She-Ra exclusive SDCC Mattel doll - with a stolen design for her sword

It has been a few days since images of the exclusive San Diego ComicCon exclusive She-Ra doll from Mattel surfaced on-line, first in USA-Today and later in various websites and forums. She looks impressive and has a new body design that is somewhere between the Made-to-Move bodies and a superhero sculpt. She will retail for $75 and of course you can only get it if you visit ComicCon.

She has different outfits and accessories that are interchangeable, offering a variety of looks.

Some more photos:

The thing is that Mattel (or more precisely, the designer working for Mattel who did this doll) has copied the gold sword from a professional Greek comic artist, Yannis Rubus Rubulias, who had done a fan-art depiction of She-Ra back in 2011.

See what they did?

The resemblance is uncanny. It is not the first time we see this kind of copying in the doll world but a major company doing it is the icing on the cake. Whoever designed the doll should have contacted Yannis to ask for permission and copyright. What do you think?

All doll photos are by Mattel, art by Yannis Rubus Rubulias

Coincidence or rip-off? Modoll 3D printed doll copies Popovy Sisters creations

It has been little more than a month that Santiago and Mauricio Sierra, fashion photographers, announced their 3d printed doll, Modoll. Based on the 3d scanned face of model Lindsay Wixson, the doll is 3d printed then painted by make up artist Ralph Siciliano, hair styled by the incredible Thanos Samaras and dressed by fashion stylist Charlotte Stockdale, who picks real fashion outfits and has them made in scale. I was preparing to dedicate a post to the project but then I repeatedly saw this photo comparison posted in Facebook and Instagram:

Comparison of Modoll and Popovy bodies from Elcatka flickr page

Head sculpt comparison between Modoll (top) and Popovy Sisters (bottom) - photo from Sofaika Instagram account

Face comparison between MoDoll (left) and Popovy Sisters (right) - photo from Sofaika Instagram account

Numerous doll artists and collectors have chimed in and re-posted these images all over social media, denouncing the rip off and accusing Santiago and Mauricio of theft. Linday Wixson commented below one of the posts in Instagram that she had no idea and is very sorry. Comments about the theft on Santiago and Maurizio Instagram posts of the doll got deleted repeatedly (there are some still left). And while one may argue that Lindsay's face bears a resemblance to the Popovy Sisters dolls so that it was inevitable that the dolls would look alike, the comparison of the doll bodies leaves no doubt. The Modoll body looks like a cheap imitation of the Popovy sisters creation, with much less detail and refinement, especially visible in the joints of elbows and knees and the less detailed hands of Modoll. The finished dolls look much less alike of course, as they represent completely different visions.

Modoll wearing Saint Laurent - photo by Santiago and Mauricio

Popovy Sisters WhoYouAre Hollywood showroom exclusive - photo by Popovy Sisters

If you want to see the comments and photos related to the issue, check the #modoll hashtag on Instagram here. What  do you think? Let me know in the comments.

UPDATE: It seems that Lindsay Wixson is apologising to Popovy Sisters and distancing herself from Modoll, she posted this on her instagram just before she turned it to private, (probably to avoid negative comments - thanks to Elatka for the repost).