--- description: Making a prototype involves hand painting Barbie's lips, eyes and makeup title: Behind the Scenes: Making Barbie image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf98cc566d05e87bf/69887ada0a4a225a519c817d/barbie-mattel-behind-the-scenes-4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Toys](/tag/toys/) ## Toys Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind the Scenes At Mattel: See How Barbie Is Created by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2016 12:00 PM CUT  A designer hand paints the lips of a prototype Barbie doll. A designer hand paints the lips of a prototype Barbie doll.Emily Shur for TIME by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2016 12:00 PM CUT Creating three new bodies for Barbie—[tall, petite and curvy](http://time.com/barbie "undefined")—was no small task. It took her design team two years to complete the project. Photographer Emily Shur captures a glimpse of how the iconic doll is put together in these behind-the-scenes photos at Mattel’s headquarters just outside Los Angeles, CA. Designers carefully paint lips and eyes on the dolls by hand. They sew on her hair with a sewing machine before they cut and style it by hand. They even keep archives of past experiments in their studio. [**Read the TIME cover story on Barbie’s new body.**](http://time.com/barbie "undefined")  A designer hand paints the lips of a prototype Barbie doll. Emily Shur for TIME  The painting palette used to create Barbie's lips. Emily Shur for TIME  Barbie's forearms all together in a container at Mattel's El Segundo, Calif. headquarters. Emily Shur for TIME  Dozens of colorful containers of glitter await use in the design center at Mattel's headquarters. Emily Shur for TIME  Three stages of painting Barbie's eyes. Emily Shur for TIME  A special machine attaches curvy Barbie's hair. The process is called "rooting." Emily Shur for TIME  Curvy Barbie's head, now complete, is ready for her body. Emily Shur for TIME  Emily Shur for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4196731/see-behind-the-scenes-photos-of-how-barbie-is-created/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4196731/see-behind-the-scenes-photos-of-how-barbie-is-created/"},"headline":"Behind the Scenes At Mattel: See How Barbie Is Created","datePublished":"2016-01-28T12:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:31.982Z","description":"Making a prototype involves hand painting Barbie's lips, eyes and makeup","url":"https://time.com/4196731/see-behind-the-scenes-photos-of-how-barbie-is-created/","keywords":["Toys","photography","Barbie","mattel","curvy barbie"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf98cc566d05e87bf/69887ada0a4a225a519c817d/barbie-mattel-behind-the-scenes-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf98cc566d05e87bf/69887ada0a4a225a519c817d/barbie-mattel-behind-the-scenes-4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"barbie-mattel-behind-the-scenes-4","caption":"A designer hand paints the lips of a prototype Barbie doll.","creditText":"Emily Shur for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/toys/","name":"Toys"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4196731/see-behind-the-scenes-photos-of-how-barbie-is-created/","name":"Behind the Scenes At Mattel: See How Barbie Is Created"}}]}] ```