Kiev-based artist Olga Kamenetskaya is very popular among doll collectors for her ability to turn generic dolls of all shapes and sizes into unique works of art, some of them so-realistic looking you could swear they were real people.

Like most girls, Olga used to love playing with dolls as a child. She eventually grew out of it, only to rediscover her fascination with them a few years ago, after seeing a commercial for Monster High Dolls. She bought one, but then she wanted another one, and another one. She was so enthralled with Monster High Dolls that she spent a lot of time looking at photos of the different dolls online. One day, Olga spotted one that she had never seen before, and after doing some research, she learned that it was an OOAK (One Of A Kind). She found it incredible that someone could create that level of detail on a doll completely by hand, and she spent a whole year researching and watching tutorials online before taking up a brush and trying it herself.

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Noel Cruz, a Filipino-American artist based in Anaheim, specializes in repainting mass-produced celebrity and character dolls, like those made by Mattel, into hyper-realistic miniature models of the people that inspired them. The results of his meticulous work are nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Born and raised in Manila, the Philippines, Noel Cruz has been drawing and painting people’s faces for most of his life. It all started when he was 12 years old, when, while looking through a neighbor’s window, he saw a telecast of the 1974 Miss Universe Pageant on television. Seeing so many beautiful faces all at once inspired him to start drawing portraits on pieces of paper. At age 16, having undergone no specialized training, Cruz was already selling portraits as commissioned work. But he only discovered the fascinating world of repainted dolls several years later, after emigrating to the United States with his family.

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