Carving Lips of a Groove Brand or Similar Doll

Pippi's mouth was created using needle files. Her teeth were carved out using a Dremel (rotary tool) with a needle file attachment.

Carving the lips of a doll made from resin or plastic isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Although it may seem a bit frightening to permanently change the mouth of a doll, if you are absolutely sure about what you are trying to accomplish, it is worth it to give it a try. Your doll will certainly be unique and yours to love!

I’m Afraid to Carve

If you are uncertain about your ability to carve, consider purchasing a clone doll or doll face plate to practice on. They are fairly inexpensive and a good way to learn about carving, painting, applying pastels and air brushing (if you are fortunate to have air brushing equipment).

Clone dolls include the Blybe dolls (Blythe clone) and Tangkou dolls (Pullip clone). Another option is to purchase a blank Blythe face plate or an Angel Gate head, which is the Pullip clone head. The dolls, face plates and heads can be found on eBay or by doing a general search using your favorite search engine, such as Google.

Why Do People Carve the Lips of Their Dolls?

Groove brand Dals and Byuls have pouting lips, which is often disappointing to some doll owners when the doll might look more appealing with a smile rather than what seems like a frown. So, in this tutorial, a Dal mouth is shown as an example for carving. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Dal to carve at the moment, so this will be a thorough explanation that I hope will be helpful to those who are making their first attempts at changing the mouths of their dolls.

Start with the Right Tools

Personally, I have found that Cool Cat Collection Shop is a fantastic source for purchasing tools and other  accessories for customizing a doll. The recommended tools for carving are the sintered needle diamond file sets. They are needle files, one of which can be used in a Dremel or similar type of hand rotary tool. As of this post (January 2012), Cool Cat Collection Shop is selling a set of two needles for $4.50 USD, which is very inexpensive.

The remaining items needed to carve a doll mouth include water based acrylic paint, a detailing paint brush and some water.

Sand First

First, you need to sand off any factory-applied paint using a very high numbered grit sand paper. Many artists recommend 800 to 1000 grit. If you are new to doing any face up at all, the higher the grit, the safer your doll will be – and here is where patience is definitely a virtue.

Many artists also recommend wet sanding, or using wet sand paper in order to minimize a scraping appearance in the resin or plastic.

Be sure to sand in a circular fashion as much as possible. Don’t worry too much about the paint left in the line where the lips meet because you will be carving in that area.

Getting the Right Look

To get a doll’s mouth to smile and add that baby-ish look to the lips, follow the line to create the smile as shown in the photo above. At the edges of the mouth, carve past the corners of the lips to create the smile. The little dots at each end of the carving line are where you would put the dimples, if that is what you prefer. This can be done by angling the handle of your tool outwards toward the cheeks with the point of the needle file aimed toward the center of the lips.

I always begin with the hand-held diamond file to shape the mouth without making it more open or wider than I want it to be. Throughout the process, I’ll take some acrylic paint mixed with water to see how the mouth line (where the lips meet) is taking shape. This gives me a clearer idea of how my carving is going since it is hard to tell on the neutral plastic with very little shadowing. Then I can either wash off the acrylic paint and water, or allow it to dry in order to help guide me, to correct what I don’t like or to alter the lips some more.

If you are comfortable using a Dremel or other rotary hand tools without fear of scratching the doll’s face or drilling a hole through the mouth, it can be done at this point; however, begin with a very low speed. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this for anyone new to carving.

You can stop part way through the process and apply some paint in the colors you like to the entire mouth in order to see if you’re on the right track or need additional modifications. By adding paint when you’re not sure if you’ve done too much or not enough helps figure out if you have more work to do or not. Either way, the paint washes off.

Once you are happy with your results, paint the lips in the style you prefer. Remember to use water based acrylic paints. Oil paints and other types of paints (including make up for human beings) can permanently stain your doll. Keep a Mr. Clean pad close by in order to wash off the mistakes you make while painting. It may take you a few tries to get the lips to look exactly as you want them, so don’t be upset if you find yourself repeatedly washing the paint off and beginning again. If you believe you will never get them painted right, consider purchasing different paint brushes. Maybe the bristles on the brush you are using are too small or too large.

Please Note

This information serves as guidance to customizing your doll and is not the only source of information available. YouTube, other web sites and various blogs provide additional techniques and how-to videos.

This site and its owner are not responsible for any problems or mistakes you encounter while attempting to customize your doll. Please do your research before beginning this type of challenge so you do not put your expensive doll at risk of permanent damage.