Uta from One Piece RED

Hello everyone!

It has been a very long time since I have discussed any of my dolls projects on the fourm. Usually I work on my own characters for a narrative I am in the process of writing, so I never feel like people would be interested enough in them to share, but I digress.

This time around I am doing something completely different though! I feel like people would be very interested in seeing how she comes along and all the updates in the process of putting her together.

So who is the lucky lady I feel like shelling into a doll?

It's Uta from the new One Piece movie!

Now as a disclaimer I know little to nothing about One Piece save for the main crew; but, I saw the new movie in theaters with my husband and family and I was blown away. It was fantastic, and I LOVED Uta. She made the movie for me.

I wont say anything else about her, because spoilers are a no go in my book, but she is an awesome character. Awesome enough for me to want to shell.

So what's the plan?

Well the plan is to acquire a Smart Doll body on the second hand market, preferably milk skin tone, and go from there. Why Smart Doll? Because their legs are slender and long, much like One Piece legs (tm).

I really have no idea what head sculpt to go after. A Nami would be perfect, but I am so, so scared for the after market prices and what people might do if I wipe her and paint her to resemble Uta instead.

So, long story short, I need some help!

What sculpts would you guys reccomend? Especially milk tone sculpts. I don't mind cinnamon, but really would prefer milk because she's a paler character.

Some references of how her face looks from different angles.

I am also ok with straying from her cannon face, so long as it looks close enough, like in the music videos for the soundtrack.

Edited December 28, 2022 by MagicalRozen

Throwing this back up to the top because I really would love some input. I definitely want to go the Smart Doll body route, because legs, but I am on the struggle bus in regards to what sculpt would look the best for her.

Does anyone have any recommendations, other than Smart Doll Nami? You can reccomend other doll brands too, I'll color match the head to the body.

Or, on the flip side, does anyone know a 3D artist that specializes in anime heads I can commission for an stl or print? Maybe I can get an exact head match this way.

I really want to make this dream come true. 🥺❤

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not very familiar with sculpts - be it SmD, DD or resin 😅

If we only look at SmD for now, the first question to answer would be Anime or Semi-real?

Obviously One Piece is an anime, right? And the official Nami sculpt has relatively big eyes and no nostrils.

Comparing them side by side, however, you can see that the 'big eyed' anime sculpts aren't quite right. 

Spoiler

Picture by gymncomics77 from flickr 

From the pictures you linked above, I'd say that Uta's eyeshape looks pretty narrow, maybe even more narrow than official Nami? If you don't want nostrils, then your choice will narrow down to 'small eyed' Anime sculpts. 

Something like the 'F6' sculpt maybe:

Spoiler

@jadepixel provided this shot in the sculpt chart discussion thread. 

The nose isn't quite as.. pronounced? as the official Nami (The bridge of her nose is very prominent), but I feel like the right faceup could otherwise make this a pretty good match.

Now, the question would be who uses the F6 sculpt? According to the SmD sculpt chart here on the forums, there are quite a few contenders. Again, I'm pretty bad at recognizing sculpts, but looking at the 'back soonish' category on the official store page, Athena (Tea) and Challenge (Cinnamon) are my best bet 

 

Spoiler

If you are looking for second hand Milk tone dolls, your options, according to the chart, would be:
Kanata, Trinity, Kizuna Anniversary?, Journey and Serenity.
There might be more but I wouldn't know 

 

Anyhow, that's just my two cents, of course. I do really wish you luck, because I'd love to see your girl come true tough!

 

Spoiler

Quick edit to add that maybe the new 'North' sculpt could be worth looking into! The bridge of her nose looks to be more pronounced than the F6 sculpt one:

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by RetroKanojo

Maybe Dollce's Type C head would work?

Kinda hard to find examples of this head, so have a Mandarake listing:

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1204250943&ref=list&categoryCode=0201140401&lang=en

If you don't mind the sculpted lips, DD Alna has a great nose, and her expression reminds me a lot of Uta!

On 9/6/2022 at 6:38 PM, RetroKanojo said:

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not very familiar with sculpts - be it SmD, DD or resin 😅

If we only look at SmD for now, the first question to answer would be Anime or Semi-real?

Obviously One Piece is an anime, right? And the official Nami sculpt has relatively big eyes and no nostrils.

Comparing them side by side, however, you can see that the 'big eyed' anime sculpts aren't quite right. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Picture by gymncomics77 from flickr 

From the pictures you linked above, I'd say that Uta's eyeshape looks pretty narrow, maybe even more narrow than official Nami? If you don't want nostrils, then your choice will narrow down to 'small eyed' Anime sculpts. 

Something like the 'F6' sculpt maybe:

  Reveal hidden contents

@jadepixel provided this shot in the sculpt chart discussion thread. 

The nose isn't quite as.. pronounced? as the official Nami (The bridge of her nose is very prominent), but I feel like the right faceup could otherwise make this a pretty good match.

Now, the question would be who uses the F6 sculpt? According to the SmD sculpt chart here on the forums, there are quite a few contenders. Again, I'm pretty bad at recognizing sculpts, but looking at the 'back soonish' category on the official store page, Athena (Tea) and Challenge (Cinnamon) are my best bet 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

If you are looking for second hand Milk tone dolls, your options, according to the chart, would be:
Kanata, Trinity, Kizuna Anniversary?, Journey and Serenity.
There might be more but I wouldn't know 

 

Anyhow, that's just my two cents, of course. I do really wish you luck, because I'd love to see your girl come true tough!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Quick edit to add that maybe the new 'North' sculpt could be worth looking into! The bridge of her nose looks to be more pronounced than the F6 sculpt one:

 

First of all I really appreciate the input! I really like the narrow eyed F6 sculpt, but as I already have a Kanata I think I will pass on this sculpt. I really prefer not to have multiple girls with the same sculpt, just as a personal preference. Plus I really am looking for a larger nose sculpt as One Piece ladies are known for their unique noses.

I really do appreciate the help though and honestly thank you so much for taking the time to type a that out! It is so appreciated! Thank you for the well wishes in my completion of this project as well!

12 hours ago, Oculae said:

If you don't mind the sculpted lips, DD Alna has a great nose, and her expression reminds me a lot of Uta!

Alna would be a fantastic match, but she is a bit pricy on the second hand market right now, and if I were to go after a limited sculpt I would rather just save for Nami. I really appreciate the input though, especially from you as all your customs are fantastic!

20 hours ago, hellFlower said:

Maybe Dollce's Type C head would work?

Kinda hard to find examples of this head, so have a Mandarake listing:

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1204250943&ref=list&categoryCode=0201140401&lang=en

This head would be perfect! I've actually gone ahead and ordered it. It has a bigger nose than most sculpts, and narrow eyes, perfect for what I am trying to achieve! Thank you so, so much for this suggestion!

If I end up not liking it for Uta I like the sculpt in general so the head will stick around and eventually become someone else. It's a win win for this head! I'm thrilled!

How exciting! I'm glad you found a good sculpt, that Dollce head is great. Excited to see her progress!

Hey, I found a milk body on Mercari if you were still looking!

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m85782778395/

1 hour ago, Oculae said:

Hey, I found a milk body on Mercari if you were still looking!

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m85782778395/

Wow thank you so much! Unfortunately right this very moment it is out of my budget, but I'll definitely keep tabs on it for when I do have the cash! 

I truly appreciate the help in completing this project. She is seriously my favorite character right now, for sure in my all time top 5, and I cannot wait to bring her to life.

Update:

Went and saw the One Piece movie again in theaters, still amazing, still love Uta.

I have received the Dollce head, tried painting it myself, and really disliked the result. So I am now sending her off to an artist on instagram to get a faceup commission.

The artist is dannisdesignerdolls, and her Instagram is linked here. I really think she can bring Uta to life and I'm so thrilled I can commission her!

I am one step closer to having my lovely lady complete.

Oh my gosh! I just got pictures from dannisdesignerdolls of Uta and I can't believe how good she looks! I am blown away and so happy!

My girl is one more step to being complete! I am literally so happy right now!

Awesome line work, and they do so many different styles. Highly recommend them for faceups. They're also extremely nice! ❤

Edited September 26, 2022 by MagicalRozen

Wow, she really looks amazing! I think the artist did a great job capturing her character, it looks just like her!

4 hours ago, RetroKanojo said:

Wow, she really looks amazing! I think the artist did a great job capturing her character, it looks just like her!

Thank you so much! 🥰 I think the artist did a phenomenal job as well. I adore everything about her and I can't wait to have her home.  

Thank you for such a lovely comment! Made my day!

Uta's head has been shipped, she's officially on her way home to me. I am still on the hunt for a milk body.

If I cannot find one within the next two weeks or so my plan is to put her on a hybrid DDS/DD body.

Ooh, lemme guess...DDS torso with DD limbs? For those slightly unbalanced proportions OP is known for? 😁

7 hours ago, Oculae said:

Ooh, lemme guess...DDS torso with DD limbs? For those slightly unbalanced proportions OP is known for? 😁

Spot on! 😄

I got a great deal on a DD unitorso body yesterday, and I was thinking that if that didn't cut it for me I was going to order a DDS unitorso and really try to get those OP proportions.

And if that dosen't work, I suppose Delilah is getting a torso upgrade and someone else can have the DD body, and I'll just keep searching for a Milk Body for Uta.

It's a win, win, win all around.

I just saw this video on my Youtube home page and I thought you might find it interesting:

 

 

8 minutes ago, RetroKanojo said:

I just saw this video on my Youtube home page and I thought you might find it interesting:

 

 

Oh wow that is extremely helpful!!! It literally is a step by step guide on how to make her wig! Thank you so much for linking this! I think I'm going to order a wig cap and doll hair wafts and give this a go!

I'm also going to look out for her next video on costume production, because that might save me $100s if I can figure out how to make it myself.

Thank you so very much! ❤

https://merc.li/JFVMSpwQb?sv=0

Found another milk Smartie! This one is spendy but comes with an extra bust and extra hands.

2 hours ago, Oculae said:

https://merc.li/JFVMSpwQb?sv=0

Found another milk Smartie! This one is spendy but comes with an extra bust and extra hands.

Wow that sold so quick! 😅 I just pulled it up and it was already sold. Oh well, it was definitely out of my current budget, and I have a body on the way so I'm not too torn up about it.

Thank you so much for sending me this listing though, I really appreciate it! 🥺❤

Update 10/29/2022

I have placed an order for doll hair to try and attempt Uta's wig myself, using the tutorial in the above listed video. It will take a lot of patience but I am determined to do her justice.

I also commissioned her outfit from a tailor that reached out to me on Instagram heavensdolls. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

I am trying to find a good match for shoes to modify, and believe I found the ones used by the above listed Youtuber, but they're $40 and I'm a little intimidated by that price and the fear that I may ruin them and have to buy another pair.

As for her headphones I am going to my local library, scaling and printing a stl file I found of them. I hope to try and make the blue light up part reflective so it actually looks, well, lit up. If anyone has tips for this sort of effect that would be wonderful!

I also am looking for a person to commission her eyes from. I have the materials to make them myself, I just need the design sketched and scaled; or a good tutorial on how to do this and get the print the correct size.

Also here is a picture of my Uta on her modified DD limbs, DDS Shaply Unitorso with a sanded bust, hybrid body. I don't want to show her off too much since she's incomplete; however I love her so much and I am glad she's slowly coming together!

Edited October 29, 2022 by MagicalRozen

She already looks amazing! I can't wait to see her in her 'final form' 

First off, great job so far! Looking forward to seeing this finished! 

On 10/29/2022 at 9:07 AM, MagicalRozen said:

As for her headphones I am going to my local library, scaling and printing a stl file I found of them. I hope to try and make the blue light up part reflective so it actually looks, well, lit up. If anyone has tips for this sort of effect that would be wonderful!

I'm so confused by this on many levels. Haha Your library has a 3d printer?

As for the "light up blue" part, there are many metallic, chrome, holographic etc pigments you can get as a color or an additive to your own color depending on medium. 

Or you can go full out and make it really light up. Look into gundam led mods. Some mod kits to light up diff parts (eyes mainly) but they show TINY (haha is that an oxymoron that I made that word big?) LED's and writing diagrams. 

Good luck!

12/29/2022

Some small updates!

I have begun working on Uta's wig and honestly the process is much easier than I anticipated. I may change this opinion once I begin cutting and styling, but as of now I am actually enjoying the process.

I am in the works of commissioning Uta's eyes from one of our very talented fourm members @ateliervanilla. Seriously go check out their work, they make some awesome stuff.

In terms other commissions, heavensdolls on Instagram has begun work on Uta's dress and oh my word I am so excited! They will also be making her bear hoodie too and I am beyond thrilled!

That's all for updates as of now. Thanks for looking! ❤

Excited to see you finish this project!! Thank you so much for availing my service!