She was gonna be a mermaid from the get go but after ditching her initial tail/skirt part in the 'I'll-get-back-to-that-some-other-time-drawer' my mermaid inspirations for her were gone. 'For her' because after my 2 original mermaid paintings came down from the attic, the creative mermaid juices have been (over)flowing.
Sheryl Mayer was the first RH doll I bought with the purpose to customise. From the small collection available in a local toy store, she spoke to me most. I already had a bunch of the Special Edition dolls smiling at me from their display cabinet. But no way was I'm gonna touch them.....yet!
As for Sheryl, I knew I was gonna modify her eyes. I like my dolls to have eyelids whether sculpted or drawn as long as they're there. So in her case I used acrylic monomer and polymer and sculpted the eyes with a brush. Giving them an almond shape enabled me to give her the more realistic and mature look I was going for.
While working on her I was also drafting patterns for several outfits I had in mind. And since I lovvvvve myself a cowgirl vibe, I decided to refine and enlarge a pattern I had made a while back for 2 Monster High customs. No easy task if you're a 'winger' and detail obsessed at the same time. The Rainbow High head shape (being wide but also pretty flat, front and back) made me end up with a 17"Monster High size hat....LOL. And although initially being disappointed, it was far from a lost cause. Having used new faced Sheryl as the hat model, everything fell in place.....it was then and there that Ellie Mae was born. I could see her so clearly in my mind, no more doubts about her final appearance, she was gonna be my Rhinestone Mermaid! After shrinking and some more tweaking of the hat pattern, it was plain sailing. Well....'plain'? Let's call it straight forward. There was nothing plain about it.
I ended up buying another Sheryl as I did not like the modified big boobed body for the final concept. In my opinion it was too much in combination with the hat and big rhinestones. So after matching the rhinestone colour choices and placement with her already ombre dye, I gave her hair a 'clean up' cut and restyled it into gorgeous big loose curls. The picture in this post gives a more accurate representation of the hair colour than the one in the first post from a while back. At least from where I'm sitting.....
All that's left now is adding the accessoiries not worn in the picture and taking some better shots that hopefully will capture the bling as well (crossing my fingers for the photography Gods to be on my side). Here's a view from the backside where I reversed the rhinestone colour gradient, going from light to dark.
Off to making her an optional custom stand and finalizing another 'Rock Goddess' outfit for a Monster High commission that has my name written all over. I love it, I love it, I LOVE IT!
Ellie Mae will be available in store soon. I'll link this post to her listing then or simply go here to see what's available at any given time.
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