Reborn ethnic dolls by Sabriam Garcia

Reborn Ethnic Dolls

Reborn ethnic dolls by Sabriam Garcia.

Ethnic reborn dolls are harder to find, yet fill a huge need for doll collectors all over the world, seeking unique and cultural reborn dolls. I am the reborn doll artist at Eden's Little Ones nursery. I started researching reborning after losing a baby during pregnancy several years ago. I finally created my first reborn doll in December of 2008.

reborn ethnic doll

I got my first custom order from someone who saw a baby girl I had made with a Hispanic or biracial skin tone. The woman wanted an African-American baby girl with open eyes and lots of hair. When I started mixing paints for the baby, I realized all the hues and variations that can be made with different shades of brown. I wanted to make a reborn ethnic baby with every one! I found just the right shade for the custom baby and began to paint. Oh, it was wonderful! I loved the smoothness of the color and the sweet soft glow of the skin. I was hooked!

reborn ethnic doll

I researched and found that reborn ethnic dolls are rare. There are a few artists who create these sweet babies, but the majority of reborns are Caucasian. There are not very many African-American babies and many are not correctly done or are of a very light shade. Hispanic, Native American, Asian, and Indian babies are extremely rare. Though few reborn artists create ethnic babies, there is a market for them. When I take a reborn shopping with me, people ask "Do you make other types of babies?" They are asking if I make other colors and shades of babies. "Yes," I always reply. "I make babies of every color, shade, and hue. Would you like to see my baby photo album?" They smile, reach for the album, and start talking about the various babies and their skin, eyes and hair.

ethnic reborn doll

To help me in creating realistic reborn ethnic dolls, I have 2 walls of pictures. I reference these for every step of the reborn process. When choosing a sculpt, I pay very close attention to ears, nose, lips, chin, eyes, and forehead. When painting, I pay attention to colors, shading, and details. While the overall look is smooth, there are many little details that add to the realism of the reborn: undershades of the skin, overtones, gentle blushing, shading, and many other details.

ethnic reborn doll

For example, with the African-American reborn I am working on currently, there are several layers of lighter and darker tones under the skin layer and then another layer on top. There is just a barely there hint of pinkish blush on the cheeks and forehead, a slightly darker shade of brown on the knuckles and right by the nail, the lighter tones on the palms and feet (and more hint of pink blush), and more. All of the colors and shades were pounced out very very well, because the skin should be smooth (like melted chocolate) and not blotchy or spotty (like Caucasian skin).

ethnic reborn doll

I find many resources online. I get pictures from Google searches, adoption websites, hospital databases, and friends. Since very few reborn artists make ethnic babies, I get most of my ideas and feedback from ethnic doll-collecting sites and blogs. I find out what people like and don't like about the reborn ethnic dolls that are out there and then utilize these ideas when making my babies.

Sabriam Garcia

Eden's Little Ones