THE Gentleman

At long last, Armand is taking shape. The designer, painter, tailor and wig maker insisted on doing thorough research and became enamoured of looking at books and webpages for days and days. The ladies complained loudly at this, so the boss insisted everyone get started.

18th Century gentleman dolls were often just lady dolls in disguise; using the same wooden bodies but wearing lovely men's clothing. There are dolls painted to look more masculine though, and the designer instructed the painter to work in this style for Armand.

Here is one of her inspirations.

             This gentleman was found on ebay. But there is no other information about him. 

First though, Armand's torso was built and his face sculpted. The Penny pattern from Clairbearsfolly Etsy store was altered to make the head less round, the chest more flat and the bottom less prominent. 

The painter's template was used to guide the face sculpt. And Armand's wig was fitted to help with proportions and style. 

The wig has a little queue at the back, to emulate a period hairstyle. A queue bag and bow is on the accessories list.

Finally, the sculpted face was painted. Many gentleman dolls were painted with lighter colours. Their eyes are not always as wide at the ladies' and their mouths are less full. The first attempt was stark and dark, even after drying overnight, with too much shadowing added for contour.

The painter then used a white pencil crayon and an eraser to take down the shadows and colour of the cheeks and eyebrows. It's not just the trick of the light in the photo below. The colours are indeed more muted.

Lastly, Armand's eyes were touched up with nail polish to give them a glass or porcelain sparkle. This also muted the black outline, lashes and pupils.

A number of fabrics are on the cutting table for our fashionable Gent's wardrobe. But the shop must create Armand's ears, arms and legs before he can wear his new clothes. A photo of our finished gentleman doll will be posted in the Gallery soon.

In the meantime, there are new items to be admired in the Gallery, and added blog posts to read. Comments and feedback are always welcome.