My First Custom (25cm Obitsu)

Phew, I hope I do this correctly. I kept putting off posting any of my dolls because I wanted to wait until I could take beautiful, staged photos of them, but my diorama keeps getting held up, so I think I'll just break the wait and post nicer photos later on so I can stop feeling nervous about it!

Here's my girl, Arika.

This doll has a bit of a story. I bought her body (and a head I didn't end up using because it was kind of small on the body) from junkyspot twelve years ago when I was just 18 and barely had any money. I've loved dolls since way back then, and I remember I saved up to buy her and a wig a few accessories, but once I got her, I realized I had none of the skills or supplies to really customize her the way I wanted. I felt so embarrassed and discouraged that I pretty much packed her up and didn't look at her again. I even thought about giving her to friends several times because I just wanted someone to enjoy it, even if it couldn't be me.

Well, fast forward twelve years later lmao, I'm a working adult now and I'm by no means well-off and still have to save quite a bit to indulge in my hobbies, but I try to set aside time and funds for it because my crafts mean a lot to me. I got addicted to sewing plushes a couple of years ago so I finally picked up a few (VERY basic) sewing skills, and then more recently I got addicted to sculpting figures which means I got a lot more comfortable with paints and brushes and MSC on a small scale. So I pulled out my obitsu body and thought, I think I can make this the way I wanted to now.

Anyway, I bought her wig and shoes (her head is a Parabox Chara for those wondering), but I did her face and entire outfit all by myself. Her collar is a little messed up, and it's by no means perfect, but it's so much more than I could have done back when I first bought her, so I'm really proud of that.

Here she is flirting with my mamachapp doll, who I did not customize at all because she was already so damn cute straight out of the box. Mamachapps are surprisingly cheap to buy secondhand nowadays, so I'm a little bit addicted and may have two more blank ones that I'm currently customizing, haha.

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She does have eyes under her bandages which I also made, but honestly it's such a hassle to put the bandages on that I don't feel like taking them off again any time soon. LOL

Here's the rough concept art I did for her doll form (she's actually a super old character of mine who's had a few different designs over the years).

 

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope to have more dolls to post in the future.....

She's so cute! It's hard to work in that scale, so this is extra impressive. Great job! ❤️

Thank you! It really is hard, I underestimated how challenging it'd be to paint so tiny! (I'm currently struggling to paint eyes and such on a Mamachapp, so I really have a new respect for people who do this on fashion dolls!)

I'm glad you shared your story and your beautiful girls with us! Arika looks lovely and her dress is absolutely adorable! I'm still at the beginning of my "Doll Journey" and I know it will be a bumpy road until I improved my skills in customizing and dressmaking, but reading this, I feel excited for the future 🥰 I hope your dolls will continue to bring you joy!

Thank you so much and I'm cheering you on too!! It can feel really daunting, and it still does sometimes, but I'm trying to just enjoy the process to the fullest, feel proud of my progress, and not compare it to anyone else (unless I'm just trying to get inspiration!) I look forward to seeing your dolls too!