Rat and rat

I'm not those who plan every photo story or try to get everything to look always as believable as possible. Here's one photo stack to show what I mean... Or do you think that there's a) horse sized rats or b) rat dudes who are small as 1:1 rats?

It has nothing to do with horses, really.

Rats are curous little animals, and, you know, domestic ones are yet more curious and do not fear so easily. So no one was really scared when one of my dolls, Viiskytkin, met my already quite old paperclay sculpture Mokkis.


First, we have some size comparison photos. Mokkis is realistic in scale, I think... I have never met female rats (unbelievable, I have had and met only males). Viiskytkin is a bit taller than male Breyer dolls. 

Then began the story... Accidentally. Because guess who got curious to check what moves in the huge rat's head.

Viiskytkin: "Yea, come here, girl!"

He stepped on... Giggled alone as Mokkis seems not to care about anything...

Then he made a quick move and evil laugh. Mokkis ignored again.

Until he wonders: "What the, where did she go?!"

You never know about animals. As more you know, as better it is, but you never know it wholly. And that's not a bad thingy - when you make sure what you do, how and that you are not a bad thingy, they trust more and can allow things to happen without going away like Mokkis did.


Artistic info:
Viiskytkin is wholly made by me at home... I think this was needless to say. Or then I explain that those photos got taken before I cut his vest's neck... To make it better to see and handle.

But Mokkis is new in this blog. She's 1:1 scale paperclay rat I sculpted at school so she is a schoolwork. Painted with acrylics there, at home I varnished her eyes to gloss naturally. Because paperclay is what it is, it doesn't work as many other clays could. That explains her lying position, rough surface, less details and no recognizable toes and fingers in paws. I have later started to like paperclay, too, as it's OK for larger sculpts, but haven't done that at home.

Her color is some kind of chocolate or cinnamon with a hooded pattern. There's also downunder markings under her belly, really. Everything is mismarked, of course, I like non-perfect animals. 

Viiskytkin

At 8/2/2017 I finished a doll who waited to be really done for... two months? Only because I wanted to capture all his steps. Well, he got done.

I warn you... This post is going to be loooooong. Endless amount of needless photos too. I try to say 'they could be useful for those who want to try making animal dolls'.  

Somewhere at december 2016 I made this wire skeleton. I planned to capture every step of it's process. He was going to be a tall dude... But I never expected him being at the end what he really is todays.

To strenghten the 'official' wire skeleton I added five about meter-long pieces of thinner wire, what was green colored. And for some unknown reason I also captured every damn step of wiring them on, too... Possibly to save memory of myself.

Fake-artistic photo.

Torso and head wired.

Right arm, upper body and tail root wired.

All but legs wired.

The guy already adores being in his way to be finished.

All wires added!

Comparison photo with Omar, to check the proportions.

Well, then was the turn of adding clay. I choosed black silk clay for coat, and mixed a blueish-black for skin (ears and nose). These were chosen because of lack of matching colored fabrics and leathers, and because I wanted to keep the doll simple as I was making a tutorial too.

First amount of clay... A step while I try to sculpt as much as possible once.

Sculpting head rightly is important... As I've said few times already. Not so easy, when seeing this one. He failed a bit, but is ratty enough to me. In fact the head is too small, chin is tiny and the face at all is shaped like an egg. Eyes are placed just OK to me. With his ears I decided to try something different, and bend them more forward-down, but I think it doesn't show... I have no idea how to make that effect anymore todays, once years ago I did it often for thumb rats.

Behind the ears are two spots, who came from first try to attach the ears. It can ne stupidly hard to set them well. And ripping pieces in silk clay can leave bad scars too, so, who knows what those things are then when thinking in story way. The spots don't show here in these photos, but they're visible in many else. 

Nose example photo.

Rattiest view.

After the first clays were dry, I added more. The rat got a tummy, pelvis and better thighs. Now he should be able to ride well. I already apologize about stupid photos you are forced to see.
At all, his anatomy is not the best I can sculpt, but that comes also from what silk clay is... It does not work like epoxy or other clays used in customizing. 

I have few detail pics about this step, too.

When clays were fully dry, I took some comparison photos with other dolls. My first homemade doll, Juoru, looks soooo short next to him... What's not a wonder, as the cat is really short and the rat is quite tall. Also noticed how... short legs he still has, argh.

Juoru is too comfortable when he poses with unfinished dolls... But yea, he's a cat.

Again with Omar.

Then it was time to give him paws and limb furs. Less easier done, but I choosed these while I choosed the clays too, to make sure I don't fail with anything.

Sometimes it's safe to stand on your toes. 

Here are his paws glued... They were horrific to add since the leather was sticky, I don't know. It was, sticked to my fingers! Maybe it was just so thin and badly attached to the underside of it that it was... possible. But because my dolls can't be pawless, I glued the paws while cursing them in my head.

Of course I glued the fabric areas of limbs after the paws. I started from arms. Not so easy. In fact I almost lost my nerves with these too, the glue tube was an idiot again and drooled endlessly... I used a barbecue stick to 'brush' too much glue off and to make sure the fabrics stay.

And why the toe I wanted to photograph every limb differently?

Sarcastically said: really perfectly anatomically made fake lower limb.

When the limbs were ready in gluing, and left to dry a bit, I bent them to positions I needed. Because my dolls are rider dolls, they need to handle reins or ropes nicely enough. This doll got difficult upper limbs who are for first too short and, for second, have less wire inside the paws. That makes it yet tricky to keep anything there, but he still can handle and ride.

After sculpting and gluing it's always turn of some paintjobs. At first I popped the eyes off... 

He smiles. I see he smiles. I'm sure about it!

...then added two white markings to him. Small blaze and a lower tummy stripe, whatever it should be called. I didn't want too much white details. The paint I used was Mont Marte Satin acrylic. Varnished lightly with Heyda matta.

Then I painted his eyes. I wanted them to be brown or blue, or that one is brown and one blue... And then I got another idea, to make one or both with green tint. At the end they turned to be only sap green with black pupils. I am not good with using green color, but sometimes it looks nice, and more dead, rotten and greyish green is always better than some blueish, happy light green. Here you also see all the colors better, as I had set the colors more off for previous steps.

Eyes glued to the sockets.

First amount of paint added; sap green (for irises).

Pupils added. Black of course.

Just another view of eyes.

Then I varnished his eyes to add gloss to them, to make them really alive.

I glossed also his nose and mouth. Not sure am I going to add paint there later, as that looks yet a bit stupid when thinking that rats do not have pigment inside their mouths... But right now it's OK like it is.

Because this doll also got the notch for mane, it was a hairing moment next. I got a huge tuft of black viscose, ripped few smaller from it, cut then for good lengths and glued the ends carefully. Then when the roots have dried nicely, I cut them to smaller pieces to make it easier to glue. Before adding the hairs I trim those roots yet a bit.

Tufts waiting to get trimmed and glued to the head.

Notch. There also are visible the places I moved ears from...

I start gluing the hairs from most back... Smallest tuft gets placed there.

All tufts glued - but the hair looks a bit messy yet!

Honestly, this doll looks too much female too often, only because of his hair... What the.

Slightly trimmed hair (with no scissors!).

After the hairing he was finally FINISHED. My tutorial doll... Well, is nothing I expected him to be at the end, but to be honest, that also is the nice side of this hobby; you never guess what is coming. I though first that this could be again a punker, but it's not. He's clearly the cutest metal rat ever I've made or seen.

He's not the perfect one, no, but far away from that. Sight looks often stupid, because of how I painted the pupils. But it's hard to paint eyes well for a rat doll.

But because my doll seemingly was a metalist, he also deserved fitting jewellery. Or, I could say, nice metal pieces to decorate his already weird face. He got a nosering and a chain attached to his ear. A hook attaches the chain to the nosering too, all is detachable.

Naked dolls are poor to see, so this guy got a warm vest and a skirt. As and attachment he has a safety pin (huge for him). The skirt stays on with a stupid hook thingy. Because my dolls have tails, the jackets and vests I make need to have a notch who allows the tails to go naturally under them. He got also a giant necklace thingy, a metal piece hanging from a neck chain. Things got changed later, from that, though.

So my tutorial doll is a black metallist dude. His artist name is Viiskytkin, who practically has no meaning. Viis is five, kytkin is switch. Fiveswitch? Originally I got it from a name list I have, to save all ideas. Viiskyt is 50 in dialect. And -kin is a way to mean "also" or something like that, so it could be "Also 50" too.

When I publish this, I have updated his vest a bit and gave him a camera (customized dollhouse cam).

He is about 30 years old, healthy, moving man. Good rider too. Viiskytkin owns already two rats: Marjasateen Unikko and Sananjalka, red-white brothers. He even walks them with a leash, what's weird... But boys seem to like it, so it could be OK then.

As all black animals are most of the time, also Viiskytkin is difficult to photograph well - especially if you need to capture him perfeclty while the another, lighter or even white animal should also look good in the pic. His messy hair does not help.

He has skill with reactive horses, and others say he should start training for showjumping, but he doesn't want.Viis is not interested of competition riding, he only wants to roam around nature, photograph and enjoy outdooring from horseback.

He has no own horse yet, but he leases C from Asko and keeps like his own. In plans Viiskytkin has to buy a friesian, someday, and we can't know what happens with C until it... Or what we know if he gets more than just one friesian?

He is tall... Compared to C who is, I guess, average heighted warmblood.

As said earlier in this post, his hands are tricky and don't hold that well things. I still like to try set reins to Viis' hands and then photograph that... Especially when he tries to ride with double bridles. Another problem is that he doesn't sit so well as he should. We really need some saddles, some who are not made by me! Although I can think that a saddle does not teach a doll to ride still...

Although he's not that perfect at riding - as a doll - he's really good in handling and showing horses. As a tall man Viiskytkin has no problems although a horse keeps head up, he can still hold the rope quite closed to it. He's also too photogenic not to photograph when he's showing horses. (And Remu is perfect horse for pictures like that.)

Ignore the "saddle". That's what you get when you don't know what you are doing.

This and second few pics are going to be published later, among many others, in their whole own text.

Argh, I so much wish I could make realistic hands.

Hupi rides, Viis walks Remu, again because of new tack and a possibility of a danger.

Well, I have a bad habit to photograph many of my dolls only because of their own selves, no matter what they were doing... As you see. From previous and second pics is also visible how different cameras and settings I have used. Better photos are taken with a system camera and worse with a pocket one, and I use a softening tool (for flash, made from paper or plastic bag piece) with only system cam because of things. To mention, my homemade softening tools are harmless for the cameras.

Well, Viis, you should look to the camera if you want to take good photos... Oh sorry, you're a rat, and the camera is made for humans. Blergh.

The writer's childhood in a leash (and classic scale horse halter). The dino is old Schleich triceratops (1993?).

NOW it looks like a photographing one.

Yes, the camera is a system one, but - automatic setting, no flash, no tripod, no good lamps in the room = pure fail. I simply do not want to photograph with flash every time, but I seem to be forced to...

Flash softened with a piece of thin, white plastic bag. Yes, a piece of plastic bag. Colors are OK, although the contrast is set to be quite strong. 

From staring the doll and to publish it in blog, Viis took more time than anyone else from my dolls. Not nice, but better late than never... I almost gave up with this text, but today I decided that I publish this (and the Roz's text) and then I do NOT write anything new for a while... I can publish some texts I have finished to be posted after these, but they don't count. I just have no writing brains here now, it's difficult and I struggle to create anything new although I surely have ideas.