Asking for advices
Hi everyone.
Im totally a newbie.
Well, recently I've been interested in the Dolfie Dreams and I really wish if I could get one home.
But after looking around I see that's it's pretty difficult to get one DD outside of auctions with reasonable prices.
Most of the beautiful DDs are limited, and it's impossible for an outsider like me to attend those events.
So I have been wondering if I could build up one from the parts which can be officially purchased at VOLKS.
Have any of you built up your own CUSTOM Daughter ?
I mean to start everything from individual parts.
But seeing body parts at VOLKS site I wonder if something's missing.
Look at the head and I dont see the EYELASHES and EYEBROWS,
Is that the EYES PACK only include the pupils ?
Can I assemble a DD from the parts on VOLKS site ? Can any of you who have successfully done this give me some advices ?
Thank you so much for reading.
Nothing atm
You can get limited DD or MDD through Volk's international site by entering their lottery event. Sometimes they are not sold out after the lottery and so you can still get them through normal ordering (but this is pretty rare case).
Architect
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmvp/
Volks has original dollfie named Aoi and Yukino.They aren't limited.You can order them.
If you want to build up your custom. You need to face up your doll, buy the eyes. That was too complicated for me to buy everything.As I say,I prefered Aoi or Yukino.
Here's the link ^^
http://www.volks.co.jp/en/dollfiedream/characters/aoi/index_aoi.aspx
http://www.volks.co.jp/en/dollfiedream/characters/yukino/index_yukino.aspx
Dollfie Dream collector, full time security software technician and part time student
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dollfiedreams
Hi Fantom,
You don't need to attend the special events in person to buy a doll. Where do you live?
If you live in USA, Canada or Mexico, keep visiting www.volksusa.com for info on special events online. They are only during limited periods every 2 or 3 monts. You can apply for some dolls through lottery, other times (more rare) they will do a web pre-order or just announce the time the doll will be up for sale and it's a first come first serve.
If you live in Korea, visit the Volks Korea page (not sure if they ship anywhere else than korea) http://www.volkskorea.com/
If you live elsewhere, then you have to buy from Volks International at www.volks.co.jp/en. Just like Volks USA, wait for the announcement of special events every 2-3 months. Volks International used to be always "First come first serve", but they have started doing more lotteries and sometimes web orders too.
If you want to assemble your own DD, you will need to get the following
1. Dollfie dream head with open eye holes
2. Dollfie dream, dollfie dream dynamite or mini dollfie dream body
3. animetic eyes + eye putty or blue tac to stick the eyes in the head
4. a doll wig size 8-9 or DD size
5. doll clothes and shoes (unless you enjoy nude ^^)
6. Some paints (acrylics or water colors), pastel chalks, to paint the face (called a "face-up"). That means you will also need paint brushes of different size, and if you use pastel chalk for blushing you will need to seal the head with coating. MR. Super Clear matte coating is recommended as other coatings may look weird and sticky. You can buy the paint supply from volks, hlj.com or local art supply store. So basically you have to create the eyelashes and eyebrows yourselve painting them ^^. Same for the lips and cheek blush. Attaching doll eyelashes at the end is optional, Volks doesnt attach any to their Dollfie Dream dolls but some people add them. I prefer without.
If you need more help on face-up tips, visit a doll forum like Den of angels www.denofangels.com/forums or the Yahoo dollfie Dream group and look in the files section for face-up tutorials and many tips. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dollfiedream/
If you do not feel comfortable painting the head yourself, you might need to try 2-3 times before getting one you like if it's your firs time painting, but don't worry you can wipe off the paint with acetone or brush cleaner and try again as many times as needed. If you really can't do it, you can look for someone to paint the head for you at Den of angels, a lot of people take commissions to paint dolls.
Hope this helps!
Unemployed
Thanks a lot for your details
Student - Video Game Design & Development
This is a great help for me too ^_^
Thanks for the tips!
University's Slave
I haven't actually done this, but I *have* been doing a lot of research on the possibility in interest of maybe doing so myself.
Yes, you can put together a DD from stuff on Volks' site. For the eyes, you'll probably want to go with an open-eye head, and technically any eyeballs sized 16 to 24 millimeters will fit. (Sometimes they'll require you sand the inside of the head a little to get them to sit well, however--this is called bevelling the eyewells.) The eyeballs include the white, the iris, and the pupil. For anime-styled eyes, animetic eyes are your best bet, but some people will put more naturalistic acrylic, glass, or silicone eyes in their DDs as well.
Physical eyelashes are sort of an optional thing. On DDs, even the Volks ones, people will usually just paint them on, though some put physical ones on in addition to this. Volks does sell physical eyelashes, but they're in a section separate from the DD heads, as they are mainly marketed towards the SD crowd rather than DD owners. Eyebrows are painted on 99% of all dolls, resin and DD alike, so that's why you don't see them on the option head. Lips are usually colored with paint and/or pastel as well.
For wigs, anything size 8-9 will work. This is good news because then you're not restricted to just what Volks offers, but can then instead check other companies that offer 8-9 wigs and find the perfect one-or a couple good ones, depending on whether you think your girl's enough of a fashiontista to want multiple hairdoos. Leekeworld has tons of wigs in the right size, for instance, as does Dream of Doll.
Clothing and shoes are much tougher. Volks does carry DD clothes; however, they don't seem to restock on specific sets much, so for the most part when they're gone they're gone. It's a matter of good timing if you get what you're looking for or not. Dream of Doll's outfits sometimes fit apparently, and same goes for Dollheart. Some people have managed to squeeze their DDs into things meant for 18" dolls like Cissy, though it also seems to be hit-or-miss. Oh, and those fits only apply to the DDII body, and mostly to the M bust. If you're looking primarily at L or DDDY, you're going to have an even harder time finding them clothes. If you're trying to create a specific look, or are going for one of the more well-endowed girls, your best bet may be to just learn how to sew. ^^;
Really, the best advice I can give overall is to research. Check other doll manufacturers for wigs and clothes that will work; search for tutorials on face-ups and sewing; check Y!JA for custom heads, because that seems to be the only place to find many pictures of different custom heads. (I'm not saying you should buy a custom head there, but it's without a doubt a treasure trove of ideas!)
Have fun, and good luck to bringing your dream girl home! ^_^
Pwned by three big and a host of bitty dolliez.
http://msgeek.insanejournal.com/
Non-Animetic eyes look WEIRD in DDs. I have a pair of brown glastics that have realistic-looking irises, but they really look FUNKY in my Yukino-type. I basically have three pair of Animetic type H (no nasty jokes pls) eyes for her: the "Apricot" pair that she came with, a pair of blues and a pair of reds. Volks' "Apricot" eye color is more like an amber light brown color. They are the most naturalistic ones I have.
Yumiko-tan (that's her name) has 5 wigs, and I can see getting her one more in black. I don't have the default Yukino wig or the default Yukino slip (thanks ex-BF who's still my friend and let me adopt his doll) but I have a carrot shoulder-length number, a light blue bob bought for Ayanami Rei cosplay, a longish blonde wig for her Alice in Wonderland cosplay, and her default brown bob which is basically what I envision her "real" hair to be like. Oh yeah, a brown "gibson girl" wig that was a $5 purchase that went horribly wrong, although maybe I can adapt it for Yumiko's steampunk cosplay.
Yumiko's boyfriend Zetto basically has one wig (light brown, very Shibuya boy) and one pair of eyes (aqua blue with mismatched Bowie-style pupils...what a find) and will probably stay that way.
student / NEET
just asking, anybody know how to made:
custom eyes
i mean, okay, i can buy the body, but the eyes, some people have preference, and i don't think most people are satisfied with what volks offer
well, i'm not into DD yet, but i'm interested about its custom equipment making, also newer accecories
what i want to learn is : how to make its apparel, eyes, and well, weapons :D
University's Slave
Apparel is relatively straightforward; DD clothes are usually constructed fairly similarly to human clothes, though you do have to be pickier with the fabric because of the scale difference. Some don't lay well on dolls, and some prints just look stupid. Otherwise, it's basically still sewing. On the bright side, since they're smaller people have had fantastic luck getting otherwise expensive fabrics from the remnants bin. <3
Eyes are trickier. Apparently people have used these eye blanks with success, though I haven't seen many photos of what's been done with them: http://www.pupapa.com/shop/index.php?cPath=27_71&osCsid=f88c4e53c2360703f7fd10d40b6fe9a9 You can either print out your iris and pupil, or paint it on by hand. Other people have actually cast eyes in transparent resin, which look gorgeous but are a royal pain to do.
Weapons you've got tons of flexibility in, depending on detail level you're going for. Supposedly polystyrene is great for making blades (for swords, daggers, halberds, etc.), especially if you cover it with those metal finishing sheets meant for model kits; you can make the hilts/handles with either polymer clay or a two-part epoxy. Guns could prove harder, though I think there are a few 1/3 scale model kits floating around that with a little TLC on the details could turn out quite nice. Also, if you have the skills and the materials, you could take a whack at making them out of actual metal, eg. aluminum, like someone on Den of Angels intends to do.