Fun Effect To Play With... And It's Free!

Don't let the Japanese scare you away when you go to Bakumatsu Koshashin Generator's website: http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds.  They have a handy link to translate it to English, and from there it's a snap to use.

The service offered for free?  Add an 'old picture effect' to your photos, either by uploading them to their website or directing them to the image link.  It's sort of an Instagram effect, but it's so very cool and authentic looking.  I wish I'd known about this before Halloween so I could have taken and posted some old timey, Gothic looking pics of my dolls. 

You do have to upload your pictures to their server where you have to trust they are only stored temporarily, and trust that when you download the altered photo you're not getting anything you don't want on your computer.  But I have good antivirus software on my machine, so I feel safe using this service.  If someone else has heard of any issues, I'd appreciate hearing about it in the comments section.  I'm not endorsing this service for anyone else or guaranteeing it is safe for anyone else, I am just sharing how excited I am with what I've done so far.  For a free service, I'm very impressed, and willing to take a little risk for the end results.

Here are just a few pics I've applied this effect to.  This is going to be a very addictive toy for me...

Marilyn Monroe:

Ellowyne Wilde:

With this picture I toyed with the original photo's contrast, hue, and saturation several times before I got the result below.  At first you couldn't even make out her face, but after several iterations, I finally got the contrast and hue on her lovely face stark enough on the original so that the effect applied turned out well.  The fact she has dark brown hair, is wearing black, and sitting against a black backdrop both helped the effect, and made it challenging to get a good result.

As far as I could tell there's no limit to how many times you can use the "lab" for free, so I just kept trying!  I love the final effect I got with this picture.

And my personal favorite so far, Fashion Royalty Veronique:

I didn't make any changes at all to the original photo.  I had very good lighting on the original, and with Veronique's dark hair and makeup, the effect still lets you see her sharp features.  This one definitely has that Gothic feel to it.

Marilyn Monroe-Glamour Girl

It's hard to resist taking even more photos of Tonner's Marilyn Monroe.  This time she borrowed the outfit from Horsman Urban Vita's My Valentine.  The dress fits a bit more snugly around the hips, but because the fabric of the dress is stretchy I was able to get it on her without difficulty (or risk to the dress!).

I hope to start taking measurements between my 16 inch fashion dolls soon, and post a comparison chart.  This will be mostly for my use as I forge onward in my attempts to be a doll seamstress, but I figure it would be useful information for other folks, too.

Now to restore my dolls into their original outfits so I don't have any fights on my hands.  And perhaps I should have more coffee, since the dolls seem more anthromorphized than usual to me...  :D

Tonner Marilyn Monroe As Pola Debevoise Doll Review

I received my lovely Tonner Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise doll last Wednesday, and just now have finally had time to write up a proper review and take some pictures.  I ordered mine through the wonderful Gigi's Dolls, who offer layaway, even on pre-orders.  I highly recommend them!

Upon opening the box I found her well packed, including her diamond earnings and fun red strappy shoes.  Her hair is styled solidly, and held up well during shipment.  This is not a doll I plan to restyle at all, so I don't mind the heavy gel in her hair to maintain her trademark look.

She is in a red swimsuit with lots of detailing.  The back doesn't close as snugly as I would have hoped for, but otherwise it is very well made.   The stretchy fabric would have needed either a zipper, or twice as many snaps to not gape in the back, but then it would have been too bulky.  I'm sure the designers beat their heads against the wall with this, and a little part of them died to compromise.  But you're not going to look at her from the back very often, so this is very, very  minor.

The shoes are awesome!  At least they're awesome now that I figured out how to get them on her feet.  It was definitely trial and error, and some nervous tugging at the tiny straps praying for no breakage, but once they're on, they look fantastic!

Unlike my Horsman Vita doll, I didn't have to punch my own earrning holes.  One ear wasn't quite punched all the way through, but it was at least started so I didn't feel like I was having to take a hammer to get the earrings in.  They're sparkly and dangly, and very glamourous.  Definitely the right touch!

As for her face paint and sculpt, I know she's not a perfect match to the real Marilyn Monroe, but I still love it.  It would have been nice if they could have made her with more of her dazzling smile, but it probably would have ended up looking goofy or even creepy.  I think her eye makeup is done just right, and while her mouth could be a bit better, this doll still looks like Marilyn Monroe to me.

This doll has nice articulation, although still not as much as the ball joint dolls I've been spoiled by.  She can sit and nearly cross her legs without it looking ridiculous, but she can't quite touch her cheek with her perfectly manicured hand.  It's still a lot of poseability to work with, and each doll edition will just get better, I'm certain.

Casual pictures like the ones I took as I was opening the box and taking her out for the first time come out well, with good lighting.  But when you bring out an even slightly fancier backdrop and fuss with the lighting a little more, this doll shows how photogenic she can.  This is where I could have spent hours and still not gotten tired.  I swear she really did flirt with the camera!

I would love to purchase all of Tonner's beautiful outfits for my Marilyn Monroe doll, but my budget won't allow for that.  But that just means I'll be able to try out my sewing skills to see if I can do her justice.  There are a couple of outfits from Some Like It Hot that would be a blast to reproduce, as well as her other glamourous classics like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  Even trying to capture Marilyn in a more casual outfit would be fun.  I'm picturing her in a crisp white shirt and capri pants, with a scarf to hide her hair and giant sunglasses.

For collectors of both Tonner and Marilyn Monroe dolls, I think this one is well worth the $124.99 price.  Again, I can't recommend Gigi's Dolls enough for the customer service and willingness to offer layaway.

Be sure to check out my gallery for a lot more photos of my Marilyn Monroe doll.

Now I am off to tackle some of those duties that keep me away from my doll collection.  I also need to find a suitable section of display space for my newest acquisition, and hope the Fashion Royalty dolls behave themselves around her.  They may be a bit jealous of the attention Marilyn can't help but receive.  :D