davidd's Smart Dolls

[Alliecat]

At least I could do something about the crossed eyes, which, yes, looks "cute" to a degree, but which I feel was slightly excessive in this case. I tweaked the positioning by maybe a millimeter, perhaps less, and I think it looks somewhat better now. I'm hoping the repositioned eyes will prove less problematic for lighting.

OH, well then.
That does look much more realistic & natural.

[neon_jellyfish]

The surgery was successful! She does look better now.

[davidd]

Apparently I did not post a photo of the Smart Doll scale sofa I've been trying to build in this thread. I think I posted it in my Doll a Day topic. Anyway, here it is:

When I was putting this together out of foamcore board, cardboard, and hot-melt glue, I actually constructed two sofa frames simultaneously, so I'd have a back-up in case I messed up the first one. Somewhat surprisingly, I managed to finish the first one without goofing it up too badly, so a few days ago I decided to finish the second sofa. It turned out mostly okay as well.

But then it occurred to me: Duh! Rather than making another sofa, I should have cut the second one in half and turned it in to an armchair. Or maybe two armchairs. Rather than disassembling the second sofa, I went ahead and modified the design and built an armchair from the materials I had left over.

So here ya go, two Smart Doll scale sofas and an armchair:

Yeah, I know, the stripes on the cushions don't match up on the second sofa, but other than that it's not too bad.

The issue now is space! These things are huge! Setting them on the stairs was the only indoor space I could find to photograph them. I'm not sure where I'm going to store them or how to set up a room box large enough in which to photograph them.

And why do I need three Smart Doll chairs if I only have two Smart Dolls? Hmmm....

[neon_jellyfish]

New sofa and armchair both look great! Maybe you should build a room box for yourself outside and leave your house to your dolls, so that they have enough space for their stuff?

And yay for a new Smart Doll on the way (because that's going to happen either way)!

[Cornflower Blue]

They all look great! Storage of doll accessories is a problem. And I have no great answers.

[Alliecat]

Now that's planning ahead -- making a second one simultaneously in case you mess up the first!!
They all look super! Great job! Well, they do need more than one piece of furniture in their house... and unless someone's going to sleep on a sofa, now they'll need beds...
Lack of space is why I don't even want to get into 1/6 scale accessories, let alone bigger.

Maybe you should build a room box for yourself outside and leave your house to your dolls, so that they have enough space for their stuff?

[davidd]

Because I don't have enough Smart Doll chairs, I guess...

Actually, a discussion following one of werepuppy's posts about wing back chairs started me wondering if I could adapt my Smart Doll chair pattern into a wingback chair.

Here's what I've come up with so far:


Using thin cardboard templates (cut from a breakfast cereal box) for the front and back of the armrests,
I trace the outlines of the various pieces on to foamcore board.


Armrest fronts and backs cut out. My Xacto knife skills leave something to be desired. I'd prefer that
the cut edges were straighter and smoother, but the frame will eventually be covered with some kind of...
I dunno, covering, which should disguise most of the shoddy craftsmanship.


Using the chair I constructed previously as a guide, I cut pieces for the sides and the seat. The seat has
a sort of triangular shape to enhance the "wingback" appearance, which I've probably over-exaggerated
here, but oh well. The pieces are assembled using hot-melt glue.


Testing for size. The frame is constructed to allow for a 1-inch thick cushion on the seat and on the back.


How tall should the back of a wingback chair be? After looking at pictures online, I figure just below the
top of the head is about right. In Smart Doll scale, that's going to be almost 11 inches from the base of
the seat, or 18 inches from the floor. These 1/3 scale projects are big!


I'm not yet sure how to go about making the back, or transitioning the arms into the back. Some trial and
error is in order, I suspect, with an emphasis on the errors. For now, this is as far along as I've managed
to get.

[neon_jellyfish]

Oooh, good luck with your project, I'm very curious how it will turn out!

[werepuppy]

Oh, this is looking really good. With height, I would honestly say it depends on the height of the person? About level with The topic the head is usually about right - so it kind of looks like the sides frame you when you sit on one.

[davidd]

... so it kind of looks like the sides frame you when you sit on one.

That is a good eksplanation. I shall try to keep that in mind as I proceed.

[davidd]

I can't say I'm making progress on the wingback chair project, but I put some more time in to it last night:


How do you cover curved, tapered arms? Whose brilliant idea was it to try to make curved, tapered arms?


The wings... yeah. Dozens of mock-ups to come up with the size, shape, height, and angle.
End result: lots of frustration and little bits of cardboard scattered everywhere.


Something like this, kind of, maybe. I dunno, it's looking pretty crappy.


Tricky little bit to cover a gap at the top of the arm.


Using a thin cardboard template as a pattern for a foamcore board cushion back.


Testing for size. The frame is constructed to allow for a 1-inch thick cushion on the seat and on the back.
The plan for the back, however, is... well, it's no longer a "plan" as such, but rather, trial and error.

[werepuppy]

It's looking pretty good! The shape seems right, and your girl seems happy with it.

[neon_jellyfish]

Looks great so far!

[Alliecat]

Wow, that looks really good! All those pieces! And once it's upholstered, any uneven cutting will be well hidden. Not being super familiar with wingback chairs, I'm not much of a judge, maybe, nor can I comment about how tall the back should be, but, it looks pretty good to me. As far as covering it, maybe try just laying fabric over the odd tapered shapes and tracing around for a rough pattern to cut out? Make a pattern the same way with a paper towel & then use that to cut the fabric...?
Can't wait to see how it turns out.

[davidd]

Make a pattern the same way with a paper towel & then use that to cut the fabric...?

Ooh! That's a good idea!