little flowers in the dirt

new

2012-01-11T19:40:00.002Z

despite the busy times I haven't forgotten about drawing~ and here are two WIPs to prove it!

the good new for 2012 is that I have moved into my own flat.

right now I'm still enjoying putting my own stamp on the place~

---

and this is me on new years eve!

the opening of 2012 was spent at my cousin's wedding.

I have good feelings about this year!

etsy update

2011-11-27T22:14:00.001Z

new prints have arrived!

the shop

I've also been sculpting again for the first time in months, must be a winter thing~

end of october

2011-10-25T13:56:00.002+01:00

featured in issue 25 of Digital Artist Magazine~

---

and now I've finished that piece I've been working on in the past few entries!

---

Last week I completed a quick drawing of Alessi's Ark for my label love ♥

---

Other exciting news, after how awful last Winter was I decided this time to buy a daylight lamp - what a difference it makes! This makes working so much easier now by not having to depend on the Scottish weather's mood ^^

october

2011-10-12T14:34:00.002+01:00

just a little update...

still working on some art pieces, been busy with dolls lately!

again contemplating buying an airbrush, and of course I must get a daylight lamp - the days are getting darker and darker~

vintage

2011-09-19T14:14:00.003+01:00

Last week my sister and I looked through a box of old photos, there were lots of pretty pictures of my mother so I'll be uploading some of them in the near future. Here are a couple of my favourites ~ so stylish!

And I've been working on that WIP I posted before along with plenty of dolly commissions, the idea has changed since last time - there will be no plants or insects, but there will be another type of flying creature ^^

My Cocteau Twins postcard collection is coming along nicely~ now I need to find some wall space!

September's custom work

2011-09-07T13:36:00.000+01:00

I repainted the Minifee Woosoo I used for the shadow faceup, her face was calling to me for a new look!

I also opened the eyes & reshaped the mouth

I will be selling this head soon~

And now here is my new tower of organisation!

Lots of doll heads incoming so the empty drawers will soon be filled ^^

I like to have a nice clean space on my desk before I start work, so this keeps all the bits and pieces stored away underneath for easy access.

shadows

2011-09-02T10:49:00.004+01:00

This August was the DoA doll community's 7th anniversary, and like the last two years there were a series of contests held for different skills.

I entered the faceup contest on the theme of 'shadows' and my piece was voted first place!

I tried to incorporate my illustration style of work into it, and used pencils to sketch in the shadows like I would on a drawing.

myself into

2011-08-31T12:47:00.000+01:00

finished the piece I posted in July~

owl feathers and such things~ ✿

Pencil drawing & Photoshop, August 2011

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And how about another WIP ~!

not very interesting yet but this is the first stage, just after importing the sketch into photoshop~

and planning out composition too

August

2011-08-24T15:28:00.000+01:00

Back from Leeds, full report on my flickr & facebook!

I even won the art competition, and the prize was this little cutie~

My entry was this piece~

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Despite all the doll festivities I've still been working away at commissions and illustration, current WIP...

Hesperiidae

2011-08-08T12:42:00.001+01:00

Hesperiidae

Papilionidae

Hyblaeoidae

Epiplemidae

Notodontidae

Nemeobiidae

Eupterotidae

Callidulidae

Dioptidae

Lymantriidae

Noctuidae

Endromidae

Oxytenidae

Lycaenidae

Argyresthiidae

Ctenuchidae

Nepticulidae

Hieroxestidae

Symmocidae

Blastobasidae

Heliozelidae

Limacodidae

Agonoxenidae

Compsoctenidae

Neopseustidae

Incurvariidae

Oecophoridae

Stenomidae

Thyididae

Heliodinidae

Glyphipterigidae

Dudgeoneidae

melonella

Faceup Workshop

2011-08-01T12:33:00.000+01:00

Don't forget!

It's fast approaching~

Come along and see how I work, get tips and techniques!

There's also a Photography Workshop by Dieux-Faux

Art & Photography competitions

Raffle, Fashion Show, and Bring & Buy!

All the details and more at Rosadoll

I've also been working away at more illustration

this one is still WIP

sunday afternoons

2011-07-24T16:49:00.001+01:00

drawing

painting

reading

apples

2011-07-20T19:53:00.001+01:00

seales love apples!

Jennifer crocheted this pretty little 'apple warmer' from Mollie Makes magazine~

here's me holding it~

both photos by Jen!

ixxi & etsy

2011-07-11T17:03:00.001+01:00

My sister won this amazing piece of art, it was featured on yvestown and it's so gorgeous! All the colours are perfect~

Check out her blog for more pictures!

Some new prints for my etsy shop arrived too :

And finally, I've done some more work on my own dolls~

before & after

2011-06-25T22:05:00.000+01:00

painting little doll hands

June

2011-06-22T21:21:00.002+01:00

more drawings from this month,

and now some other bits and pieces!

last night was MORRISSEY!

he played my favourite song...

I even bought a new dress for the occasion!

and onto dolls, the modification on my other doll worked out well so I'm doing the same to this one now ^^

lets end on a musical note~

art & shop

2011-06-05T20:54:00.000+01:00

finished up those pictures I posted a little while ago~!

and some more news, I've opened up my etsy shop too ^^

viridian house etsy

more clay

2011-05-10T15:32:00.000+01:00

still working away at these.

the first one I made all the parts separately, but then I started one where I made the whole body first and cut into pieces. I like the second method much better, I still want to finish the first one too though!

also started tackling the eye mod on the shushu doll~

on the original sculpt the eyes are quite large and cartoony - so I added putty to the bottom lid and inner eye, to make them smaller and higher up. (this is why I didn't just mod a closed eye head - the lower lid is still too low so I'd have to add putty anyway - I thought I might as well do it on this one since I've already worked on reshaping her nose and mouth!)

next will be to sand and perfect the shape/lids, then paint!

sketchbook

2011-04-26T16:46:00.002+01:00

life drawing

2011-04-22T14:13:00.000+01:00

I recently finished a 10 week life drawing course at the Borders College (Galashiels)~

It was very interesting and it felt good to be in that creative & learning frame again!

new doll & my doll

2011-02-24T12:00:00.000Z

Limhwa Toyou Sara

My latest doll, bought her a few weeks ago - she's only 27cm! (My two other dolls are 43cm)

---

And still working on this project, have been since New Years. Progress is slow but I've gone from having absolutely no clue as to how they are made, to understanding a little ^^;

I see this more as a practice piece rather than 'this is going to be a doll'.

January

2011-01-25T13:26:00.000Z

Some more works in progress :

And the project for 2011, working with clay :

I thought it would be fun to share a picture of my workspace too!

Added notes on flickr so you can see what everything is here.

I started life drawing classes last week, it's a ten week course so hopefully at the end I'll have some good stuff to show! It'll help with the doll-making too I think, I really need to improve anatomy.

December sketchbook

2010-12-10T16:06:00.000Z

Some pages from my sketchbook!

And I've also done an interview for BJD Magazine, check it out!

http://bjdmagazine.com/2010/12/07/bjd-faceups-by-caroline-seales-of-viridian-house/

'finished'

2010-11-09T15:18:00.002Z

the finished versions of those pictures I posted a while back~

and this one was just a little experiment with watercolour & photoshop brushes

great spangled fritillary

2010-10-04T13:31:00.003+01:00

Cocteau Twins – Great Spangled Fritillary

2 WIPs

2010-09-27T14:59:00.003+01:00

two sketches~

onto photoshop now!

{model ref used for 2nd pic}

2010-09-10T13:50:00.002+01:00

got stuck on this one, ended up overworked & messy :c

might go back and change it later on.

2010-09-03T21:08:00.001+01:00

more scribbles

2010-08-31T12:53:00.002+01:00

I've been working on several (!) drawings the past week and a half and I'm feeling myself getting back into the groove c:

This is the first one, just a simple one really, I've almost finished two others which I'm happier with, but I thought I'd post this first.

I've got a new desk which gives me more space to work on, and it looks pretty too which is inspiring & motivating! I must have neat & tidiness when I work - can't stand messy clutter as I find it very... constricting, I think?

clutter

2010-07-30T21:06:00.000+01:00

Back from my weekend down south! I didn't take my camera so I don't have many pictures - I think I'd like to get a decent compact camera just so I don't have to lug around the dslr all the time...

[taken from the car lol]

Also, check out this month's Digital Artist magazine!

The past two weeks I've spent de-cluttering my room and I've bought another desk too, so I'm all ready to get back into illustration now that I've got a good 'space' for it ^^

Oh and one last thing, I've changed my primary email address to littleflowersinthedirt [at] gmail.com instead of that awful hotmail one!

2010-06-29T23:33:00.001+01:00

sketches

saturday

2010-06-19T12:56:00.000+01:00

Still busy with doll painting...

But here are my own dolls, snapshots taken over the course the past few months c:

it's a tuesday night music post

2010-06-16T00:10:00.005+01:00

cocteau twins

just a couple of my favourites...

know who you are at every age

carolyn's fingers

cico buff

love's easy tears

and two of my favourite live perfomances c:

orange appled

and

ella megalast burls forever

finished drawings

2010-05-05T12:49:00.001+01:00

I finally finished those pictures I posted before...

Not happy but it's a start c:

This month I'm not going to get stressed with commissions! I worry too much and think that any free time I have to draw should be spent working instead, so I'll stop doing that. Well, I'll try to :P

trees & water

2010-05-03T16:04:00.000+01:00

Bowden

and then

Edinburgh

(these were taken with my phone so the quality is questionable!)

drawing again..

2010-04-21T22:17:00.002+01:00

having a break from commission work so I've been trying to do some drawing again... it's been so long that I've hit a sort of stump, haven't progressed in style/technique at all in the past year and I just wish I had the drive to get into it more~

so here are some work in progress pics - I've even got a few more sketches waiting to be photographed so hopefully I'll get them done before I start work again!

And while I've been on holiday I've made friends with mr.cat :3

meow meow!

sigh's smell of farewell

2010-04-07T19:43:00.001+01:00

faceup materials~

2010-03-09T19:22:00.002Z

some photos..

2010-02-28T20:21:00.001Z

making things

2010-01-16T21:46:00.002Z

slowly learning to crochet! first practice piece, modeled so lovingly by my unoa lusis :3

also started to learning how to use my sewing machine - I said I would make some socks and I did! so far I've made these thigh high ones, and also some ankle socks.

Next up is a dress!

not finished yet... & merry christmas!

2009-12-19T17:08:00.003Z

faceup progress, still figuring out best layout~

also, here is a christmas song for you all!

happy holidays!

work in progress...

2009-12-12T11:36:00.005Z

I'm doing a short & simple guide on how I paint dolls, so look out for that soon~!

just an update

2009-11-18T15:32:00.003Z

some photos from autumn ~ winter seems to have just happened so suddenly!

and a little progress on my unoa. i'm still very busy with commissions so i'm just doing a bit at a time whenever i'm free :)

(I've sanded the eyes and carved a more exaggerated lip shape)

happy unoa day

2009-10-18T15:27:00.004+01:00

my unoa lusis arrived on Friday!

I assembled her that night (couldn't wait :P) except for the faceplate - I'll be modifying it and painting it after I've finished my commission work. Here is shushu meeting her for the first time, thinking "what is this freak".

I can't wait to start making clothes!

1st task will be... socks!

2009-09-20T21:50:00.003+01:00

2009-09-13T22:07:00.000+01:00

playing with new lens & curves ;)

new toy

2009-08-23T17:21:00.003+01:00

got a new toy ^.^

Pearly Dewdrops' Drops

2009-08-21T15:53:00.005+01:00

better quality versions are on my flickr

I came joint first in DoA's 'Angelic Faceup' Contest!

My theme & inspiration was 'celestial'

I lost out to the tiebreaker of rock paper scissors though

should have chosen spock!

Also, here is the shushu I mentioned in the earlier post ~

I modified the nose and mouth - carved in the shape and teeth,

then painted her of course!

WIP

2009-07-29T13:11:00.003+01:00

Here's a look into a picture I'm doing for a competition... very WIP at the moment! Don't have much time to work on it - currently just nights since I'm so busy with faceup commissions right now~
Need to fix the symmetry - when I've finished the linework, I mirror the image to see the mistakes easier and then fix them.

see the imaginative titles I give stuff~

And here's the original sketch - in future I'd like to work more on perfecting the drawing first before going into photoshop, might make doing the linework easier & quicker.

The finished piece won't look anything like this!

The Fin in my last post sold and has arrived at it's new home! Now I just have to wait 6-8 months for my Unoa Lusis -___-;
In between commissons I've also been working on my own dolls - I've done a different kind of mod on the little Shushu which I'll hopefully have pictures of soon~

And I've been thinking about designing & sculpting my own design for a doll head... will probably start on this in Winter when doing faceups is more difficult because of the damp, cold weather & poor light. I'm quite excited about this but don't want to talk too much about it because I know a lot of doll owners at one point try to sculpt their own and it turns out rubbish - I don't want to be one of those people!!

Domuya Fin

2009-06-24T14:04:00.005+01:00

some recent pictures...

2009-05-27T12:28:00.002+01:00

Paris part 1

2009-04-20T16:37:00.004+01:00

Trip to Paris - La Défense district :

Le Grande Arche :

(it was so big I should have had a wide-angle lens!!)

more at my flickr here

Akino Arai Live in Paris 2009!

2009-04-15T22:15:00.003+01:00

I met a Goddess!
She was wonderful ~ I've written about it in my other journal here

Loved Paris so much - I have to go again someday soon! I'll be posting pictures of the places we went soon, just had to do the AA pictures first~ :)
Not ready to get back into work yet :( ...but have to if I'm going to try and go to her concerts this Summer in Japan!

photo dump

2009-03-27T22:38:00.004Z

~some photos which have been sitting in unorganised folders for months... my computer is such a mess ~ I keep thinking 'there's no point sorting it out when I'm buying a new one soon'. Logic fails me :---0

I can't decide - new laptop or airbrush (for doll painting) ?_?

I love this (doll outfit perfection) so much ~ 0h to have money!

some art (full images!)

2009-02-22T15:35:00.004Z

Well, here are the full images~!
I'm so rusty at this art thing since finishing uni :( So this is the first step towards my New Years resolution - to draw more! I need to totally rebuild my portfolio~

some art

2009-02-17T14:44:00.003Z

A sneak peek at 2 images I'm entering into a competition!
I'm just glad to have a reason to draw again, I've been so busy with dolls I've lost focus on what I should be doing... I want to use my illustration degree for something! haha

Speaking of dolls I've updated my lj with more commissions : here

Akino Arai

2009-02-04T19:13:00.003Z

My biggest inspiration...

3-4 years ago I missed out on the chance of going to her concert but I'm not missing it this time!

You know a...

2009-01-27T13:11:00.003Z

A recent commission I did for a lovely lady in Canada~
These dolls in the picture are called 'Unoa' and I really want to buy my own in the next pre-order!

I'm hoping to buy a faster computer soon too, so look out for more of my illustrations!
(I have a few unfinished ones right now, but I'll never complete them because my current computer is too slow to handle anything at 300dpi!)

more doll facts

2009-01-05T16:34:00.003Z

I finished my first doll modification the other day, and I've painted her too~

Her eyes were originally completely closed so I had to cut through the resin using a small sharp knife, and then sanded and refined the shape using very tiny files (games workshop) and micro-fine sandpaper. Also carved slight eyelids.

(The colours in this are supposed to be like the film 2046 ~ I think I might name her after one of the characters)

From my personal collection, I have to get as much done on my own dolls before all the January commissions come in!

new year~

2008-12-27T16:01:00.004Z

I hope everyone had a happy christmas~

new shop banner~

I have been (and still am!) busy with doll commissions, as always details are on the forum Den of Angels or here for non-members :)

illustration work on etsy has been put on hold because of the above reason ^^^

and for 'casual' pictures and photography please feel free to visit my flickr page!

2008-11-12T13:43:00.000Z

2008-10-17T13:31:00.002+01:00

my dear...

2008-10-16T19:20:00.002+01:00

deer

Doll Commissions

2008-10-08T13:01:00.003+01:00

I've opened up a doll commission shop~

Information on Den of Angels (international doll forum)

or here for non-members

:)

coming soon ~ viridian.house etsy shop

2008-09-30T15:47:00.003+01:00

Am liking squares at the moment...
also starting to watermark my images.
x

2008-09-26T15:31:00.002+01:00

2008-09-19T13:42:00.002+01:00

I tried to make a pair of jeans~
I love textiles and fashion... but I just can't sew!! It's too hard to keep sewing neat :| yup

ps. the lovely dress is by Tanya , I oh so sneakily hid the messy messy waistband under it ;)

2008-09-16T16:57:00.004+01:00

2008-09-03T15:15:00.000+01:00

vertigo

2008-09-03T15:11:00.002+01:00

ode to hitchcock

some photos

2008-09-03T14:58:00.003+01:00

...

now some of my doll customization~

2008-08-22T14:55:00.005+01:00

2008-07-30T16:36:00.000+01:00

2008-07-28T22:45:00.001+01:00

dandelion

2008-07-11T15:54:00.003+01:00

Having a good Summer~

2008-05-23T17:30:00.004+01:00

2008-05-20T13:05:00.004+01:00

2008-05-17T15:22:00.000+01:00

http://www.vimeo.com/993998

this is so awesome - watch it! watch it now!

2008-05-13T22:27:00.005+01:00

click it!

lyrics:
"I used to try to get out of this planet
in my old
spaceship
I was trying to find another place to live
with my little bird"

by kotringo:
http://download.yousendit.com/0E8293733D3B0858

For article - How to Stare Death in the Face

2008-05-06T14:39:00.001+01:00

These turned out pretty crap but I had a lot of fun making them! \('-')/

2008-05-02T16:59:00.001+01:00

2008-04-13T23:13:00.003+01:00

~Work in Progress~
Pages from 'Cinderella'. There's still work to do on these, and some others not shown, including things like character/outfit re-design and text application. :-0

2008-04-13T23:11:00.002+01:00

Self-Portrait

2008-04-13T23:00:00.003+01:00

Taken at Gullane Bay

2008-03-02T14:54:00.003Z

2008-02-28T14:20:00.002Z

2008-02-14T15:30:00.001Z

2008-02-13T19:19:00.002Z

2008-02-05T21:21:00.000Z

2008-02-03T18:14:00.002Z

2008-01-29T21:31:00.000Z

2008-01-24T16:46:00.000Z

'Stanley'

'Hiromi'

2008-01-07T19:34:00.000Z

2007-11-28T16:03:00.001Z

2007-11-26T15:22:00.000Z

2007-11-24T21:20:00.002Z

WIPs

2007-11-22T15:03:00.001Z

2007-11-21T16:56:00.001Z

2007-11-20T18:18:00.001Z

2007-11-20T17:52:00.001Z