Latest Posts by quantumjames - Page 2
The median artery is an artery that is occasionally found in humans and other animals. [1] It is present in 35% of individuals born in the late 20th century. [2]
occasionally I'm reminded that biology just sucks to think about
Look at him go! Remember when i said i want some little “meet the artist” thing as a pinned post but i dont want to sculpt a self portrait? You all had such awesome ideas and this is what i decided to pick! Now i just gotta see if dumblr allows me to use this and then this fucker is gonna be my new online face! This extremely poorly done animation took me 900 years btw, how on earth do animators do this at all. I do 3 frames and im like “ok this is enough”
💜💜💜
So Anastasia Tremaine is one of my favourite side characters from Disney, and with her whole story arc in Cinderella 3 I really wanted her love interest, The Baker, from the second movie.
I've been putting off doing this custom for so long because he has SUCH drastically different body type from any male dolls out there that I knew it was going to take a while to attempt it.
But I decided to finally do it and went ahead and started modifying a Mego Aquaman since I had a spare of him around. I added to his chest and stomach, as well as added more bulk to his face so he would look less like Kristoff and vaguely different enough to be his own person.
Also, since the Baker has an upturned nose I modified that as well.
I hemmed and hawed about shortening his legs until I realised the shoes I had didn't fit the Mego feet so I cut off his original feet and ankles and added some Monster High feet instead. I also trimmed out a portion out of his thigh and strung the pieces back with wire, foil and a lot of superglue and cornstarch to fill the gaps.
I then covered his thighs to bulk them out but also to fill in the mess it left, as well as filled in the upper arms as they were too detailed for my taste.
I them sanded him over two days, and then painted him up in acrylics. I'm still kind of insecure about my colour matching abilities but since he's gonna be covered up I don't mind it.
He is such a uniquely shaped doll but I'm really proud of how he turned out.
What are your go-to sites for finding fabric in period prints/colours, specifically cotton? I'm starting a quilt that's going to be entirely of repro or plausible-looking 18th/19th century prints and while I've had some luck with 'traditional' collections from brands like kona, was wondering if you knew of any smaller purveyors I might look at?
Ooh, I don't think I'm the best person to ask about historical cotton prints, since I've never sewn a historical garment from a reproduction print. Someone who's sewn 19th century day dresses would probably know some much better options.
My personal favourite places to get fabric are:
Pure Linen Envy, which only carries linen.
Pursilks, which has a variety of silks, cottons, and synthetics, but they're not historical.
Burnley & Trowbridge, which focuses on historical fabrics and reproduction notions, but have barely any printed cottons.
Renaissance Fabrics, which has a few cotton prints, and some nice silks and wools.
Williamsburg also has some reproduction cotton prints, and Virgil's Fine Goods has a few as well.
However! If you want a bunch of different little pieces and are willing to do some editing, one option is to dig through Smithsonian Open Access, and The Met's collection, both of which have a huge amount of public domain high resolution images of fabric swatches & fragments, including lots of 18th & 19th century printed cottons. Some are pretty stained and ragged, but there are plenty of nice looking ones too. Make a pinterest board for them!
You could make a blank document the size of the printable area of a yard of fabric at 150 DPI, and fill it up with all your favourite fragments (cropped and resized to be the right scale) and then get it printed on a basic cotton on a site like MyFabricDesigns, ArtFabrics, or DesignYourFabric. (Spoonflower is also an option, but they print with inks, and the other 3 I linked use reactive dyes, which are more colour fast and don't make the fabric stiff and crinkly like the inks do.)
I plan to eventually make repeating patterns of some of those swatches, but it's quite a lot of work for each individual pattern, and I think you could get enough small bits for a patchwork quilt pretty quickly of you just arranged them all in one big rectangle.
I don't know if you have any photo editing programs, but if not then photopea.com works, and is one I use sometimes!
Ghoulia had been one of my favorite G1 dolls, so I was pretty disappointed how bland she looked G3 (even though she had green skin!). This is inspired, tho. Might reconsider getting her now.
I'm going to put this as succinctly as possible, and this is just my opinion so please take it with a grain of salt if you disagree, but stock G3 Ghoulia is pretty awful.
I wanted to attempt to do her justice because I definitely saw potential because her doll isn't bad, but Mattel putting her in rags and making the same poor choices they always make made her really unappealing to me.
So I made her some pants, swapped out her ill-fitting shirt, made her a better functioning/more art accurate beanie, gave her a better looking skateboard, and repainted her lips.
Anyways, I like her significantly better now. Pants patterns will be available soon.
Have been putting things away and these two still make me smile.
Small happy plastic things :)
Inktober Day 12: Forget I have a lot of memory issues, so I tried to capture that ‘spotlight searching’ feeling. It sometimes feels like recalling one thing means forgetting another!
Yeah, terfs found shinigami and are tagging trans people as terfs in hoards, basically destroying the extension. Dunno if it will be fixed.
It’s not possible to break the extension in that way because the criteria for what counts as an anti-trans blog isn’t based solely on user reporting.
From their FAQ:
[Text: Is there a mechanism in place to prevent malicious/fake reports?
Yes. While your overrides are immediately visible to you, changes are included in the publicly visible dataset only if they pass some trustworthiness criteria (including human validation).”]
(link)
Words for Skin Tone | How to Describe Skin Color
We discussed the issues describing People of Color by means of food in Part I of this guide, which brought rise to even more questions, mostly along the lines of “So, if food’s not an option, what can I use?” Well, I was just getting to that!
This final portion focuses on describing skin tone, with photo and passage examples provided throughout. I hope to cover everything from the use of straight-forward description to the more creatively-inclined, keeping in mind the questions we’ve received on this topic.
Standard Description
Basic Colors
Pictured above: Black, Brown, Beige, White, Pink.
“She had brown skin.”
This is a perfectly fine description that, while not providing the most detail, works well and will never become cliché.
Describing characters’ skin as simply brown or beige works on its own, though it’s not particularly telling just from the range in brown alone.
Complex Colors
These are more rarely used words that actually “mean” their color. Some of these have multiple meanings, so you’ll want to look into those to determine what other associations a word might have.
Pictured above: Umber, Sepia, Ochre, Russet, Terra-cotta, Gold, Tawny, Taupe, Khaki, Fawn.
Complex colors work well alone, though often pair well with a basic color in regards to narrowing down shade/tone.
For example: Golden brown, russet brown, tawny beige…
As some of these are on the “rare” side, sliding in a definition of the word within the sentence itself may help readers who are unfamiliar with the term visualize the color without seeking a dictionary.
“He was tall and slim, his skin a russet, reddish-brown.”
Comparisons to familiar colors or visuals are also helpful:
“His skin was an ochre color, much like the mellow-brown light that bathed the forest.”
Modifiers
Modifiers, often adjectives, make partial changes to a word.The following words are descriptors in reference to skin tone.
Dark - Deep - Rich - Cool
Warm - Medium - Tan
Fair - Light - Pale
Rich Black, Dark brown, Warm beige, Pale pink…
If you’re looking to get more specific than “brown,” modifiers narrow down shade further.
Keep in mind that these modifiers are not exactly colors.
As an already brown-skinned person, I get tan from a lot of sun and resultingly become a darker, deeper brown. I turn a pale, more yellow-brown in the winter.
While best used in combination with a color, I suppose words like “tan” “fair” and “light” do work alone; just note that tan is less likely to be taken for “naturally tan” and much more likely a tanned White person.
Calling someone “dark” as description on its own is offensive to some and also ambiguous. (See: Describing Skin as Dark)
Undertones
Undertones are the colors beneath the skin, seeing as skin isn’t just one even color but has more subdued tones within the dominating palette.
pictured above: warm / earth undertones: yellow, golden, copper, olive, bronze, orange, orange-red, coral | cool / jewel undertones: pink, red, blue, blue-red, rose, magenta, sapphire, silver.
Mentioning the undertones within a character’s skin is an even more precise way to denote skin tone.
As shown, there’s a difference between say, brown skin with warm orange-red undertones (Kelly Rowland) and brown skin with cool, jewel undertones (Rutina Wesley).
“A dazzling smile revealed the bronze glow at her cheeks.”
“He always looked as if he’d ran a mile, a constant tinge of pink under his tawny skin.”
Standard Description Passage
“Farah’s skin, always fawn, had burned and freckled under the summer’s sun. Even at the cusp of autumn, an uneven tan clung to her skin like burrs. So unlike the smooth, red-brown ochre of her mother, which the sun had richened to a blessing.”
-From my story “Where Summer Ends” featured in Strange Little Girls
Here the state of skin also gives insight on character.
Note my use of “fawn” in regards to multiple meaning and association. While fawn is a color, it’s also a small, timid deer, which describes this very traumatized character of mine perfectly.
Though I use standard descriptions of skin tone more in my writing, at the same time I’m no stranger to creative descriptions, and do enjoy the occasional artsy detail of a character.
Creative Description
Whether compared to night-cast rivers or day’s first light…I actually enjoy seeing Characters of Colors dressed in artful detail.
I’ve read loads of descriptions in my day of white characters and their “smooth rose-tinged ivory skin”, while the PoC, if there, are reduced to something from a candy bowl or a Starbucks drink, so to actually read of PoC described in lavish detail can be somewhat of a treat.
Still, be mindful when you get creative with your character descriptions. Too many frills can become purple-prose-like, so do what feels right for your writing when and where. Not every character or scene warrants a creative description, either. Especially if they’re not even a secondary character.
Using a combination of color descriptions from standard to creative is probably a better method than straight creative. But again, do what’s good for your tale.
Natural Settings - Sky
Pictured above: Harvest Moon -Twilight, Fall/Autumn Leaves, Clay, Desert/Sahara, Sunlight - Sunrise - Sunset - Afterglow - Dawn- Day- Daybreak, Field - Prairie - Wheat, Mountain/Cliff, Beach/Sand/Straw/Hay.
Now before you run off to compare your heroine’s skin to the harvest moon or a cliff side, think about the associations to your words.
When I think cliff, I think of jagged, perilous, rough. I hear sand and picture grainy, yet smooth. Calm. mellow.
So consider your character and what you see fit to compare them to.
Also consider whose perspective you’re describing them from. Someone describing a person they revere or admire may have a more pleasant, loftier description than someone who can’t stand the person.
“Her face was like the fire-gold glow of dawn, lifting my gaze, drawing me in.”
“She had a sandy complexion, smooth and tawny.”
Even creative descriptions tend to draw help from your standard words.
Flowers
Pictured above: Calla lilies, Western Coneflower, Hazel Fay, Hibiscus, Freesia, Rose
It was a bit difficult to find flowers to my liking that didn’t have a 20 character name or wasn’t called something like “chocolate silk” so these are the finalists.
You’ll definitely want to avoid purple-prose here.
Also be aware of flowers that most might’ve never heard of. Roses are easy, as most know the look and coloring(s) of this plant. But Western coneflowers? Calla lilies? Maybe not so much.
“He entered the cottage in a huff, cheeks a blushing brown like the flowers Nana planted right under my window. Hazel Fay she called them, was it?”
Assorted Plants & Nature
Pictured above: Cattails, Seashell, Driftwood, Pinecone, Acorn, Amber
These ones are kinda odd. Perhaps because I’ve never seen these in comparison to skin tone, With the exception of amber.
At least they’re common enough that most may have an idea what you’re talking about at the mention of “pinecone.“
I suggest reading out your sentences aloud to get a better feel of how it’ll sounds.
"Auburn hair swept past pointed ears, set around a face like an acorn both in shape and shade.”
I pictured some tree-dwelling being or person from a fantasy world in this example, which makes the comparison more appropriate.
I don’t suggest using a comparison just “cuz you can” but actually being thoughtful about what you’re comparing your character to and how it applies to your character and/or setting.
Wood
Pictured above: Mahogany, Walnut, Chestnut, Golden Oak, Ash
Wood can be an iffy description for skin tone. Not only due to several of them having “foody” terminology within their names, but again, associations.
Some people would prefer not to compare/be compared to wood at all, so get opinions, try it aloud, and make sure it’s appropriate to the character if you do use it.
“The old warlock’s skin was a deep shade of mahogany, his stare serious and firm as it held mine.”
Metals
Pictured above: Platinum, Copper, Brass, Gold, Bronze
Copper skin, brass-colored skin, golden skin…
I’ve even heard variations of these used before by comparison to an object of the same properties/coloring, such as penny for copper.
These also work well with modifiers.
“The dress of fine white silks popped against the deep bronze of her skin.”
Gemstones - Minerals
Pictured above: Onyx, Obsidian, Sard, Topaz, Carnelian, Smoky Quartz, Rutile, Pyrite, Citrine, Gypsum
These are trickier to use. As with some complex colors, the writer will have to get us to understand what most of these look like.
If you use these, or any more rare description, consider if it actually “fits” the book or scene.
Even if you’re able to get us to picture what “rutile” looks like, why are you using this description as opposed to something else? Have that answer for yourself.
“His skin reminded her of the topaz ring her father wore at his finger, a gleaming stone of brown, mellow facades.”
Physical Description
Physical character description can be more than skin tone.
Show us hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands…body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.
Describing features also helps indicate race, especially if your character has some traits common within the race they are, such as afro hair to a Black character.
How comprehensive you decide to get is up to you. I wouldn’t overdo it and get specific to every mole and birthmark. Noting defining characteristics is good, though, like slightly spaced front teeth, curls that stay flopping in their face, hands freckled with sunspots…
General Tips
Indicate Race Early: I suggest indicators of race be made at the earliest convenience within the writing, with more hints threaded throughout here and there.
Get Creative On Your Own: Obviously, I couldn’t cover every proper color or comparison in which has been “approved” to use for your characters’ skin color, so it’s up to you to use discretion when seeking other ways and shades to describe skin tone.
Skin Color May Not Be Enough: Describing skin tone isn’t always enough to indicate someone’s ethnicity. As timeless cases with readers equating brown to “dark white” or something, more indicators of race may be needed.
Describe White characters and PoC Alike: You should describe the race and/or skin tone of your white characters just as you do your Characters of Color. If you don’t, you risk implying that White is the default human being and PoC are the “Other”).
PSA: Don’t use “Colored.” Based on some asks we’ve received using this word, I’d like to say that unless you or your character is a racist grandmama from the 1960s, do not call People of Color “colored” please.
Not Sure Where to Start? You really can’t go wrong using basic colors for your skin descriptions. It’s actually what many people prefer and works best for most writing. Personally, I tend to describe my characters using a combo of basic colors + modifiers, with mentions of undertones at times. I do like to veer into more creative descriptions on occasion.
Want some alternatives to “skin” or “skin color”? Try: Appearance, blend, blush, cast, coloring, complexion, flush, glow, hue, overtone, palette, pigmentation, rinse, shade, sheen, spectrum, tinge, tint, tone, undertone, value, wash.
Skin Tone Resources
List of Color Names
The Color Thesaurus
Skin Undertone & Color Matching
Tips and Words on Describing Skin
Photos: Undertones Described (Modifiers included)
Online Thesaurus (try colors, such as “red” & “brown”)
Don’t Call me Pastries: Creative Skin Tones w/ pics I
Writing & Description Guides
WWC Featured Description Posts
WWC Guide: Words to Describe Hair
Writing with Color: Description & Skin Color Tags
7 Offensive Mistakes Well-intentioned Writers Make
I tried to be as comprehensive as possible with this guide, but if you have a question regarding describing skin color that hasn’t been answered within part I or II of this guide, or have more questions after reading this post, feel free to ask!
~ Mod Colette
This works on mobile!
ugh, what even is the point of webp files? what does the format even do besides make me have to
save the image,
go to a conversion site,
upload the image,
download the new image, and
upload it to discord
to share a funny meme, when i used to just
copypaste.
I really appreciate the eyes on this little guy.
My coworkers: what you'd do with your long weekend?
Me:
I thrifted a Miraculous Ladybug doll! I was hesitant to buy one full price without knowing what their joints were like.
She has similar articulation to a Liv doll in her arms and legs, but is unfortunately missing ankle joints and her hands can only turn. Luckily, her slightly heeled feet means she can wear a variety of larger-than-barbie shoes.
I'm not sure what to do with her yet, since her mask is molded onto her face instead of just painted on. I'm a sucker for blue hair, though. Maybe a robot custom? Hmm...
Her balance is not as great as it looks. It took several minutes and multiple surfaces to stand on one leg.
Please ignore the bowls of doll heads waiting to be washed/shrunk for doll science.
I got to Uranus and had to stop
I still get pissy every time I see an illustration like
because THAT! IS NOT! PROPORTIONAL! That is not an accurate diagram!!!
Here! Here is an actual image captured by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. THIS is what the distance between the Earth and the Moon actually looks like:
The whole blog is like this, I love it.
if you put goro majima and xigbar together like some fucked up fusion would the product have two eyes or just two eyepatches
mistakes and all, here she is 🎉 I'm still working on drafting and sewing her outfit, but I am THRILLED to move on from the face. one thing I really struggled with was the eyes, and in the end I'm still considering making her new ones with what I learned trying to make these. They're obviously a rough fit. As for her hair, I can't stop fussing with it and I'm not sure how to get it just right. Ah well.
I really enjoy the amount of personality in this custom. And making a descendants doll body look good.
My new (end of) summer creation!
It’s been a while since I created an original doll like that, and I also wanted to make one with a prothesis limb. And here she is!
She’s one of my OCs, I named her Ruth.
My mom saw her and said “Ho, this one is cute :)” so I went “Thanks! She got POCKETS :D!!!”
I also made a quick sketch of the original idea I had of her, I think its close enough!
She was originaly a Descendants Doll but I had to modify multiple parts of her body so she could be more articulated (like in the legs and torso, she can even slouch now) and added teeth (yeah, that part was fun) and eyelids. I can also “unscrew” her prosthesic leg. I’m thinking of making a post explaining her transformation step by step.
Anyway, really glad I was able to finish her for the end of summer, she look really cool!
P.S.: don’t smoke kids!
I my shadow high Nicole came in the mail today, so I decided to do some monster high color comparisons.
Gray Frankie is the closest match, though is slightly lighter than the body irl (the head is an exact match for Ash, though). Goulia is close, but is also too light and a warmer tint.*
* I realized later that the Goulia head I picked had yellowed. I compaired against another I had in storage and she was an exact match for gray Frankie.
Lagoona is too pale and might work better on Ash or Heather. I don't have a not-yellowed rochelle, but her wing looked too light when compared.
Just because I have some gray boys on hand, Cam Gargoyle boy and Invisi Billy are too light. Neightan Rot is too dark. I unfortunately don't have a Slo Mo to compare.
Also the wrist/lower arm is slightly lighter than the hand and body, but I think the light angle made it look paler than irl.
The big city walmart got Shadow Highs recently, and in a moment of weakness, I got Ash. I always liked the Rainbow High line well enough, but apparently I can't resist big dolls or fantasy colors, lol.
His packaging was much less complicated than the other Rainbow High doll I purchased (for a modding project) in that I was able to access all his clothes without tearing any of the packaging apart.
I didn't care for his airpods or the sneakers he wore in-box, but otherwise I love his outfits. I wonder if he's supposed to be Japanese or just an otaku? Maybe both?
I plan on going through and cleaning up the loose threads and hairs. Maybe someday I'll wash the glue out of his hair, trim the back to his crown, and style it more like the box art.
I suspect it's the case with all the Shadow High dolls, but he was a pain to photograph.
I thrifted a bunch of boxy girls ages ago and this is the first hybrid I finished.
I ended up having to make a neck knob out of a screw, since I really didn't want to cut open her head after having so carefully sliced it off her body. Her clothes are Monster High with misc Barbie accessories.
I made a fish man.
Well, partially. I had a Monster High body that was missing limbs and frankinsteined him some replacements. Plus a few extra fins and a tail. He can't really stand on his fin leg (though I did make the fin articulated), so I made him a simple crutch. I've been watching art doll videos recently (of the stuffed and wire-articulated variety) and got inspired.
I still need to paint some details to make everything more cohesive and repaint the head. All the translucent additions glow in the dark, so I really want that to come through in his eyes. To cover his head to neck transition, I'll probably use some painted fabric.
The fin for his left leg is somewhere, I just forgot to attach it before I took the pictures.
Okay, so I bought one of those cheapo styling heads fom Dollar Tree, thinking I could stick her on my Endless Hair Barbie.
Unsurprisingly, the rooting is bad and sparse. She also started shedding really bad after I removed the rubber band holding her hair.
So she was a little bigger than I expected, though the vinyl was a good color match in-person, lol.
She fit size-wise on a 1/3 body I got off ebay. Her neck hole would need modding to fit. With a 10/11 wig, she almost looks okay. Granted, I had to chop off all her terrible hair to put the wig on.
I'd say the head is really only okay for learning to mod and repaint vinyl heads in 1\3 scale. She would definately need a reroot or wig, though.
Got Kay's padding done! The belly is just a bit of a legging and stuffing. Her chest is thin foam padding up top (to "shorten" her neck) and the rest is the same materials as her belly. It's all removable, so if I ever want to take some pictures of Amaya again, I can easily swap everything out.
Unfortunately, the only thing I have that fits her right now is the high-waisted pink dress that's a smidge too small for her chest. I'll take more pictures once I get her different clothes.
Snurby.
Pics of Timothy where his shell is more visible.
I got myself a Big Amaya for Christmas for use as a hybrid.
One nice picture before I take her apart. I do like her head and hope I can stick her on one of those large styling head busts when I find one.
Followed queenofsquid's example and carved her arm joint, plus trimmed her foot joint to let her potentially wear flat SD sized shoes. I added an S-hook by clipping off the post and adding some (temporary, terrible) elastic through the ring in her neck.
I've been looking for a curvy body for Kay (90% sure she's a Luts Jude - idk it's been years). I'm going to add a little fabric padding on her chest front and top to visually shorten her neck and give the poor girl boobs. Also a little belly to balance her hips.
Her faceup is old and damaged and makes her look like she's about to cry in-person, so I hope to redo that when the weather gets warmer.
I'm just so glad the neck is the perfect size! She looks cute even with her depressed faceup. :)
Bugs Bunny could singlehandedly defeat Thanos by dressing up as a TSA agent and setting up a metal detector in the middle of the battlefield saying that all metal objects must be removed if you want to pass on through now stick around for my 2,000 word essay on just how effectively he would convince The Mad Titan to comply