Welcome to Friday Monologue #5 !!

Thanks for being patient with the delay!

I’ve learned something during this FM.  I should always try to actually do the dialogue the day of or after shooting the photos. I delayed a bit on this one due to RL stuff and when it came time to work on it some of the commentary that had sprung to mind while shooting disappeared.  Now I know better next time!

I tried to make the images smaller this time so feedback on how well they display would be good! Also, I know a few of the words in some speech bubbles got slightly cut off. It’s the program I’m using so *shrug* I’ll try to keep it from happening again (ie catching it in one of the steps & fixing it before I do all the other stuff)

Welcome to Friday Monologue #4 !!

Here’s FM#4 featuring Viv.

Please if you do actually read it — comment in this post. I’m specifically interested in how the images appear in your browsers (are they too big, not big enough, hard to read, etc.)

I’d appreciate it.

Today was good.    I managed to shoot most (if not all) of the photos for use in this week’s Friday Monologue. Tomorrow I’ll chain myself to the computer and edit the photos and then begin the actual photostory.

Yesterday I began work on a couple of Momoko dresses for ebay. They need to be finished up at some point.

I’m also going to be working on making some 1:6 goodies although I expect they’ll take some trial and error to get right. And I definitely won’t be listing those on Etsy when they’re done ((shhhh! 1:6 perv alert!))

Otherwise still here & kicking.

My eye appt is next saturday–hopefully they’ll tell me that the tapering off of the flashes are good signs & that all is well. *fingers crossed *

Hope everyone else out there is having a good time & being productive with their 1:6 stuff!

I know I’m running behind on the Friday Monologues. But I’m still working on them. They’re just taking a little bit longer. This week’s will be done, and if I can manage it, I’ll do something a little special as well. (We’ll have to see).

Otherwise, things are going ok.
Still waiting for my eye referral, and trying to make progress sorting out stuff & making things. For those of you who don’t regularly check additions to my blogroll, here are a few new ones that I’m enjoying!

Figurvore (a new forum for 1:6 scale dolls & action figures.) It’s got a lot of emphasis on the how of things, more than the “what I have” of things. Good, friendly people. If you’re bored come check us out (we won’t bite)

Dolly-Novella a 1:6 scale photostory site. It’s got some romping fun reads and is worth the time navigating & exploring.

Also, Roville updated with a mini-photostory/ slice of life as well check that out here: Roville (the Office)

About my expectations for my photostories in 2010:

My long talked about, long planned, long scripted photostories…

My point: Making changes in my plans for my photostories.

I’m in a kind of tough situation at the moment.

We’re trying to get the house ready & up for sale (which means getting rid of as much stuff as we can, and packing up much of my belongings & so on).  It also means that I’m really really limited in what I can do  work on with regard to my photostories.

This bothers me because I’m still scripting & planning. I have such a lot I want to do. And I’m frustrated that I can’t do much of anything because of my current (perceived) limitations.

So what do I do??

• Do I put all the dolls & roomsets away (the ones that won’t get taken apart & discarded) and just stick to writing the scripts? And hope that in a year from now when we’re settled *fingers crossed for luck* and I’ll want to make the sets & shoot the stories then?

• Do I try to do them now and end up doing what I’ll feel is a half-assed job?

I say that because I have a really definite idea & vision in my mind of how I want the Chronicles to be.

I don’t want them to suck (The stories don’t. However,  I feel like I’m letting myself down by not making the settings the best I can.) I’m caught between a rock & a hard place because I can’t work on any sets.  I want to make them. To share them with people.  But I want to share something I can be proud of–or at least semi-satisfied with

I do know I don’t want to shoot them & then  re-shoot them again in the future (I’ve tried that once and it was like all the magic of it left with the first shoot & the second was just “oh I gotta do this again!”).

So where does that leave me and  The Chronicles?

They’ve been stuck in a holding pattern for so long now.  It’s unspeakably frustrating…and I get tired of thinking about the “someday” aspect of it.

So what can I do?

I’ve been giving it a good deal of thought.  I want to feel productive about the Chronicles on some level, even if I can’t produce whole episodes.  I want to continue to explore characters & see if I can develop them more.  So I’ve come up with the following (probably very lame) idea:

Do a weekly photostory/ interview with a character from The Chronicles.

I know it’s not the same as doing an episode, and that whatever it is will likely be a monologue delivered by said character.  It’ll all be done in 1 room. The plan is to do them once a week and post them up on Fridays. Hopefully folks might feel like suggesting characters they want to learn more about (from the main profile site).

This Friday’s will focus on Thom Tazzo.

So there it is.

That’s the plan.

Please don’t laugh me out the door……

I didn’t get as much done yesterday as I’d hoped due to migraine interference. However, I did get a really great start on making an outfit for Inessa.

Who is Inessa?

Inessa is one of Natalie’s characters and an all time favorite of mine (so much so in fact that I created a sister just for her–I love interconnected characters).  I was going to link a pic of Inessa here, but her profile page needs updating *nudges nat* However you can see  Inessa here. (please forgive how horribly blurry most of the photos in that story are)

Anyway, Nat’s been mentioning that she’s been at a loss to dress the poor woman.  Not enough clothing in her closet that fits her style.  I can empathize with that since I have a few figures like that too….So I volunteered as an x-mas present (and with the ulterior motive of seeing more Inessa photostories) to make her an outfit.

:)   MERRY X-Mas Nat!  :D

Hope you like! :D

This is what I came up with last night (and this morning & this afternoon). Hope Inessa likes it (Yseult, her sister is modeling it on a borrowed E body) As usual, click the photo for a larger version (and inside the little funky box for an even larger version to see well, whatever details there might be) :P

This is a 2 piece set– a black shirt & a gunmetal grey/silvery skirt. The skirt fabric was really difficult to photograph.  It definitely looks better in person!

I felt kind of bad that Inessa was only getting one outfit–and wanted to make things interchangeable, so I added an additional skirt with the wrap & stuff to make it more complete.

The check skirt, black top, leather belt & faux fur wrap

Now, on a related topic—-Clothes & the organization of them!

Actually, I think I’ll post more on that tomorrow!

Probably one of the most entertaining doll & action photostories out there, Love Has Fangs has always been a favorite read of mine.  It’s the brainchild of Elizabeth A. Allen, and it’s not your usual light-n-fluffy doll soap. For more info about the series check it out here.

Now, it’s available in printed form :woot:  from Lulu (not Hulu. Lulu!) So if you know someone who’d appreciate it as a gift, it’s well worth it.  Love Has Fangs @Lulu

So here it is–November! Time for me to get my stuff finished up and listed on etsy (this week, really!)

But along with Etsy goodness to come, this is the National Novel Writing Month!! (The premise, just in case you don’t know about it is that you write a book in 30 days of at least 50K words)

I’ve taken part in this for 2 years (last year didn’t really happen) and while I am going to participate this year I am not going to follow the format exactly. What I am going to do is write a collection of pieces that will provide me (hopefully) with back-stories, scripts & the like to use in future episodes of the Quinlan Chronicles, as well as giving me scripts that I can use for the “shorts” I plan on doing as a tide-me-over with regard to the chronicles.

When I have some time later today I’ll also post a few doll related things (I know I said that last time, but I’ve finally got some photography space in the room) :p

I spent some time working on the Quinlan Chronicles website again.   I’m happy with the background images, and have now added the updated student profiles *and made them active*  :)

Feel free to take a look at them here:

The Quinlan Chronicles: profiles

If anyone wants to check it out and let me know how it looks/loads/ I’d appreciate it. ^_^  It’s best viewed with Firefox and I’m not making any promises how it looks in crappy IE.

Here’s hoping that I’ll soon get to work on the grown-up profiles for the chronicles!

This is what I managed to come up with so far. It’s pretty much a rough draft. I figure that when I really am ready (and have everyone firmly in mind I’ll revamp it) I felt very limited with only a few icons to try to describe some of the dynamics & reactions between characters.

Oh well. I’ll fix it next time.

For those of you curious about it…

here it is: http://corsetkitten.com/QC-R-chart.pdf

I should probably also take a minute to apologize to everyone who’s taken the time to write me an email lately.  I’ve been a bit buried (I’m about 2 weeks behind in correspondence) Please be patient with me a little bit longer and you’ll have an email from me!! ;)  Really!

I am actually working on stuff for the photostories.

Really! Ok, so you can’t see it–but I am.

For instance:

• Yesterday I wrote parts of 2 new scenes.
• Today I came to realization that I can have more than one professor teaching the same subject. Even better because now I have one I want to create–who I think will create some good interplay between the perpetually on-the-rag August, and the more uptight Shay. Yes, I think it will be good.
• Today I have begun gridding out the interpersonal chart for all the (current) characters. With some luck I’ll get it to work out and might even be able to post it here. We’ll have to see.

Now, I should get back to answering emails, and gridding. I need to have some good shit to show for this weekend so I can feel like I’ve accomplished something!

Yay!  Here’s your chance to see the  heads I painted! And even better–it’s a chance to do me a good turn by giving me your opinion! Now, please remember that as I stated in the last post I’m not really pleased with how they came out. So please don’t expect much.

I hope to update with a new post later this week with the final heads re-painted for choice. I’ll do a poll-feature then for final votes! :)

Below is a gallery of photos of the characters’ names & below that is a brief  “interview”blurb from each of them.

• Please take a few minutes to read them over and pick which figure goes with which quote (there are no right or wrong answers!!)  use the number in the photo to ID the head.   :)
• Feel free to suggest possible hair styles or clothing choices–or hobbies! LOL!

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  
  

• Olivia Aston-Lang (Livi)

“No, I sketched those myself.  I’m ok at it–I’d have gone into fashion design except that it’s such a cutthroat field.  I’d have liked it but that’s just –well I’m not good enough to always be shoving my work at people and saying “Like it! Damn you, Like it!”   What? Oh.  My major is enchantments.  Mostly because they come easy to me.  I don’t even have to study and I can do them right off the cuff.  My adviser’s suggested that there might be a future for me in R&D. Yea, making new spells–isn’t that cool!?!

• Ivy Elizabeth McMullen

“Yes, I’m Ivy. Ivy McMullen. Um, yea, I’m in professor Kohle’s class too. Er…yea. I have the homework done…it was problems 1-16 and 20, and 22. Uh…no. You can’t copy it. I’m–I’m not a really good student, so, uh, I know most of the problems are wrong… (thought: not really but who are you kidding? you don’t do your work and you think you’re gonna use mine? Not!)
Say, did you see the notice about the lectures we’re supposed to attend next week? Yea, that’s a bummer they’re at the same time as the fall fashion show.”

• Claire Marie Chase

“Is that silk?  Very nice.  I prefer it to linen. Oh look at him–he’s simply delicious! I spent the summer in Oxford and I didn’t see anyone who’d compare to him. Mmm!  Pardon? Oh?  So what if he has a girlfriend?  I’m sure I’m better looking than her and better dressed.  I’ll have to ask my brother for any information he has on him.  MMmmmm… What about Theo? Do I think he’d be into you….Darling, do you really want me to answer that?”

• Jillian Carmichael (Jilly)

“No. The answer is Strontium sulfate. How did you manage to get accepted without knowing that?” Rolls eyes. “You’re not going to be able to skate by without studying–I don’t care how short your skirts are. Or how perky your boobs are. They’ll fail you. And you’re my roomate–so you’d better knuckle down and study. How you do reflects on me and I don’t want anything ruining my average or my chances at getting into a good grad school.” Shaking head. “You’re not an idiot. Just try harder. And read the book instead of watching American Idol!”

• Claudia Karsten-Kane

“Oh, please. Tell it to someone else, would you Mallory? I know you’re completely smitten with that man–but you’ll never get anywhere with him if you don’t _do_ something! I say you should try to investigate–you know he’s got his girlfriend–and a woman on the side…why not see what else you can find out? Then maybe you’ll have an in! Don’t look at me like that– you know that’s what you want to do anyway. Really.”

• Portia Amelie Guichard

“What would you like to know about me? Yes, I’m from the Avondale Guichards. No, I am not seeing anyone at the moment. I broke up with my fiance over the summer. Oh, he was being a prat. I can do better than that. Not to mention my goals are set higher–I am not content to live off my family’s effort. I have goals that I aspire to. No one, man or woman is going to stop me.
Excuse me?
Of course I expect people to listen to what I say. Why shouldn’t they? I’m a very knowledgeable woman and I come from a good bloodline. Not to mention they usually regret it if they don’t. (small smile) Me? My flaws? …Well, maybe I can be a little bit vindictive. But who’s perfect? (laugh) I’m probably as close as you can find in human form.

• Tara Mills-Bowman

“I’ll tell you, being an Resident Advisor this year is great! It’s giving me-and Stella-the chance to be recognized for how much work we did the last two years…Last year was really rough what with the demon that those stupid girls summoned in the bathroom. Talk about a mess…Exploded pipes, water all over–and Shasta–the RA for the hall was unconscious. Stella stepped in and I-well, of course. I helped. That’s what best friends do. She also inspires me to try harder at whatever I do…My future? It’s bright. I’ll either take a post in the family or I’ll go on to do research. Maybe both. I’m not sure…and that’s the lovely thing about being so wealthy–I don’t have to worry. I’ll decide when I’m ready.”

And out of the 9 heads I did start off knowing which of them were going to be Stella & Lori Vanderhoff:

• Stella Alexandria Vanderhoff

“It’s only right that they appointed me as RA for the hall this year. And of course Tara too. She’s so dependable. I believe that friends can be invaluable–as long as you choose the right ones. Am I popular? Oh, I don’t like to boast…but yes. I’m never lacking for dates, study partners, or people who just want to bask in the glow that is me. (small smile). I’ve made Dean’s List every semester since I was admitted. Right now I’m in the top 2% of the 3rd years. I plan to be in the top 1% before the year end. Did I mention that I’m studying with the intention of going into the legal field? I’m starting an internship this year. I’m rather excited about it.
Lori? She’s my little sister. Am I going to treat her differently? (chuckle) Hardly. As long as she follows the rules of the university, and the ones of the hall, she’ll be fine. Otherwise – she’ll learn the hard way. She’s bright though, so I’m certain if she wants to break the rules she won’t get caught. After all It’s all about being caught. Just like life.”

• Lori Apollonia Vanderhoff

“I’m so glad to be done with high school! Coming to Quinlan University is a nice change–although having Stella looking over my shoulder all the time isn’t what I was hoping for. She spent the summer boring me with how much studying I’ll need to do. How I need to behave. What classes I should take. Which girls I should be friends with. What kind of clothes I should wear…Blah, blah, blah! As if. She’s always been jealous that I took after mother and she–well…she’s almost as flat chested as a pancake! (giggle)
My studies? I don’t need to study that much–I’m brilliant–did you know that? What? It’s true that my grades aren’t that good…but it’s because I find classrooms bor-ring! Four boring walls, some teacher droning on endlessly about some obscure fact…I can make C’s without reading or practicing so wh

y should I waste the time? Yes, I could make B’s or A’s of I studied. But why bother? Anyway, everyone says that your first year is the time you’re supposed to have the most fun at university–and I intend to!”

I tried but I really couldn’t stand some of the faces…

I thought the painting quality was way below even average for me. After doing a 2nd round of repaints I am coming to realize that a big part of my problem is the brushes that I am using (they need replacing).  I’m still not entirely thrilled with #’s 1 & 7 but I think they are vastly improved. As for blue hair…I know she could be better but I think she has a certain something about her…

I realize it’s been a little while since I posted any progress on the kitchen! So… I’ve taken some photos to show where we’ve gotten to so far. (comments about the roomset below the photos)

a couple of “before” shots of the furniture….

The ex-sink cabinet (made into a regular floor cabinet) and the sink…

Comments:

1. The color choice for the kitchen cabinets wasn’t  exactly what I wanted. I wanted a pale mossy green and instead I’ve ended up with camouflage green.  :?  However, I think that with the golden wood top treatments it works. (I do think in the future though, that Cass will have the cabinets re-faced with a different color).
2. The location of the windows demanded that the counters be organized in a specific way…Which has created a few tangles in so far as where I want/planned to put the “cabinets” (aka shelving) for the kitchen.  I think it’ll work out ok but it won’t match what I had in my mind’s eye.
3. Need a corner-filler/mock cabinet for the join between the 2 cabinets.
4. The flooring at the moment is “rug” (not rug at all, but that’s beside the point, right?) I originally wanted tile flooring for the kitchen. I like this close weave, and I think the color works with the over all room….but I still want tile. That’s the beautiful thing about it being a drop in floor—i can change the run/tile/floor anytime I want. :D
5. The windows–aren’t they spiffy? They’re working windows as well. (I love my husband a great deal for his willingness to work on those for me, as well as the beautiful arched doorway.) I’ll bother with better photos of the windows next time.
6. The arched doorway…I know I need to take some photos (so you can see it) but I’m waiting until I have a wall in the background so you can see it to the best effect. :D

Still to be done:

• Window latches: I need to make some! Otherwise, Cass is just gonna be inviting burglars on into the apartment!
• Window treatment: what kind to make & how to go about it. Magnetic?
• Oven needs to be re-painted & covered with wood on the sides & top.
• Sink needs to have the wood countertop added (painted already)
• Backsplash for the sink/area countertop (below window area):probably use scored styrene for this but I’m not 100% sure at the moment what look I want.
• light switches & electrical sockets: I need to make some and then cast them. Little details like that make such a difference to me.  I’m gonna cheat though and cast one with the switch in an “on” position and then one in an “off” position–I’ll use stick n fix (that comes in white, did ya know?) to hold them in place.
• Kitchen “cabinets”/shelving. These are going to be very simple (rectangular) boxes attached to the walls. These will be green to match the floor units (although I’m considering using wood on the shelf bottoms). I’m thinking about using some of those rare earth magnets I got off feebay last year to hold them in-place. If I sink them into the MDF and also into the cabinet, then there’s no pegs or screws to mess about with. A definite plus in my book. Need a corner “cabinet” spacer for the floor units.
• The stove hood/exhaust hood: gotta have it.  Going to have a more simplistic version.
• Kitchen table: at the moment I’ve got a barbie “my house” table & chair set in place. I’m trying to figure if I want to paint the table a dark wood, or cover it with wood to match the cabinet tops.

There you have it for the moment…

The next room that will get worked on after the kitchen is finished is the Hallway (hope to get that done by the end of May).

This one was put together for Milk of Milkshake Melody! She’s going to be taking custody of Meg soon, and I thought a little “slice of life” would make it easier to write the character! :)

Hope y’all enjoy!

(not much on plot, but it’s what it is…)

What prompted me to make 1:6 canvases?

That’s simple: I need them for character development!

1. Raven, one of the characters in my upcoming photostories is artistic, and very moody & emo–and I want to have some scenes where she is painting or discussing it with another student. I can’t do that without the following:
   • a few canvases that she’s working on.
   • an easel (I’ve tried painting without an easel and it is the most frustrating thing in the world)

I started working on the canvases last week. I wanted to make them gallery profile (thicker in profile) rather than the el cheapo 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch width that are fairly prevalent…mostly because I like the gallery profile more and it’s my personal preference when I am actually painting in 1:1 with oils.

So, here’s the start of the canvases:

*I know next time to use the other, more tightly woven cotton.

About the construction:

If I’d had my way, I’d have mitre cut the stretcher pieces. However, my hand sawing isn’t accurate enough to ensure that it would be 100% fit.  That’s really important for the canvas, so I went another route. I used a butt joint instead for the frames.

After that I attached the “canvas” or cotton muslin.  Linen would be better, but the only linen I have on hand is for a 1:1 bodice lining, and the weave is too large for 1:6 canvas.  If I make any in the future with linen I will see about ordering some of the handkerchief weight irish linen. That linen’s expensive tho, so it’d be a ways off.

Once I had the canvas attached to the stretcher I applied the first coat of gesso. Because of the cotton I used I actually had to give it 2 coats before I could sand it. After the 3rd coat I sanded again, and again after the 4th coat. You can continue to do this until the canvas has the texture or smoothness desired. (these canvases could have used another few coats & further sanding but I lost patience and just wanted them done!)

“finished” canvases:

Now…. to make the easel! ;)

(either an H-type or the boring ol’ A-type)

Ok, here we go again–another post on the apartment in progress!

The Kitchen:

I know, you’re probably wondering what there is to consider when it comes to putting the kitchen together, aren’t you??? ;)

Well, I have to put a lot of thought into just about every room. Mostly because once it’s done it’s done and I hate having to re-do anything (so much so in fact that almost nothing gets a 2nd go round with me).

What I had to consider:

1. Was the kitchen going to be an eat-in kitchen or not?
2. What furniture was I going to use for the room set?
3. How will the kitchen furniture affect the finished size of the room? Will there still be enough space for it to be an eat-in kitchen?
4. How big and where exactly did I want the windows placed?
5. Where exactly did I want the doorway into the hall placed?

You really wouldn’t think that the furniture would be a big consideration, would you? But it really was for me. Since I don’t plan on having tons and tons of room sets I want to have furniture that is dedicated to each one. (I’d like to do that with re-ment to, but frankly I don’t think that’s as practicable as dedicated furniture). So by dedicating furnishings to a given room set or diorama I am placing some limits on my options. I’m willing to put up with that as I also think it will lend some authenticity to the rooms.

Furnishing The Kitchen:

I only have a few pieces of kitchen furniture that I’ve picked up off of feebay the last 2 years.  I have the ever elusive (and ever-so-over-priced) Kenmore kitchen set, and I have various pieces of Sindy furniture. I also have a barbie wall unit kitchen, but frankly speaking it’s so out of scale it isn’t even funny.  Plus who ever heard of a sink with the over directly under it? (I ask you, WTF was Mattel thinking when they came up with that one???)

The kenmore kitchen set is nice (with some work). If I could I’d have multiples of that–however, I don’t.  I have one, I’m happy to have it but that also means that I’m saving it until I have the right set up in mind for it. I’m pretty sure that it’ll get used when I do the Loft apartment set, and I don’t want to “waste” it before then. Kitchens in 1:6 seem to be very hit or miss…and at least when it comes to my characters I know what they want in that room. (I wish their preferences were half as clear when it came to livingrooms, offices & bedrooms!)

When I get around to doing Viv’s place I’ll be making her kitchen from scratch as I want hers to be ultra modern & very trendy *something that Cass’s definitely is not*

So back to those questions:

• Was the kitchen going to be an eat-in kitchen or not?

Yes.  Definitely eat-in. I have already written scenes in the Quinlan-chronicles that take place in the kitchen, and I think it’s probably one of the rooms that will see the most use.

• What furniture was I going to use for the room set?
  

Sindy’s eastham furniture set with some modifications.  It looks like this:

What it needed:

1. first off, it needed to be raised about a cm to make it the proper height for Cass & co.
2. it needs to be primed and repainted (there will be NO bright yellow or mustard yellow kitchens in my photostories or dioramas! Sorry you yellow lovin’ folks. it’s just not gonna happen! ;) *I am not sure at this point what color the kitchen appliances are going to be, though I’m leaning towards browns/wood look*
3. because of the market, and sindy stuff being “vintage” I haven’t been able to get my hands on the additional floor cupboard/cabinet that matched the sink & stove.  The kitchen looked weird with just the sink, stove & oven (and barbie fridge) Sooo… I took a spare sink & popped the sink out of the base and converted into a floor cupboard/cabinet. Removing the sink was easy because the glue that they used in manufacturing was old and gave very easily. It was then covered and then covered with thin wood (from Mark’s model airplane stock).



4. I still need hanging cabinets. I’d hoped to snag those off feebay but I’ve been unsuccessful so far. That means I’ll need to make them at some point. Probably in a week or two. I’ll make them out of styrene and paint them to match whatever color I make the units.

• How will the kitchen furniture affect the finished size of the room? Will there still be enough space for it to be an eat-in kitchen?

There’s still plenty of room for an eat-in kitchen. I can comfortably fit a table in with chairs.  It also seems likely I’ll be able to fit in some of the inevitable kitchen clutter. ;)

• How big and where exactly did I want the windows placed?

This was a sticky point. I don’t really want the windows to be a focal point of the room, but I didn’t want to leave them out (even if it does mean that the room would be finished more quickly. ;) I decided to emulate the windows that we had in the kitchen in schoharie and see how it goes. I pretty much figure they’ll be partly obscured by window treatments anyway. ;)

• Where exactly did I want the doorway into the hall placed?

Weeellll…..I didn’t have a specific spot per se, just a general area I wanted it. I wanted it much closer to the apartment’s front door, so that the kitchen’s insides couldn’t be seen from the living room. On a practical point, it’d be nicer having that distance so that food cooking/smells etc wouldn’t fill the livingroom. I wanted the doorway from the kitchen and the doorway leading to the livingroom to be arched. I had an apartment that was like that and I really think it was the nicest feature (aside from the beautiful wood floors).. This is how the doorway has begun… (mark & I are discussing how the edge treatments should be…my apt just had smooth plastered sides, but he wants to put a molding around it… guess we’ll see ;)

Here I am again…I mentioned in the last post that if there was any interest in how I go about putting together a room set or a diorama that I would share my process here on the blog. You’ve said yes, so I’m going to hold to my part of the bargain as much as possible although as it happens somethings probably won’t end up shown *shrug* but that’s how it goes. I will say right now that this isn’t going to be a fast process since it depends a lot on free time, equipment, materials & general mood in being available. It’ll probably be a month or so in the doing.

Also a word of warning: 1) this is what I do. I’m not saying it’s right, nor that it is the only way of doing it. I also take no responsibility for people trying my way of doing things. This process involves sharp scalpel blades, band saws, routers and any number of potentially harmful things.  If you’re a child, you should have your parents help you with it. If you’re an adult then be careful. Always wear eye protection.

(ok PSA finished)

So, what is my first step when it comes to making a room set?

• For me the first step to it is actually deciding what kind of room set I’m making.

I take into account if it’s for someone in particular or for a specific use: i.e. an office or classroom, or a bedroom.  How often I think I am likely to use it also factors in a lot.  (here space of any sort is at a premium and storage space is next to nil.  So event though I can generally flat-pack room sets they still take up space  and I need them out of the way if they aren’t being used.) I don’t want to duplicate what I have already made unless there’s a really good reason for doing so.

• When I know that then I can figure out what the dimensions of it are going to be. I’m not the most realistic when it comes to those—since my 1:6 is about fantasy –I tend to give my characters larger than they could probably afford rooms. So sue me! I live vicariously through them at times!  ;)

Looking at the project of creating Cass’s Apartment is probably the best way I can go into it without boring the lot of you senseless.

I knew I wanted to make a complete apartment for Cass to use in the Quinlan-Chronicles. I had given a lot of thought as to where the majority of photostory scenes were likely to be shot and they came down to the campus/student lounge, the classroom, Cass’s place, the cafe, and miscellaneous alleyways.

Why make a complete apartment? When I could probably get away with just one or two rooms?

Weeeeeellll…. this comes down to one of my biggest pet peeves: 3 dimensional roomsets that you only ever see from the actual room itself. Yesss….I’m very guilty of it, but hopefully, with the creation of Cass’s apt, I’ll become less guilty of it as I go along! :) I want to be able to shoot scenes in the stories from a wider variety of angles–in the hallway looking into the kitchen or living room or from the patio into the living room… that sort of thing.

*are you bored yet?*

There were a few things I had to decide before drawing up the plans for the room set group:

1. was it a studio apartment? (no)
2. Does Cass live alone? (no. She has a roommate whose rent pays for the mortgage)
3. How many bedrooms does it have? (2–originally I thought 3 but nah, too many!)
4. Is it a house or an apartment? (It’s an apartment–but a nice one)
5. Does it have a backdoor or fire exit/escape? (no. it’s the first floor and plenty of windows to crawl out of–or people to break into)
6. Does it have a backyard? (No, but it has a patio. I wanted a place for some outside scenes)

After I answered those questions I drew up a quick sketch of what I thought the floorplan might be. I’ve got to admit to being somewhat spastic about that, as I actually cut out full size pieces of paper to help me judge if the rooms will be too big/small/just right. Even so, I mess up sometimes :?

I have to decide the number of rooms (someday, one of them will have a home office), and where and what kind of windows and doors I’ll want in them.

This is a revised  floorplan for the room sets that are in process:

While in the process of coming up with the floor plan, I have to give some thought to design issues, and fixtures that I may want in the room. I haven’t yet had a room with a fireplace in it and I’ve decided that one of those would 1) look good in Cass’s place and 2) add some visual interest to what would otherwise be a pretty bland and boring room.

I also decided that I wanted sliding glass doors to lead to the patio.  This will create some future issues when I want to shoot scenes and say its dark outside. I’ll either need to get better at photoshopping, or I’ll have to devise a shade curtain for the patio area. Possibly also have hanging drapes to cover the windows when not in use or when it’s night-time. (Little details like this I try to figure out as I go along rather than letting them stymie me and keep me from going forward)

Once I know the general dimensions of the rooms, I then have to ask Mark, the keeper of all power tools (in his locked workroom) to either let me use them or use them for me. (This is a step I look forward to cutting out in the future when I have my own power tools and space in which to use them without potentially damaging his workspace) ;)

• Cut wood into frames for each room set. (this is very similar to cutting stretchers for making a canvas). Once you’ve got all the pieces (and sizes  you need) then you glue them together with wood glue.
• Before the glue dries add corner braces to the inside corners. This will make them more stable in the long run & we all like that, right???
• After the woodglue has dried router out a groove in each piece so that you will be able to slot the walls in. (the walls I am using these days are 6mm MDF).
• Cut the MDF to size for the walls. Generally I do this whenever I have the money handy to actually buy some MDF from the hardware store/B&Q/Home Depot.

(I’m sorry I haven’t got pictures of this part but next time we make bases I’ll shoot pictures)

Keep your eyes peeled for my next Cass’s Apt post. :)

Yay! I have good news to report! :)  :D  :)

1st——->I have officially completed typing up (ie from longhand to the computer) the first full episode of The Quinlan Chronicles. YAY!!! :D :D :D

I am beginning work on the 2nd episode, since I am kind of in a limbo since I need a few things finished before I can start shooting the 1st episode’s photos.  So far it’s coming together really well.  Yay!

2nd——-> I have gotten my visa, I am good to go. Yay! No more worries on that score anymore (and its good for life)!!