My First Male Doll

One of the greatest doll groups that I belong to is Cloth Doll Artistry. I have seen some of the most beautiful designs and work done by some of the most talented and gifted doll designers I've ever met. If you are a doll designer or creator or you are an appreciator of beautifully crafted

dolls and soft sculpture please visit this site.

Members of Cloth Doll Artistry are presented with challenges every quarter to design and create a specific concept of a doll. The challenges are designed to make doll designers stretch their imaginations and step out of their comfort zones by creating dolls that may not be part of their regular design styles or techniques. Like all designers in any field, doll designers can get into a rutt and experience creative blocks. The challenges make doll designers think about how to create something they have never created before.

For me, I approach the challenges as a list of "what if's"
when I begin the "brainstorming", design process. What do I want this doll to look like? The "brainstorming" stage is great because there are no boundries, barriers or limitations. After the design process I begin a construction process which I approach as a series of problem solving projects. This is where I discover what I can and can't do which is also great because it is a learning process.

I like to use photographs of real people when I design my dolls faces. As a result, all of my dolls have a unique look just like real people do. The photos can be of friends and family or just an interesting face I find on the Internet. It is not so much that I try to copy a face exactly, I'm not that good yet but I try to capture an expression or a feature that is unique to the face.

The challenge for me in making a male doll is designing a face that is decidely masculine with strong features. All of dolls my are very soft and feminine with lots of eye shadow and lipstick. They are all very "girly girls". For this doll I found a great picture of the actor Keannu Reeves. He has great eyebrows and clear, dark eyes and his mouth has a little 'smirk' when he smiles. Because my male doll will have shorter hair than my "girly girls", he will have to have 'ears' or his head will look like it's missing something. So these are my first doll ears too. He also has to have a broader chest and shoulders and narrower hips.

Problems solved so far: masculine face, ears, broader shoulders and narrower hips. Next, I will have to decide what his arms will look like and how to style a Keannu Reeves hair cut. In the photo his hair is a little longer and wilder than his "Matrix" character wore. Lastly, what will he wear???? I raised two sons so you'd think that wouldn't be a problem.

This is my male doll design so far. I will keep you posted as I progress further. Tomorrow is my TGIT!! Thank God It's Tuesday, my three days off from work, so it's my weekend. The weather is so nice now after such a rough winter here, it's hard to stay in. I won't complain about the weather here anymore after seeing what the tornados and storms have done to so many homes and cities in the South. My prayers for the families who are now homeless or who have lost someone because of this terrible disaster. This has definitely been a year when mother nature has shown us her strength and power.

I wonder what's going on between these two. Every time I look at them they're staring at each other. Hmmmmm...