By stufflovely
Before we get any further, the brand is clear — to me and its clients — that, for both legal and ethical reasons, they cannot do exact likenesses of characters, nor of people, but they will get as close as possible without crossing a line. (McMullen says they also do not, under any circumstances, create dolls of animals or children.) And while typically, these fantasy creations are modeled after existing source material, like a screenshot of a video game, they also build dolls that are brand-new, custom collaborations, based on character entirely borne of a client’s imagination.
If this sounds like a tall order, that’s because it is, but it’s also a thrilling one for Thorpe. It helps that she has a background in special effects makeup, one she puts to use every day working with what she calls “her girls.” All the RealDolls are made with silicone, which Thorpe says feels very similar to human skin. “It’s really funny to see people freak out when they touch our dolls because they’re just like, ‘It’s so real.’ I’m like, ‘That’s where [McMullen] got the name,'” she says.
Whether she’s working on a more traditional doll or, say, a goblin, she paints on makeup much like the stuff you or I would use before she applies sealant. “I actually do use real makeup on the dolls. It’s all in powder form. It’s not like actual acrylic paint or anything like that, but I mean, I use real brushes,” Thorpe explains. However, when an order comes in for a doll in the image of an orc or an elf (Thorpe estimates that these fantasy requests account for roughly one in every 50 dolls she paints), she really gets to flex her muscles. “Over the last few years, the requests have only gotten more outrageous. I think that’s kind of my fault but it’s also a good thing to me, too, because again, it’s a nod to my special effects training,” she tells me.
Even when you throw all the rules out, there are trends — and it seems that lately, elves are in. “The most common [request] I have seen is the elf kind of look,” McMullen tells me. In fact, Thorpe recently worked with the brand’s co-owner, Mike Wilson, to create a prosthetic elf ear extension for a doll that she says was upwards of four-and-a-half to five inches, likely the largest they’ve ever done. This sort of specificity is allowed — even welcome — because of the cost of each one of these dolls. “The amount of money they’re spending on these, you could basically get a new car, you know?” says Thorpe. And when you’re dropping this kind of cash, you really want to be sure that you know what you’re getting.