Aesthetics Justice for NJ's dolls!

What a lovely collection! And that group photo is beautifully composed! I hope you try to have fun along the way in this process, it's important that this hobby make you happy and not feel like a chore.

I'm sure you've seen it, but this thread has a lot of easy projects compiled that work up quickly! The caftan is my personal favorite since it's so versatile, but I've found a lot of inspiration here when I'm not sure what I want to make up next for naked dollies.

 

Eleven naked and blank dolls?! I'm overwhelmed just looking at them! You have a lot of work cut out for you. Take it one step at a time. It's okay if the first ones aren't perfect. By the time you have the experience from all 11, you'll want to go back and redo the first ones anyway. Don't get stuck on the idea of perfecting at first! Good luck!!

 

Can I just say, “bought a lot of dolls, love them but they’re all blank and in boxes” is SO relatable to me xD You’re so not alone!!

I think choosing one-two dolls at a time to dedicate to as your project is a good idea, I hope you have fun and don’t stress about it ^-^

 

This reminds me so much of my early collecting days! So many pretties, but all nude blank and bald! I am so proud of you for taking the initiative to finally start working on them! The wonderful thing about our dolls is that they will always wait patiently until you are ready to work on them. So take your time and enjoy the process You will have a fun year ahead of you!
And, I'm actually looking forward to seeing all your dolls in the samey wig too, I think it will make their differences shine

 

Lol the pic of them all piled together

Doing all 11 in a row is such a great practice and you'll see yourself getting better with each doll so it'll be quite encouraging to keep going! And when you get stuck on something, you can always take the next doll instead of brooding over the same thing for a long time = guaranteed progress. Good luck, cheering you on on this journey!

 

I am wishing you all the luck for working on these dolls!

 

I love the 11 doll picture. Gorgeous posing!
If you are still learning to do face-ups (like me), may I make a few suggestions?
Pop off all 11 heads and line them up. Yup - you're going to do multiple heads at the same time.
Plan out your undertones and face-ups. I print out and use this:


Amazing undertone tutorial here.
Pastels and acrylics tutorial here.
I would recommend working on 3 to 4 heads at a time. Do the same thing for each head - undertones, eyebrows, eyeliner. I found that I am physically incapable of doing the exact same thing, so each face ends up looking different.
This is how I taught myself to do better eyebrows, by the way.

If after 4 heads, you are still unsatisfied with a particular feature (me: eyebrows), take a break and watch some face-up tutorials on YouTube or reels on Instagram. After you've done 3 or 4, you know what you're looking for, and you can see more of what the other person does.
Wipe those heads and start over.
Alternatively, if you really like one head, wipe the rest and try to recreate what you did on the one that you liked.

Also, re undertones: do NOT use blue or purple on brown faces. It just makes them look bruised.

 

What skintones are those blue/teal? Dolls? They are gorgeous colors!

 

Great advice overall, but i have to disagree on this point. I use purple (very carefully and intentionally of course) on my tan and brown heads to add some dimension and it works absolutely beautifully. A little under the eyes and in the crease of the nostrils? Even just a touch under the cheekbone? Beautiful. It's all about having a light hand though, and i do predominantly reds and oranges and browns on my tan and brown faces. But they'd definitely be missing that extra bit of delicate dimensionality without the purple.

 

I'd love to see pics, if you would be so kind as to drop a link. Maybe I'm using the wrong colors? My poor little Ya looks like she staggered out of a bar fight.

 

Oh super interesting how lighting does that! Thank you so much for the color names. I actually have a bubble mint tiny, but i didn't know about the other colors! I might have to get a sweet blue withdoll some day

 

I will definitely follow this thread! I too sit in the midst of a pile of unfinished dolls I hope this will inspire me to start working on them one by one

 

Best of luck to you with this project!

While I agree with the others that your collection looks lovely the way you present them on the group photo, bald and naked as they are, I think starting a project journal is a great way to get things rolling for finishing them.
Joining the Sewing Project is another great way to get things done, I participate as often as I can and I have a huge amount on nice doll clothes that I've made thanks to that over the years. The deadline of the end of the month helps me stay on track and get things finished, but everyone is always so nice and helpful and never judgemental when things don't work out, so there is very little actual pressure.

Focusing on one or two at the time is probably a good way to go about it. Especcially if you are developeing characters and individual styles for them as you go. Doing it more assembly line -style may work if you have something that all of them will have done the same way, but if you need space to get to know them individually it's probably a lot more rewarding to focus on a few at a time.
I bought a WD Emma (human version) last year and she is a pleasure to work with. I'm sure you'll enjoy the process.

I am looking forward to see what you'll make.

 

all those beautiful colours! Gorgeous