I wanted to make split pin dolls because once you have the design finished they are incredibly easy and cheap to produce, they are a traditional game that has lasted for generations, and they are something that it is really easy for a young child to make and put together themselves.
I think the link these dolls have with craft is very important, as a child can put these together with very little help, and then have the satisfaction and pride of feeling like they have created this toy themselves.
The process I use to make my paper cuts for my book means that my character's arms and legs are quite easy to separate from the body using photo shop.
I designed and cut out a simple posture where all four limbs would move about easily once the split pins are added. Firstly, I scan in my paper cut keeping the limbs separate.
I had already tried the pieces together before I had scanned them, so I already know they fit together, however I needed to see where they line up so that I can make a mark where the split pin would go. I also had to add the details digitally, such as her facial features.
Once I had marked on the body and each arm and leg a small circle where the split pins would go I needed to think about how I would present this item. I arranged each piece on a page with simple instructions on how to make the doll. I also added a dotted line all around each piece to show people where they needed to cut, and I think this also added to the aesthetics of the page, making a nice pattern and a feature. The dotted line also matches the lines behind the falling leaves in my book, so it was an effective way to link this to my book. The cut out text also matches the text from my book, so is another strong link between the two and creates consistency.
I decided to print one off and try it out myself to check it worked and was easy to make. I chose quite thick, matte paper to print on, which gave a lovely effect to the design, however this made it difficult to cut cleanly with a craft knife. It was easier to cut through with scissors though. I will have to try printing them on various types of paper to find a more suitable one.
I found that having 4 split pins on one doll looked a bit too distracting from the design, as they took up alot of the space, and they also seemed to limit how much the other one could move. I tried putting together a second print out of my doll, this time using one pin for the arms and one pin for the legs, which worked much better and looked effective too. I will need to adapt my design to make just two circles for the pins rather than four.
I also struggled a bit in pushing the split pins through the thick paper, however the second time i made one of my dolls I found that cutting a small cross over the hole and slotting the pin in made this much easier, so when I alter how many holes there are on my design i will also change the circles into small crosses.
Once I had created one design I decided to create another using a different character. There is a ginger cat throughout my book that appears on many of the pages, so I decided to make a doll of him too. I also thought this might appeal to young children reading the book, as children always love seeing animals, particularly if they have a pet cat themselves.
I followed the same process, only this time I used two split pins instead of four. I also used the same format of the design, using the same text and a dotted line to show where to cut. This creates a theme and reinforces the idea that these are part of a set.
The cat was really simple to put together, and even though the size difference is completely out of proportion the two dolls look really good together and I could easily market them as a set.
This is another method that I could continue to expand on as much as I liked outside of this project, as the character possibilities and combinations are endless.
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