Mr. Doll

Origins

Mr. Doll was born around 2007-2008 when I was in my first year of design school in Cuba. I drew him as a voodoo doll out of frustration of all the limitations and constrains I had to go through as a design student in Cuba. Over the years there have been different iterations of him and he was always used to either communicate my thoughts or to test creative techniques such as illustrations, 3d, toys, games, etc. Mr. Doll is my medium of expression.

Over the years, all of my Mr. Doll doodles and sketches have been done for myself and for my friends who love this little guy. But there are also more plans for him that I’ve had in my head but I haven’t had the chance to complete. The following projects are what I have in mind:

Tarot Cards

The Mr. Doll tarot deck was initially created as a school project (Major Arcana only) and it’s one that is an ongoing work I’ve been doing on and off over the years. My goal is to eventually finish it and also create a card game using the reading mechanics of the tarot. I love the tarot as a tool for self discovery and I will like to integrate these concepts into the world I’m creating.

Art Toys

Back in design school I was introduced by a professor to the world of designer toys and art toys. I’ve been since fascinated by it and have a very small collection myself. Once I knew about this branch of creative world I thought Mr. Doll would fit right in. Since 2018 I have created some sketches for the first Mr. Doll Art Toy I want to release.

NFTs

This is a relatively new way for me to spread the Mr. Doll character to a new audience. Certainly him being in this space has brought all sorts of ideas for me to keep developing his character. I want to use these NFTs as an access pass for my collectors to be able to get into my physical projects like Art Toys or more limited edition Projects. I want to reiterate that Mr. Doll is not an NFT exclusive character. My personal view of NFTs is that blockchain technology in general is just another tool for me to keep exploring my creativity.

Here are some of my collections:

• Doll’s head: This existing collection is my genesis in the nft world. It’s an ongoing one where I draw variations of Mr. Doll’s head based on feelings and emotions I get. My plan is to continue this collection in a smart contract of my own instead of keeping it in the Opensea contract.
• Moments of Space (The Chill Collection): This is another ongoing series of illustrations of Mr. Doll I released under the Opensea smart contract that I’ve moved out and it will be exclusive on Known Origin where I showcase Mr. Doll having a relaxing time, enjoying pauses out of a busy life. These illustrations are a reference to a concept in Japanese culture called Ma. It’s a way to tell myself and others that we need to embrace those moments of nothingness and to just be.
• iDoll: This is a new collection I’m developing referencing Pop Music idols from the past and current ones. I’m using this collection to showcase my love for music. Especially my love for pop music and how visually alluring it can be. Yes, it’s commercial but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. I’m also thinking about exploring the other side of being an idol through this collection.

RPG: Meno’s System

Mr. Doll as a character was born as a form of expression. However, I’ve been increasingly developing him inside its own contained universe. I’m developing more characters and places to give Mr. Doll more of a story. Meno’s System is this universe where Dolls live as one of the many different species. The end Goal is to create enough lore to turn it into a pen and paper RPG game and maybe more.

It’s a Mindmap not a Roadmap

In a different email, I want to share references I’ve used over the years to develop my main character as well as keeping a report of my advances in the different projects I have in my head. I’m going to go ahead and steal Takashi Murakami’s Mind map concept. Because there are a lot of ideas running through my head and there’s not enough time or life to make everything I want to do. I decided to limit them to just these projects above.I hope you love what I have been brewing in my head for some time.

I hope you feel as excited as I am.
Live long and prosper,

L!ly the Cuban Nerd