I want to make "poor man's" anime doll, but i need some help

Hello. I asked about inexpensive anime dolls on this forum before. Month after the replies stopped, i abonded watching that thread and later i asked the same question on the another forum. On the another forum one user said me, that cheap anime-style dolls are not possible (with rare exeptions).

In short:
1. Most anime-style dolls aimed at adults.
2. Most dolls aimed at adults have small production run.
3. High price mainly comes from small production run.
4. And generally speaking anime-style dolls are "too niche".
(above information is mostly valid only for 1\6 and smaller dolls)

So the only option for me to get the anime doll cheap is to put together the doll myself.

There are readily available bodies, clothing and shoes, but most tricky part is head. I'll probably use Obitsu head, but i need to draw face on it. The most traditional way to draw doll face is to draw it by hand, but my drawing skills sort of suck. I can draw something on computer, but on paper i almost helpless. Drawing on doll head is even more harder. Also, as far i know, doll customizers use pastel and colored pencils for face-ups. I heard, that resulting face-up are very fragile, that even can be rubbed off with fingertip.

So the hand painting doll face is not option for me. I have a idea how to do it without painting by hand, but i'm not sure if it work in reality. I want to do an experiment, but to do it i need to know what paint used on toy factories?

Also, does anyone knows alternative to Obitsu head 21HD-F01W\21HD-F01N? (not Azone, not Volks, not Parabox)

One thing you could do if you're not comfortable painting the face yourself (assuming you want a head without cut-out eyes) is use eye decals (example). Personally, trying to line up tiny eyes sounds harder than drawing them, but it depends on what your preference is.  The face-up will not be easily removed if you use a sealant such as MSC; however, you still don't want to touch it too much, because the oils from your hands could damage or discolor it.

I don't think there are many other companies that make anime-style customizable dolls if you disqualify Volks, Obitsu, Parabox, and Azone.

Hah, the two example pictures on that Amazon page they have the left and right eyes reversed.

Here are more eye decals on Junkyspot.

1/6 scale: http://www.junkyspot.com/27decals.html

Application video:

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Riesz