New Type of Hyper-Realistic "Plushie" Doll for Big Boys

[mrexotica]

I'm hoping to get some feedback on a new project. I am creating a hyper-realistic doll from fabric and foam that I hope will stand on equal footing with upscale silicone dolls. My biggest problem with silicone dolls is that they look like dolls.

So, borrowing from techniques used to create life-like "reborn dolls" I am developing s new doll that I hope will look so real that viewers would have to look twice to see that it is really a doll.

My problem is the doll's face: There are so many crackpots out there suing people these days that I wonder if some lady will claim I used her face if the doll happens to resemble her in some small way. Does anyone out there know how doll companies get around this issues? Is there a special "face" repository for dolls?

[Anung Un Rama]

I'm hoping to get some feedback on a new project. I am creating a hyper-realistic doll from fabric and foam that I hope will stand on equal footing with upscale silicone dolls. My biggest problem with silicone dolls is that they look like dolls.

So, borrowing from techniques used to create life-like "reborn dolls" I am developing s new doll that I hope will look so real that viewers would have to look twice to see that it is really a doll.

My problem is the doll's face: There are so many crackpots out there suing people these days that I wonder if some lady will claim I used her face if the doll happens to resemble her in some small way. Does anyone out there know how doll companies get around this issues? Is there a special "face" repository for dolls?

Welcome new member Mr Exotica, here are some handy starters links for you too....

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Cheers Anung

[Pron]

Does anyone out there know how doll companies get around this issues? Is there a special "face" repository for dolls?

I guess it depends on your location and the laws there and where you want to sell. The behavior of some vendors or manufacturers you will find would get you jailed here in Germany but is even tolerated in countries like USA.
You will find funny stuff here like "100% satisfaction guarantee", in Germany and other EU countries this could make you homeless or get you in jail because of fraud.
Even if you tell someone you are not a fraud like some others it can cost you tens of thousands…. that's not legal because it's a matter of course your business is not allowed to be fraud.

[mrexotica]

Thanks for the input, Pron. I thought Germany was a wild place where "anything goes" as long as it's fun?! Have you heard of any actual cases in the news where a doll manufacturer got sued or jailed or put out of business because of the dolls they make? I have heard of RealDoll suing some people in the past. Even one of the employees who left to start his own business. I spoke to one representative in an Asian company who offered to custom make dolls with any face you want. I asked them what would happen if I wanted to use the face of a celebrity. They said that they "assume" that I will not show my doll to anybody so they will not tell anybody they made the face for me. I am sure you have girlfriends. What do you think would happen in Germany if the face of my doll looked like the face of one of your girlfriends? (just an example! I want to get an idea of how the German law would work for this particular example).

[MontrealDollGuy]

Best of luck with your project, but I am curious as to how you will be able to make a more realistic doll using fabric? I find tpe dolls almost indistinguishable from a person, if someone knows how to take good pictures. May I ask what type of fabric are you using?

[Pron]

Thanks for the input, Pron. I thought Germany was a wild place where "anything goes" as long as it's fun?! Have you heard of any actual cases in the news where a doll manufacturer got sued or jailed or put out of business because of the dolls they make? I have heard of RealDoll suing some people in the past. Even one of the employees who left to start his own business. I spoke to one representative in an Asian company who offered to custom make dolls with any face you want. I asked them what would happen if I wanted to use the face of a celebrity. They said that they "assume" that I will not show my doll to anybody so they will not tell anybody they made the face for me. I am sure you have girlfriends. What do you think would happen in Germany if the face of my doll looked like the face of one of your girlfriends? (just an example! I want to get an idea of how the German law would work for this particular example).

I know of German doll vendors and manufacturers who sued each other. I think it would be hard to prove for someone a doll has the same face like you have and I don't know a law which says you may not copy a face. But better ask a lawyer.

[rubherkitty]

I think you would only have an issue if you attempt to make a face like a known celebrity and market it using their name. There was a Chinese made, USA celebrity doll on TDF that have paid no royalties to the actress as far as I know.

[mrexotica]

rubherkitty...any chance you could remember the name of the celebrity used for that Chinese doll? I would like to do a little searching to see if there's any news on the net. I think for now I will continue my present plan to create a doll with a face that is a computer-generated mix of 7 different faces.

[mrexotica]

Best of luck with your project, but I am curious as to how you will be able to make a more realistic doll using fabric? I find tpe dolls almost indistinguishable from a person, if someone knows how to take good pictures. May I ask what type of fabric are you using?

Hey....another Montrealer? Have they found me already?! LOL.

I can't answer to the "fabric" yet since I am still running some tests on my process. I come from an design engineering background. My specialty was prototyping...creating the FIRST prototype of new products. My bosses nicknamed me a "non-linear thinker" because I had a way of using materials you see every day in a completely different way in order to achieve the desired results. Laser imaging, cnc machining for plastics mold making, and magazine printing are also in my collection of skills.

I will leave you with this hint: Imagine that instead of "painting" a silicone doll you create a 3D master of the doll that you can machine as a 3D solid. You then bond to the surfaces of the master a fabric that has been treated to accept direct-to-fabric ink used for printing tshirts. Then you use an inkjet print head mounted on a multi-axis cnc to print a photo of a real person along the 3d surfaces of the doll, essentially texture-wrapping the image of a photographed real person onto the doll master. This printed fabric is then transferred to the female mold for the doll and fuses with the foam or rubber that is poured into the mold to give the doll it's final shape.

I am hope to have a sample of a finished product within the next couple weeks....or pull my hair out and go back to the drawing board if the first one fails. Either way, pictures will tell the thousand words...or scream my thousand screams.

[DexterQuest]

Best of luck. I dream of a non tpe/non silicone realistic doll.

[MontrealDollGuy]

Sounds like an ambitious project with a lot of potential. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[rubherkitty]

rubherkitty...any chance you could remember --------------------------

Angelina Jolie

[Pron]

rubherkitty...any chance you could remember --------------------------

Angelina Jolie

I wanna take a ride on your disco stick.

[Pron]

rubherkitty...any chance you could remember --------------------------

Angelina Jolie

Maybe you mean Laura Soft?

[mrexotica]

Maybe you mean Laura Soft?

Well look at that! This Laura Soft creation is quite similar to the type of doll construction I am pursuing. Very crude...but similar approach: Am image of a person wrapped onto the body of a doll.

Thanks for the references!