isn't safe from this shit.
I really hope this drills into at least some people's heads that authoritarians aren't your friends and censorship wrecks Everything, not just the thing you don't personally like.
On my hands and knees begging the BJD community to just use the C word (Counterfeit).
Stop fucking replying to newbies with gotdamn walls of text about how a recast is made when theyāre asking what they are and just fucking call them a counterfeit doll. THATāS WHAT THEY ARE AND EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT āCOUNTERFEITā MEANS.
And when they ask why counterfeits in the BJD section of doll collecting is such a big deal to a lot of us? The answer is also pretty simple:
A majority of the people that make the dolls we all love are independent artists or part of a small business operation (with a handful of exceptions). Those same people are often collectors themselves and are members of the community. One kind of takes it personal when they see their FRIENDS getting ripped off. We really donāt have many companies that are at the level of likeā¦Mattel or Hasbro here.
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After work today, I'm attending a Very Formal Event. It's for work, kinda, and I am nervous for gender reasons.
I have not attended a Very Formal Event since I settled into my agendered, nonbinary-ness. I do not know what a person who wishes their gender to go unperceived should wear to such an event.
I have an outfit. I think it will do. I am also wearing it to work today. It will show a hint of my unshaven calves and ankles. It involves brogues. Slacks and a peacock teal blouse-thing.
I... Like? The outfit. I will be comfortable, but fancy. I remain anxious.
And makeup! I've never been a frequent wearer of makeup, but I do like doing makeup sometimes. But now... How does someone whose base shape screams Femme, do makeup without adding to the perception?
I don't know. I haven't experimented since the whole gender (non)expression thing.
I... May be overthinking this. I fear the answer isn't to strive for some perfect expression of genderlessness, but to do what feels right and good to me. But... If denim isn't part of the equation, none of it feels right or good to me.
Something Iāve been working on the last week or so. I found a coat pattern for JID boys recently, which have pretty similar torso measurements as the Elder Unoa boys, and made some modifications to it to make it into a blazer for Sylus.
Did a test run with some scrap (on the left) that worked out pretty well (other than fucking the sleeves up so bad I didnāt bother trying to attach them lmao)). Made a few more alterations and got some muslin to test out a second time.
Also finally got some clips for holding fabric together because ya girl tired of stabbing her fingers. D;
