Ok here's the deal. I take factory paint off of doll faces and then paint them in my own artistic style.
I want to sell them but I need opinions on whether they are ready or not to be sold.
Please criticize me so I can improve. It doesn't have to be realistic or anything just appealing.
another one.
and this.
this too
Nice work, but frankly……they freak the shit outa me!
Dolls freak me the hell out. I'm more scared of them than most horror monsters.
But I have a resource that may or may not be useful. It's a beginners' guide for drawing eyes (http://imgur.com/gallery/0O7P8gu). I admittedly know nothing of drawing, but it seems like a good idea to boil down an eye to its constituent pieces, trace those shapes, then recreate it piece by piece rather than abstracting the whole eye.
yeah I get that a lot. Most people are afraid of dolls. Except doll collectors. creepy I know.
Thanks Hydra!
I think they are awesome and ready to be sold. And they are comforting and full of warmth.
The eyes need more refinement. Are you going for a loose look for the features and seal?
I'm a fan of this project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG-7e1vaB18
Have you looked at Faceup Stories?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6v9ozzxOAE
Yes I've watched many videos and I'm subscribed to Nicolle dreams. I'm trying to imitate andrea but I just can't seem to get the same effects that she does. I use exactly what she has listed for art supplies. I use all high end stuff. Except pastels because I can't get them to stick for some reason. I also try to compare and look at the competition on ebay. The problem is I don't always like a lot of them and they are not going for the same look I'm trying to acheive. I want a softer look. And probably more anime influenced. I also look at ball joint dolls and try to paint what I see there. There are so many shapes of eyes.
Honestly some of these pictures aren't doing them justice. I should probably stop using gloss on the eyes because it causes distortion and a lot of glare in the pictures.
Do you have a before picture so we can see the difference?
Also maybe a different camera or lighting would help.
The dolls need more boobies.
here is generally what factory paint looks like. AKA the before pictures.
Sorry DA I don't control how big the boobs are mattel does. These are mattel dolls I just customize them.
Quote from: doorknob on June 21, 2016, 06:25:02 PM
here is generally what factory paint looks like. AKA the before pictures.
Sorry DA I don't control how big the boobs are mattel does. These are mattel dolls I just customize them.
Seriously bro, the before pics are better. Maybe you should leave them like they are. Just sayin.
Quote from: KUSA on June 21, 2016, 08:53:08 PM
Seriously bro, the before pics are better. Maybe you should leave them like they are. Just sayin.
I wish people would be this honest with me about my music.
well here's one with no gloss. Those other pictures were pretty crappy. I'm still trying to figure out my camera.
Quote from: KUSA on June 21, 2016, 08:53:08 PM
Seriously bro, the before pics are better. Maybe you should leave them like they are. Just sayin.
I'll keep working on it then. Thank you for your honesty.
Quote from: doorknob on June 18, 2016, 08:56:14 PM
and this.
The painting on this one isn't that good.
May be you should try a different eye and facial expression design. Like soft and warm? Look for doll face designs and observe how the soft warm looking ones are painted for example.
It's all aout the expression the face gives in my opinion. You can make them cute and softr..warm or creepy and hard looking.
Have you seen these? The whole series is about removing paint from creepy freaking dolls and make them beautiful by repainting differently. It's called Face up stories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIfw4r6d0Og
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2MlVVb9TZ0
I think the work is excellent, although it's not really my thing. They don't freak me out or give me the creeps, either.
I was with a friend and his little daughter in some roadside gas station/restaurant that also sold other assorted items. His little girl (unofficially my niece as Dutch uncles are not uncommon among close friends) toddled up to me and gently took my hand and without a word led me to an isle and pointed at a shelf which was way out of her reach, and there was an intricate doll of a full grown woman dressed in elegant clothes. I picked my niece up so she could see it close up, but cautioned her "not to touch," which of course she wanted to do, but she was very well behaved and restrained her urge. I think I could actually sense her restraint as I held her. The doll looked very delicate possibly made of porcelain, and my little niece was at the age where dragging her dolls around by a foot was part of her idea of child care. I was overwhelmed by the little girl's restrained gentleness, but then, I loved her like my own, anyway.
Before Christmas, I went back to that place to buy it for her, although I still had reservations about the appropriateness of a doll like that for a girl that age, but my problem was solved, because it was no longer there. The whole situation was one of those experiences I'll never forget. Seeing the joy and fascination of a toddler touched me, and the way she took my hand and led me to the doll was adorable.
I'm not 'afraid' of dolls. But they do cary an ominous, eerie vibe to me.
I can tell you do your craft well. But this problem of mine prevents me of enjoying them to the fullest.
Sorry, cannot advice.
I think they look great. I envy people who do realistic faces on figures. The smaller the better.
Anyway, keep working at it. It's great to have a hobby.
I think she wants to sell them and I may be wrong but that part also seems important to her.
In that case, it is better to play into mainstream marketing; a larger target group concerning the style and figure out what kind of dolls would sell the best.
On the other hand, certainly the different stuff is always better in my opinion. But is also appeals to a more marginalised group. Like collectors who already have various ones and they also would demand a much higher quality or orginality a whole level of different approach and that is a longer and more risky path. Also thinking about adults buying for kids, different looking dolls have less chance to be picked up, because it is a common tendency nowadays among parents to buy less characterised merchandise of the sort. It feels like people are tired from that bombardment of 'this style of that kind'.
So in my opinion, making dolls appeal to general taste is 'safer', if you intend to make a bit money from it, esp. at the beginning.
Well, that's me I could be wrong. May be I am actually saying someting bad, but I am just thinking of marketing and common appeal.
Perhaps you should come up with your own line of over the hill poorly aged Barbie, the story of the former beauty queen still trying to look like she's 16 at 70. Call it Poorly aged Barbie by Hasbeen®. At my age I've meet quite a few women who something like this might appeal to..
I like your work personally..