In the Red Thorns: A G3 Monster High Body Model

I decided not to give up on my plans to make a body-model out of Ghoulia after all. Besides, the entry into G3 original characters was an exciting idea. 

Maudie has served the role of a G1 MH body model doll for a while, but I've long wanted a G3 one as well. Monster High G3 has several body types, which are only set to gain more diversity in 2024's releases, so I knew the most useful body would be the most "baseline" or "neutral"--and that belongs to Ghoulia Yelps. Ghoulia has no sculpted monster detail and her curves and height are the median that the other body variations are best contrasted with. I tried to do something with a Ghoulia once, wiping her paint off and prepping her for a wig, but never went anywhere with that and regretted getting rid of all of the faceup. I tried with another Ghoulia body and finally got her head off and bald with no damage. 

I did wipe her brows off her faceup, as well as some of her makeup, but the paint was very difficult to get off and I had to do a lot of cleanup on smears. It seems to vary whether the doll I'm trying to wipe will do so cleanly or if I'll end up getting the paint into the vinyl. I left her cheek blush, because that's a pretty consistent stylistic touch that makes G3 G3. I eventually had a prepped Ghoulia, though.

Now, this project wasn't super directed like it was with Maudie. I didn't exactly know what monster type I wanted this to be, but her green coloration was driving me toward folkloric fantasy monsters like trickster fairies or goblins, so I decided to work with that kind of tone. I then looked into costumes for her so I knew where to go. I'd heard that Ever After High clothes are a good fit for this G3 shape, so I decided to get Hat-Tastic Tea Party Cerise Hood's dress. The red colors, cut, and hood all looked great for a fantasy monster, and I thought it could create a fantastic red/green contrast. 

Mattel stock photo of Hat-Tastic Cerise. 

The dress came on an incomplete copy of the doll, whose body I used for an L.O.L. O.M.G. custom.

With that outfit sorted, I had a direction for the faceup. I gave her really heavy red eyeshadow, extended her upper lashes, and gave her black smirking lips as well as a beauty mark on her chin to give her that really dramatic wicked face style. I didn't commit to eyebrows because I'm pretty bad at getting those symmetrical. I left the irises untouched. 

I then tried her in the outfit when it arrived. I paired the dress with Shadow High Scarlet Rose's boots to complement the colors and add a punk monster edge. I love how pretty and polished the dress is for a one-piece assembly, and the colors are great.

I had to look for a wig for her to wear. Basically the only toy-company wigs I've found fit on Monster High are wigs from MH itself or Barbie Color Reveal wigs, which are a good firm fit on a larger head than they were designed for. The only Barbie wig that felt right was a black wig with green streaks. The color combo is just like Ghoul Fair Scarah Screams. I'd been interested in green wigs, but those had pink streaks that felt too Venus McFlytrap-esque and not dramatic enough. 

The wig itself was a bit of a disaster when it arrived.

The wig is center-parted and sits pretty high on her forehead, and that creates a fun retro piled-hair effect, but I wasn't sure it was what I wanted. The fiber was also very messy. 

The green streaks are underneath, but there was also one purple streak which changes color with temperature changes to blue. I cut this streak down as much as I could.

The hair, color-changed.

I also decided to add brows to her face, making them black and fantasy-swirly.

I tried to boil and tidy the wig, and then tried to pull hair forward and cut it into bangs, but this wasn't successful because it still felt very parted and gappy in front. 

I tried to work with this result...

...but I just didn't feel enchanted by or proud of her, so she fell onto the back burner for a bit while I worked on other things. 

Eventually, I ordered another wig from Etsy's Fnfdollstudio. I'd been disappointed with the rigid, unrealistic fibers of their straight-hair wigs, so this time, I ordered a long center-parted black wig with a wavy texture, since that had the promise of feeling much more hair-like and typical. 

The wig is luxurious.

I quickly discovered that the hair looked best oriented off-center so she had a side part, and the hair itself was very soft, entirely tangle-free, and gorgeous. Order their wavy wigs if you want the best result, because you can boil those straight to get really lovely straight hair! This wig is fabulous. 

I wasn't convinced yet, though. I knew the hair was too long, but then I wondered what it would be like if it was much shorter? I quickly fluffed the hair and pulled it up behind her head and realized the style that would perfect this doll was a messy wavy bob. I curled the hair and did some trimming and I loved it. Now she's like Helena Bonham Carter as a classic 2D Disney villain!

I also added Skullector Sally's/Amanita Nightshade's necklace to her look.

This feels so much more personable. I'd always intended for her to be a troublemaker, and this messy-glam hairstyle perfectly suits an eerie forest person who wants to be the ghoul in the spotlight. And I love the palette. Red can be such a beautiful and powerful theme color for dolls and it's sad to see Mattel so afraid of it these days.

The hair also works with her rebel side, recalling haircuts worn in the nineties by people like Winona Ryder, and also reminds me a bit of the initially-spiteful and troublesome Audrey Horne in Twin Peaks.

The hood works out well worn up, too.  

Then, I decided to dye a pair of Clawdeen hands black to change her hands into clawed black gloves to make her look a little scarier and more caught between prim and wild. I think this was the last little thing she needed.

While I adored the look of this character, I still hadn't been totally sure about which monster type she was. I was still coming back to "goblin", and then her hood reminded me of a more specific mean goblin type...who, perfectly enough, also wears iron boots! It was meant to be.

Bramble Berryblood

Monster Parentage: The Red Cap

Killer Style: I wear clothes that are good and mobile for sneaking and jumping out at travelers. I always wear red on the very top, and my shoes are tipped in iron just like Pa's.

Freaky Flaw: I tend to take pranks too far or get a little aggressive in situations where I'm not getting my way. I don't really agree lots of the time, but that's what I'm told.

Favorite Activity: Foraging in the forest. There are lots of good things to find, and lots of people to scare out of their wits!

Biggest Pet Peeve: Pa and I are banished by positive incantations...and I've found that extends to modern self-positivity affirmations I hear constantly! It makes me feel rotten when I have to leave every time that talk starts up, and it's impossible to explain that I don't hate the people saying it, or myself, when that happens.

Favorite School Subject: Drama class. It's fun playing the trickster bad guy, and that's helped me realize how much more fun evil is as a fake performance than as a mentality.

Least Favorite School Subject: Art class. I express everything through my body. I get nothing trying to make things. 

Favorite Food: The tartest red currants you can pick off the bush. 

Pet: I'm afraid I see too many forest creatures as food to be comfortable treating them as companions. None of them would have me, either.

Best Friends: Treesa Thornwillow, Dendrea Barker

Now, the tea patterns on her dress don't have anything to do with her monster type or profile...but remember which blog she's becoming a mascot of! That gives it a pass.

I was able to get some good goblin energy out of her, and the new hands definitely helped.

Uh-oh.

"Dmitry, have you seen my-"

Now that I have a proper body model for G1 and G3's MH standard and I got the ghouls to cooperate for a moment, a good comparison can take place.

The starkest differences are definitely in the torsos. G1's is stretched and skinny, while G3's has two pieces to give it a joint, and is shorter and thicker.

The G3 arms also feel a bit less lanky and gestural in that stylized fashion-sketch way. The legs are probably the most similar in style, though the heft has been increased for G3. 

The sway in the G3 back has also been reduced a lot. 

Here's the dolls showing off their biggest articulation differences. The G1 hips can swing out and essentially go in a full circle, while the G3 legs are stopped pretty firmly at a limited backward range--G3 has the torso joint, though (on the deluxe dolls).

I'm glad I'll have Bramble around to serve as reference for future dolls so we can gauge subtle differences and have a good contrast for major ones. I have no special love for Catty Noir, but I will be getting her G3 sig as soon as I can because her truly big curvy body sculpt looks so interesting. 

This was another one of those projects I was worried wouldn't turn out and give me something good to keep around, but it did. I'm really delighted with the look and personality I got out of this project, and I'm glad to have another useful comparison resource on hand.