Doll Maker's Diary, Part 48: 12 X-Girls of Christmas

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 48: 12 X-Girls of Christmas

As a Christmas gift to everyone who has used the X-Girl Creator, here is an artwork of all 12 of the CRASH Chronicles X-Girl characters I have made, all dressed up for a very special Christmas party:

Although Flash Player (which underpins this and the other dress-up games I have played or seen) is coming to the end of its life, I have made enough artworks to be happy to use them for years to come - and the memories will last a lifetime. Besides, there's a chance that the creators of these games will ensure their continued survival by migrating them from Flash to another platform. And last but not least, I would like to wish all the X-Girl and Azalea's Dolls fans and creators of the world a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and may your works be admired and adored for all time.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 47: Illuminating and Ultimate Grey

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 47: Illuminating and Ultimate Grey

In honor of PANTONE selecting two Colors of the Year for 2021 - a bright, saturated yellow called Illuminating, and a neutral grey known, quite fittingly, as Ultimate Gray, I would like to share some CRASH Chronicles artwork using these two colors. First up is an X-Girl scene showing the original four CRASH Agents, whose outfits display both Colors of the Year prominently.

Above, from left to right: A set of outfits for the original four CRASH Agents - Claire Hayes in a swimsuit with a blazer on top, Ellie Watts in a yellow midi dress under a full-length coat, Kayla Brooks in a yellow sports bra and gray leggings with yellow accents, and Alexa Lowe in a specially modified Armored CRASH Suit.

And just because I felt like it, I decided to make more artworks of my first-ever X-Girl character, Ellie Watts, in grey and yellow outfits using various dress-up games from Azalea's Dolls - so here they are. Ellie Watts' cool complexion lent itself well to this particular color scheme - more so than any of the other original four CRASH Chronicles characters. 

Above, from top: Ellie Watts in other dress-up games showcasing some grey and yellow outfits - 40s Fashion (grey coat over yellow dress), Casual Style Maker (grey jacket and leggings, yellow crop top, cap and shoes) and Sci Fi Warrior (grey armor, pants and boots, with yellow accents, energy and laser beam).

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 45: Teenage and Adult X-Girls Compared

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 45: Teenage and Adult X-Girls Compared

Having noticed that I am now approaching the 50th post in this series, I figured out that it would be a good idea to compare the current designs of the original four CRASH Chronicles characters - Ellie Watts, Claire Hayes, Kayla Brooks and Alexa Lowe - with their teenage selves. So here they are compared to their adult forms.

Comparison of the original four team members of CRASH Chronicles as adults (left) with the same characters as late teenagers (right).

Whereas the adult versions of the original four characters tend to have more formal attire, make-up and hair styles, the (late) teenage versions generally had a more casual approach to all three instead. This is what makes them distinct from the current designs. However, it is worth noting that the other eight characters (including the recently added Final Four in CRASH Chronicles are not featured here since, unlike the original four, they were not introduced into canon before adulthood - presumably to avoid them from gaining too much experience (and exposure) too soon.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 40: CRASH Chronicles in Casual Style Maker

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 40: CRASH Chronicles in Casual Style Maker

Aside from X-Girl, I have also taken a liking to depicting the original four women of CRASH Chronicles in other dress-up games by Azalea's Dolls. To start off, here's my first character from that series, Ellie Watts, as depicted in that game:

As its name suggests, this game is about creating a casual look for your (virtual) doll of choice. The first design for Ellie is intended for a stroll in the daytime; the latter is more suitable for a formal evening.

Next is Ellie's best friend, Commander Claire Hayes, showing off two looks of her own - one intended for an early morning workout, and one for a night on the town.

Now for a pair of designs each for Kayla Brooks and Alexa Lowe, to complete the original quartet.

Moving on from the original four characters of CRASH Chronicles, here are some designs I made for the newcomers, starting off with Tiffany Ward and Katie Palmer.

Last but not least, here are two cards each for Jessie and Tamara, the newest additions to the CRASH team to date.

In short, although it was originally meant for showing casual styles, you can also use this doll maker to create more formal or festive designs as you wish, which makes it a great addition to the Azalea's Dolls canon - and one that's well worth trying out.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 38: Reinforcements

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 38: Reinforcements

This is my 200th(!) post on this blog, and to mark the occasion, I have decided to give the four new CRASH recruits from the defunct STAR Power initiative a full-fledged data sheet each. So here they are.

First up is Katie Palmer, a melee specialist whose ability involves slightly sacrificing one offensive stat for a huge but temporary boost to another.

Next in the list of new recruits is Tiffany Ward, a specialist in defensive techniques who can also cloak herself temporarily to avoid detection.

The third new recruit is Jessie Barton, whose abilities are mostly based on ice, and can designate a target to improve her attacks' accuracy.

Last but not least is Mara Hart, a pyrokinetic whose fire-based attacks can deal damage over time to any target.

Above, from top: Data sheets for the four newcomers to CRASH Chronicles - Katie Palmer, Tiffany Ward, Jessie Barton and Mara Hart.

This should give you an idea of what these new X-Girls are capable of - so stay tuned for a more detailed analysis on each of them.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 36: Back to the Forties

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 36: Back to the Forties

The recent coronavirus pandemic has brought with it an especially severe side-effect: the worst recession since the Great Depression, and with it the strong possibility of a return to austerity since the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. With this in mind, I have decided to depict the original four characters from CRASH Chronicles in yet another Azalea's Dolls dress-up game - one themed after 1940s fashions. Here are several examples of the artworks I made there.

Examples of artworks made in Azalea's Dolls' 1940s Fashion Dress Up Game, showing two artworks each for the four original characters from CRASH Chronicles (Ellie Watts, Claire Hayes, Kayla Brooks and Alexa Lowe).

The left-hand side of the screen shows the current design of your doll and the background against which it is displayed; the right-hand side shows a variety of design options in the currently selected tab. Speaking of which, there are a total of eight tabs. The first one contains options for your doll's physical appearance (skin tone, eye color and shape, make-up, hair style and color, lip color and shape), while the next few tabs are dedicated to clothing options and colors.

The second tab is where options for 1940s-style lingerie can be found. Long, one-piece dresses can be found under the third tab, while the fourth and fifth tabs are dedicated to tops and skirts, respectively; in those three tabs, you also have the option to add a pattern in a contrasting color (or two), with the exact type of pattern being dependent on the items you chose.

The sixth tab is where you'll find overcoats and shawls, while the seventh tab is for shoes, hats, gloves and accessories (jewelry, bags, other hand-held items, etc.) The last tab is where you can select different backgrounds (either a street scene such as a marina, bedroom or street corner, or a choice between solid colors and gradients), apply filters (normal, sepia, or grayscale), and save your picture when you are finished. Thus ends this brief overview of this game.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 35: Good Dolls in Worlds Gone Bad

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 35: Good Dolls in Worlds Gone Bad

In light of all the doom and gloom that's blighted the world over the past few months, I figured that I would dedicate this post mostly to artworks showing multiple dolls instead of one (or in the case of games that only allow you to make one per artwork, several from that particular game), with an overarching theme of cooperation and resilience in the face of a major threat. So here they are, in no particular order.

X-Girl: In this scene, my first four original X-Girl characters from CRASH Chronicles (Ellie, Claire, Kayla and Alexa) are joined by a quartet of newcomers in a dense, dark forest. All of them are shown having banded together to defeat whatever evil lurks behind the trees, and are shown in their armored CRASH Suits, with their weapons drawn, and their special powers ready for use.

A squad of X-Girls in a forest, about to take on a challenging mission some time in the near future. What threats are they going to face this time? And how will they be dealt with?

As a prequel to this, I made another artwork with these same dolls earlier, but in their training outfits, with the premise that they would undertake some basic training exercises to determine whether or not they are actually eligible for duty. Given that all eight were also present in the picture above, it's obvious that they all passed with flying colors.

The same eight dolls as above, but in their training outfits and about to do some basic training exercises to determine whether any of them are ready for the dangerous job of being a CRASH Agent.

Goddess Dress Up Game: The next artwork depicts six goddesses, each with a unique set of special powers, gathered at a hillside to discuss their plan for dealing with any potential threats to their realm. Each goddess carries a long sword, color-coded to match their outfit and adorned with a precious crystal on its hilt.

A sextet of goddesses on a hillside, armed with crystal-encrusted long swords, discussing how best to deal with any threats to their world.

And just for good measure, I decided to depict them clad in armor, ready for battle.

The same six goddesses as in the previous picture, but fully clad in armor, ready for battle.

Fairytale Scene Maker: If the scene I made in X-Girl had been set in the Fairytale Scene Maker, and thrown back several centuries, this is one suggestion as to how it could look like. The main difference here is that firearms have not been invented in this setting, and each heroine carries a long sword instead. Also, the eight heroines have been sorted into four teams of two, with the first, second, third and fourth teams having primarily red, blue, purple and yellow outfits respectively.

Four teams of two heroines each gathered in a forest, about to embark on an adventure the likes of which they may not return from... unless they defeat all of their foes.

Tudors Scene Maker: If the eight women of CRASH Chronicles were warped back in time several centuries, they might look like this:

It is rare to see eight women of royal blood gathered together all at once, but here they are, discussing their plans for the future.

In this scene, all eight women are pictured in the throne room of a vast castle, explaining their plans in a time of crisis, where the fate of their world hinges mainly on their actions, and the consequences of failure will be catastrophic.

Heroine Fan Art Creator: I decided to go with something approximating a Greco-Roman mythological theme for this one. Obviously, due to limitations in the designer, I had to take a few liberties with the designs for each doll. 

Above, from top: Updated versions of Greco-Roman-inspired designs for my original four dolls made in the Heroine Fan Art Creator, with new color schemes.

Most notably, I revised their color schemes to include an accent color, while gold now served as the foreground colors for each one. I couldn't give each of them a sword either, since no such item is present in this game. Even so, I am pleased with how well this one turned out.

And as an addendum to this segment, I gave each of my original four characters from CRASH Chronicles the same treatment.

Another set of Heroine Fan Art Creator cards, but this time depicting the four women introduced in CRASH Chronicles.

Sci Fi Warrior: I extrapolated the designs of all four original CRASH Agents from CRASH Chronicles into the Sci Fi Warrior dress up game, and ended up with the following artworks shown below.

Above, from top: The four original CRASH Agents (Ellie Watts, Kayla Brooks, Claire Hayes and Alexa Low) from CRASH Chronicles extrapolated into the Sci Fi Warrior Dress Up Game.

Here, Ellie is armed with a large laser rifle, Kayla carries a pair of smaller blasters, Claire wields a long sword (most likely a katana) and Alexa is shown activating her decloaking field.

I could go on and post many more possibilities with this theme, but this post would be much longer if I did.