My Rurukos are Ready for Summer

I had a little spare time to play today, so I went looking through my stash of clothes to find something new for my girls to wear. Then I popped them on my laptop and took a couple of happy snaps. Using a laptop as a little stage or backdrop is a great way to capture a quick, stylized shot of your favorite small dolls, miniatures or figures. I liked the way this one turned out after editing.

The one below shows exactly how I had them sitting on my keyboard. The outfits they are wearing were made for my Fairyland PukiFees, but they look fine on these two.

Then I tried editing out a background and replacing it with plain colour. This is a highly effective way to eliminate distractions and make your subject stand out, though it can sometimes look a bit "designed" or unnatural if the edges aren't perfect.

I recommend you try choosing a plain background color that matches the general brightness and luminance of the original environment. Putting a subject photographed in bright lighting against a solid dark background will usually look jarring as shown here.

If you want the photo to look like it was shot in a professional studio rather than digitally edited, use a subtle gradient layer instead of a perfectly flat solid color. A slight light falloff from the top or center makes a world of difference.

To create a really magical composite image add a PNG character or subject into a festive digital background like I've done with Santa's Workshop below, it's a great way to bring a holiday scene to life. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, they really do look like they are in Santa's Workshop.

Because of my limited mobility, I mostly use my desk, and take photos with my phone. Doing so under the daylight globes in my studio helps me to capture beautiful, eye-level photos of my dolls without needing to physically drop to the ground. I sometimes use elevated staging surfaces, to bring the scene to my comfort level. Getting to the doll's eye level creates a lifelike perspective, and I can easily achieve this while standing or sitting comfortably.

I've never been really great at taking photos with a camera. However, the editing process is what enjoy the most and using the digital backgrounds, really makes photography fun for me!

How do you prefer to take your photos?

A New Old Ruruko & Two Little Pullips

Ruruko's are not easy to come by here in Australia, so when I saw this gal I snapped her up and she arrived today.

I had absolutely no idea when she was released, but I didn't really care as long a she was in good condition, and she is perfect.

However, I did some research and she could be either one of these two girls below, but seeing she came without her original clothing, I think she's more likely to be the second of the two.

As I rarely keep dolls in original outfits, it's not a problem for me and she will be a perfect sibling for Hatsuko.

Ruruko dolls don't come with different names, but she needs one of her own, so after giving it much thought . . . I think Sachiko will suit her nicely. In Japanese, the word "sachi" means “happiness” or “good luck” and the word "ko" means “child.”

CCSgirl-26ETO-Ruruko-Horse

22cm Body: Pure Neemo Full Flection XS, PetWORKs version (Azone International) 

Hair Color: Deep Ash Blonde 

Eye Color: Khaki 

Skin Tone: Natural 

Comes With: Full Furisode Kimono Obi Outfit, Underwear & Boots

Fresh-Ruruko-2408

22cm Body: Pure Neemo Full Flection XS, PetWORKs version (Azone International) 

Hair Color: Deep Ash Blonde 

Eye Color: Pale Khaki 

Skin Tone: Natural 

Comes With: All in one Outfit only

It's been a long time since I gave Pullips a thought, but the same day I saw these two tiny faces peeking at me through the computer screen and thought they'd make a nice little treat to give myself for Christmas.

The Little Pullip Carol & Rudolph (F-811) is a rare, limited-edition Christmas two-pack released by Jun Planning in November 2005. The dolls are tiny at approximately 16 cm (5 to 6 inches) tall and were the first and only two-pack released in the original Little Pullip series. Little Pullip Carol was based on a full-sized Pullip release, while Little Rudolph was an original companion design.

Carol is dressed in a festive red-and-white Santa Claus-style outfit with fur trim, a belt of tiny bells, and matching holiday wear. While Rudolph is dressed in a plush brown reindeer outfit with antlers, a red-and-green striped scarf, and green straight hair. The set also includes a miniature Christmas stocking.

Like other early Little Pullips, they feature real fabric clothing and fixed non-mobile eyes (they cannot blink or look side-to-side) with limited articulation compared to full-sized Pullips.

I ordered the Pullips from Japan on 3rd (the same day as Ruruko) and they arrived yesterday, the 12th, a day quicker than the sweet little Ruruko from Western Australia.

Orla Arrived

Yes, she arrived on the 7th October, but I wanted to wait until I had my camera working again before sharing photos of her . . . and here she is. I was not disappointed with her in the least, I love her carrot red hair, fair skin and gorgeous blue green eyes.

She has a beautiful face and I'm going to enjoy taking photos of her, outside where the lighting is much better. These are surely not the best photos, they certainly don't do her justice and by the looks of them, I'm going to need a lot more practice in how to use my camera again.

I will be changing her dress and socks though. The dress has a Velcro closure which is bound to catch her hair and the blue socks could stain her very pale vinyl.