A "company" face-up vs an outside artist face-up

thanks for asking this ^^ i was wondering the same thing!

 

For me its a really easy choice, one of my best friends Reyna does amazing face-ups for Shin, and lives 5 minutes from me. For now Shin is her test boy for kinds of styles, and things like body blushing, tattooing, freckling, etc. If a company had an amazing face up that was just perfect for a doll, (which most times I really feel they don't) then perhaps I would get one through them, but more than likely, Reyna would still be redoing it after a few months. (Lets face it, Shin's been with me since October, and is getting his second faceup already,)

 

Anne Boleyn?! DUDE, Anne Boleyn is my hero! (You did mean Henry VIII's second wife, right?) She's my favorite historical figure. she was just so incredibly brilliant and amazing. Henry did not deserve such an beautiful, strong, courageous woman.

Ok, sorry, on topic. xD

I'm getting my first girl very soon, my parents said I could order her in the first week of January. I'm getting her the company faceup because I just love it. I think it's all a matter of personal opinion.

For a boy I'm planing, though, I won't be buying a company faceup. I'm still debating on whether to do his faceup myself, or to send him off to an artist. (His character has some very distinct facial markings....)

 

I think artists are better because you can can get a unique faceup

 

Depends, I think.
Sometimes a company's face-up is just exactly what you want, and sometimes it's just one of hundreds, nearly looking the same face-ups.

I make my own face-ups (and even take commissions) and believe me...it's great if you can exactly get what you want ^_^

 

This!

Seriously though, LOOK at the owner pictures, search for them, study them! Some companies are definitely worth the price of a faceup... other companies, not at all.

I think another factor that might lead to an "outside" faceup artist creating something you might like more is that, for them, this is a fresh new challenge, so mentally they're probably a bit more excited about the project, where a company faceup artist has to sit there and paint the same face, face after face... that has to get boring, and that might reflect in their work.

 

"Better" is kind of a slippery slope to go down. Pretty subjective, isn't it, what is better or, what would be the opposite, I guess worse.
Personally I usually do my own faceups, that is one of the main reasons why I chose one doll over another, which face I would like to paint.
I have bought dolls with special faceups, and some of mine still have company faceups. They all have thier charms.
For me it is often like when I see a sweater in a knitting pattern book or magazine. I choose the sweater but nine times out of ten I am thinking what other color I would like it in or making it in a different yarn then the picture shows.

 

With so many people talking about aestetics, and to do what you feel is right for the character, etc. I would like to say something about the TIME FACTOR...

I am not a patient person. For me, the wait between order confirmation and arrival is excruciating (even when buying dolls in my own country)!!! I couldn't bear to wait a month for my new doll, only to turn around and send part of it out for customizing, and having to wait for that.

As for cost, most face-up artists seem to charge a price that is comparable to what the ABJD companies charge, so I don't really see that as being an issue.

I have been fortunate in that I haven't had any problems with either affordability, or taste when it comes to face-ups. Two of my dolls (Volks) that came with a factory/standard face-up turned our wonderfully. One came blank (no choice) and I had fun giving her a face-up myself. My Dollmore MDS boy has kinda purple-y lips, but I don't think I need to send him out to adjust it. And my DIM floating head I ordered with the factory face-up, just because I didn't know what I wanted for him. It seemed a convenient way to, at least, rule something out and say, "Nope - don't like that on him," or, "Love the eyebrows, hate the eyeliner..."

Getting back to your main question, go to all of the live events, shows and meet-ups you can, and ask people who did their doll's feces. Definitely ask people who's dolls you don't like, so you can rule out possibilities, too!

 

I'm a little late on the discussion here, but I was wondering the same thing at first. I saw the prices jump atleast 50 or 60 dollars for a faceup to be added to the doll, and sometimes I wondered if it'd be worth the extra money to have it already done. I'd been thinking back and forth for a long time before finally deciding that I would try doing my own faceup. After seeing tutorials and knowing what to buy to do it, I know I can atleast try to do it. I hear that faceups have to be redone now and then, so even if the company did one, it'd have to be replaced someday.. and if I can start over if I mess up? Well, what's the harm in trying? And hey, if I fail miserably, atleast I could send the face somewhere and have it done. Hehee! Just my thoughts on the subject n.n

 

I like my dolls to come with a face so I can play with them straightaway, but now I have pastels, pencils, acrylics and MSC I'm slowly getting through them all with new faces closer to what I would like for them. Some of my dolls are specific characters from my stories and others are just dolls I bought because I liked them The characters need certain faces to make them stand out as my characters and sometimes a standard face-up won't do that.

 

I have dolls with company done, marketplace, and self done face ups. I have to admit that while my own face ups are the ones I like the least, the one I had a marketplace artist do is my favorite. I think that it's possible to have great and bad ones done by anyone. The only really good thing about having someone do it from the marketplace is that they can send you photos and updates on how the face up is going and make changes if you dislike anything. The prices are somewhat comparable, but you can get a no-face up doll much faster from a company than one with a face up. However if your marketplace artist lives far away. You get extra shipping charges and wait time for the head/body part etc to come back to you. Good thing about shipping in your own country is that you can get it shipped at a much cheaper price than overseas.

 

I'm going with a company custom faceup because I feel it's a little more sure than sending it to someone. I've read too many horror stories about people stealing heads, I wouldn't want that to happen to my first doll.

Also, having a doll come without a face to me is odd. I'd at least always get the default face, unless I was buying just the head with an intention to paint it myself.

 

I've been looking at a lot of owner photos and tons of company photos trying to decide what I would do about this when I finally get a doll. In at least one instance, the default face-up was off-putting to me-Soom's Saiph. I like everything about her except for her eyebrows-she looks wussy and it's hard to tell if because of the shape of her brow you have to do them that way. It really turned me off the doll. I am still looking for all the owner pictures I can find of her to see custom face-ups and how the doll might possibly look otherwise. If I bought a Saiph, I'd get her blank and either send her out or do her myself. Other dolls, I'd be perfectly happy with the company face-up.

 

Personally when I buy a doll, I want a complete doll, ie one with a face, not just a blank mold so I'm a big fan of company face-ups. It's often the telling point between whether or not I buy a doll. I've also bought dolls already painted by the artist as, again, they're complete.

Sometimes I'll find myself altering or enhancing the factory face-up after a while generally because I feel the doll needs a little "Omph." I'm actually in the process of buying my first blank head right now & I know she'll drive me crazy until I get a proper face on her. But it's a mold I simply can't pass up & for a very nice price.

 

Hi lookingback, I'm a costumer too! My dolls are mostly 18th c costumed.

Anyway to your question - I've found it varies greatly not just on the company but also on the individual doll. The default for one doll can be totally different from the default for another within the same company.

There are many really great artists here on DoA who do natural face ups so if you opt not to get one you'll almost certainly find someone who can give your doll what you want.

 

I'm saving up for two Lati Caras, and they will be my only BJDs. At first I was planning on using Lati's premium make-up service to pick and chose what I wanted, but then I found the commissionable gallery on here and found someone whose work bowled me over. I'm now planning on buying my dolls blank and sending their heads off to be completed.

I think that BJDs are SO personal to the owner, much more than other dolls, and I want mine to be the most beautiful they can be. So I'm going for the artist who suits me best, and that isn't the company.

ETA - I have also checked out their feedback and they seem like a great business person. I would have to take that into consideration before even thinking of sending the heads off.

 

Im more of a DIY guy, so I plan on getting dolls w/o the face ups, but for my first doll I have to say I'm gong with a company face up. ( Really love the Eybrows on the Elfdoll ADEN )

 

I think that when your deciding on if you want the company's faceup or not, you have to consider if it would suit your doll according to if it fits the image you want them to have. If the company's faceup isn't what you had in mind, I think its best to send it off to an artist or even do it yourself. Even if your not experienced with faceups, theres alot of tutorials to look at, and I think experimenting is just half the fun
Personally, I think I'll be sending all my BJD's off to artists here on DoA since there are many talented artists out there that can do amazing faceups

 

I like the factory faceup done on my Yumi-tan, (Yukino-type Volks DD) but I have a friend who has done some lovely work on my littles. Maybe someday when I get money enough to get the Obitsu I want...I'll turn her loose on that. She's done awesome work on her own big girls...very kewl looking.

 

My first doll I commissioned a lot of different people for her. I has sour_dotz paint a tattoo on her back and blush her body and I had Shallowsleep do her faceup. I LOOOVVVE my June! She's so pretty and punky which is the way I wanted her. I bought anouther doll, a tiny from bambicrony(which they have some quality control issues with their colored resins and my Charity is a tan skinned) Anyway they ran out of the dress whe was supposed to come with and sent along a faceupped doll instead. She's pretty, but the faceup seems rushed. Her lips are a little uneven and One of her eyes has some silver paint gooped on a little heavier than the other eye.

My point is, I don't usually buy a faceupped doll for the aspect that I always have a different feel for the doll I want. My June is always seen as being very innocent and I made her rather punky and I find her more beautiful(also companies don't typically offer facial peircings) My Rosie(charity) just isint as beautiful as my June because she seemed so rushed, like I paid off my layaway found out they ran out of dresses and decided oh well...perhaps a faceup would suffice instead and then they painted her within an hour. It's possible that compainies do a very nice job with their faceups, but then they don't show you progress photos or ask if everything looks good or if you want to change an aspect of it(lips darker/lighter, less eyeshadow, more natural, less blushing ect) With a company they do many dolls a day and they dont have the time to change these things. It's sortve you get what they give you. Whether you like it or not. In my opinion you can find an artist who provides a very pretty faceup(maybe a tad more expensive that a companies) but they want you to be satisified since their reputation is on the line and they have more time to make it look as amazing as they can since they only take a few heads at a time.

I guess it's really personal preferance now