~*~..*~~Tutorials~~*..~*~

**Tutorials**

Hope these tutorials help you in dolling! These were made for MS Paint (except for the Sweater tut, which was made for PSP 8), but can be used in any graphics editing program so long as you're familiar with how your program works!

(Watch for new tuts to come soon! They will be Multicolor Shading, Athletic Pants, Braids, and Metal Jewelry!)

*Tips for New Dollers...by Pansy*

"Well, this really applies to those who are just starting out with their first dollz sites; I can't really say this is for new dollers, since there are many dollers who are excellent but don't yet have their own sites! ^^

*Find a webhost that will offer plenty of room if you're going to be making a lot of stuff like Mary does. Bravenet offers 100MB space and no ads; Dot.tk offers 60MB with no ads; etc. If you want a site with less room, if you're not going to be doing that much dolling, try Angelfire or Geocities. Mary prefers Angelfire over the other. If you're looking for your own domain, try GoDaddy Software for an insanely cheap price on domains ^__^

*Sign guestbooks and Tagboards. SMD didn't start getting a lot of notice until Mary signed every guestbook and Tagboard she came to. But she did have an honest good look around each of these sites, and meant what she said when she complimented the siteowners!! Putting "Nice site, please visit mine!" is just plain rude and tacky XDDDDDDD You can also join webrings and dolling forums to increase your site visits, but just watch what you join or it could look bad for your site ^_^

*Be original! Sure, get your doll inspirations anywhere, but don't copy anybody else, whether it's with your dolls or with your site itself! I must admit, I've gotten inspired at times by other great doll sites, but copying them would just suck! Be creative! Practice until you get what you want, and check out dolling tutorials and website tutorials to get those special looks other dollers are using! If you aren't good at making your own layouts, there are sites all over the place with free, customizable layouts for you to download and use ^__^

*Do look what others are doing! Check out the way they shade their dolls, whether by pixel shading or PSP/Photoshop shading. *shakes head adamantly* I am NOT saying to copy their styles! What I'm saying is, learn from their styles. That's what Mary did, and she immediately emerged with my own ways of shading (which is usually pixel by pixel).

If I can think of any more tips, I'll be posting them here! ^_^ Good luck in the dolling/doll site world!"