How to Create a Fashion Doll

Brainstorm all of the possibilities, and then narrow them down to the ones you like best. What is the overall focus of your fashion doll? What is the hook you'll use to separate your fashion doll from all of the others on the market? Decide whether you want your doll to wear high-end fashions or the kind of clothing most kids have in their closets.

Make dozens of drawings that represent the final representation of your fashion doll and its clothes. Put all of these drawings together into a presentation you can show off to friends and family. Get their feedback, and decide which changes you want to make. These ideas should all represent the attitude of your fashion doll, the story behind the character and the unique position it holds in the marketplace.

Build a prototype of your fashion doll's body. Think about the bodily proportions your doll will have and what it means to the attitude of your doll's fashion world. You will want this to look as close to the final product as possible so your vision will be clear to those who see it. First, sculpt your doll's body out of clay or plastic or any other material that will maintain the shape. Next, you need to make a mold. This is easier than you might think. Purchase latex mold-making compound from any crafts store. Mix the compound with water to the consistency of ketchup. Pour the compound into a very small, thin cup or vase and then insert the doll sculpture you made. When the compound dries, you can remove your sculpture from the mold. All you have to do is pour melted resin or plastic into the mold, let it set and voila, you have your doll's body.

Clothe your doll. You have many options. You can fill your doll's closet with best of the doll clothes in your collection. If your fashion doll is a sassy punk rocker, then you can put holes and tears in clothes from another doll and put them on yours. For an original wardrobe, refer to the sketches you made. Recreate those clothes using leftover pieces of fabric. Draw the clothes on paper, and cut them out to make a pattern that you can transfer to the fabric. Since doll clothes are so small, you might want to forget about using a sewing machine and simply hand sew blouses, dresses, jeans or anything else you want your doll to wear.

Add these prototypes to your presentation. Be sure to make your doll's environment so you can show off how kids will play with your fashion doll. Does your fashion doll enjoy spending time at the beach? What about a mansion? Maybe your doll would even fit in on a farm.

Build your doll on a large scale, and sell it wherever you can. If you don't have the means to do this on your own, you'll have to make contact with toy companies and convince them to hear your pitch. Then you'll have to convince them to produce your doll and all of its accessories.