Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Toothpick Feature: Ye Olde Dog Catcher

Show & tell time! This was a custom piece of an old Victorian-style Dog Catcher. And yes, he's made of toothpicks.

Confession. It is so much harder to make a male doll then a female doll. Granted, the ladies have flowing skirts, curly hair, fancy sleeves, & miniature roses, while the men have pants, a jacket & a hat, maybe a mustache. But please tell me how you're supposed to make a thin, spindly toothpick leg look like anything other than a thin, spindly toothpick leg if you can't cover it with a wide skirt! I ended up using an entirely new body structure composed of round & flat toothpicks with him.

Confession #2. I really had fun with this guy. Maybe I just like attitude, but it seems that the dolls that give me the most problems end up being my favorite. When they're finished, that is.

OK, time to play spot the details! This dapper Dog Catcher has a newsboy-style hat - someday I'll have to do a tutorial on that. There's a whole inner structure that goes into hats.

He's got contrasting lapels on his jacket, & orange buckles. His sleeve has a tiny insignia.

See his tiny bowtie? Ok, look harder - it's there!

My favorite - his net. It's entirely hand-knotted. Such fun! Such torture.

See more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelamichelledolls/

4 comments:

Fantastic Figments said...

GOOOOOODDD LORD! How can you work in such small detail. I think you are I are opposites. Actually I brought my little nutcracker win into work and taped him to my computer so I can look at him everyday. He sits right next to my "don't forget the details" sign. A little reminder for me to do more than look at the big picture.

Love the new piece... amazing.

Smooches,
Steph

Malissa said...

I LOVE him!! I can't believe how much detail you can get into such a tiny piece, but it's the details that make all the difference! Your work is amazing!

Uneekdolldesigns said...

I too have the same confession...I hated making male dolls at first, but now that i have forced myself to do more of them, it has gotten a bit easier! Never stop challenging yoursel;f! :)

Leslie said...

Your dolls are amazing, such tiny detail. I thought my clothes pin dolls were tiny. I can't wait to see more.