Carlos the Scientist

Hello, internet.  This is going to be the chronicles of me getting in way over my head with custom paint jobs of Lalaloopsy dolls.  I'm not going to attempt to rationalize why I love Lalas, I just do.  I'm going to be 20 in two months, and I'm finally actually really into dolls.  I guess because I grew up playing Legos, I'm making up for lost time now?  Who knows.  Anyway, I was looking at some Lala minis customized on Etsy to look like fictional characters (namely this adorable Esmeralda) and I got the idea that I should make a little custom Cecil and Carlos from Welcome to Night Vale because why not?  Well after searching the internet and finding that any and all male Lala minis were going for almost $35 since they're no longer in production, I accidentally stumbled across a full-size Sir Battlescarred for only $16 with the auction ending in 3 hours.  I pounced on that auction, watched it like a hawk, and swooped in at the last 5 minutes (I felt like a ninja - in truth, nobody else was actually bidding on it) and that's the story of how I ended up with this little guy.

he's super cute and in pretty good condition.  he does have his shoes (I took them off because they're going to be Cecil's shoes, not his) but he didn't come with the dragon.  which in retrospect would have actually been humorous to have since Hiram McDaniels and all that.  but honestly I view the little animal buddies that come with Lalas as excess trinkets to clutter up my room, so I'm not too concerned.  Carlos did have a few smudges that I was able to wash off and the numbers "1509" written in pen on the back of his neck.  those I was unable to remove fully.  somewhere between dish soap, Mr. Clean, ajax, and oven cleaner I was able to smudge it out to a faint bruise-like appearance

which hey - he's got a scar on his face so what's a few bruises right?  (he did almost die at that bowling alley, after all)  There was also some dried white paint in his hair but I was able to wash that off easily.

So last night I began my customization.  I told myself I was going to wait and do it all after I get my giveaway items made and then given away, but I then decided I can't do all of Carlos's paint job in one day anyway, there has to be drying time between, so why not get started in between patches and knitting?  so I started with his eyes.  

I put some brown onto my plastic party plate palette with a bit of light green.  I was trying for a hazel-ish color.  (or as Cecil puts it in my fic - "oh his eyes! They're like melted chocolate with a touch of honey mixed in.  I just wanted to drown in them!") So I suppose this is what chocolate with a touch of honey would look like?  It took a surprising amount of the amber for Cecil's eyes to get it to not look grey.  For my purposes, this seemed rather surprisingly close to what I was going for so I went with it.  

Painted the laces straight up brown, and used the hazel on the little shiny bits around the edges.  Here's a closer look at one of them. 

done with a toothpick and absolutely no breathing on my part.  I get really nervous about tracing.  

I left little Carlos to dry overnight, and then got back to it a bit this afternoon.  His cheeks were the next thing to go.  They're cute as they are - but so pink, and they seem too pale for his skin.  also, a bit feminine for what I'm going for.  So I took some brown and mixed in some ivory and a touch of indigo and came up with a good alternative. 

pre- and post-paint job.  he lost his shirt somewhere in there because I got nervous.  (even if I don't intend to keep the knight clothes, I don't want to mess them up with paint.)  my brother likes the new color - I think it needs a touch more pink, so I might thin down some rosy skin-tone once I get it and do a thin over-layer.  but it's better than the pepto bismol shade they were.  on second thought, they look a lot better in real life than in the second photo.  I might just leave them as they are.  

so next (and last for Carlos) is the hair.  I plan to go with a darker brown, the same as the laces in the eyes, with a bit of black mixed in to darken it and take a bit of the brightness out.  I've read that painting Lala hair is a lot more difficult than it sounds.  so I'm probably not going to do it until I finish giveaway stuff.  After all - if his hair is to be perfect, I must take my time with it.  

But this is progress so far, and I'm quite content with the results!