Your name: SDink
Your Legal Name: Cheryl Austin
Your Website: http://www.dinksdolls.com/
How did you get involved in Super Dollfies and customizing them?
Well, a co-worker/friend introduced me to the Luts site seeing I was a collector of Japanese Action Figures (All males) and as cool as I thought those dolls were I could not fathom spending that kind of money on a doll. One day at work out of nowhere I went back to the site and bought my first BJD even before knowing anything about them. My friend then suggested I check out Den of Angels. I was so blown away by everything and this whole fandom and started reading up on how to do your own face ups but back then there was not much to go by so I sorta just did my own thing and practiced and did research until I am where I am today.
What Inspires You?
Other Artists/Customizers including clothing and jewelry makers. I spend many hours just looking at owners dolls and other Artists websites and lust learning from that!
What do you want people to think when they look at your Customizations? Uh, that’s a tough question, I guess I want the doll to speak to the person and appreciate my work.
What do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years? Just to get better and better, I am always striving to get better and learn more and be more creative!
What sorts of things do you enjoy the most about your designs/customizations?
The end result if it comes out as you had envisioned it that is the best feeling! Something you can be 100% proud of!
Other than yourself, who are your favorite doll customizers?
Oh man, there are sooo many but here are just a few: Robin’s Egg, Violent Poem, Sianna, Anu, Morbidollz, and Avvelenato just to name a few, I’m sure there are more but these pop into mind.
What’s the Best thing about customizing your own dolls?
You can do whatever you want to! The creative freedom to express yourself! Oh and you save a lot of money…lol
What’s the most difficult thing about doing face ups and altering them?
Getting the vision that is in your head onto the canvas, once it happens it’s magical!
What type of dolls do you enjoy customizing (male/female/brands)?
Both but I’m a sucker for the males! I just LOVE male dolls! They are so unique and quite beautiful to me!
What is your favorite style to create?
Hmmm, that changes on a daily basis….lol I like most kinds of styles but I am more into the softer dreamy kinds that use lots of colors! I also prefer realism so it looks as if the doll just naturally looks that way instead of a doll that has been painted.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
Oh man, I would LOVE to do a collab with Sweeney, they have such a unique style that I have never seen before and I would love to come up with a boy that fits that style!
Why choose doll customizing as a form of Self Expression?
Hmmm, I don’t know really, I have always done some sort of art as a form of expression dolls is just another one of those.
How long does it take from start to finish on a typical doll to create and complete?
That is a tough question, I have dolls that I have had for 2 years that still have not come to me yet but as soon as I opened Heat’s box and slapped a face on him he was complete! well after he got his glasses XD!
How do you like to work best with a custom order for a client? With total freedom to create your vision, or do you like some feedback/interchange with a client who might have an idea or theme they would like to see realized?
This is really horrible of me but I am not that type of Artist really, in fact I may be a customer’s nightmare because I like to have 100% freedom to do what I want, these come out the best IMHO because I had no constraints. When someone gives me detailed info I feel so claustrophobic and I start to freak out >_< the more directions there are the more worried I get O_o so basically I either sell one of my personal dolls or customized heads on eBay or occasionally I will take commissions but only if I get freedom, if the person is ok with this they send me the head! so far so good….I hope…lol.
What have been your favorite projects you’ve done thus far?
Customizing and modding my own projects, I have visions and freedom to create and it is sooo much fun to see this come into fruition!
What sets your doll customizations apart from all the others?
I have no cue >_< maybe because I tend to customize more boys than girls?
Are there any sort of projects you’ve been hoping to work on but just haven’t gotten around to it?
Oh ya, lots! I only recently started to collect heads…lol I have a project I have been putting off for 2 years now, someday I would like to finish him and get him out the door!
What was the most challenging thing you have ever done thus far?
Face ups from detailed descriptions, I just did not have the same vision and the more detailed the description the more confined I felt.
How has your style evolved over time, and where do you see it going in the future?
Well, I think I get better, I want to choke when I see my old work, scary thing is back then I thought it looked decent, so what scares me is the work I am doing now may also be chokable in the near future…lol I just want to keep improving my skills, my imagination and to keep on doing what I am doing!
Describe your perfect client. Do you like to get a lot of direction, or just be given a general mood, or do you like to see visual examples?
Someone who says “I have this head do you want to paint it, do whatever you want to” LOL! it’s selfish I know but it the only way to get the best out of me. I don’t really do this for the money but more for the art and passion, if it were my only job then it would be a totally different scenario.
Of all the faceups you’ve done, do any stand out to you in particular? Howso?
Hmmm, there are a few for some odd reasons that I cannot explain. I really liked a Dia boy I did once, I thought at that time I had reached a new level. I think some are technically better than others. I always think about this school C boy I did, also a time where I had thought I reached another level! Also there was a sleeping Sist I just did, sleeping dolls are not all that popular but I thought I did a really good job on that face up, she had very delicate brows that were hard to see in pics.
Do you paint other types of dolls, and if so, how does that compare with painting BJDs? If you do other types of art (drawing, painting, etc) does that influence your face up style?
Nope. I used to be a professional Make Up artist and now I am a professional Artist working in the video game field and I do characters so my whole life I have been doing something with people. I also used to do Fan Art before BJD’s and have a art site full of my art, a lot of those characters I used to draw always inspire me in one way or another!
Have you ever refused a commission? Why? Or if not, can you think of a circumstance where you might?
Yes, there are certain dolls that I only want to paint one of ie: Sard, Euclase, Video Game Minimees because they seem to be more limited if that makes sense. Also I do not like to paint Minimees of Movie Stars, I think because you really don’t have any freedom at all, it has to be that Movie star so you have to paint it like him/her.
Is there something that is still difficult for you to do? What is the most difficult?
Yes, bottom lashes, one side will always look better than the other and I am always modding brushes that will work for me. Sanding, because I do not have the right tools for sanding, it’s hard to get in those little corners.
How important is customer feedback to your creative process?
Well, even though they give me freedom it is very important, I want them to love their doll so I always do my best as I can, it is also for selfish reasons, it makes me feel really good when they are totally in love with their doll again because of me ^_^ there also have been times I have re-done a face up more than 3 times to make sure they get the doll they have wanted for free Y_Y
Is there a mold, doll, or company that you prefer to work on?
Hmmm, SOOM…LOL and I LOVE painting Volks heads! they are sooo big and the resin is nice and you can do fun mods to them! also I LOVE Dollshe, to me they are still the most beautiful sculpts I have seen.
Do you prefer working on male or female dolls? Why?
Males. There have always been girl dolls but never any cool boy dolls, I think it’s great that now there are so many variants on boy dolls now! I dunno, I just love the boys! I like making them look sexy, masculine and yet pretty but not too girly. Females are fun as long as they are the cutesy foo-foo girls, not too much into the “Fashion” doll look, the mature girls just do not do it for me, I can admire what people do with theirs though.
What is your background? Have you had any special schooling (art school, sculpture, painting, etc)?
I have gone to School after High School, everything I do art wise I have taught myself and learned from watching others or asking questions, even my job…lol.
When you were a child did you ever work on dolls or create with similar things?
No dolls but I used to draw a lot of girls that looked like dolls!
Do you have any other interests that might have helped you in your development of customizing ABJD (like customizing other dolls, action figures, etc)? Please tell us about them.
Oh ya, I have sooo many action figures (all guys) that I had to put them in my storage unit….lol when I was younger I always wanted to be either a Professional make up Artist or work sculpting people for the Movieland Wax Museum..LOL
Do you have any other interests? Collections?
Yes, you average Otaku stuff, anime, manga, I am a total gamer geek, I even traveled to Japan to buy Soul Caliber on the day it was released on Dreamcast, I spent almost all of my time in Japan in the Arcade playing Soul Caliber against the high caliber players! it was sooo awesome! I own every system O_O
What factors do you consider before giving a doll its make-up so it will have the expression you want?
The mold drives it almost 100% to me. Sometimes I have no clue until I sit down and start mixing colors, I’m not one of those that comes up with everything beforehand or even have a plan, I just do it.
Are there any painting techniques that can make a face look more masculine or feminine?
Eyebrows…lol men tend to have thicker and more wild brows, colors, I so use a lot of colors in male dolls believe it or not just less pinks. Most people tend to think you cannot use colors in males but I go crazy, I do greens and blues only they are very subtle, I also use reds and some pinks (depending on the shades) for lips and blushing, men have color too!
How long does it usually take to do a face up?
I am embarrassed to say. Depending on if the airbrushing goes smooth, I have the right brush and all is good in paint land, I can do a face up in an hour Y_Y
Can you offer any helpful hints to the amateur face up artists? Can you recommend a list of supplies including colors, paints & pastels etc?
Hmm, just do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions, I did this plus I experimented with sooo many types of materials (still do) and never get discouraged, it may take months even a year before you for a face up that you are really proud of! as far as supplies go I use sooo many I don’t think I can list them all here but I do use an Iwata C-Plus Airbrush, I hardly use any pastels just as touch ups but the ones I use are called Unisom and they are hand made, I get them from Dick Blicks. Also you can mod your own brush if you cannot find one small enough, I just started doing that recently.
Do you have a favorite medium you like to work with when not creating for BJDs in your spare time?
Hmm, I use Photoshop a lot and I also enjoy doing 3d work ^_^
How long have you been doing faceups?
About 2 years now, I opened my commission shop in April 2006.
What is your biggest inspiration for your faceups and customizations?
Seeing other people’s work and dolls that is the biggest for me! there are soo many creative people out there!
Do you have any tips you’d like to share for people that want to learn how to do face ups or just want to improve? Something that’s helped you a lot or something that you think is important to know when doing a successful face up?
Again, just do a lot of research and find a method that works the best for you! Don’t get discouraged you will go through a lot but it will be worth it ^_^
Thanks to Cheryl for the interview! Always awesome to learn about talented people! All photos in this article were shot by me, Mercy. :3
