Winners of Challenge Two

The CCDC winners have been announced. Here they are in order: beginner, intermediate and professional.

Dmitry Puzanov

 

 

Dmitry was the winner in the beginner category and his work certainly deserved to win on that level as it was head and shoulders above the other beginner entries in terms of concept, execution and design. It was inspired by the game of Diablo and is a totally original concept. Click on the image below to go to his page.

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Elena Prokhorova

Elena was chosen as winner in the intermediate category. There was a lot of competition in this category. Elena's design was based on Assasin's Creed. Click on the image below to go to her page.

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Maria Ustynovska

Maria was the winner in the professional category and her work here is attractive, precise and very well executed. Personally I think it's a overly literal translation of the concept and design from the game Hitman. Click on the image below to go to Maria's page.

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The winner of the photography segment this time was Anj Calvo. I like the image.

Photography Winner - Anj Calvo

Anj Photoshops her images. She won the last photo challenge as well and it didn't exactly conform to the rules which I have copied below:

16. In the two extra pictures, designers are able to show their photographic skills. The use of props and appropriate backgrounds are encouraged in these two photos.

17. For all photos, photo manipulation is only to be used to resize, refocus, or adjust the brightness/dimness of your original photo. Do not crop in backgrounds nor paint in corrections. Also, do not form a collage of several pictures. It is acceptable to merge together pics of different looks of the same outfit. For example if a designer has designed an outfit with three different looks, it is acceptable for the designer to take pics of all the looks and merge them together into one photo (see example). Each picture needs to stand on its own, and give the judges an honest presentation of your outfit. Overly photoshopped pictures will not be accepted.

As I said previously, the contestants were not properly placed in categories this year.  I wonder if they themselves categorize their levels or if they are pre-judged by submitting images of work they've created. It's great that the contest is open to everyone but those competing at levels above beginner should be pre-screened. Perhaps there should only be two categories - new and experienced - or some variation of that.

It would also be useful if the judges remarks were more specific and 'educational.' It hurt me to read over and over that "There is the wonderful thing on the internet called GOOGLE!" That was a snotty and mean way to tell a contestant to do research. I'm not saying that only positive evaluations should be offered. Honest and fair evaluations with suggestions for improvement would be helpful and more valuable.

Message to Rob:
It's Philip Treacy not Phillip Tracey: you can find out the proper spelling of his name on Google.  :-)

Doll's House Museum

Since its opening in 1998, the Doll's House Museum on Barfüsserplatz in Basle, Switzerland, has attracted between 60,000 and 70,000 visitors a year. The museum changed its name March 1 to Toy Worlds Museum Basle, which more closely reflects its purpose. Each year, the museum stages two themed special exhibitions and a Christmas exhibition on the world of toys. The museum boasts more than 6,000 teddy bears, dolls, toy grocers' shops, dollhouses, and miniatures, and is home to the world's largest collection of teddy bears - more than 2,500.

Click on the image above to visit the website.

Multi-Doll Photoshoot

I think I may be cured from buying Silkstone dolls. Afternoon Suit Barbie is seriously bug-eyed. I know they all have the same sculpt but this one is painted in such a way that her eyes are bulging out of her head. And I'm not very happy with one side of her hair. That can be fixed - I think, but I've put her in the cabinet already. I like the fashion. It looks well constructed and fist nicely.

My rerooted Kyori got to wear most of Gretel's fashion minus the boots. I'm not even going to try putting those boots on her. I think she looks fabulous. She's on a FR2 body.

Allure got another chance in front of the camera.  I was more patient this time and I am very happy with her image. I used a tiny drop of clear Elmer's glue on the inside of her finger to keep the ring from falling off. I put rubber bands on her feet to hold the shoes on. I made sure to turn the edges of the coat inside so the 'lining' wouldn't show. Her hair took plenty of post-processing time in Photoshop. She looks gorgeous.

The outfit seen on Gene below is called Lotta Moola. I've wanted this ensemble forever.

Last but not least is Winter Grace dressed in Hypnotic Antoinette's gown. Black wig by Cheryl Wood.

It was a busy day.

Everything's Better With A Puppy!

My new Winter Grace Jamieshow doll is getting plenty of camera time.

Grace is wearing a 1998 Ashton-Drake for Gene Marshall muti-piece lingerie outfit called Forget Me Not seen below on a promo card. The other pieces did not fit this doll body.

Monogram Doll: Allure

Monogram "Allure" arrived today.
My photos,  un-retouched except for a little sharpening and cropping, tell her story.

I was surprised by her eyes and eyeshadow. It's different than we've seen on any doll to-date. Her eyes are green and very side-glancing.

 Her coat is so large (I love it) that it acted as a support for the doll!

 The gown is lovely and the silver stitching is well done.

The shoes keep falling off. I think they will fit FR2. I wonder if all shoes will fit FR2 from now on.

The stitching on the lining of the coat is unattractive and I wish it didn't show up like that.

My overall impression:
The doll is very beautiful. The outfit is stunning but keep the lining hidden when displaying the doll. Was she worth the price? Sigh.