Looking at the World in Different Ways

      People who do any sort of art in miniature have a different way of looking at the world. Where most people see the objects as they are, miniaturists see the objects as they might be. I have seen produce netting turned into stablemate scale chain link fencing, the little hooks off plastic hangers turned into umbrella handles, and so many other things. When I got the order for this really cool doll I had to figure out how I was going to do many of his pieces. Including the hooks on the front of his tunic. But it turns out that the hook part from a hook an eye set was the proper scale AND the proper look. That was lucky! And it sure made me happy to have a ready-made solution to a miniature problem. 

     This doll is a character from a... show? Movie? I am not sure, but I got several reference photos so he has to be someone. Anyway, I looked at those pictures for a long time, until I had a good mental picture of what the guy needed to look like. After that I just kept on thinking about him. While I was working on easy dolls (ones I have done so many times I don't have to think about them) I thought about this guy and how to put him together. I checked the reference periodically to make sure I wasn't misremembering how he looked (sometimes I was) and then would go back to thinking about how to put him together. 

     Unusual dolls like this take a lot of mental prep work before you ever touch the materials that go into them. So really, I got started on this guy about a month before I got to work on him. If that makes any sense. 

      Once I had a good plan, and a prepped body, I got out all the material I needed to make all of the pieces. His sleeves are brown leather while the rest of the tunic is black. And I knew a shoulder seem would have been far too bulky. So I actually made the sleeves completely separate and then glued them onto the sleeveless undershirt so they would stay in place. The result was a very smooth look that didn't add any bulk. The tunic was then sewn and tried on, and altered over and over until I had the right fit. Doing all of the mental prep work made it so I saved a lot of trial and error time. I already had a plan and knew the steps I needed to put this guy together. And I have had a lot of practice so I was pretty much right. 

     Since these photos were taken I got the sword in the mail that I ordered for this guy, made a sheath and hung it off his sword belt. This guy is also on his way home. It is definitely interesting to take an unusual doll and break the design down into little pieces and then put it all together. I really enjoy doll shaped puzzles.