Being a one-woman show, I had to learn a lot of different things to run my creative business. From social media management, photography, content marketing to bookkeeping. All you need to have is a computer with internet connection, a few hours a week that you're willing to spend learning and most importantly some stubbornness to keep going.
Read MoreWhen I sculpt new faces for my plush dolls I always think about a character that I want to create. It's really fun to play with the face features and move away from a traditional human anatomy. In this article, I'll show you how I sculpt faces for these type of dolls and how different face features can change doll's personality.
Read MoreI've started to create art dolls in 2013. Even though I had I wonderful chance to study set design & puppet theatre in Vilnius art academy, art dolls were a whole different deal. Everything, from sculpting to painting, I had to learn by myself. And I'm not saying this to brag, I'm sharing this so you could do the same!
Read MoreWith a calendar packed with holiday's preparations, it can be tricky to make room for crafts or DIY projects. But handmade gifts could be so much better! Because of that, I've prepared a fun and easy Christmas elf tutorial that will get you into the holiday spirit in no time. This tutorial is suitable for beginners and will take you no more than a weekend to create. Add a little bit of character to your Christmas decor with this festive stocking stuffer!
Read MoreSeeing your own work in the glossy pages of a beautiful magazine. Tempting, isn't it? I'd thought it would get me ages to achieve something like that. Nowadays it really seems that only artists with a huge following on social media, managers and connections gain such opportunities. But this belief is far from the truth. Continue to read and find out how to get published as a doll artist!
Read MoreA hairstyle, that your doll wears, is such an important element shaping the whole character of a doll. It’s even more fun if you could change the hair depending on the doll’s costume or your mood! In either case, the big questions remain. How to attach doll hair? And how to make a wig for a doll? So now I’ll take you through the steps of making this fancy looking but rather simple wig.
Read MoreDo you ever get this feeling, when you have a beautifully sculpted doll in your hands and you’re afraid to ruin it with paints? At the beginning of my doll making journey, I’ve been getting this a lot. It’s so frustrating when you can’t fulfill the image you have in mind. In this article, I’d like to talk about the best materials and techniques I use to paint my dolls, so we could put all the annoyance behind our backs!
Read MoreWhile pursuing my dreams and creating my first BJD doll, I’m trying my best to document all the process. Not just for myself, (even though I enjoy to watch myself getting better at something) but for you guys as well. Not to pride on my achievements, but to show all the aspiring doll artists, that everything is possible. With hard work, long hours of trying, failing and not losing hope.
Read MoreOne of the most frequently asked questions I hear is “How to achieve symmetry when sculpting dolls?” Because of my doll making classes, I get to talk with many doll makers all over the world. A lot of them struggle with the same thing. And I get why. When I started to create dolls, my biggest strain was to make the face look symmetrical. I always ended up with one eye lower than the other, crooked nose or lips tilted to the side. Sounds familiar? Don’t worry you’re not alone. Seeing how many of us hassle with this, I’ve understood that this issue is extremely common.
Read MoreI interact with fellow doll makers on a daily basis. Some of them are students in my doll making classes, some of them are artists who share they work on Facebook groups or Instagram. A lot of them have two things in common: love for doll making and a desire doing it full time. For the past two years, I've been fortunate enough to call myself a doll artist and transform my doll making hobby into a career. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy at all. There were situations where I'd have loved to have some guidance. But I strongly believe that with the right attitude and hard work everyone could do it. Today I'm going to share the actions I took to make this happen. I hope they will encourage you to turn your doll making hobby into a career.
Read MoreIt has been almost three months since the last article about my ball-jointed doll journey. I didn’t expect that Christmas madness will creep on my Etsy shop so hard, haha. I’m very happy about it, though. So all the exciting process of sculpting my first BJD doll was postponed until now.
Read MoreIn the doll making world, most of the time artists put all of their skills and assets to sculpting the doll. It’s understandable because the doll itself is a unique form of art which is beautiful the way it is. But often enough, I’m looking at those beautifully sculpted dolls and missing one more thing. The costume. Why are we so rushing to finish the doll and releasing it to the world without suitable garments? It carries the doll to the whole new level and tells us a story about a character we have just met, revealing the most intricate details! Usually, it’s simply because we don’t know how to create one. All that sewing, embroidery, beading, patterns and techniques makes a mess in our heads. But what if I told you that you can create an astonishing costume for your doll without years of sewing practice? Let’s begin!
Read MoreI don’t know if I mentioned it before, but BJD doll (ball-jointed doll) has been my goal for more than a year now. However, leaving a full-time job and starting my own business forced me to postpone this idea. Don’t get me wrong, fulfilling orders and creating OOAK dolls is my dream job. Yet I always had these restless thoughts of creating my own BJD doll. I don’t know how long it’ll take and if I’ll succeed or not, but I want to invite you to peek behind the curtain and join me in this creative journey.
Read MoreRecently I took an amazing class about craft photography. Somehow it changed perspective about my photos and I finally could tell why I didn't like them too much. You already know how much I love Creative Live, but this online course changed so much for me. I'm talking about more followers, higher engagement, and bigger sales!
Read MoreIn my “Doll making classes” I promised I’ll make more free tutorials about bits and pieces, I didn’t cover there. For example, in costume making class I talked about one kind of shoes, but there are so many types of those out there! So now I’ll take you through the steps of making these fancy and adorable miniature art doll shoes.
Read MoreThere are a lot of imperceptible steps in the doll making process. Some of them are pretty simple, like finding the right materials, but others could take an extremely long time. Nevertheless, this invisible work is just as much important as your dolls face-up or detailed costume. Today I’m gonna talk about creative process between an abstract idea and finished technical drawing. Those are very first steps of the doll making which will determine how your finished piece will look like. This system is a blend of many hours reading about doll making, analyzing all kinds of dolls and creating my own techniques. I’ve been using this method for years for my own dolls. I hope it’ll help you in your creative journey!
Read MoreOnline marketplaces like Etsy has made it easy to offer your creations to people all over the world. Selling internationally is exiting. But before you've started to count all this future orders consider some inevitable obstacles you may encounter. So what do you need to know before you send out your first item to the unfamiliar country overseas?
Read MoreFinally, the second article in "Doll making series" - introductory series for my "Doll making classes". You've already learned about the best air dry clays for doll sculpting and now wondering what you'll need to start making dolls? Or maybe you're in the hunt for some new tools? If that's the case, I've got you covered! Today I'll talk about the tools I use on a daily basis for over three years now. This gear includes items who have stood the test of time, remained extremely useful throughout changes in my dolls style and helped me get better in what I do.
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