Neglect?

Ever since I’ve gotten my Elfdoll Red version of Zekke, my time has been more devoted to him rather than shared evenly between him and my Obitsu version of Zekke.

At first, I thought that maybe it was because Red was newer, but as time has gone on, I’ve realized that a lot of times, Red!Zekke has more appeal to me. Red!Zekke is more realistic-looking than Obitsu!Zekke and I’ve been appreciating that realism more as it appeals to my sense of aesthetics.

However, when I’m more in the mood for a more ethereal look and feel and sense, then Obitsu!Zekke is still the one I go to.

I guess I just haven’t been in the Obitsu!Zekke mood too much lately?

I can definitely attribute my current lack of interest – or frustrated interest as it may be – to several different issues. Before I expand on them, though, I’ll say now that the problems CAN BE FIXED. It will just take extra effort and time and lately, I’ve been short on time and patience, so part of this frustration is of my own doing as well and not the fault of my poor muse. *hugs Obitsu!Zekke*

I won’t lie; it’s been one hell of a difficult task to procure clothing and accessories for Obitsu!Zekke whose body shape and size is drastically different compared to the more typical resin 60cm sized dolls. I’ve had him longer than I’ve had my Red and he has so few clothes and stuff compared to my Red. Pants are too big in the waist, he swims in shirts, and his waist is soooo tiny! ARGH!

Then again, he does have the more androgynous figure and I chose him specifically for that reason, so I suppose I can’t really complain, can I?

I’ve been working on clothing patterns for him, but because of the more curvy figure combined with the flat planes, I’ve been having difficulties dealing with things like darts. I’m sure once I get a something or two made to fit him, I’ll feel less frustrated and find him more appealing to play with because then I’ll actually have clothes that fit.

Another thing that’s frustrated me is the difficulty I’ve been having in trying to give him the right sort of faceup. No matter what anyone says, even with good Dullcote, the vinyl head doesn’t have as good of a matte ‘tooth’ to it as a resin head does and it complicates the faceup process.

And talking about faces and faceups…

Obitsu!Zekke has the Haruka head, which looks beautifully androgynous except for the fact that the eye holes are a bit… big and the face is a bit round. The large eyeholes make the eyes really pop, which gives him a bit more of an anime look in addition to the whole ‘damsel in distress’ look.

I’m not even remotely close to being a learned face-upper so Obitsu!Zekke’s faceup has been a major challenge for me. As is, he’s still wearing the first eyebrows I ever gave him and nothing else because I’ve been terrified of making his face look too feminine and doe-eyed. Also, the vinyl is more sensitive to staining than resin is and I’m terrified that I will permanently stain him if I make a faceup mistake.

Really, the only solution is to either commission a faceup or practice, practice, practice. The fact that I was able to do Red’s faceup to my satisfaction makes me really reluctant to commission someone. I keep thinking that only I will be able to make him look like how I want him to, but… yeah. It’s difficult.

And yet… even after all these gripes… I still love him as much as I originally did when I first opened his box.

I chose him specifically for the androgynous look that comes from combining a female body with a male chestplate, so I really shouldn’t be complaining at all. The same is true for the Haruka head sculpt; I chose that head because of how easily I could see androgyny in it and how beautiful it is even without a faceup.

Even completely nude, he still conveys this elegant and ethereal feel that Red doesn’t quite have. It is very easy to see the angel that he is named after in his sculpt and I see it every time I look at him.

I guess I just wish he was more ‘complete’ because I’d love nothing more than to take both of my boys for an outing in the park or in the city and take pictures of them.

Heaven only knows that my doll carrier can hold them both very comfortably inside and is, in fact, more balanced when both of them are inside it!

So I guess the solution is, now that I have a bit more time on my hands, is to work on getting him some fitted clothes and get his faceup done and see what happens!