Beginner Help
For all your basic doll making needs... before you email me and ask "how do you make dolls?" check here! If you still have questions, you can always email me though!

1. If you want to make the dolls you see almost EVERYWHERE ELSE, you'll need to do a Google Search for "How to Make dolls with the Palace". I do not deal with the palace, as I always say, so asking questions to me about the palace is like asking a rabbit where it gets its nails done. I don't wanna sound mean here, but I honestly don't know how to make dolls in the palace. :( I still love you though! :)

2. How do I make MY dolls? Many different ways. First off, if you are looking to get into doll making WITHOUT THE PALACE, then you'll need to buy/download a graphics program (I use Paint Shop Pro 7, but you can use Microsoft paint, or any other program, really). You can get a 30-day trial version of Paint Shop at Jasc.com.

3. Next, for newbies to the doll world, check out some doll sites to get a feel for them. (My links page has a selection of the best doll sites I've seen). Decide what kinds of dolls you like the best, and one of the better ways to practice making dolls is to email the owner of the site, asking if you could take on of their dolls and edit it. (most owners will let you, if you take the time to email them and ask politely). Explain to them that you are new at making dolls, would like to practice making them, that you like their doll (describe the doll for them so they know which one you want to edit), and will give credit (a link) to them on your site (and do this, because they will check up on you!). Once you get permission, right-click on the doll to save it on your hard drive, open the doll up in your graphics program, and use the paintbrush tool to change, say, the color of the shirt.

4. After you master a simple "edit," then you can move onto more complicated doll making. If you see a doll you like wearing pants you don't like, email the owner of the site (see step 3) and ask to use it. Then you could find a doll with pants you do like, and email that site owner as well. Once you get permission from the owner(s) of both dolls, right-click and save them both. Open the two dolls in your graphics program, and then open a new window (press Ctrl+N on a PC). Using a selection tool, outline (select) the doll with the top and press Ctrl+C to copy it. Then go to the new window, and paste the part of the doll you copied inside (Edit menu, down to Paste). Do the same select, copy, and paste with the pants. The doll will look funny in the midsection, so you should go to the paintbrush tool and paint some of the shirt back in. *The more careful you are when selecting the outline of the pants, the less painting of the shirt you'll have to do.

5. The least effort way to make dolls with out the palace.... drag and drops! Veriria has a list of drag'n'drop links on her site. If you make dolls on drag and drops, you need to follow the specific instructions on how to save the dolls provided by that site owner. After you follow those instructions to save the doll, EDIT IT! It makes all the difference in the world! I do use a few drag and drops here and there, but I EDIT THEM, and that makes a worl of difference. If you edit them, pay attention to detail, like if the shirt doesn't fit exactly right on the sides of the body, or if something is overlapping wrong. Use the paintbruah tool to fix it. Add some detail, because if you don't, chances are ver good that someone else has made the exact same doll on a drag and drop and is saying that they made it too. The name of the game in doll making is VARIETY and QUALITY, so make uniqe dolls and pay attention to the detail! :) You'll get wonderful responses if you do.


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