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The National Institute of American Doll
Artists (NIADA), The
British Doll Artist's Association (BDA) and The
Original Doll Artist Council of America (ODACA) have adopted
the following definitions for their members. We encourage all doll makers,
collectors and retailers to use these terms as a guide for uniform communication
in their doll producing, collecting, and marketing endeavors.
If a collector is concerned about a
long-term investment and the creation of a quality collection with re-sale
value, they should be familiar with all types of doll production. Before making
a purchase, the collector should take care to read advertising closely, and
should question and ascertain facts when in doubt. As with any art object,
quality, rarity, and originality are the prime considerations to the collector.
Dolls of the highest quality of craftsmanship, made by or under the direct
supervision of the artist from his original designs and those fewer in number
are most likely to be of lasting value.
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Artist Doll
- Artist/Art
Dolls
are objects of art,
rather than children's toys, created in a wide variety of styles and media,
and may include both pre-manufactured parts or wholly original works
- Art Dolls
Production
demand a wide range of
skills and technologies, including sculpting, painting, and costuming. They
are often multimedia objects made from materials such as fabric, paperclay,
polymer clay, wax, wood, porcelain, natural or synthetic hair, yarn, wool,
and felt. As works of art, art dolls can take weeks or months to finish
- Value
Art dolls may command
prices in the thousands of dollars; publications featuring established and
emerging doll artists support collection, and artist groups, such as the
National Institute of American Doll Artists, promote the art form
Sources: https://www.wikipedia.org
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Artist's
Original Dolls
- Artist - Designer
One who takes an idea and transforms it into a three-dimensional doll
form by using his or her hands to sculpt or re-arrange raw materials
- The Idea
The starting point of the creation of any doll. The idea may be inspired
by a story, an illustration, or a life experience of the artist or it may be
a concept given to an artist by an individual or manufacturer who is
commissioning a specific piece
- The Original or First Doll
The first doll is the object made by one artist who takes a lump of clay,
a piece of wood, a length of fabric or other raw material and re-arranges it
into a doll form which reflects a particular idea or concept. The work of
the artist's hands and mind, the individual nature of the artist's approach
to technical process and the fact that this particular portrayal has never
before been seen in three-dimensional reality makes the resulting work the
first doll or original
- One-of-a-Kind
When the original or first doll is sculpted, assembled, costumed and
finished by the artist and this doll is never made again, it is called a
one-of-a-kind doll. One-of-a-kind dolls are almost always entirely designed
and handcrafted by the creating artist
- Design Prototype
If the original or first doll is used for the purposes of reproduction,
it becomes a design prototype. A design prototype may be used by the
creating artist for the production of his own editions or it may be sold to
a company for commercial reproduction
- Ghost Artist
One who has been commissioned by a company to create a three dimensional
doll from a graphic artist's original painting or illustration. The graphic
artist does no hands-on work, in the execution of the idea in doll form. The
ghost artist rarely receives credit for his execution of the idea in doll
form. Manufacturers should advice buyers/collectors when a doll has been
"inspired by" or "designed from" the original art work
of another artist. Ghost artists are generally artists well-known for their
own original work
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Artist Doll
Production
- Artist's Original Limited Series
Individual one-of-a-kind dolls handmade by the creating artist which form
a "family" or related group because of shared similarity of
character, theme, or costume. Dolls in this type of a series may appear to
be very similar. However, as each one is individually sculpted and
constructed without a mold by the artist. They are essentially one-of-a-kind
originals
- Limited Edition
When an original/design prototype is used to make molds and identical
dolls are reproduced from the molds in a pre-determined number the group of
dolls resulting is called a limited edition. The amount to be made is
advertised with introduction of the doll. The molds will be broken at the
completion of the specified number of dolls in the edition to guarantee the
"rarity" of the edition
- Artist's Signature Edition
If the original/design prototype is used to make a mold and identical dolls
are reproduced from this mold by the artist himself, the resulting dolls are
called an artist's signature edition. Signature editions are usually
produced in very small numbers and are usually entirely hand made by the
artist. They should carry the artist's signature or mark as well as the name
of doll, number in edition and date
- Artist's Limited Edition
If the artist has help with the construction (pouring, cleaning, costuming)
of dolls made from his original molds, but does the majority of the work,
maintaining full control over design and execution, the resulting dolls form
an artist's limited edition. Edition sizes are usually small in number and
may or may not be signed
- Artist's Studio Edition
The artist has control over production and quality, but all work is
completed by his or her staff. Edition sizes can vary from a few to several
hundred
- One-of-a-Kind Outfit
A limited edition in which each doll is finished with a different costume.
Hairstyle and eye color may also be different
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Commercial
Reproduction
- Reproduction
A reproduction, or "copy of," is any doll made or produced by
an individual or company from an existing mold or model. In general, the
term includes dolls made by artists from molds of their own original design
prototypes. The more common usage of the term and its abbreviation
"repro" refers to dolls made from purchased craft molds or
antiques by makers who did not create the original design prototype. With
the exception of purchased craft molds and some antiques, making a mold from
a doll not of your own creation without permission of the creator or
manufacturer is not acceptable. Copyrights may still be active even if doll
is unmarked or original company is no longer in production It is not
acceptable to call any reproduction an original
- Designer Repro from Craft Molds
An artist may produce or have a commercial company produce molds made from
his original sculptures. These molds are sold to the public. Dolls made from
these molds are never originals or artist dolls. Designer reproductions made
from commercially available molds, even if significantly changed by the
hobbyist, should carry original marks followed by "reproduced by
(craftsman's name or initials)". To do otherwise can constitute
infringement of creator copyright. Makers who sell works made from other's
molds as their own originals may also be subject to charges of fraud
- Collector's Edition
Editions of dolls mass produced by commercial manufacturer's in large
numbers. Generally, they are produced in a pre-determined number or in a
limited time period. The artist has no control of quality or final form of
the finished product. Collector editions usually recognize the creating doll
artist by name, although, in some cases "ghost artists" are used
to execute graphic artist's designs. Collector's should note that the artist
whose name is listed as the designer may not have had anything to do with
the actual prototype doll design and construction. In some cases, the listed
artist has only contributed the design concept or the costume design
drawing. Collectors wishing specific information or having questions should
contact the company in question
- Design Team
In the commercial world, a company may employ several persons to come up
with ideas for dolls. When one person is responsible for the concept,
another for the design sketches and another for the three-dimensional
prototype, this is called design team production. Usually, members of a
design team are employed in-house by the manufacturer and no one individual
is given credit for the design when it is marketed. However, collectors
should be aware that sometimes in design team production the person who has
the original idea - especially if a marketable "name" - will be
given credit for being the doll's designer. This person often has not done
any of the actual design graphic or sculptural work
- Mass Produced
Dolls produced in large numbers with no production time limit and with no
set edition number. Generally, these are items produced for the toy market
- Manufactured Limited Edition
Edition advertised with predetermined number. Doll costumes may not be
repeated, but actual doll form may be used in several different editions
- Limited Production
Dolls mass produced within a specific time period - generally limited to
what can be made in a period of two years. Edition is closed at the end of
time period. Neither doll nor costume is produced again. Closing dates are
usually advertised in advance
Sources: https://www.odaca.org,
© 2008 Original Doll Artists Council of America
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One-of-a-Kind
Reborn Dolls
Sources: https://www.wikipedia.org
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Important:
Thank you!
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