interest in pony ball-jointed dolls?

[shintoji]

hiya! i've been wanting to make these for a while now, and i have all of the materials needed to, but i just wanted to get a few opinions before i started. i made a basic layout of where all of the joints would be and how it would be assembled, and i wanted some feedback on what you guys like, what i should change, what you'd be interested in paying, how big it should be, ect. i was thinking of charging somewhere around $80-$100 for a fully strung and painted basic doll, as in one with no wings/horns. for winged ponies, i was thinking of making a little notch in the side and making one set of open wings and one set of closed wings that could be switched for photos. this is the design i have for now, any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! anything from how to change the design, to what ponies you would like, or if you would prefer the hair molded or more like normal pony hair. if there's enough interest, i may even consider making custom ones for people's characters. i do think i'm going to start off with fluttershy, though, as she seems to be the most popular within the g4 crowd.
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[Uninu]

Your plan looks good so far! Would they be cast in resin?

I think using pony hair would be great, as I am personally not really fond of sculpted hair on pretty much anything... Also the pony should have wider range of movement more easily with a hair-hair instead of sculpted hair.

Two sets of wings is a good idea. Maybe even make it so that there is a possibility for more options at some point? And there's always the possibility for the owners themselves to make custom wings

As for the size, I know I would love something in between the brushable size and FS size.

Good luck with the project, I can't wait to see your progress!

[shintoji]

Your plan looks good so far! Would they be cast in resin?

I think using pony hair would be great, as I am personally not really fond of sculpted hair on pretty much anything... Also the pony should have wider range of movement more easily with a hair-hair instead of sculpted hair.

Two sets of wings is a good idea. Maybe even make it so that there is a possibility for more options at some point? And there's always the possibility for the owners themselves to make custom wings

As for the size, I know I would love something in between the brushable size and FS size.

Good luck with the project, I can't wait to see your progress!

thanks for your input! i was thinking either resin or vinyl, but resin is the most likely choice. i think i'll make two versions, one with sculpted hair and another with just standard hair, but i'm not sure yet! i think that size would be good, it was kind of what i already had in mind so that's pretty convenient! i'll make sure to make all of the wings (even on different bodies) be interchangeable, so there's tons of options for customizing there! i'll probably end up selling just blank ponies too, so people can make their own if they dont see one they like! i think i'll do the main six, princess luna and celestia, and probably big macintosh and shining armor, just so i have most body types covered.

[Uninu]

Your plan on body types sounds great! Can't wait to see your progress.

[Moonbreeze]

Oh, yes. I'd be interested if the pony has brushable hair. Can't wait to see with what you come up with

[Griffin]

I'm intrigued, best of luck with the project! We have some artists here who do sculpting and/or resin casts, maybe you can exchange some ideas with them in case you need help at some point.

The size suggested above sounds good, and I'm also a fan of brushable hair. I guess it depends on your target audience, though; as far as I know, most FiM fans prefer moulded hair. I'm also assuming moulded is easier to make, but not sure about that as I don't have any experience with casting processes. Let us know how it goes!

[shintoji]

thanks for the feedback, guys! i'm gonna start working on the body tomorrow, any idea on who you would like to have made first? i think i'm gonna stick with g4 ponies for now, but if i get enough requests for other gens i'll be up for that too!

[hathorcat]

I think as your sketch is on Flutters - she would be a great starting point!

[Moonbreeze]

I think as your sketch is on Flutters - she would be a great starting point!

Agreed

[SoaringSentinel]

Welcome to hell

judging by your design it's going to be a lot simpler than my Luna figure (check that out here if you haven't already http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,363775.0.html )
but there is one thing i don't fully understand. according to your drawing there are 5 joints. 1 neck and 4 ankles. are there going to be more than that. also what exactly do you mean by hooked on parts. are they flexible in some way?

Also in your drawing you show a lot of individual parts however there are no joints drawn there? does that mean these will be glued together or how are these supposed to be assembled. I'm just trying to understand your design since these parts are seperate anyway why not put joints in them while you're at it.

Another thing I've seen on some other attempts at pony figures with articulation. no one ever gives the front legs elbows. In my opinion the front legs should always be the most articulated on these MLP figures because in the show they use them as arms. and yet often i see people forget those. That said i do understand why most don't do it. it makes the project a lot easier to do I speak from experience that designing one of these figures is not easy it's just a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway good to see someone else attempt an articulated pony figure it's not an easy project to attempt but it is quite rewarding.

[shintoji]

Welcome to hell

judging by your design it's going to be a lot simpler than my Luna figure (check that out here if you haven't already http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,363775.0.html )
but there is one thing i don't fully understand. according to your drawing there are 5 joints. 1 neck and 4 ankles. are there going to be more than that. also what exactly do you mean by hooked on parts. are they flexible in some way?

Also in your drawing you show a lot of individual parts however there are no joints drawn there? does that mean these will be glued together or how are these supposed to be assembled. I'm just trying to understand your design since these parts are seperate anyway why not put joints in them while you're at it.

Another thing I've seen on some other attempts at pony figures with articulation. no one ever gives the front legs elbows. In my opinion the front legs should always be the most articulated on these MLP figures because in the show they use them as arms. and yet often i see people forget those. That said i do understand why most don't do it. it makes the project a lot easier to do I speak from experience that designing one of these figures is not easy it's just a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway good to see someone else attempt an articulated pony figure it's not an easy project to attempt but it is quite rewarding.

i actually realized that i made a few mistakes when drawing this up, as i was very tired when working on it. there should be joints between the last pieces of the legs, where the hooves come to contact with the middle piece, and then one more joint in the middle of the body for added flexibility. about the hooks, though! hooks are something that are embedded inside of the body of the doll and are used to string up the doll, sorta like this diagram shows (not by me!)
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about your project, though!! i've been watching it for a while and i'm absolutely blown away by it, the progress youve made is amazing! you have quite the skill when it comes to 3d modeling!

[SoaringSentinel]

ah now i get it. you're rigging it together through strings with hollowed out parts. I considered doing something similar with elastic strings before i went with solid joints.
Though i don't know for sure i felt that it would give the figure trouble standing up.

[ZennaBug]

I'm always up for ponies and I adore BJDs, though I'd rather buy a blank one and paint it to look like my own than have a G4 character.  I haven't a clue about the casting process or anything like that, but I look forward to your progress.

[shintoji]

ah now i get it. you're rigging it together through strings with hollowed out parts. I considered doing something similar with elastic strings before i went with solid joints.
Though i don't know for sure i felt that it would give the figure trouble standing up.

i'm fairly sure it'll stand up on it's own, bjds are pretty common and that's a standard stringing process i believe so i think it'll be alright. solid joints would definitely be easiest though, stringing dolls can be a real pain sometimes!

I'm always up for ponies and I adore BJDs, though I'd rather buy a blank one and paint it to look like my own than have a G4 character.  I haven't a clue about the casting process or anything like that, but I look forward to your progress.

thanks for your input! i'll definitely put some blanks in my etsy shop whenever they're finished, then. 

[Moonbreeze]

I'd love to have a blank too (prefered if it's rerootable, or a general hair sculpt) Anyway, good luck!