Getting Out of a Dolling Rut

You know what I mean. Your last three dolls were decidedly bad. All of your dresses look the same these days. You're bored. You're tired. Your brain is fried and you don't feel like thinking. These tips are for you. Some of them may work for you, and some of them may not. The idea is to get you thinking in terms of possibilities again.

Make a base.

Don't do it just because everyone is doing it, and certainly don't feel that you have to have bases on your site (you really don't - you really, really don't). Do it because it will give you insight into how people are supposed to be shaped and shading skin tones. If it turns out badly, you are under no obligation to ever use it or show it to anybody!

Draw a face.

Take a base that doesn't have a face, or one that comes with-or-without, and try your hand at doing your own face from scratch. Again, you don't have to show anyone your dismal failures. The idea is that eventually, occasionally, you will get good results. In any case, you will be learning something. I do this periodically. Sometimes it makes it onto one of my dolls. More often it doesn't, but I'm getting better!

Read a tutorial.

So, maybe you're the undisputed master of your own personal technique. Why not try someone else's technique? You might learn some new tricks that you can incorporate into your own style. Even the least experienced doller may have something to teach you!

Rediscover your roots.

Maybe you started with MSPaint, and now you've moved on. Go back and see if you can still pixel-shade! You may be amazed at how much you have improved! Maybe you've been pixel-shading a lot recently. Why not go back and try the good old dodge-and-burn method again?

Do something you're "not any good at".

Maybe you just can't do male dolls. You've tried. They look awful. Try again! Maybe it's wings, or formal dresses, or animation, or blonde hair. Give it a shot and see how it goes—you've gotten better since you last tried it, after all. (And again, it's not like you have to actually show it to anybody if you don't like it.)

Do a request.

Get one of your friends to make a request. Try to do the best you can to match their vision. (This is even better if it's a non-dolling friend, since they will have no idea whether what they are asking for is easy or difficult.) If may be something you would never have done, otherwise.

Don't be a lemming!

It's okay to do what everyone else is doing—sometimes. But don't do it only because that's what everyone else is doing. So what if everyone on your message board is using [insert basemaker here]'s bases? Use something different! Maybe your shading style looks totally different from everyone else's—maybe that's a good thing. Cultivate your own personal style. If your dolling habits always follow the latest fad, then you're not going to know what to do in the absense of a fad. Dollers who find their own inspiration are always inspired! On the other hand, you don't have to be a unique individual just to be a unique individual. Maybe making Harry-Potter-style-you is what you need to do to rekindle your interest.

Animate!

Don't just do blinking eyes or glittery dresses. Can you make it look like your doll is waving? Nodding? Doing a little dance?

Enter a contest.

Find a newer site that's just getting started with contests. Enter your best friend's contest. Enter that type of contest that you never enter. Don't do it because you want to win—do it because it's fun.

Read a book!

Maybe you'll be inspired by one of the characters. Maybe you'll just be doing something with your free time other than sitting in front of your computer. ;)

Make some sprites.

You can use Salli's sprite bases if you like. Sprites are little. They are cute. They are also quick, easy, and painless. You can animate them and make it look like you actually tried!

Even better, you can make sprites based on existing dolls. They are fun and adorable, they are good pixel-shading pracitice, and they require little to no actual effort or thought.

Make palettes and/or patterns.

They are actually useful, but they don't take much effort or thought, so they are ideal when you feel like making something but don't feel like thinking too hard. And perhaps you'll be inspired to use that really cool pattern you just made...

Look in the mirror.

How is your face proportioned? Is your lower lip really in greater shadow? What's your chin shaped like? Your ears? How could you show that effect with pixels?

How does your hair fall? How does the light hit it? Where are the shadows? What if you use a different light source (your desk lap instad of the overhead lights)?

Where does your clothing tend to bunch up? Where are the wrinkles and folds? The shadows and highlights?

Fix an older doll.

You know how the shading on that one doll's skirt has been really bugging you lately? You're better now—fix it! Seeing how much you have improved ought to be good for a quick morale boost. :)

Write a tutorial.

No, this tutorial is not an example, and I've got some nice land in Florida to sell you.