• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!

My OOAK Rapunzel Designer Doll Unveiled! **UPDATED WITH POLL**

Which Designer Doll(s) should I try next?

  • Cinderella

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Belle

    Votes: 1 4.2%

  • Ariel

    Votes: 5 20.8%

  • Mulan

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Snow White

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Tiana

    Votes: 1 4.2%

  • Jasmine

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Aurora

    Votes: 6 25.0%

  • Pocahontas

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other (e.g. Giselle, Megara, Esmeralda, etc.)

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Total voters
    24
Status
Not open for further replies.
My OOAK Rapunzel Designer Doll Unveiled! **UPDATED WITH POLL**
Wow! Big thank you to everyone for the warm and fuzzy feelings. :hug:


swim2sea said:
That is so much nicer than the Disney Doll. If I sent you a blank doll could you make me a nice Aurora? I'm not so fond of the designer doll and the Signature doll is great, but her face is all wrong. I just need to capture the essence of her and you seem to know how to do that. BTW, I can barely sew buttons on shirts so I envy you.
Click to expand...

I'll keep you in mind if I decide to do Aurora. ;) And "essence"! THAT'S the word I was looking for! :D

JanuaryGarnet said:
Ohh, pretty. I love looking at custom dolls. I'd make some, but my painting skills are terrible. Let us know if you do make the other nine.
Click to expand...

Aww you should give it a go! It was actually a lot of fun...I became quite obsessive, working on her during all of my free time! lol But you guys will definitely be the first to see any that I may do in the future. :)

shenzi said:
INCREDIBLE! Absolutely breathtaking Rapunzel and a huge improvement to Disney designer! [That doll is pretty, but doesn't look like Rapunzel in the movie.]

May I suggest redoing Belle. She has a gorgeous face, but nix the "Beehive" hair on DD doll. HA!
Click to expand...

Yesss! The main problem I have with the dolls is their enormous hair. I don't have enough confidence to mess with my actual designer dolls, so I may just have to do the rest of them. :D That could take a while though...lol
 
Once I have the money (probably right after Christmas), I might make a custom Designer Princess Ariel. I'd even use a real seashell for her hair ornament. The bright side is that I have time in between now and then to plan.
 
She's absolutely beautiful! I've been toying with the idea of an OOAK Vanessa (Ursula) doll... but I've been postponing it because I have no idea how to reroot hair. If there were any really good tutorials you found or pointers you have, would you mind sharing? :)
 
JanuaryGarnet said:
Once I have the money (probably right after Christmas), I might make a custom Designer Princess Ariel. I'd even use a real seashell for her hair ornament. The bright side is that I have time in between now and then to plan.
Click to expand...

Yes, I love it! Shiva also had this idea in the Doll Appreciation thread. You should definitely do it. :)

MegglesM said:
She's absolutely beautiful! I've been toying with the idea of an OOAK Vanessa (Ursula) doll... but I've been postponing it because I have no idea how to reroot hair. If there were any really good tutorials you found or pointers you have, would you mind sharing? :)
Click to expand...

That would be awesome! Just jump in and do it! ;) I started out by watching the video below. I wanted the most secure way of rerooting, which is the knot method. The hair definitely won't go anywhere once it's in, but it is VERY tedious. A couple things I discovered along the way:

-A cup of water is essential to threading your needle.
-The video shows her threading her needle, then pushing from the inside-out. Once you have several plugs in, though, it can be difficult to find the holes from the inside (and quite frustrating!). So instead, I pushed the EYE of the needle from the outside just until it makes it out down through the neck hole, then threaded and knotted, and then pushed back the way it came. (Sorry if this is confusing, but I basically did it backwards from the video.)
-Also have a curved needle handy! These make it much easier when you're trying to get the holes towards the base of her head.

Good luck! Can't wait to see her! :D

[video=youtube_share;7UbuOuibiVA]http://youtu.be/7UbuOuibiVA[/video]
 
Last edited:
disneycrazee said:
She has truly been a labor of love. Initially, I wanted to make the doll as close to the original illustration as possible, but then I realized the official Designer Rapunzel's dress and hair were pretty close, so I instead opted to try to recreate the "feeling" I had when I first saw the beautiful artwork (if that makes sense to anyone! :lol:).

I started out with the Classic Rapunzel Doll as the base. I then rerooted and repainted her - both of which I did for the first time...and nearly caused me to stop the project. :doh: But I persevered...resulting in thicker, longer, shinier hair and a not-so-smooth face paint job (but I like it anyway! ;) ). Because sewing is my comfort zone, the dress was the most fun part of the project, and when it comes to the hair, I decided I wanted it braided for two reasons: I really like it braided in the movie and having it braided would eliminate any tangled hair issues (pun not intended ;) ). She's still missing an accessory...I was planning on giving her a brush...and Pascal...but those will have to wait until I have more time. :)

All in all, I am happy with the way she turned out, this being my very first OOAK doll. :D (And a big big THANK YOU to Shivatopia, who encouraged me to pursue this idea!!)

View attachment 7084
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your beautiful recreation of Designer Rapunzel! She looks perfectly marvelous! Aren't OOAK dolls the best? You did great on the repaint. From what I understand, even the most experienced OOAK doll artists are almost never 100% satisfied with their work (I think it's the perfectionistic nature of being an artist). I love how you went for the closed-eye look like in the sketch, which is so much better than that smug look that the poor factory Designer Rapunzel has... And the dress you made is beautiful! I like the delicate lace detail! Very demure!

Like swim2sea, the first princess I want to "redo" is Aurora, using a TDS play doll Aurora, which I already have on hand. Her hair needs to be down, for heaven's sake! :) I guess it's no secret that I support OOAK dolls in a major way, so if anyone is thinking about it, here is your proof that it can be done!
 
Shivatopia said:
Congratulations on your beautiful recreation of Designer Rapunzel! She looks perfectly marvelous! Aren't OOAK dolls the best? You did great on the repaint. From what I understand, even the most experienced OOAK doll artists are almost never 100% satisfied with their work (I think it's the perfectionistic nature of being an artist). I love how you went for the closed-eye look like in the sketch, which is so much better than that smug look that the poor factory Designer Rapunzel has... And the dress you made is beautiful! I like the delicate lace detail! Very demure!

Like swim2sea, the first princess I want to "redo" is Aurora, using a TDS play doll Aurora, which I already have on hand. Her hair needs to be down, for heaven's sake! :) I guess it's no secret that I support OOAK dolls in a major way, so if anyone is thinking about it, here is your proof that it can be done!
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yes, Aurora's hair DEFINITELY needs to be down. When I first saw her, I was thinking, "What the...??" :eek2: haha
 
Please post pictures everyone! I'm not talented enough to do this, well I shouldn't say that I've never tried lol. But I'm so excited to see everyone's work. If anyone does Ariel please please please please (enough pleases lol) post a pic she is my absolute fav!
 
Very nice job! Simply stunning. Forgive my ignorance but what does OOAK stand for? I take it you didn't take one of the existing Designer Dolls and change it did you? That could be pricey!!
 
unibear said:
Very nice job! Simply stunning. Forgive my ignorance but what does OOAK stand for? I take it you didn't take one of the existing Designer Dolls and change it did you? That could be pricey!!
Click to expand...

Oh, OOAK stands for One-of-a-Kind. :) disneycrazee used a Disney Store play doll of Rapunzel for the base doll for this project. Using a Designer Rapunzel doll would have been very extravagant, indeed! :p
 
As someone who can't draw, paint or sew, OOAK dolls are so far out of my realm as to be almost funny. I am so envious of those of who have the necessary skills to do this. You have no idea how truly blessed you guys are. I'm very good at business, but at art - not so much. The OOAK dolls I've seen are just stunning and I wish with all my heart I could make just one. I'm going to try to find a local class, but with my obvious lack of skills, I'm not expecting much:)
 
swim2sea said:
As someone who can't draw, paint or sew, OOAK dolls are so far out of my realm as to be almost funny. I am so envious of those of who have the necessary skills to do this. You have no idea how truly blessed you guys are. I'm very good at business, but at art - not so much. The OOAK dolls I've seen are just stunning and I wish with all my heart I could make just one. I'm going to try to find a local class, but with my obvious lack of skills, I'm not expecting much:)
Click to expand...

You can do it! Happy to help if you have any questions. :)
 
swim2sea said:
As someone who can't draw, paint or sew, OOAK dolls are so far out of my realm as to be almost funny. I am so envious of those of who have the necessary skills to do this. You have no idea how truly blessed you guys are. I'm very good at business, but at art - not so much. The OOAK dolls I've seen are just stunning and I wish with all my heart I could make just one. I'm going to try to find a local class, but with my obvious lack of skills, I'm not expecting much:)
Click to expand...

Ah, Margaret, you can do it! All it takes is faith and trust... and practice! For all that I have designed many OOAK dolls (non-Disney), which have become my most treasured possessions, I have yet to actually make any with my own 2 hands beyond the design sketches and direction. So, I'm kind of in the same boat as you! I have a sewing machine, which I am slowly (really slowly) learning how to use. So, we'll learn together! I'm going to start with practicing garment construction before I even think about dabbling in repainting.
 
I'm going to be doing all of my sewing by hand. The doll's eyes will be closed, so she'll just need eye shadow and eyelashes (most likely rooted). I really hope that nail polish remover works well enough to remove the paint.
 
JanuaryGarnet said:
I'm going to be doing all of my sewing by hand. The doll's eyes will be closed, so she'll just need eye shadow and eyelashes (most likely rooted). I really hope that nail polish remover works well enough to remove the paint.
Click to expand...

It'll probably work, just not sure how much you'll need. I used pure acetone, and it comes off cleanly! And YAY for hand sewing! That's how I do all of mine. :)
 
Thanks. I just ordered the doll, the hair, and the doll needles.

About your poll: seeing a designer version of a Disney girl not included in the collection would rock! I might do one of the Blue Fairy if my Ariel turns out good.
 
Last edited:
^^^ Thank you and thank you!!! :D

JanuaryGarnet said:
Thanks. I just ordered the doll, the hair, and the doll needles.

About your poll: seeing a designer version of a Disney girl not included in the collection would rock! I might do one of the Blue Fairy if my Ariel turns out good.
Click to expand...

Wheeee!!! So excited to see your doll. :hsd: :) I know she'll look grand. And I LOVE the idea of the Blue Fairy...you should definitely do her once Ariel's done. ;)

Someone else also did their own Ariel here
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top