Sorry for making 2 threads in one day, but I was wondering if any dolls for Ghibli characters exist. NOT plush dolls, I mean something along the lines of Barbies with plastic bodies, hair and actual cloth for clothes. If they don't, I'm looking into making some of my own. I don't know how difficult this would be, but I'm aiming to make one of Chihiro, I don't know how I'd do the hair but the clothes are pretty basic and wouldn't be too hard to make. Any artists on the board that can offer some help?

http://www.jiminigroup.fr/product.php?id_product=184
Something like this!! (Mei is the only character I can find a doll of like what I mean)

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All i can suggest is to look on eBay under Ghibli characters or something along those lines...

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Have you searched here?

http://loveghibli.ecrater.com/

They sell a ton of Studio Ghibli merchandise here, although the shipping is pretty expensive. If you can't find it here, eBay is your best bet, as husky51 said.

Oh my gosh that place looks like paradise. I would gladly buy everything in sight...if I were rich...


So far, that Mei doll like the kind I posted is all I can find that's similar to what I want, but thank you for sharing the link!

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Please don't worry about posting more than one post a day! We need way more posts! Post ten a day!

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OK!

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Hi there!

I'm an artist and am actually just starting a project on doll-making for my A levels, so I may be able to help you out

Regarding Ghibli merchandise firstly, I have quite a lot of it myself, and after my own extensive research, the only 'doll' as such with interchangable clothes in a Barbie-type fashion is of Mei from My Neighbour Totoro.

When it comes to making your Chihiro Doll, you have a couple of different options, depending on your expertise and the amount of money you want to invest in her.

If you want to go all-out and make her from scratch, I'd advise you look at ball-jointed dolls, which are Japanese dolls, and are posable like real people. The really dedicated artists out there make them in something like sculpey clay, then make silicone moulds around them, and cast the final doll in resin; but that takes a lot of knowledge, time and skill to master. I've never made one from scratch in my life (this will be my first time!), so by all means give it a go if you're up for the challenge! If you still want to make one from scratch but aren't going for perfection, then just making one from Aves Apoxie Sculpt or Sculpey or some kind of good sculpting clay like that would do the trick; the masters finish them in resin because if the mould is well made, they come out perfectly like shop dolls. Here's a beginner's guide if that interests you:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl...to%2Findex.html

Then, if you want to make things a *lot* easier, I suggest you use an old barbie doll and give her a makeover Remove the hair (best way to do this is take off the head and remove it from the inside, as it's inserted in 'plugs', and any other unwanted parts, then prep her with a good quality spray paint for an even finish - unless you're already happy with the colour of the body, in which case you just want to remove her facial features with something like nail varnish remover. (be warned though, this can ruin some plastic finishes, so I'd test it out first). Then you could re-paint on her features like Chihiro's. In terms of re-hairing her, this guide on re-hairing my little ponies is more-or-less the same principle:

http://www.aikarin.com/mlp/customs/rerooting.html

If you're them happy with making the clothing, that should be everything...hope that helps somewhat, and good luck!

Thank you so much! I'll see what I can do.

Also: I'm going to a Japanese shopping district for my sis's birthday on Monday, I hope I can find some more inspiration there.

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Thank you for the info, summersday... gives me an idea to try out...

goes looking for a Barbie or Bratz... grin...

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Also, OneSummersDay, out of curiosity since you said this would be your first time, what are you making?

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No problem, I'm glad I could be of help! I plan to make my own, unique ball-jointed dolls and costumery for them as I love the textiles side of creativity; I was hugely inspired by this website, in which a young artist has completely given her dolls their own style and life:

http://www.enchanteddoll.com/

Aren't they beautiful?! No wonder they're worth so much with the amount of detail she puts into them! I would also quite like to try out making some animal ball-jointed dolls, like the Baron and Louise from Whisper of the Heart who're in your signature, Takuto! I'm not really sure exactly where I'm going to go with it yet, but the joy of art is doing lots of rough prep and then developing until you get an idea you like. No doubt I'll get a lot of inspiration from Ghibli art

Ghibli dolls must wear some jwellery.

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price of gold

^Why? There aren't that many that do.

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