Couple Quick Questions For Doll Makers

[Sodium]

Hello all!

I just had a couple questions about the doll making process. I'm a former 3D Animation and Fine Arts student (I did 1 year in Mech Eng, then 2 in Animation, followed by 1 in Pre-Health, 1 in Computer Systems and finally 1 in Fine Arts) and after reading a post (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=88998), I began thinking about it and concluded that this could be something worth pursuing. I had a few questions to help me hit the ground running.

Firstly, are most doll skeletons made in house or are they outsourced?
Secondly, once the sculpture is completed, what would be the recommended medium for casting the negatives? I want the mold to last and be re-usable.
Thirdly, what would be the recommended type of silicone and/or TPE? (I know dragon skin and ecoflex are popular for silicone but know nothing about TPE)

Hopefully getting a full time position soon where I currently work and will suddenly have a lot more disposable income and predictable hours. I'm quite set on giving this a real try and if all goes well, I have a huge stockpile of ideas that I would like to explore. I have a decent amount of experience with sculpting (both in 3D software and physically) and some with mold making (alginate and plaster) that I would like to put to use here.

Hey, maybe I discover that this was a huge waste of time and I'm just the worst, or maybe I find my true calling... Either way, any and all feedback and advice is greatly appreciated, I'm sure others will find this interesting as well. ;P

[haremlover]

I suspect that you might get as much response out of doll makers as you'll get from the man from Mars.

If you're in the US then writing directly to the US manufacturers directly might give more result than the sort of responses one might expect from China.

Best wishes

Harem

[Sodium]

I suspect that you might get as much response out of doll makers as you'll get from the man from Mars.

If you're in the US then writing directly to the US manufacturers directly might give more result than the sort of responses one might expect from China.

Best wishes

Harem

Was just hoping to hear from anyone on here who has given making their own doll a shot.