Articles
Top 15 Things to Avoid When Dolling
We all have our own mental lists of things that we like to avoid when dolling so here’s the top fifteen from the smallest mistake to our #1 worst!
15.) Showing off incomplete dolls as finished pieces.
You see a doll in a beautiful gown but -gasp- she’s not wearing shoes?!
Take your time in filling out the details, even the smallest thing can bring out more of the doll’s personality. A small checklist might include; hair, makeup, hair decorations, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, shoes, belts, patches, scars, tattoos and anything else that can make the doll more complete. If you’re still having some trouble, lots of forums offer help areas for incomplete work and tutorials are a great place to go looking for ideas too.
14.) Frankendolling art.
Simply put, don’t steal bits and pieces of other peoples’ dolls to create your own ‘franken-doll’ monster.
First off, it’s art theft and second, it’s very rude and can seriously kill your dolling ‘career’. Just don’t do it. Ever.
13.) “PLZ Download” as a preview.
A preview should be what it means, a preview. Not a plea for downloading.
This applies to the DeviantArt site where you can have a preview of a doll for others to click on to see. If you’re going to make a preview, then make an actual and descent preview so others will be drawn to see it. You’ll want to capture their attention so make the preview feature the best and most capturing part of the doll, in example the detail of the gown or bust and face. If it’s nothing more than a “Download” bit of text, then less people will want to see what it is. Of course, you don’t have to make a preview. Having the background set to dA’s background color of #D6DED4 works just fine. The ‘preview’ image will be of the whole doll shrunken down. It honestly doesn’t look that bad either.
12.) Photos as backgrounds.
Photographs as backgrounds never look good with dolls. Period.
The reason they won’t look good with dolls is that the are from two very different mediums of art. Best thing to do is make your own background that matches the doll’s drawing style. The best possible way to use a photograph in a doll if it was shrunken down to appear as a miniature photograph with the doll. Example, a framed portrait of a historical character behind the historical doll.
11.) Rushed jobs.
Rushed work won’t accomplish anything. Patience is the key from so-so to awesome dolls.
The best dolls take time to work on. Some take days or even weeks to get them just right. Unless you are very talented and spend hours on a doll, it is most likely not going to be one of your best. Take your time and be proud of your work in the end.
10.) Light source on the clothing but not on the base.
Light sourcing should be applied to the whole doll.
Don’t forget that the skin and face have highlights and shadows too! If your light is coming from the side, edit the bridge of the nose and face to keep it consistent with the rest of the doll. Don’t forget the neck, shoulders and arms as well and any other body part showing and lastly the hair.
9.) Lots of excess space.
Extra space around the doll does nothing for the art itself.
Trim away the extra space around the doll to either on the doll’s farthest pixels on all sides or at least 1 pixel out. It takes off a bit of the file size, making it faster to load and makes it easier for others to adopt on their pages. You don’t want a doll in a ’sea of transparency’.
8.) Hair lined and flat against the head.
In the real world, hair does not lay flat against your skull, not even when it’s perfectly straight.
Hair has volume even when it’s thin. Give it a pixel or two off of the head outline if it’s straight. If it’s not straight, then add even more volume.
7.) Base line art for outlining clothes.
Again, things in the real world do not lay flat against the body.
Take a look at reference pictures of what you want to draw or even better look in the mirror. Look at the folds and draping of the fabric and how they lay against the body. Even spandex isn’t perfectly flat on you. It creases and folds in certain areas as well which bulges out slightly on those folds.
6.) Using default colors.
Don’t use the pure default colors that are on such programs like Paint and Photoshop.
Unless you’re trying to blind someone with bright colors, adjust the colors by either sliding the color slider to different levels of saturation and brightness. Original colors are always better and easier on the eye. Remember the default colors are there as a template for you to manipulate to choose your palette.
5.) Gradients as shading.
Clothing does not shade naturally like MSPaint or any other program’s gradients. Gradient backgrounds are also not appealing.
If you wish to use gradients for clothing, then you may want to use a tutorial on how to shade them correctly than leaving them shadeless and flat.
Unless the background is of a sunset or such and has a border of some kind then it won’t look ‘tacky’, but remember to keep it small. Large, full gradient backgrounds do nothing, if not worsen a doll.
4.) Not editing a base at all.
Unless the basemaker says not to edit their bases, do something with them.
It’s not that hard to change the skin color of a base. Edit the lips, the face, eye colors and shape, anything to not make it a dime a dozen. Everyone is different in the real world, why not in dolling?
3.) Pillow shading.
Don’t shade around the outline of something so it looks more like a pillow than a piece of clothing. Even pillows aren’t really pillow shaded.
Take a look at different dolls and pictures of models on the web. See how their shading is not pillowy and how the highlights and shadows sometimes meet without there being a middle color. It takes practice but it’s worth it.
2.) Making ‘new’ dolls from recolored old ones.
Recoloring an old doll does not truly make it a new doll.
Technically, it’s frankendolling your own work and how boring can a recoloring of one doll be? If you truly love how you made a doll and want to show it off in another color, why not combine the images together to one file since it is one doll.
And the moment you’ve been waiting for, our #1 mistake in dolling…
1.) Losing or forgetting where you found a base.
When it comes down to posting the doll you’ve spent so much time on and you have forgotten where the base was from and who to credit, don’t post it without at least questioning those who see it if they recognize the base for later editing! Not asking is not crediting which is against many dollers’ rules.
To avoid such situation, it is best to keep any artist stamps or write who’s base it it on the doll while you work on it until the very end when it’s time to reveal it to the world. That way you won’t forget.
A huge thanks to those who participated in creating the ideas and suggestions in this article!
Tags: Discussion
14 comments for “Top 15 Things to Avoid When Dolling”
Post a comment
Categories
Polls
Loading ...
I wouldn’t call these “mistakes” as much as “your opinion” of what makes a good doll. I have seen really beautiful dolls that have made some of these “mistakes” and they looked refined and complete.
You might want to consider changing the title of this, because it’s a bit misleading and kind of derogatory to some people’s personal style.
It wouldn’t exactly be ‘my opinion’ since this is a combination of many peoples’ opinions.
Leslie, the article is not made up of opinions, but general facts and rules. They are written down to help you avoid them to make a doll even better.
There are also exceptions to every rule as well.
What I mean is that pillow shading shouldn’t be considered a mistake, if it is just a step in learning how to doll “realistically” or the way that everyone else does. That’s really discouraging to people who are starting out, like me.
I don’t think it is a mistake if I don’t edit the base I am using at all. I don’t care if the face looks like other people’s or other dolls on my site. That’s not a mistake, that’s a personal choice. Or in some cases people, like me, just don’t know how to edit bases so they don’t. That’s not a mistake, that’s a limitation.
And just because my doll doesn’t take days to make, doesn’t mean that it is a mistake or that I am making a mistake by not taking three hours to draw an outline. I know several people who can turn out a really beautiful doll in about an hour. And it looks pretty finished and complete to me.
All I’m saying is that I don’t think this article presented itself really well to people who are new like I am. It basically told me that I suck because I make all of these mistakes or that my dolls are so-so and half-finished and not polished.
If you had called it “tips for making the most of your dolls” or something more encouraging and been more careful in how you phrased stuff so that it’s more encouraging to everyone and not just people who have been doing this longer then I wouldn’t have had a problem with this article. Or even if you had called it an editorial, which is what it seems like it is. Because it’s not very objective, it’s very personal in the way it’s presented.
I’m just tired of feeling like no one cares about the people who are just starting out or who don’t have a lot of natural talent and pick things up as easy as others. And when people do things like this to make it SEEM like they care, it’s really just telling us what we do is completely wrong and that if we don’t do it the way you tell us to do it then we’re not right or we’re not polished or we’re not finished or we’re only so-so.
I’m sorry to go off like this, but after being around to a couple different forums that is the attitude I get from the members there, and I know some of the other new people feel the same. That if we don’t do it the way you tell us that it looks good or right then we’re wrong and need to do it your way.
I’m glad that you are trying to help people get better with this article, and I have learned some things by people giving me tips and by looking at hints and things. What’s important is getting better and liking what your doll looks like, not whether other people thing they look good or finished or whatever. And I don’t like the attitude that if you don’t do it a certain way then it’s not a great doll. I think my dolls are great.
That’s all I am saying, and I sorry I did it here at your article, but this seemed like the best place and the only opportunity I will have to do it.
I can see where you got offended, Leslie. And I can understand why you were offended. The problem is that people have so many different “visions” of what dolling is (they are often unique to each person) that what might be a mistake to one person is a masterpiece to someone else.
Some people have formal artistic training and have carried that with them into dolling. Others (myself included) don’t consider themselves artists at all and pursue it as a hobby only. So while some people have a more critical eye for the outcome or for refining their skill, others focus more on enjoying the process and having a laugh at the visualization of their idea.
The things listed here were opinions compiled by like-minded people intended to assist other like-minded people in their “dolling career.” Everything has to be taken with a grain of salt and be considered an opinion. The only real “rules” to dolling are those enforced by copyright law, and the rules enforced at forums you join. Outside of that - no one really has any right to tell anyone else what is right and wrong when they doll.
There are a lot of different doll forums out there, and I hope that you will find one where you feel encouraged. I know how frustrating it can be to find a place where you feel others share your vision. And if all else fails - doll for yourself and screw everyone else!
I have a bit of fault with this. Some of these things work for some, and don’t for others. Its just that. You can’t really call it a mistake if you make 2 mediums work well, or you shade a certain way, or don’t edit a base.
So I give applause to Leslie. I can agree with her plenty on this. =)
Hmm, while all those things you listed are mistakes that should be avoided, I don’t agree with the way you listed them.
The #1 seems like one of the not so bad mistakes. Yes, people should make sure that they can give proper credit to the basemaker, but frankendolling seems much worse to me. It’s only human to forget, even though it should be avoided if possible.
The rule about the previews doesn’t quite seem to fit here either, or at least not on #13, as it’s only for dA members and is not about dolling in general (in contrary to what the title implies).
#5 just confuses me, as when I first read it, it was like you were saying that gradient palettes should not be used to shade something. If that’s what you actually meant by it, then I completely disagree as f.i. using blue as a shadow colour in a green palette can make a doll look more lively. But as the colours shift, it can be seen as a gradient palette… However, after reading it again I think you were trying to say that leaving clothes with gradients unshaded, is bad. With that I completely agree, unshaded gradients look flat and unnatural.
But really, it was hard for me to get the meaning of that paragraph. This may be because English is not my native language, but it’d be nice if you made your point a bit clearer
Overall it’s a nice article with some helpful tips for people who want to improve their dolls. But really, the order of things seem off to me (frankendolling as #14? really, it’s probably the worst thing a doller can do…).
I don’t think you could make a perfect list of things not to do when dolling. It’s like a lot of things. Like, when you watch shows about the 100 Biggest Fashion Don’ts. Some of it really has to do with opinion. (Like people who like Uggs and people who think they’re hideous). But, I think it’s a nice article, thanks Caelest!
Thanks everyone who agreed with me or at least understood what I meant. I’m glad that I’m not the only one feeling this way.
Thanks for taking the time to contribute to the dolling community with this article. I find that admirable that you are willing to volunteer your time.
°__° I think frankendolling is much worse than loosing the base credit..
I agree with leslie. Also saying pillow shading is wrong is completely opinion. Sometimes shading is like that. I have been criticised for ‘pillow’ shading on a corset and not putting in folds. If you have worn a corset then you know that if the corset has folds then your wearing it wrong! So sometimes you can’t put in folds…yeah spandex wouldnt but a laced tight corset would mould to you like that!
We’re allowed to make mistakes. And I really don’t mind looking at unfinished dolls or bases that arent edited at all… So… maybe these are just opinions after all?
Either way, allow people to make their own mistakes. Aside from not crediting the basemaker or stealing someone’s doll, they are all forgiveable.
I like this article and I don’t see them being intended to insult anyone OR as “opinions.” I mean, “dolling mistakes” to me is just a catchy title like when people do “fashion don’ts” - it’s not meant to be hard and fast, you may disagree with some. I happen to think not editing the base at all is acceptable, esp for beginners, and can look just fine if you add a lot of stuff to the base as far as hair etc goes. But I wouldn’t condemn the whole article. I think it’s informative, and obviously a beginning doller will do some of these things to practice but eventually move beyond them.
A suggestion for if you do another of these lists: How about not matching the style of the base? I see a lot of dolls that don’t change the base at all but then use a totally different shading style and color scheme so that they look disjointed, like really blurry tool shading on a simple pixel-shaded base. That’s when you should try to edit either the base or the style you use.