Doing custom Art dolls and Animals

I am in the process of creating several different new designs, but wanted to make sure that the pieces like my Minkeys and my Runes cats were still available regularly.

I still intend to make and list them of course, but I want to make sure that getting a customized piece is always available.

After creating the Cthulhu inspired Whateley Rooster, I found that I enjoyed creating the tentacled versions so much that you have several new animals to look forward to in the coming weeks.

So if you have a favorite beast that you think deserves a tentacled makeover, feel free to suggest it. I like getting input because it helps me expand my ideas.

One new Cthulhu based series I'm starting are what I'm calling my Brides of Cthulhu. Except for Frankenstein's Bride or Mothra...okay maybe Drac's women, there aren't that many female monsters. I'm hoping to create a few new monstrous women.

So keep your eyes open and check out my new pieces as I add them and if you want one of my older designs it will be possible for you to do so by special order.

 

 

Want a Custom Pet from the Pet Shop of the Old Ones?

I was thinking that it would be a good idea to set up a few listings offering custom soft sculptures of the animals that I make. The Chihuahuas of the Flaming Apocalypse, the 3 different Hexcats, Original, (mini, medium and large), Boogaloo Hexies, (medium and large) for a start.  I'm thinking of adding listings for Crawling eyes and dragons as well.

While I do offer custom sculptures already, it might be easier to just purchase a listing and go from there.  So, if you want a special sculpture in the color and size of your choice, stop by Chatnoirstudios on Etsy and I'll work with you to create the ideal sculpture.

new dolls coming!

 I have been working on new designs..... if you want to know more keep checking my shop on etsy...

Sewing Freeform Figures - Captured

The way I work can seem very involved. In this tutorial, I wanted

to share how I
made one of my favorite pieces, CAPTURED .

I've always loved the colors of the Egyptian Funerary Art and the textures and spiraling shapes in Gustave Klimt's work.

I've always done
sketches to
help me
plan my
sculptures,
but I have never let the drawings get too involved though. The fabrics and the sewing itself often dictated changes in the finished piece.

After I collected up different shades and textures of fabrics in the the Egyptian inspired colors , I chose the wires I wanted to use for the armatures.

I wanted the starfish to act as a base and it needed to hold the mermaid securely. Even though it was only 8 inches in diameter, I chose 14g galvanized steel wire for the basic framework because it was stiff enough to hold the shape I wanted. After making the basic shape, I wrapped the 14g with 22g wire.

This texturing of the armature made it easier to cover the wires with acrylic yarn. I used a buttonhole stitch for this step. The yarn covering made it easier to attach the strips of batting used to plump up the starfish's shape.

The mermaid may have been a smaller piece, but her construction was much more involved. The process was basically the same as the starfish, but I worked in layers on this figure. After setting up the armature, I covered her with batting and started sewing fabric on the tail.

Once I had a stable fabric base I used more pieces of batting to create breasts and the facial structure . More fabric was then whip stitched over top. On the head, the eyes were sewn on and the forehead, nose and chin were then shaped and sewn down.

On the torso, the breasts were formed by sewing batting around a marble and sewing it in place. Once they were covered with fabric, I continued the spiraling fabric shapes I started on the tail up the torso and over the breasts.

The final steps on the starfish were to secure the resin eye in
place, sew on an eyelid and embellish the entire surface with beads.

The mermaid's finishing touches were beading the hair and embellishing the torso with seed beads. Elastic trim was used to bind the mermaid in place.

Resin Eye Tutorial

                   My husband makes a lot of the eyes I use in my dolls and jewelry.....here is how he makes them.

First you'll need a silicone mold of a sphere the size you want your

eye to

be. It needs to be a one piece mold thats open at the back.

Get some Devcon Clear Two Component Epoxy from your hardware store. Also

get some dry tempera paints.

First, mix up a small amount of epoxy and use the black tempra paint to

make it black. VERY CAREFULLY, using a toothpick or some similar tool,

collect a

blob of the black epoxy on the end of the toothpick and carry it to the

mold.Let a pupil sized drop fall right into the middle of the spherical

mold. Don't let it hit the side of the inside of the mold and run down to the very

bottom, you must hit the center/bottom of the mold on the first try. You are

creating the pupil of the eye, and it must be perfectly round!

As this sets up, mix a larger batch of epoxy and tint it the color that

you wish the iris of your eye to be. Using the toothpick again, or better

yet a cheap disposable paintbrush, collect a dollop of the iris colored epoxy

and drop it into the mold right on top of the black pupil that you have just

created.

Of course, the iris color should flow beyond the area of the pupil.

Again, hit the center/bottom of the spherical mold the first time! to get a perfectly

round iris.

While this epoxy is setting up, mix a larger again batch of epoxy and

tint it a cream or white color. This will be the white of your eye. Mix

enough to pretty much fill the rest of the mold. Pour it into the mold and it's

best to let the whole thing set overnight. The following day, de mold the eye

and see how it looks. If you are happy with it, and since most dolls, figures have

TWO eyes, you now get to make a second eye just exactly like the first! Good

Luck! Once you have your TWO eyes, I would lightly sand them both to get rid of

any textures that may have formed on the surface of the eyes. Once they

have been sanded evenly, coat them both with an un tinted coat of epoxy to give

them a wet look. Sometimes a second or even third coat of clear epoxy is needed to

get a uniform coating.

This is a really down and dirty way to make fake eyes.Your biggest

hurdle will be to get some molding silicone to ccreate your spherical mold.

You'll also need a sphere to mold. A Ping Pong ball, large marble, etc.

Locate Burman Industries on the internet to purchase silicone molding materials, and

information on working with it.

Good luck! Be forewarned -This takes a great deal of practice, silicone for the molds is expensive and expect a high failure rate while you are learning.

Halloween Cats

 I love my cats. By Crazy Cat Lady standards, I have just enough cats to keep me ....and the cats happy.   So It's quite natural that this cat love sneaks into my doll making.

For Halloween I've been adding my winged Flutter cats and my Futark Feline Familiars.

Now the Flutter cats I designed because I wanted to do something winged for Halloween that wasn't a bat.  These black and white versions are rather small ....around 5 or 6 inches in height and made of cotton fabric with a black and white print. For those of you interested in a larger or a plush version, I'm finishing up my first large Flutter cat (he's about the size of an actual house cat and made of pastel turquoise plush) which I will be listing as soon as I've secured his wings properly.

Now for those of you interested in different forms of fortune telling, these Futark  Felines are cats with actual runic symbols embroidered on them. Each cat has it's own fortune appliquéd  or embroidered on to the head and body of the cat. Yes, I read the runes for each sculpture and  use the results in the piece.

The Pet Shop of The Old Ones pieces like these cats are part of the overall story that ties all of my magical animal sculpts together. Basically, my alter ego Chat Noir has the ability to create magical creatures from  injured animals she rescues as well as just designing and creating magical creatures. It's the family business for like 15 generations.

Me, I like fantasy stories and I hope my customers do too, so I give all the animals a history and a specific purpose. Like the Feline Familiars were specifically created to be companions to Wizards and they have their own specific powers to aid in spell casting and protection.

Now, if you want a Flutter cat or a Familiar, and I don't have one in a color or pattern you like, I do make custom animals. Also, if you have an idea for any other kind of animal...I'm willing to make it for you. Feel free to contact me here or through my Etsy  shop and I'll do my best to create the cat or creature of your dreams.

Halloween is coming

Halloween has always been our favorite holiday and to celebrate the  season we're offering a special on custom art cards. My husband MJ is the illustrator at Le Chat Noir. If you're interested in a card depicting a cartoon of your favorite monster or a pin-up version, visit our etsy shop and place your order.. During this offer from October first to the fifteenth the price of the cards will be 10.00 + shipping. After the fifteenth, they will go back to their original price.