FAQ, updated 31.03.07. READ!

[Elanorea]

This is the FAQ for the questions frequently asked in this forum.

1. What is this forum for?
This forum is for asking help and helping others. If you want to talk about something else, go into the right forum. (and please remember that as this is a dolling forum, any questions should be somehow related to dolls/dollmakers/doll sites etc.)

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. Freewebs, 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 can I make dolls without a dollmaker?
First you need a base. Some good bases can be found at Xandorra's Place, ILCK and a load of other places. Copy the base you want and paste it into your graphics program. If you have a base but don't have any idea what to do next, then read some tutorials at Xandorra's Place. There is also a tutorial search engine on that site. After reading the tutorials, all you need to do is get drawing! Make the clothes, hair, accessories, whatever! And be sure to post your doll on this forum. We all want to see it

7. 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.

8. 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 exist 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.

9. What are dollpoints and how do I get them?
Dollpoints are the currency on TDP that you can use to buy things in the Doll Points shop (mainly additional items to the dollmakers). You can earn dollpoints by playing games, making dolls, participating in contests and fashion shows and probably also by posting on the forums.

10. How do I become a mod?
There is no certain way to become a mod. Moderators are chosen when support decides we need new ones. There are tens of thousands of members but only a couple of moderators, so you most likely will not become one, but if you don't spam, are active and try to help other members, you will have a better chance. If you find something wrong on the forums (eg. spam or offensive posts) you can PM the mod of that section and tell them about it (if no mods are specified, it is global and everyone can mod it). You can also PM a mod if you think a thread needs to be stickied.

11. How do I get an avatar?
Click 'My Account' at the top of the page and 'Edit Avatar' on the left. Enter the URL to your avatar image into the box labeled Option 1. You can also choose one of TDP's premade dolls, or upload an image from your computer. Make sure you check the little circle labeled 'Use Custom Avatar', otherwise your picture will not show up! Please keep in mind that only one image can be displayed at a time, it must not be larger than 150x150 pixels and its filesize must not exceed 19.5 KB.

12. How do I get a signature(siggy)
Click 'My Account' at the top of the page and 'Edit Signature' on the left. There should be a big box labeled 'Your Signature' Write everything you want your siggy to contain there, scroll down and click Save Signature.

13. How do I put a picture in my siggy?
Click 'My Account' at the top of the page and 'Edit Signature' on the left. Scroll down to the 'Signature Picture' section. There you can enter the URL of an image that is hosted on another site, or upload an image straight from your computer. Note that the image cannot be larger than 500x100 pixels or 2.0 KB. When you have succesfuly uploaded your image, it should show up on the page. Click the link that says 'Insert Signature Picture' next to the image, and the code will appear in the 'Your Signature' box above.

14. How do I change my font colour?
You have to choose a colour from the drop down list, for example dark red so you get these codes: [ color=darkred][ /color]You have to put your text that you want to be in colour between the codes like this: [ color=darkred]TEXT[ /color] (the code must be without the spaces of course).

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.

[kimber892003]

You can get the double-click dollmaker code at http://www.mycartoondolls.com/

I prefer it over using drag-n-drop script but some website hosts don't support the double-click script.

[firerosegodess]

how do you get different font colors

[Elanorea]

Well, you have to choose a colour from the drop down list, for example dark red so you get these codes: [ color=darkred][ /color] You have to put your text that you want to be in colour between the codes like this: [ color=darkred]TEXT[ /color] (all without the spaces of course) If this doesn't work for you then I really have no idea what you could do.

[firerosegodess]

Thank you

[scorion]

Okay, I have three questions.
1) Must we put a picture of a doll as our siggy or avatar?
2) What's the fastest way to earn DP?
3) Where can i find the Games, as mentioned in the FAQ of how to earn DP?

[Elanorea]

Originally Posted by scorion

Okay, I have three questions.
1) Must we put a picture of a doll as our siggy or avatar?
2) What's the fastest way to earn DP?
3) Where can i find the Games, as mentioned in the FAQ of how to earn DP?

1) No, you can put anything you like as your avatar/siggy image, as long as it's not ****ographic, extremely violent or too large. You can have only text in your siggy if you want to.
2) I'm afraid I can't help you with that, since I haven't tried all of them. Maybe someone else could help?
3) You can find games under the link Games on the main page of TDP.

[didlysquat_09]

Thank you for taking the time to type that...it really helped.

[Viperkilzz]

You can make dolls using a dollmaker if you don't want to/can't draw your own. There is one on this site, and contrary to what many people believe, it is NOT premium only and you do NOT have to pay to make dolls (some special parts in the regular dollmaker are premium only, but otherwise it is completely free!). 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. Still, I find it better to draw my own dolls from scratch.

In the above quote its states that there is a doll maker on the site. could you direct me to this. I have bought a base. I found that there are not any clothes for this shaped doll and would like to make my own props and stuff.

[Elanorea]

Well, there are a number of dollmakers here, actually. They're all on the front page, beside the sign "Make Dolls". I don't know which one you need since you haven't shown me the base you bought. However, if you want to make your own props etc. then read the section of the FAQ explaining how to make dolls without a dollmaker.