Dollmaker FAQ and rules! Updated 31.03.07. READ!

[Elanorea]

This is the FAQ for the general doll maker related questions in this forum.

1. What is this forum for?
This forum is for sharing dollmaker links and talking about dollmakers. If your post doesn't fit in any of these categories, don't post here.

2. How do I make dolls?
You can make dolls using a dollmaker if you don't want to/can't draw your own. There are dollmakers on this site, and contrary to what many people believe, most of it is NOT premium only and you do NOT have to pay to make dolls (some special dollmakers are premium only, but most of them are free for everyone). Also, there are dollmakers on many many other sites if you can't find what you need here, just search and you'll find plenty of different ones. You can also edit the dolls you make with a program like Paint to make them more original.

3. How do I make a dollmaker?
Well, you need the props. To make props, you need a base to make them on. Drawing a base from scratch is hard for a beginner, but you can also search for one that you like and use it. Of course, before taking somebody's base for a dollmaker, read through their rules and see if they allow it. Most people require you to ask permission first. (otherwise it is extremely rude and if they find out, they can make you remove the dollmaker or let your host close down your site). Then draw the props. I think it is better to make props for one pose only, because it will get confusing if you use many poses, but of course it is your decision.
When you have done all that, you need to get a code to make your props movable. I think you can find one at Dynamic Drive and a double-click dollmaker code is at MyCartoonDolls.
[thanks Kimber!]

4. How do I make a doll site?
The first step is to make something to put on your site. Dolls, bases, maybe a dollmaker, tutorials, stuff like that. Of course, you can add more later. If you already have that, you need to find a good host. Webs, GeoCities, http://www.thefreesite.com, Bravenet and many more offer free hosting. Some of these sites also have the option to upgrade your site to a 'premium' version for money. Most hosting sites have tutorials on how to make a webpage. If you need help with HTML, go to HTML Goodies.

5. The Doll Palace dollmaker doesn't work! Help!
If you're not premium, make sure that the dollmaker you are trying to use is not premium only. If you are and you still can't use them, contact support! If you're talking about the regular ones, here's something that might help:
Clean your cache out, delete your history and offline content, restart your browser and try the dollmaker again, use as few props as possible too. And before you click build, turn your pop up blocker off.
[Thanks Kimber!]

6. How do I make dark skinned candybars?
In the candybar dollmaker, there are three little boxes above the category links that allow you to change the skin color of the doll.

7. Why do we have to pay for premium?
Because the owners of this site need to pay to keep this site running. If they made premium free, this site would cease to excist after a short while. If you can't afford it, well, I can't either, but do you see me whining? TDP isn't the only site where you can make dolls. You could look at other sites to find dollmakers that offer the same options that the premium ones do at TDP.

RULES
- Chatting
Chatting is not allowed on these forums. This includes creating threads with no other purpose than to chat, and also hijacking other threads to chat with somebody. If you just want to talk to people, go to a chat room, and use PMs for personal matters.

- SPAM
SPAM means Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages, and is not allowed on these forums. Spamming is any kind of pointless and/or out-of-context posts, like when you post nothing but a smiley, post without adding anything useful (like when a question has already been answered and you say: "Oh, I didn't know that!"), when you post only one word like 'lol' or 'hi' or post multiple times in a row without good reason, or when you ask a question in a thread that was about a different topic (eg. there's a thread about premium, and you just randomly ask how to make a poll). If you need to ask a question, make a new topic, don't hijack other threads!

- Replying to SPAM
Do not be unnecessarily rude when replying to spam posts. The spammer might be a newbie, who doesn't know much about forums yet. One (1) polite reply telling the spammer what he/she is doing wrong is usually enough. If you see that somebody has already replied and said everything necessary, there is no need to make another reply. Usually there is no need to report posts or PM mods, as they will see the post by themself and deal with it as soon as they can. However, if the spam isn't dealt with for some time, you may want to contact a mod in case they've overlooked it.

- Questions
Please read all FAQs and forums carefully to see if your question has already been answered somewhere. Only make a new thread if you can't find an answer anywhere.

- Grammar
Please pay attention to your spelling and grammar. That also includes correct capitals and punctuation. We understand that everyone makes mistakes and some have trouble writing in English, but at least try to write correctly.

- Chatspeak
This is allowed in moderation. We can tolerate a couple of shortened words like 'u' instead of 'you' and 'r' instead of 'are' (though we would prefer if you didn't use them), but not entire posts written in incomprehensible chatspeak gibberish. Remember that this forum doesn't have a character limit so there is no real need to shorten your words.

- Gravedigging
Gravedigging means posting in old topics that have exhausted their purpose, and it is generally not allowed. Always check the post dates; if the last post was made more than a month ago, you probably shouldn't post. One exception to this rule is doll threads - if you are coming back from a hiatus, you are allowed and encouraged to bring up your old doll thread instead of creating a new one.

If anything remains unclear about the questions answered here or you want to add something, post in this thread, so I can see it and help you. If you want to ask about something else, first look if there isn't a thread where this question has already been answered and only make a new thread if there's none. Try to specify what your problem is, don't post: 'I need help', because people won't know what you need help with.

Thanks for reading and happy dolling!