Welcome to Dolling!
First off, we would like to welcome you to the Dolling Community on DeviantArt. We're a small community compared to other areas of the site, but we're very welcoming and encouraging of newcomers of all shapes and sizes. Due to the small size of the community, not many people seem to know much about us or our quirks and terminology, so we've compiled a brief guide to help you with dolling and where to post your dolls (as we are aware some of our categories are quite confusing).

I am your Gallery Moderator ^Pyrochan-dolls and if you have any questions regarding anything to do with dolls, bases or anything else doll related feel free to drop me a line, I'm friendly and I'll get back to you asap.

On with the article!

What is dolling?
Dolling is where you take a basebody either created by yourself or by someone else and draw hair, clothes and accessories on it. A doll usually has a hard pixel edge and a transparent background so that it may be placed on any colored background website.
On DeviantArt, dolls are submitted into Customization > Dolls > and then into their subcategories of Pixel, Tool and misc shading.

Subcategories?
There are many types of shading techniques but they are mostly grouped into three distinct types that form the subcategories of Dolls.

Pixel Shaded
Dolls in this section should be made entirely pixel by pixel, with the exception of the flood fill tool. Backgrounds, if any, should also be created pixel by pixel or should be a flat colour. Gradient, Photo and Texture backgrounds are not created pixel by pixel therefore rendering your doll not entirely pixel art. Pixel is also often created with a limited colour count.

Tool Shaded
Dolls created in programs such as Gimp or Photoshop using automated anti alias techniques such as brushes from Photoshop and the smudge or blur tool. Dodge and Burn tools may also feature. Colour count is not an issue and often these dolls are saved in .png format to preserve all the colours. Tool dolls can often look like miniature CG paintings.

Misc
This is a somewhat hard section to define as it falls somewhere between pixelling and tooling.
This is where dolls/bases with no shading at all or limited cell type shading where no pixel technique have been used should be placed. Also pixel dolls placed on gradient/photo/texture background belong here and dolls with computer generated text as part of the piece itself. Dolls with perhaps pixelled clothing and tooled hair may also belong here as they are neither entirely tooling nor entirely pixelled.

Cell Shading is shading in the style of what would be found in an animated movie. Typically there are only two shades, the flat colour and one shadow colour. It is often created by sectioning off the shadow and flood filling. It is different from pixelling because it emulates the animation style as opposed to following pixel techniques such as dithering, anti-aliasing and using a range of shades.

In terms of dolls, pixel dolls created with computer generated text as part of the piece belong in the misc section as the text was computer generated not hand pixelled. This includes adding the name of a character, a note to someone, or a Happy Holiday text.

What are bases?
Most dolls are created by drawing clothes and hair over a base.
A base or basebody is something that dollers create that looks sort of like a bald pixel body, featuring inoffensive Barbie doll type nudity. It is the framework for which we create our dolls by drawing clothes and hair onto it.

On deviantArt there are two categories in which you can post a doll. Adopted Base, and Original Base.

Adopted base is for a doll you have made using a base that someone else made. You must link back to the basemaker so that people know where you got the base from. The majority of dolls are made on adopted bases because it’s just too much fun to use bases in other people’s styles of working.

Original base is for a doll you made on a base that you created yourself, i.e. the doll is entirely created by you. In this case there is no credit required as you made everything yourself. Baseless dolls are also included in this category.

There is one last category, simply called Bases. Basically this is the category where you submit any bases that you have created yourself. There is one in both the Pixel and Tool shaded categories respectfully.

Notes about Bases and Text
Any bases created pixel by pixel but include text in the form of terms of use are allowed to remain in the pixel category. The text is not part of the actual piece of pixel art (the base) and will not be classified as such, though basemakers are encouraged to use pixel type fonts to write their terms of use instead of fancy computer anti aliased fonts.

Making bases.
There are several ways from which you can start a base. From a drawing you have created on your own whether traditional or digital, drawing from referencing and lastly through tracing.

It is recommended that you create a base from your own drawings and not through tracing. It is mainly because tracing involves very little creativity from the basemaker and since this is deviantART, I would like to think people treat everything they post on dA as art and not just something you regurgitated out without any artistic thoughts.
However… if you do wish to trace instead of draw please make sure it is something you have permission to use. Either something you have created yourself or you have written permission from the original creator. Things you find on Google or any such other website are not free for the taking. Anime stills and movie screenshots are also under copyright and should not be used.
In short, use your own work or something you have asked if you can use and link back to the original maker.

Stock Referencing
For those who are less comfortable creating a base ‘blind’ from scratch you can easily reference a piece of stock on DeviantArt (See Pyrochan’s Tutorial)
This is a good way to hone your observational skills as well as your drawing skills, and the best thing is it doesn’t infringe on the rights of the original artist. (I personally love this method.)

Don’t worry if you start out making bases that don’t look good. We all came from that, even the good basemakers


Dollmakers and dA
A dollmaker, or Dress Up Doll Game, is a site or graphic spreadsheet with premade dolling pieces that are put together to form a doll. A doll created on a drag and drop, or point and click dollmaker such as those on the list below belong in Scraps. We know they are dead fun, but the doll gallery is for showing off things you pixelled or tooled, not for things you put together from premade pieces. Even if you have edited a doll made from a dollmaker, it is still not your art and must be put in Scraps.
FAQ #502: Can I submit 'Dolls', 'Characters' or other things which I made on certain websites in games or with 'generators'?

Examples of Dollmakers
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and any other such sites.

WIPs
WIPs or Work In Progress pieces are also supposed to be submitted into the Scraps folder being that they are incomplete. When finished though, you can edit the category so it shows up where it’s supposed to be. You might wish to show off your WIPs in a journal or in the comments of the final deviation, but we don’t need our small gallery cluttered with half finished works.

Adopting
Adopting is a term from which a fan saves and posts the works of their favorite dollers on their own, non DA website. They are always unedited and linked back.
DeviantArt is not the place to post adopted dolls and those that say ‘non-adoptable’ should not be adopted at all. Most of those are personal gifts to a single or group of friends.
If you like a doll you find on DA add it to your favorites list, this way other people can see what kind of dolls you love.

Dolling Dictionary
Anti alias – a pixel technique in which a hard pixel line can be made to look smooth (also known as a/a or AA)
Base Edit – This is where you edit the original base body as well as draw hair and clothes upon your doll. Be careful to check base rules, some makers do not allow you to edit.
Constructive Critisism (or c/c) – I’m sure you’re all aware of constructive crit, and if a doller asks for it, try to think extra hard about the piece, tell the creater exactly why you like the doll, not just that you like it, and perhaps pick up a point or two for improvement.
DD (Daily Deviation) - A site wide feature that is chosen daily by your gallery moderator. See our GM's journal for details on submitting a suggestion for a DD.
Dithering – A style of pixel shading which blends two colours together using dotting of two colours together.
Forum – A non dA place to hang out and post dolls, usually a message board type set up.
Frankendoll - A doll created using bits and pieces that were stolen from other artists’ dolls.
Frankenbase - A base created from bits and pieces of other bases.
GM (Gallery Moderator) - This is ^Pyrochan-dolls, she is the moderator for our section and deals with all community related issues. Go say hi, she doesn't bite. Watch her as well because her journals can contain important information about dolling events and issues.
Pageant – A popular style of doll contest involving multiple rounds of competition, styled somewhat like the real life pageants. They often come under the name of “Miss Doll _____”
Pillow Shading – A common mistake made by new dollers where shading is darkest on the edge of a shape and gets lighter towards the centre. If someone mentions you pillow shade I suggest talking to a fellow doller about how best to help you to stop. (Don’t worry if someone mentions you do this, we all did at one stage or another)
OC – Original Character


DollChat
A live chatroom where you can communicate with fellow dollers here on DA.

Links
Wiki - [link]

Helpful FAQs
FAQ #557: Can I submit pixel dolls which I have made using 'Base' dolls created by someone else?
FAQ #502: Can I submit 'Dolls', 'Characters' or other things which I made on certain websites in games or with 'generators'?


Thanks to =ElvenCrystaline for coming up with the idea for the article and for being a lot of the force behind getting it written and proof reading etc. It's been a colaberative effort between us and we hope the final result cleared up things if you didn't know them already.