1. Doll Face Analysis
In my spare time, I enjoy doing doll face-ups – this is a hobby where you take a doll (very nearly always a fashion doll), you remove their factory paint and repaint their faces. Many doll artists (such as Hextian, Dollightful and Nicole’s Dreams who you can all find on YouTube) even go so far as to re-rooting the hair, spray-painting the bodies and even making miniature clothes and accessories for them out of fabric and clay. Of course, you can use all forms of media to recreate a doll, but these are the most common mediums.
There are also several brands of fashion dolls that are popular among doll artists. My favourites are Monster High, Ever After High and even the newer Bratz dolls. However, I am only going to be studying my Monster High dolls for this piece of research due to the fact that the creators of Monster High put a lot of effort into sculpting the faces of each character differently to match the monster they represent. I will be looking at their face sculpts so I can get an idea of the type of face I want for my ballerina.
A few of the dolls in this line-up have already had lots if not all of their factory paint removed, and some even have had their hair partially removed to get ready for the process of being remade, so do not be alarmed that some dolls are faceless and some still have their factory paint on.

2. 1. Abbey Bominable
Abbey is the daughter of the Abominable Snowman, and so she has quite a blocky bottom jaw and defined cheekbones. Her features are sharp, and she has a flat nose. Her eyes are more mature and smaller than many of the other characters making her look more grown-up. Abbey’s bottom lip also juts out a little more than the other characters, making it look more plump but also giving her a slightly savage look. She looks pretty viscous, whereas I wanted my ballerina to look delicate and dainty.

3. 2. Mouscedes King
I’m actually not sure if this character really is Mouscedes – I bought her from a toy store and threw away her box. I also removed her ears which I remember not to be mouse ears, and now I can’t seem to find the name of her actual character. All I know is that Mouscedes is a very short doll, and this doll here is my tiniest so I will refer to her as Mouscedes to make things easy.
She has a chubby, rounded face with a button nose and a sculpted smile. Her eyes are big and wide, with no sculpted-in wrinkles to make her look very young. She has chubby cheeks too, and her features are close together to make her look cuter and more cartoonish. I would rather my ballerina look a little older though, with a slightly more slender face, but this is a cute doll nonetheless.

4. 3. Catrine DeMew
Catrine is the daughter of the Werecat, and thus she has catlike features in her face. Her eyes are big and wide, set into her face to allow them to become the main focus of her head. She has a smooth button nose painted purple, and her top lip joins to the nose end in such a fashion to resemble the face of a cat. This results in her cupid’s bow only having a soft dip, a chin round chin and high but subtle cheekbones. Her face is also quite slender, resulting in her having a mature yet also youthful look about her.
She is a very pretty character, so I might consider changing my idea of the ballerina for the sake of her face.

5. 4. Draculaura
Draculaura is the daughter of Dracula, obviously making her a vampire. She looks quite young, as expected of a vampire (they are known for their eternal youth after all, at least in this day and age). Her cheeks are soft and rounded, and her nose points out just a little bit. Her lips are plump and defined on her face, sculpted so she has a hint of a smile. Her eyes are set quite deep into her face, making them appear rather small on her face when he factory paint has been removed. However, this looks rather realistic to an extent, and in my opinion it works for her.
Overall, Draculaura is a pretty character and is much loved in the doll community. She would be a good candidate for my innocent and youthful ballerina.

6. 5. Frankie Stein
Frankie Stein has a noticeably square-shaped head, especially around the top of her head. This is coupled with a rather square jaw and a rounded chin. She has a nose similar to Draculaura’s, only the curvature is more subtle, and it is flatter at the front. This might be my fault, but her eyes look a little bit uneven (yeah it probably is my own fault for outlining it incorrectly). They are almond-shaped and look quite small on her head. Her lips are soft and not very plump, and her cupid’s bow is not very prominent.
I’m not overly fond of Frankie’s sculpting, but she does make for a good challenge when it comes to painting. However, I don’t see her being very good when drawing inspiration for my ballerina.

7. 6. Gooliope Jellington
Gooliope’s character is supposedly an alien from a very distant world, left as a baby at the circus. She is canonically giant, which is why the only version of this doll is the 17-inch version (bare in mind that fashion dolls are 11 inches tall give or take). Gooliope is huge next to the others – in fact, one of her legs are as long as the body of one of my other dolls. Her face has quite a pretty sculpt, with gentle curves and subtle cheekbones. Her eyes are a smooth shape, big but adult-looking, and she has sculpted eyelid wrinkles which can really help when painting dolls (if you want to follow the shape of the sculpting). She has a button nose like most of the dolls, and big plump lips with deep dimples. Her chin is a tad sharper than the other dolls, giving her face a more defined look.
I really like Gooliope’s face; she looks more gentle than the other dolls and thus is a very good source of inspiration for me.

8. 7. Lagoona Blue
Lagoona is a sea monster, so it is expected for her sculpt to have a more fishy look to it. She has big eyes that bug out a little, to the point where – if painted incorrectly – could cause her to look as if she has a lazy eye. Her nose has a dramatic curve but ends quite flatly on her face, and her lips are plump. Her cupid’s bow arches sharply, and her bottom lip pulls in in a similar manner. She has deep dimples and a slightly pointed chin.
Lagoona is a very pretty doll to work with, and if I was making a mermaid she would be perfect. However, I don’t want my ballerina to look fishy, so I’ll have to pass on her this time.

9. 8. Nefera De Nile
Nefera is a very tall and mature-looking doll, due to the fact that she is the big sister of an immortal mummy character. Her body is actually longer than the others, and she has a bigger bust because she is older. She has wide eyes but they are quite short in height. This makes her look sophisticated but disinterested, and overall a lot older than the other dolls. Her nose is thin and pointed, and her lips look almost sharp, sculpted into a neutral expression whereas many of the other dolls are given hints of a smile. She has high cheekbones and a pointed chin, resulting in Nefera having a very regal look to her.
Nefera’s face would be quite ideal for my doll; she looks mature and more grown-up, and still very pretty.

10. 9. Operetta
The one thing that made this doll stick out to me was the sculpting on the left side of her face (which, typically, you can only see a hint of in the images). She has musical notes and swirls carved into her face which looks beautiful and will be interesting to work with. Operetta has curved eyes with sculpted eyelid wrinkles, making her look older than the other dolls. Her nose points out but is smooth at the tip. Her lips are plump but not as big as some of the other dolls; one thing to note is that she is sculpted with more emotion than the others – her smile is much more defined, giving her an almost cocky look. Her cheekbones are high but smooth, and her chin adds to the pointedness of her face.
Much like Nefera, Operetta’s face is quite ideal for my ballerina; it is long and pointed, and mature. But also very pretty and still has a hint of warmth along with her sophistication.

11. 10. Rochelle Goyle
Rochelle Goyle, the daughter of a gargoyle, is supposed to be made of stone, hence the black flecks in her grey skin. This causes her features to appear sharper on her face due to the texture of this character’s body. She has big eyes set deep into her face to the point where her brow bone has become quite prominent on her face. She has a bit of a rounded face, yet somehow – due to her cheekbones I imagine – Rochelle has ended up with a sharp and defined face. Rounded yet defined… a very unusual blend, I must say. Her nose is flat on her face, and her lips are smaller than the others. Her cupid’s bow is arched quite nicely, and her dimples give them the illusion of jutting out a little.
Rochelle has quite an uncommon facial structure, but it is quite nice to look at. It’s not really what I’m looking for but I can still appreciate it.

12. 11. Spectra Vondergeist
Spectra is a ghost with a very unusual body mold; her arms and legs are made of transparent plastic, giving people the ability to see through her extremities. Her eyes are the largest out of all of the dolls I’ve researched, and they curve quite nicely. She has a nose that curves down her face and does not stick out too much. Her cupid’s bow is nearly non-existent, and her lips are plump. She has dramatically arched cheekbones, resulting in a dip in her cheeks, and her chin is strong yet pointed.
I don’t like this doll that much due to her high cheeks; I prefer working with more youthful-looking dolls as you can usually do more with them. Spectra will not be a good candidate for my ballerina.