Princesses

This is a special post for two special girls- a record of how their princess ponies came to be. Hi, girls!

The princesses started out looking very different from how they look today- they were pretty ponies, lovely ponies, but they looked just like thousands of other ponies in the world. That wouldn’t do for this special pair- they demanded that they be made unique, pretty, and sparkly before they went to their new homes. I helped with that. First I had to take off their old symbols and eyes (don’t worry, this didn’t hurt them- it was more like a relaxing spa day for them) and cut off their hair so that everything could be made special and new.

They looked just a little bit silly before they got their new hair, but I had to make sure their “cutie marks” (or bum symbols, if you prefer that) were just right. So we took a few pictures!

First the paint…

Then the JEWELS! The jewels are glues on very carefully, but they’ll always be more delicate than on a regular pony, so it’s best not to handle them roughly or get them wet at all. They both LOVED their new sparkles!

There were two things the princesses did NOT want pictures taken of: the hair going into their heads (with a needle- yikes!) or the way their hair looked before I washed it. It looked something like this:

How embarrassing! But I did wash it, and condition it to be silky smooth, and dry it. Then, the fun part- STYLING! First we twist the hair… tighter… tighter… until it loops around!

Then we pin it in place (never recommended for people, but very effective for ponies!)

Of course, their tails had to match their manes, so those got replaced, too:

And that’s the story of how Princess Sophia and Princess Isabelle were created. How they got to you is another story, one that involves a special someone who seems to love you quite a lot.

I think these ponies are happy with their new looks, and pleased to be princesses and sisters. Don’t you?

Moonshine!

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

She’s done! I’m glad she turned out so nicely, because there’s a commission that’s driving me insane right now, and I needed this small victory to keep my confidence and my spirits up.

Here’s the rest of the work that went into her:

She needed new hair. I useDollyhair’s reroot tool, and it’s brilliant. Much easier than the wire and pliers method I’ll be using when I get to my Rapunzel pony- I’ll take pics if I can. I also use hair from Dollyhair; it’s nylon, the same as original My Little Pony hair. In this case, I used Roasted Almond and Buttercreme- yum!

Then she needed a tail, which is far easier than the mane! We just loop the hair over a wire (I use the plastic-coated ones that hold toys into packaging, since every truck my son gets as a million of them) and pull it through from the outside- softening the plastic with heat first helps a lot. I use plastic zip ties to hold the tail in place. See? Easy!

Then we pull the tail back through as far as it will come, and that’s done.

The hair-do leaves something to be desired, though- it still needs washing (to get oils, etc. out), conditioning (to soften and make it easier to comb), and styling. I’m going to give her a simple braid.

…and she’s done!

But something was still missing… and then someone reminded me. BLUSH! I used real blush, applied with a damp brush, and then brushed off the excess.

So there you have it, a G4 pony start to finish. It’s a lot of work (especially more complex ones that have larger symbols, sculpting, or full-body repaints!), but it’s fun. I hope you had fun seeing this. Like I said in the bait prep post, not everyone uses the same techniques as I do, but they’re what works for me so far.

Moonshine will be available for purchase in my Etsy shop as soon as I can get some better pictures of her. 🙂

UPDATE: Sold!

Moonshine’s Body

Part 1 here

Since we got that bait prepped (and thanks for your help with that!), I thought we’d see what’s happening with the paintwork. She’s not the only project I have on the go right now, but we’ll stick with her for now.

Sooo…

After another little trip to the space heater spa, the little blue body got… adjusted.

I have my reasons.

Next thing was to work on her symbol. Normally I don’t show people my mistakes or the things that I’m going to revise, but let’s be honest, we all need a re-do once in a while! I had a sketch of what I wanted, and this was pretty close to it, but it didn’t work for me. There’s just not enough definition and contrast, and I knew I could do better:

So after adding some white paint and breaking out the India ink pens one more time (they’re a godsend, I swear!), We’ve got his, which I’m much happier with:

Sharper, more detailed and eye-catching.

Now she needs eyes. These gave me a lot of trouble; G4 ponies have much less-defined eye areas than older ponies have, and it means that if you’re not careful, your white paint will bleed everywhere. This took three attempts:

Impressive, I know. You can see that once I was happy with the shape of the eyes, I sketched in where I want the iris, pupil and eyelids to go. I don’t want her face to be symmetrical, but I want it to look right. Next the colour goes on (I usually do a dark colour and then add lines of a lighter colour to fill in the iris), and I painted over the eyelids in white. You can see the first line of blue, which will be where the upper eyelids come down to.

And here’s the eyes, almost finished. Looking at them now I’m thinking about going back and thickening up the eyelashes, either by adding more or making the existing lashes thicker, but I’m going to leave it for now and see how I feel after she’s got hair. She’s got some lovely sparkly eyeshadow on… but the eyes aren’t quite finished.

The last step is one that I love and fear, because I’m no expert at adding highlights. They make such a difference in the liveliness of the eyes, though!

I’ll go back and darken up the pupils again; I sealed the eyes before I added the highlights because I knew I’d want a few chances to wipe them off and start again, but you can still see some whitish smudges.

So there we go, she’s painted! When I’ve got time, she’ll get her hair. I’m just using what I had on-hand, leftovers from another project that I think will suit her. Stay tuned!

Works in Progress: November 9, 2011

Here’s what I’m working on tonight (if I ever finish cleaning up after two very messy little boys!):

Personal project:

Moonshine. I have to keep a personal project or two going even when I’m busy making things for swaps, trades, or the few commissions I get. There’s almost no pressure, and it helps me remember why I do this: because it’s FUN.

Commissions:

Jessie the Cowgirl. I had to throw away the first attempt at this one after the paint cracked. Full-body repaint ruined. I almost cried. But she’s coming along, and she’ll be really cute if this works out. I still don’t think I can do her hat, though. Oh, but I found perfect yarn for her hair, so yippee for that

Princess Isabelle. Needs a necklace (as if she’s not already sparkly enough) and maybe one more coat of sealant, just to be safe.

Mouse and Dog who may or may not be named Mickey and Pluto. Yes, I’m afraid of Disney. 🙂 Coming along nicely, but mouse-side symbol got smudged and needs touch-ups before I can start doing details. Needs eyes and hair, too.

Rudolph. Bait is getting saucy with me and not giving up its hair. GIVE IT UP, ALREADY!

Pink Garden Pony. Mysterious yellow stains have faded as much as they’re going to (seriously, WHY?! She’s one of the best I’ve ever done, and then the plastic starts to turn YELLOW).

Groovy Garden. Changing symbols might not work- apparently turquoise paint leaves yellow stains. I’ll probably re-paint them and put her back up for sale, and make a new one for the person who bought her. Confused? At least I can kind of remember what I’m doing.

Lady Gaga. Two in planning stages, need to get cracking!

For sale:

Rapunzel. symbols roughed in with white paint and pencil. Hair is ready for when symbols and eyes are done. It’s gonna be looooong!

OK, so I seriously have more work to do than I realized. Off I go- wish me luck!

G4 Bait Prep- Pics!

OK, here we are, ready to start a new pony. I’ve got an idea in mind, and poor Rainbow Dash here is exactly the colour that I want, so she’s about to be decapitated. I don’t claim that the methods I use are the best or most efficient, but they work for me!

“I’m… WHAT?!”

First, she gets a relaxing few minutes in front of the space heater. This is to make the plastic nice and soft so I can pop her head off without splitting the plastic or snapping the hard plastic plug.

“This isn’t so bad! Aaaah!”

“AAAAARGH!!!”

I cut the hair off right after removing the head. See the plug sticking out of her neck? Worst thing about prepping these guys. You can’t just pull it out- that sucker is glued in there and is NOT moving. So while the plastic is still soft, we stick our scalpel or x-acto knife in there, right next to the hard plastic plug, cutting through the softer body plastic. Shove it straight down, maybe angled in just a bit. I do an “in and out” method, making multiple cuts at different angles, rather than trying to follow the curve in one smooth slice.

After we go all the way around (and try not to poke right through to the outside, though it does happen- just swear and move on if it’s not too noticeable), we pull the plug out (gently!) and set it aside. Sometimes I mark the front on both pieces to make it easier to put back together later… sometimes I don’t bother.

The headless wonder. Her tail will be pulled out through the neck using needle-nose pliers.

Now might be a good time to look at the tools I’m using. Not the best, but they’re what I’ve got, and they work well enough. If anyone wants to throw some hemostats my way (not literally!), I hear they’re better than pliers for removing hair.

Scalpel, needle-nose pliers, bent pliers, scissors.

I also use acetone to remove the symbols, and cotton swabs to apply it and wipe (you don’t want to touch this stuff). I find that on G4 ponies I also have to use it to soften the glue that’s holding the hair in.

Now we have to remove the rest of the hair from her head to make room for the new stuff. I always try boiling first, since that often helps with older ponies. No such luck- here’s her little head soaking in acetone (outside!):

She’s fine, really.

Then I dunked the head back in boiling water (after wiping off the eyes) to re-soften the plastic- it’s a lot easier to get the pliers in that tiny neck hole if the plastic is warm and soft… is this starting to sound dirty to anyone else? Just me? OK, then.

Anyway, after much struggle, here she is, prepped and ready to go! I’ll hang on to that neck plug- I’ll need it later if her head is going to turn.

I hope you found this informative, interesting, or at least mildly diverting. Other people have their own ways of doing all of this, but I think these methods are the most common. Don’t feel too bad for Rainbow Dash… I’ve got a swell plan for her. *insert evil laugh here*

Part 2: Moonshine’s body- click here!

Part 3