Meet Mai (and Mochi)!

What brought me into dolls started with a webcomic that I plan to unveil publicly later this year. It'll be a unique mashup of cooking, comics and science, starring Mai and her companions.

Mai started out just being a narrating character I created to stand in for me, but she quickly took a life of her own in the comic, and it wasn't long before I wanted to create a "figurine" of Mai in real life. This led to me discovering the doll hobby, and after testing the waters with a smaller 1/6 doll, I went all in late last year and created Mai in doll form.

I've had a hard time taking passable photos because the bulk of the time, I can only do it at night, so the vast majority of my photos are in pretty cruddy lighting, taken on my iPad, just to get the point across. I have some equipment, but it takes time to setup since it's all stored away, so it's more of a treat when I get to do it. I'll do more once I get articulated hands and some of the props that Mai needs for a convincing cooking scene.

Mai has a pretty varied wardrobe, but it's mostly casual, and when she's not in school wearing a uniform, she's most often wearing a tee, shorts and hoodie. As I've dug more into the hobby, I've grown more open to letting Mai dress in clothes I wouldn't have considered for her before.

For now, enjoy some pics that I took tonight!

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by chef_mai

What a bundle of joy! Thanks for sharing~ 

I took a few pics while it was still bright out and found a way to make Mai look good in Rena's uniform. I've written before about how it didn't fit, but with some shrewd arm posing to cover up the belly gap and the addition of a tied up cardigan, I covered up the parts that don't fit well while adding a cute touch. 

Ah, she is adorable!

I upgraded Mai to a 3-piece torso this week. Along with that, she's got new legs! It makes her skirts look a little shorter now. :3

I did a schoolgirl-themed photoshoot for the occasion.

Mai got new clothes and hands of all sorts today, so I did another schoolgirl-themed shoot. The outfit is a mishmash of the Volks High School Girl outfit + Azone pieces.

You’ve gotta heat up the hand parts longer to get them over the stubs (I had the same problem), unless you want them like that to take them on/off easier.

8 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

You’ve gotta heat up the hand parts longer to get them over the stubs (I had the same problem), unless you want them like that to take them on/off easier.

Good eye! I'm in the process of ordering several spare wrist joints (ouch) since I can't use a blow dryer at night to swap the hands due to the noise. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by chef_mai

6 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Good eye! I'm in the process of ordering several spare wrist joints (ouch) since I can't use a blow dryer at night to swap the hands due to the noise.

I did the same thing after someone on here suggested it. I bucked at the cost at first, but heating them up every time you want to change them out is a waste of time and effort, so it really is worth it.

Mai is now an Angel Philia girl. I'm happy to have her back to 48cm height and converted her for better leg flexibility and for those chonky legs.

I took the same outfit as last time and snapped some new shots. (The wrinkle in the skirt is unintentional. I need to figure out a way to straighten that out.)

And now for what I really got this for... the flexibility.

Bonus pic of her wearing shorts and her new bear slippers.

SHES SO CUUTEE!!! and WOW, you're not lying, AP bodies really can move!! Look at that squat!!

The webcomic you mentioned in the first post is also really interesting ^w^ i hope all goes well with that endavor

I've been struggling a bit to make Mai look good in casual clothes thanks to her new proportions. She looks great in uniforms, but in the casual clothes she has, it's been a mixed bag.

In the end, I grabbed a piece that Mai didn't look great in before, and what a difference the AP body makes! Dressing like this is a little out of character for her, but it was fun trying something different.

 

7 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Dressing like this is a little out of character for her

Maybe add a pleated knee length skirt? Or maybe blue jeans. 

She's such a cutie!! I love the look you have for her.

Definitely interested in a webcomic w/ her as the star 🤩

Edited March 22, 2022 by Starwaia
grammar Dx

Got a few new things this week, including more uniform pieces. While sailor suits are the most common, it's fun to explore all the different variations out there.

I wish I could find a narrower tie that's scaled right for Obitsus...

 

I was shooting pics for my review of the Azone turtleneck and finally decided to do a little cooking scene.

I've been shooting new pictures for older reviews in my clothing review topic.

First, a rare picture of Mai in a dress.

 

Now, back to the Volks striped parka outfit. To get the "hands" to fit in the hoodie pocket, I... just took them off. 

 

"Thanks for stopping by!"

Thighology!

Mai is so cute! I can't wait to see the web comic you're making! I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to make their OC into doll. I hope to one day make my two main characters into dolls, but I'm so new to this I'm not ready to start that project yet.

I got my latest shipment from Volks last week and picked up the Unicorn hoodie set for my smaller girl. Predictably, Mai wanted to try it on too.

 

I also picked up a new pair of lace socks + winter boots.

That girl that's like KAPOW with the heart attack thighs...... but is totally aloof and doesn't know she's Kapow with heart attack thighs. Or even knows what heart attack thigs are, but dresses to show them off with out knowing she's showing them off! lmao!  I love those boots and socks though!

Mai is so cute 

On 3/9/2022 at 4:21 AM, ragnamuffin said:

You’ve gotta heat up the hand parts longer to get them over the stubs (I had the same problem), unless you want them like that to take them on/off easier.

After much delay, I finally got the spare wrist joints today, but to my dismay, while some slip on relatively easily, some of the hands have too small a hole to slip on. In fact, I notice that for these, I can't even get them to the half-on position without some heat, let alone entirely on.

Should I start using a knife to scrape the holes bigger?

25 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

After much delay, I finally got the spare wrist joints today, but to my dismay, while some slip on relatively easily, some of the hands have too small a hole to slip on. In fact, I notice that for these, I can't even get them to the half-on position without some heat, let alone entirely on.

Should I start using a knife to scrape the holes bigger?

Lots of heat (from a hair dryer) and lots of wriggling should do the trick.

If you have enough wrist joints for every hand, there are few reasons to ever take the hands off again.

28 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

Should I start using a knife to scrape the holes bigger?

Ideally, I would recommend using jewelers files. I believe they would remove smaller amounts, and, reduce the chance of cutting too deeply, especially in such a small area as the inside of a hand-hole. 

Most craft/hobby stores would have a selection of size and shapes in a "kit" of three or more for a pretty low cost.