Noir hood, a dark hunter, the wooden girl, and a blizzard of fierceness

There's been a lot going on over at Tumblr HQ. Here's a quick visual refresher...

In other news I was recently contacted by Mattel, who have chosen to use my color photographs of Cedar Wood (you can see a few of the pics in question just above Abbey), for use on their "official social channels"! They've also chosen to use some pics I took of another doll but I'm keeping that one a surprise. It was through Tumblr that Mattel contacted me, and it was on Tumblr that they saw my pics in the first place. Bottom line: Tumblr is where it's at and it looks like I will be spending less and less time here on the Blogger forums. Even without the Mattel thing happening I was headed in that direction anyway. You guys should head on over! It's extremely fun, yet very informative at the same time. (I find out about new MH and EAH stuff so much faster now that I use Tumblr!) You don't even have to have an account to follow Tumblr blogs, just set it up through your email. That said, I highly recommend you start a blog of your own there. It's free, what have you got to lose! Okay, I'm rambling now so I'll shut up. I'll still be stopping by here very occasionally, but 99% of my time will be spent Tumbling. I hope you decide to join me -- you won't regret it.

voicething-john.tumblr.com

GSV

I snapped a few quick shots of Ghoul Spirit Venus today. It was cold and windy so it was a lightning-fast shoot! Check her out...

As with all of her dolls, Ghoul Spirit Venus is ridiculously photogenic.

I think it has something to do with the shade of green of her skin, or her massive blue eyes.

Whatever it is, it always makes for a fun photo shoot! Even in the windy cold I enjoyed this session!

For the first time Venus has bangs! Other than that this is a pretty standard 'do for our plant-loving friend. On the plus side this means the texture is super silky. That said, the real draw with this doll (for me) is her eyeshadow. It's dark grey bordering on black. Very striking!

This shot gives you a better view of the eyeshadow. Beautiful, no?

Like the other Ghoul Spirit dolls her outfit is kind of a non-event. Not bad by any means, but hardly exciting. I can't wait to play stylist with her and try out lots of new looks!

Ghoul Spirit Venus: not the most original version of this character, but certainly worthy of your time! If you're a Venus fanatic the bangs and striking faceup make her a must. She's a budget doll so there's no stand or brush included. Her only extra is a little megaphone; simple but cute.

As always, thanks for reading! Til next time!

And the award for Best New Star goes to...

Viperine Gorgon!

It was a close competition but several things contributed to Viperine's deserved win...

Two words: taupe eyeshadow.

She has striking gorgon eyes that are so beguiling I'm still having trouble making out what exactly is going on in her irises. What I can tell you is that it's a wonderful touch. They leave me intrigued. (Seriously though, if someone knows what that spotted design in her eyes is supposed to be please fill me in.)

Attitude in spades. Those sharp eyes give Jinafire a run for her money!

Two-toned diamond scales (?) on her forehead. 

Moxie. Viperine effortlessly owns this 70's peasant-meets-cosmic-space-flowers ensemble. And is that paisley I see?

Flowing, middle-parted locks of pure white and frosted pink. So retro, so free. This girl knows how to catch a vibe.

Poise for days.

Her snakes perfectly accentuate her groovy vibe without being overbearing.

She takes what could've easily been a messy, garish look and turns it into a tastefully rendered exercise in restraint... but with just the right amount of funk to keep it interesting.

If there's one faux pas here, it's her decision to wear solid colored boots. Those little white fangs on the front are nice but not nearly enough to elevate these to "MH Instant Classic" status. Those molded laces should've been black, or even blue.

But no mattter. Viperine Gorgon, you are the Best New Star! Not since Scaris Jinafire have I loved a new character doll so much. Congratulations!

No Shame Sunday: The Sequel!

For you folks who aren't on Tumblr here's my NSS post from today...

It's been a while since I did my first NSS so I figured it was time for another. My first one focused on Rochelle and -- surprise surprise! -- so does this one.

Sometimes we may seem pretentious and full of it, but we know how to have fun, too!

Just chilling.

Those eyes. Bestill my heart.

Rochelle really does make me happy. When I'm feeling blue, just having her around cheers me up.

I really need to start "prettifying" myself up before I take these pics and post them. Eh, whatever!

Cleo? Rochelle? Cleo? Rochelle? Both! (A guy can have two number ones in his heart, can't he?)

Here's my Tumblr if you decide you wanna check it out anyway. I'm generally much more active over there than I am here nowadays, but The Sequel will always be.

15 hundred scales

"Back when Jinafire Long and Skelita Calaveras were introduced via last year's Scaris: City of Frights themed line, many -- including myself -- wondered if we would ever see these characters in doll form again. And beyond that, we wondered if/when new dolls came, would they be basics or themed dolls? Although the Scaris dolls did feel strongly tied to that line, they also seemed kind of basic-y, you know? As we now know, Skelita has returned in the form of an Art Class doll. And even more excitingly, Jinafire is back too -- and she is indeed a new signature/basic doll!"

Coming soon...