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Artist Removes Makeup from Mass-Produced Dolls to Transform Them into Realistic Faces

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

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For years, artist Olga Kamenetskaya has transformed overly made-up and mass-produced dolls into realistic figurines. Gone are painted faces featuring excessive eyeshadow and perfectly pink cheeks. Kamenetskaya strips the dolls' makeup and opts for bushy facial hair, freckles, and even wrinkles in their skin. The results are so lifelike that you’d expect to see these people walking down the street.

One of the most impactful ways that Kamenetskaya changes her dolls is by knocking the shine off the original iteration. In her fascinating before-and-after photos, you can see she's tweaked the symmetrical figure by altering its structure some, whether that’s increasing the width of the nose or softening the angles of the cheekbones. Then there's the repainting of the skin; while many of the original dolls have a glossy sheen, Kamenetskaya uses matte paint and variation in tone. Coupled with a glimmer in their eyes and a soulful expression, each figurine highlights the unique beauty of physical “flaws” and encourages us to love who we are.

If you’re interested in trying doll repainting, you’re in luck. Through her Etsy shop, Kamenetskaya has video tutorials of her process. They include a class on repainting dolls and two videos demonstrating how to fashion different styles of wigs.

Olga Kamenetskaya strips overly made-up figurines and transforms them into lifelike doll art.

Doll Art by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Art by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Art by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Art by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Repainting by Olga Kamenetskaya

Doll Art by Olga Kamenetskaya

Olga Kamenetskaya: Instagram | Etsy

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Olga Kamenetskaya.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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