Dolls and Doll-related Items for Sale

Monday, November 11, 2019

#SNAPSTAR vs Liv

When the #SNAPSTAR dolls first launched, so many people compared them to Liv dolls, myself included. And since I wasn't interested in the #SNAPSTAR dolls themselves, I really just cared about seeing them with Liv dolls. I was interested in their similarities and differences more than the dolls themselves. When I found a #SNAPSTAR doll for a good price, this was my chance, and if you were interested in comparing these two dolls in more detail, I hope you'll enjoy this.

Meet Daniela Liv and Dawn #SNAPSTAR. In this picture, they don't seem to have much in common, other than inset eyes, and oversized heads.
However, there is one thing that makes them stand out from most other doll lines, and resemble each other. This:
Yep, both of these lines have removable wigs, and both lines also have/had separate wigs available for purchase to change your doll's look. (I say have/had because the Liv line is long gone, although of course you can still purchase Liv items second hand, including those spare wigs.)

Not only do the dolls wear wigs, they both have holes in their noggins for a wig post.
So of course, I had to know if the dolls could swap wigs. One thing I noticed during the wig sharing was that Dawn's wig cap is much harder, kind of like a hat. Liv wigs, at least in my experience, need to be almost peeled on or off. This is not easy either, as the wig cap, while not as hard as a plastic hat, is fairly stiff.

Here's Daniela wearing Dawn's wig. It really does change her look quite a bit, and although you can see some of her painted on hair in the front, it's not a bad look for her.
I could see her wearing one of the #SNAPSTAR wigs that had bangs or something, very easily.

While Daniela's wig did not fit Dawn quite as well, it doesn't appear completely out of place, and it changes her look too.
This wig is loose on Dawn, and the wig cap doesn't touch all of her head. It wouldn't be good for play, as it would fall off all of the time. But it doesn't look bad here, and I like being able to see more of Dawn's face than her wig shows.

Wigs aside, one look at Dawn and Daniela will tell you they can't share clothes or shoes. Liv can wear some Barbie clothes; I do know that. For this post, I wanted to look at the newer doll on the block. Naked doll with clothing and shoe images under the fold.

Dawn's body is mostly legs. She's got a tiny torso, although she's also got a healthy bust.
The only doll in my collection I thought was even close to Dawn's tiny size, is the J-Doll. And although Dawn's one-piece, made to look like a top and shorts, wouldn't fit over a J-Doll's hips, Adelheid is posing in Dawn's jacket. The sleeves are way too short, but it shows that their torsos are somewhat compatible in size. I taped the jacket shut, as Adelheid protested that the jacket-with-nothing-underneath look was not her style.
Their feet are also rather similar. Dawn's are slightly bigger, so only something slip-on might fit Dawn. I didn't try Dawn's boots on Adelheid because they're a *very* stiff plastic, and I value Adelheid's ankles. I also wonder why Dawn got articulated ankles, because they don't really move far enough so Dawn's feet are flat. Still, these two girls' feet sizes are surprisingly alike.
Lastly, I couldn't show a #SNAPSTAR doll here without playing around a little with the line's biggest marketing point, which is a cardboard green screen and a matching plastic green stand. These dolls are big on taking selfies and posting pictures online, hence the hashtag in the name, plus having a phone included. I imagine this whole thing will look as out of place to kids in the future as Barbie's enormous 90s computer and knock-off colorful iMac computers seem today.

Anway, here's Dawn in her stand, with the green screen. Dawn has a hole in her back to connect her to her stand, which telescopes. It's rather like the stands for the Cu-Poche dolls in that way.
I can't remember if you upload the pictures you take of your doll onto the #SNAPSTAR website, or use an app on your own phone. Either way, the company offers its own backgrounds to pose your doll in front of. I just went ahead and used my own photo editor to put Dawn in front of a brick wall, and in a dark forest.
I was worried about Dawn's shadow being so clear in the green screen photo, but as it turns out, it's Dawn's feet and accessories that don't show up completely solid, as well as Dawn looking a little green around the edges of her hair. I need to work more on green screen techniques. Anyway, I've been able to sate my curiosity, and I hope you found the comparisons and green screen interesting too.


18 comments:

  1. I also have Dawn, and I don't think she measures up to my LIV dolls, though to be fair I was a huge fan of LIV. #SNAPSTAR has three extra wigs available, and the quality of all three of them is horrendous. #SNAPSTAR is a good concept, but I think the quality needs a little fine-tuning, at least in the hair. My Dawn doll is alright otherwise. Also, did you have any trouble getting your app to run? Mine crashes a lot.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback about the wigs. I don't think the #SNAPSTAR dolls measure up to Liv either, but I did want to see them side by side, since their concepts are similar. I haven't downloaded the official app, as I'm not keeping Dawn. Quality aside, the faces just don't appeal to me, especially when I see the official drawings of the dolls. If only the dolls looked more like the drawings!

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  2. The big question is - could the green screen and stand be used with other dolls?

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    1. The green screen could for sure, but since Dawn is so short, it wouldn't work as well for taller dolls. As far as the stand goes, I don't know. Dawn is taller than the Cu-Poche dolls, which are the only dolls I own that have that hole in the back for the stand. If the stand could be attached to another doll in a way that wouldn't show up in a photo, I don't see why the stand couldn't be used either. If you're really interested, I can see how the green stand works with Cu-Poche.

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  3. I think many people compared the Snapstar dolls with Liv because their faces looked very similar and they both had wigs. I wonder if the Snapstars app would work on a green cardstock sheet aswell. Or maybe there are apps out there that would do the exact same thing. The last photo you took with the green screen turned out better. I'd love to see what you come up with if you keep playing with this technique.

    Take care.

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    1. I don't see why the official app wouldn't work with a generic green background. I don't know for certain, but generally, all green screen programs do is take the green out of a photograph. If you're interested, I've already used a green screen effect before. Once was in the first chapter of my storyline. I also used it a few times in my 12 Days of Christmas photos from last Christmas.

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  4. Unfortunately, the #SNAPSTAR dolls are rather small, maybe because it makes it easier for the dolls to fit into photos that the owner takes. I suspected that the picture in the woods would turn out better, since Dawn's accessories and shoes are black, and the background of the woods is black. I'm glad that you like the review.

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  5. I'm not at all familiar with either of these dolls Barb, we simply don't get the variety of dolls here like you have in the USA. I rather like them better with the wigs swapped for some reason. :) Do you use a green screen for photos very often? I have never used one, is it difficult?
    Big hugs,
    X

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  6. I kind of like them with the wigs swapped as well. Daniela, though, is supposed to be around 15-16 years old, though, so her original wig is probably more suitable for her age. I used a green screen a couple of times for my 12 Days of Christmas posts last Christmas. I'm having issues with green still showing up around the edges of my photos after I run the green screen effect with my photo editing software. It may be due to my photography, or the fact that I don't have top of the line photo editing. I need to do some more research.

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    1. Thanks for the info on the green screen Barb, I think I will probably stick to using my backdrops, it's probably less fiddly and when it comes to photography I am a little impatient. If it leaves a line, I would want to remove it and that could be very tedious. If you ever find an answer to the problem, I would love to see how it all works.
      Big hugs,
      X

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  7. I remember reading somewhere online that some Snapstar clothing will fit vintage Topper Dawn dolls, but I haven't tried the combination myself.
    Signed, Treesa

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    1. Hmm, that's a possibility too. I think we had a vintage Dawn doll when I was a kid, and that seems right.

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  8. I use Snapstar clothing for my Monster High Dolls. The shoes I have tried fit Liv with the exception being a of a pair of black high heeled boots. The white shoes that look like they wrap up the leg had to have the "laces" cut off. The white shoes are still really cute without the laces. I have not tried the clothes on Ever After High dolls but I plan to soon

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    1. The only shoes that I have are those black boots, so it's interesting to know that other kinds of their shoes can fit the Liv dolls. I didn't think about the clothes for my Ever After High either, but then again I don't like Dawn's outfit at all. There are separates for the dolls, though, which makes clothing sizes more interesting.

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  9. Interesting contrast. Thanks for sharing and for the green screen tips ;-) I wonder if the Snapstar bodies could be used as articulate bodies for Mattel Petite Fashionistas?

    Oh, and I like Adelheid's modesty. And Daniela wearing Dawn's wig. Gives her a more ethnic look.

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  10. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you! I'm glad that you liked this comparison post. I like Daniela wearing Dawn's wig too. But since I'm giving Dawn away, her wig is going with her. I still do have Dawn, though, so I'll try to get a picture up of the #SNAPSTAR body next to a Petite Fashionista. I don't think it'll work, though.

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