By Samantha Danson
Today we chat with Australian repainter Julie Allan of Julie Elizabeth Art & Design about what she has planned for her TRS Fairytale Redux character.
How many shows have you been involved with?
I have only been involved with one other show which was the Star Wars/Doll Wars show.
How long does a TRS project generally take for you?
The Doll Wars characters took me about 4 months of off/on work. Just deciding on and obtaining the right doll bases for my characters took me a month alone.
What's the hardest/best thing about participating?
I found the hardest thing was getting hold of the dolls I needed. It wasn't an easy thing to find them.
The best part of participating is the wonderful camaraderie between
all the artists. The willingness to help each other is amazing!
What's your personal favorite achievement?
I think my proudest achievement was my "Slave Leia" doll for our last
show. She was my first full "portrait" doll and I was very happy that
I achieved a reasonable likeness. I was also very proud of how her
costuming came together.
What's the most expensive element you've incorporated?
I think my biggest expense is always the base doll...mainly because I
need specific sculpts, many of which aren't being manufactured anymore
and can be quite hard to find and therefore expensive.
What excites you most about this show?
Definitely the theme! I'm loving the opportunity to take a standard
fairytale princess and re-invent her in a creative way!
Why did you pick your character?
I chose Rapunzel most definitely because of her hair. I knew that this
particular feature would provide some exciting design opportunities.
How did you decide your concept?
Steampunk is a big fave of mine anyway so I welcome the opportunities
to incorporate it into my work. And I could immediately "see" Rapunzel
in a steampunk outfit...it all just fit perfectly.
What will be your greatest challenge in creating her?
I think it will be creating her weapons. I've never made small scale
steampunk guns and gadgets so it will require a bit of ingenuity and
lots of imagination.
Thanks so much for sharing with us, Julie! Your steampunk Rapunzel is going to be awesome!
