Are faceplate system dolls less personal?

Whether actual faceplate system or open-eyed/sleeping head combinations, I don't do it myself but I wouldn't see it as less personal. My concern would mainly be getting the faceups as close as possible, and that's just plain beyond my skill level
I don't find I need that much versatility anyways.

I have heads that share bodies, and that took a mental adjustment, but it certainly does save on money and space. I'm sure most people who use faceplate type dolls etc are used to it and bond with them/enjoy them just fine.

 

I have a LTF and her original faceplate is Ante Elf.
Recently purchased a Leah faceplate and it did feel strange to take off her old "face" and replace it.
The Leah faceplate makes her a totally, IMO, different personality.
Felt like I robbed the Ante....... but that's just me.
I'm looking for another body now so they won't have to share.

Think that switching faceplates is a very good option, specially the sleeping face plates.
Also there is the fact you don't have to have a lot of room for dolls and can still enjoy all the wonderful faces.
Guess it is up to each individual.

 

I don't find them less personal, but I admit I'm not crazy about them. You have to hold onto the painted area of the face (which just means more wear sooner on the faceup you paid for) and I find the line unsightly.

Raven

 

I don't think it really seems less personal but I also tend to attach a character to the doll so while one expression may generally express the MOST of the time, no character I have is going to always have ONE mood. Even if I had the same face but with differences in the face-up I could even put to claim the idea of different make-up for the character... I mean I wear my make-up differently and I also have the days where I don't wear any. I think part of what will inspire your feelings for face-plates may be your creative intentions for the doll as well. If I was to shoot photostories it could be extremely beneficial to have a facial range by using a face-plate system. I have floating heads in a box and honestly I adore them as much as the head on my doll. I find head swapping easy peazy either way so faceplate or not I quite often swap things around anyway.

 

One thing I'm thinking of getting for my Dollfie Dream is an Aoi sculpt head. Yumiko is a Yukino type, and she has this face:



Aoi looks like this:


...so basically she's an angry or determined or "game face" version of Yukino. I've done morphs of the two sculpts and really there's not much major difference between the two other than expression. To do a head swap on a Dollfie Dream requires having a hair dryer on hand to heat up the vinyl a little to allow for the one head to be slipped off and the other to be slipped on...it's a bit more involved than a faceplate swap or a head swap on an ABJD. But I can see where it could be quite useful. Especially considering I do photomanga.

Then again, Yumiko has surprised me -- a lot -- with her versatility. For example, she can do annoyed and snarky under the right context:



Yes, Yumi can do tsundere. When she feels like it. ^_^

 

not at all!

also, I don't have my sleeping faces "match" the awake ones. they are different personalities and get different names.

Dolls with faceplates are awesome.

 

I loooooooove faceplate dolls. Not only is it easier for me to paint and glue in those pesky eyelashes, but you can also have easier storage space, multiple characters, or different expressions of one character.

 

It's funny, I think the faceplates would almost make them more personal, since they're able to have multiple expressions instead of being frozen in the same one all the time.

I've never thought of that, but that's so true!

 

I actually kind of do find them less personal, although I'm probably one of a vast minority. It just seems to me like a full head is a bit more... hmm, whole? than a faceplate, like it's slightly more complete than a faceplate and comes a bit closer to being the character than just a faceplate.

That said, I can see the benefits of such a system versus heads. Faceplates are definitely more convenient.

 

I don't find it less personal at all. I have a puki who has many different faceplates and different sculpts, but I still consider her one character. I actually find it a bit more personal because it suits how I've always imagined her character. I also have an Unoa who will end up having many different faceplates. It is my goal to get one of every faceplate, amd they will all be the same character. Once again I find it very personal. I can change her face to suit what I envision her to be.

 

I have a puki with a sleeping faceplate and it's faceup matches perfectly, but I never use it, mostly because I find the switching to be a pain and I've yet to have a need or whim to put it on her. I might though if I keep getting distracted with work. Just "put her to bed" or something.

My SD has a dreaming head available and I'm dying to acquire one. I don't think that it would feel less personal to me, mostly because she's a character doll (unlike the puki), so she's in my head with many expressions, not just the one, and the dreaming face would be great fun to match with a more relaxed expression, which with the right head angle, could be seductive. Her husband doll has a sleeping head and we (Rosslyn and I) like to swap heads during photoshoots for dramatic effect.

Perhaps the problem is in the faceup matching? People have a relaxed face when sleeping, not the same kind of intensity you would find in an awake dolls faceup, usually (depends on the awake faceup and expression), so the eyebrows would be at different angles, at the least.

So no, I think the different heads, if swapped right, would not be less personal, they'd be more versatile. But I think I'll reserve my opinion for swapping expressions on my puki, as she's a doll first and a character after, so her "soul" and personality hinges more on her sculpt, whereas my SD's "soul" hinges on the character, not the doll.

 

I have many faceplate-style dolls, and it never once crossed my mind they were any less 'personal'. What they are, is far easier to work with: painting faceups (you can set 'em down and they don't roll, w00t!) and especially setting eyes, as it is very easy to access the back of the eyes for fine-tuning adjustments.

I also prefer the aesthetics of a faceplate, as -to my eye, imho- the seams run in a more-attractive line and on many dolls are virtually invisible: I've always found the horizontal 'headcap' seam on whole-hed dolls to be a bit 'Frankenstein', lol. If I ever make a 'punk' dolleh with a Mohawk, I will almost certainly choose a faceplated doll to not have to deal with that horizontal seam.

I only have one doll with more-than one faceplate, though - my puki pukiSha, whose 'sleepy' face is -tell the truth- my favorite! I also use it to convey the "^^-haz a happeh!" emotion. Because I paint my own dolls, if anything, multiple faces make it more personal, due to the intense care I take to ensure the different face remains 'the same' character.

 

I don't see them as less personal -- it's just a different means of construction, but the effect is the same. The head is held on the body, and before faceplates there have been dolls with optional sleeping heads. Faceplates make it easier to change their expression if you want, but you don't have to use the extra plates if you don't want to.

I have a hard time seeing optional heads as being the same character -- like each head is someone different (that's just my issue though). But, I have less of a hard time seeing multiple faceplates belonging to the same character--perhaps due to their mask like quality rather than being entire heads (and for me the head in it's entirety is where the character 'lives', so no complete head just a plate doesn't equal a different character to me). I don't own a doll that uses faceuplates, but I certainly wouldn't be against it.

 

I love different faceplates!!! Like the Unoa Chibi Faceplates!!! So ONE doll can have different expressions!!! I love that, so she becomes more "real" to me!!!

 

It seems the OP has abandoned her discussion ... it's always such a pity when that happens...

But as for the question at hand, I must say I fully agree with those who have said that a face plate system has much more potential to add to the depth of a doll's character than detract from it — depending a bit how it is used, of course.

Having different face plates, each with different characters, sharing one body, is no different from having different heads share the same body.

However, having one doll being able to show a variety of expressions by switching face plates — such as QQ's Unoa Sist (warning, nudity) — can only deepen the character.

 

I like having multiple faces for the same doll, to show changes in expression. Sprocket is always sprocket whether she has her open-eyed face or her winking face on, and I'm hoping to get a sleeping face for her someday too. Right now only she and my new Withdoll boy have alternate expressions (and the Withdoll one was difficult to get the faceups matching, but turned out fine), but I always keep an eye out for affordable sleeping heads for my Minifees. I modded one of the ones I got and swapped away the other, but kind of wish I hadn't, at this point.

I have several body-sharers right now, and often have heads in for faceups, so I have a "head cabinet" all the time. It doesn't seem odd to me to have them in there, though I know some non-doll people do find it a bit strange.

For doing faceups I actually prefer heads, they're easier to hold and spray!

 

I love faceplates. They are easy to ship, easy to store, easy to change. I wish more companies will do face plates rather than heads.

 

I love having faceplates with different expressions for one character. Tons of fun.

As for the faceup wear thing, I just hold it by the ears.

My only issue is when the magnets or notches aren't secure and the faceplate falls off. DX

 

Quite the opposite! Having more than one expression adds that much more life to a doll. I don't have many option-faces at all (just sleeping/dreaming heads that come with a sales event), but I do like to use them in photostories-- the doll can go to sleep, wake up, smile more, smile less, look stoned or sleepy or horny, etc. A whole faceplate system, like the Unoa girls, would enable you to make a whole comic-strip where your doll never has the same expression twice, if you want.

My Limhwa Mano has no unsightly lines.... Maybe it's only some certain doll brands/styles that have visible faceplate-lines. (Or maybe it's his shaggy hair, which covers the area behind his ears perfectly well, so you don't see the edge.)

Wearing a single cotton glove when removing a faceplate, or gripping by the ears, are both dandy ways to prevent faceup-wear. The only difficulty I encountered was during painting-- I found it was harder to paint something you have to hold the edges of. So I painted his faceplate while it was lying flat on the tabletop. ^^

Now that there is truth-- I once accidentally elbowed my Mano's face clear across the room with a single accidental gesture. It flew out right from underneath his hair. ;;^^ (Strong magnets: use 'em!)

 

Also I feel the faceplate system is awesome idea! I have both of dolls, with changeable faceplates and heads, and it´s so much easier to store the faceplates safely. I always feel a bit worried for the heads to roll over and get the face-up damaged, and they take more effort to put on doll, more space to store, and the faceplates are also easier to paint than the heads in my opinion.

I also loved the idea from very beginning, that you can purchase only one or two dolls and several faceplates and create many characters even still you might not have room for many dolls or money to buy so many individual dolls. I know many people want their dolls to be "whole" all the time, but this fits for me. Some of my dolls have sleepy faceplate or head, and some of the doll characters are only the faceplate with their own eyes, hair and clothing, just lending the body when it´s their time. I will never "play" with all the dolls at same time and don´t display them on shelf so it´s the best system ever for my doll hobby! (And to mention, still though I have several changeable parts, I have about 15 whole dolls...)