Are Honest Artist BJD Reviews Possible?

OK, I getcha. All I'll say to that is - growth sometimes hurts, but growth is good, not just for the person who needs to grow, but the community around them too. Sometimes it's hard to be the voice that prompts the growth, but sometimes it's necessary. And it's also totally OK to let someone else do it if you can't.

 

I have been wanting to get into doll making — got some sculpting supplies already and will take a sculpting class in the fall provided it doesn’t fill up. The projects I want to do are mostly for me, but I have also kept an eye out on any information that involves selling dolls, just in case I ever want to do that.

So I have some thoughts on this topic...

There was a video I found where someone broke down the costs of absolutely everything that was involved with making a doll, and it was really eye opening to see the cost of everything, much of which I hadn’t considered. Even though (if I ever get to that point) I’d like to cast my own dolls instead of getting them casted elsewhere, a lot of the costs mentioned would be the same or similar enough. Not factoring in everything could easily mean no profit, or worse, a loss.

I wonder if the “my preorder isn’t going well” is in part due to this. Artist BJDs seem to be a fairly new trend in the west and unfortunately that means a lot of the current BJD artists have to guinea pig themselves with all of this. They are probably going through some very real pains of money loss and all the frustrations that come along with learning and managing it all. I would hope that these artists could receive some positive encouragement for what could be done better with another order rather than leave them feeling like they have to quit.

I think there is also an overwhelming amount of pressure for individuals to do absolutely everything on their own too. To me, the idea of making a doll, (granted, a totally new art medium for me) is daunting enough. Managing a business, and social media, and customer service on top of that? Yea, that's getting to the point where it's overwhelming to think about. Now doing all of that and trying to fix any issues with a doll you've already made? Yea, I don't know how anyone does this without any help. Without help (in whatever form, hired, a family member, etc) I would probably want to quit the sales aspect too. I don't think it's manipulative at all for someone to be voicing their frustrations about this -- it might not be "professional," but it's real.

Maybe if more artist BJDs are to succeed in the long run, they might do better operating as a small company, even if there's only one or two more people hired to help with things that don't directly have to do with making the dolls themselves.

I guess the last thing I want to touch on is the bit about the reviews. If feedback is truly constructive, I don’t see why that should hurt the artist if they can take it in good grace. And I don't see why a mob would go after people for voicing these things either. I hope it's not coming off as dismissing what was said in the original post -- this isn't a facet of the community that I have observed a whole lot yet. Instead of voicing that a dolls posing sucks or leaping to accusations that the pictures of the doll were misleading, maybe someone should ask the artist how they managed to achieve the poses in the picture. Is it a stringing issue? Was there wiring? If the resin quality is an issue and the artist isn't casting the dolls themselves, such a criticism would be on the caster, not the artist, no? I feel like things like this can make a big difference when it comes to critiquing something that someone worked hard to make.

 

I think it's over and can never come back. There's a few outliers of honest reviewers, but the overwhelming majority won't say anything.

Even before the "artist" BJD craze, it was a little tough. Most of us don't want to hurt each others feelings. Other people own the same doll you're reviewing and maybe you don't want that person to think less of their doll because of what you said about yours. Because so few of the Asian BJD companies could read your poor review, were hiding behind a company name, or would even come across your review, the people you were more likely to offend would have been other owners.

"Artist BJDs" are not so different than big name BJDs. All BJD are created by artists, of course! This term is usually used for artists who post their process and sales over social media. The difference now is that we can have a parasocial relationship with these doll makers. Every criticism can now be considered a personal attack and people do come to their rescue. This is another level on top of the hesitation of offending other owners.

We've seen here on the forums the mob that can occur from leaving poor feedback from a dealer who has a parasocial relationship with their buyers over facebook. This is no longer a business-customer relationship, but something much more strange. This, along with OT but related Mr. Choo, have added retaliation as a possibility to leaving bad feedback. I don't know that I won't be banned or publicly shamed for saying something is sub-par!

If you want to try to help make the change, it's not too late to write a full and honest review for your dolls here in the feedback subforums! These companies and artists aren't your best friend. They are a business and you are a customer. I do want to hear the worst thing you have to say about your doll before I decide to purchase one! Please tell me all your feelings about the doll, good and bad.

 

This is an issue that I see more often than I would like, even with people who already own dolls. Yes, when learning a new art medium, fun should come before the fundamentals. Making art that is bad from a technical standpoint is both normal and important to the learning process. However, I see plenty of aspiring doll sculptors who are not "artists" in any functional sense (i.e. they do not already sculpt/draw/paint/etc prior to pursuing doll sculpting) and want to begin selling their work immediately after making their first few prototypes. And I understand! Sculpting, even 3D sculpting, is an expensive endeavor and it is very exciting to create something tangible! That said, if you don't have a solid grasp on the fundamentals, your final product is going to inherently look wonky and is unlikely to sell well, even (especially) if you stylize it significantly. Potential buyers may not have the requisite knowledge to critique that beyond "it looks bad/lumpy," but you don't need to be a professional chef to be able to tell when you've been served an under-cooked meal.

(For any aspiring doll sculptors, I would highly recommend Anatomy for Sculptors by Uldis Zarins -- it's a textbook, so it's a bit pricey, but it is an incredible piece of reference material if you're looking to learn the fundamentals of your craft. I use it as a drawing reference.)

 

The first and second things I thought of when I saw this thread. Plus the Dollfair debacle years ago.

Everyone has made a lot of good points. I'll add that when sellers have poor reactions to negative reviews, they kind of shoot themselves in the foot. There are a lot potential customers who are silently watching and judging, and maybe deciding they don't want to deal with this if something goes wrong.

 

I completely agree with you @Thespian - people often start selling waaay too early! If a product isn't particularly expensive, that's not a big deal, but bjds, especially "artist bjds" are pricey! I see people selling their very first bjd designs and the work is almost always badly proportioned and badly engineered. I see dolls being proclaimed as "fresh and new" in design, when in fact those design choices have been made many times before, which doesn't make them bad choices, but does expose the artist (and sometimes their enthusiastic friends) as not being familiar enough with the playing field. Experience is something that can only come with time, but you can start building fundamentals right away.

On the other hand, I also see bigger companies coming out with the same dang problems, so sometimes the problem is less about the newness of the artist and more about transparency across the board. If a doll has to be sueded and wired to pose well, tell collectors! Stop posing dolls artfully to hide the not-so-attractive parts! Let collectors decide for themselves what they care about.

In regard to the other question, unless a "my preorder isn't going well and I'm upset" post is coming from a personal account and is meant as venting for friends, I consider it unprofessional and immature. It is hard to make a living as an artist (I know, I am one). But no one owes you a living (and who wants "pity purchases" anyway?). Your work must shine on its own and draw others to it. If it does not, you need to have a serious Q&A with yourself about why - is it a current trends issue? If so, waiting may help or finding a more fitting audience. Is it a skill issue? Experience and good advice may help. Admitting you are overwhelmed and need patience is very human and natural, but don't blame your failure as a seller on your customers.

Anyway, in regard to honest reviews, yes, I wish there were more of them and that they were easier to find. I, for one, am always happy to answer questions about any dolls I own (which is not a lot, but I am VERY particular so at least it will be a detailed reply! ).

 

I agree with what most everyone has said about the giving honest reviews aspect - yes it's more awkward when you know the creator will probably read it but it's still best to be constructive and honest, there are not that many people who give reviews and often very few of each "artist" doll sold, etc. And the only real difference between an "artist" doll and a "company" doll is generally whether you're speaking to the artist on social media.

I will say, a lot of these small preorders are done before the artist has actually had their doll cast professionally, and in those cases they probably aren't intentionally being misleading about the posing because it is very likely that the finished cast doll is a lot more unruly than the prototype. 3D printed dolls are either lighter or much grippier than cast resin, traditionally finished dolls have a nice grippy primer coat as well, and casters sometimes need to make modifications to the internals in order to make the molds (and new artists are likely to not know about what shapes they need to avoid for moldmaking).

 

I think there are a lot of great points already made. I agree with the delineation of product vs. service feedback, and in the case of the former, I find that reviewing what the posability and limitations are is helpful without labels of good vs. bad.

Stringing aside, everyone also has a different definition of what good or bad posing is. I know that I am not very picky, and because a lot of my collection are from the early-mid 2000s when doll engineering was less advanced, my frame of reference is going to be different than those who joined the hobby later. I remember saying somewhere that I think my Resinsoul 60cm body is a solid poser, but immediately after, another person chimed in to say it's not . We just have different grading rubrics

 

Maybe this is obvious/goes without saying but the studio size is a lot less important to me than the language the artist speaks and the circles they run in I buy from almost exclusively tiny (single sculptor) studios these days, but they're all Chinese so there's a degree of separation there and I feel less pressure when it comes to reviewing them openly. They aren't using the same social media and will probably never see my criticisms.

The fact that a lot of western dollmakers are also mini-celebrities in the community and have social media accounts that double as personal accounts makes them sort of... uncomfortably parasocial in my experience.

 

@InkNLionsTeeth There's the opposite problem with "company" dolls. I've seen video reviews where the owner bought a doll (often these are 2nd hand) and complained about posing when the doll obviously just needed a change of strings. Then they sell the doll.
Because so many people are terrified of restringing, I suspect that many choose to wire because you can do it without taking the doll apart.
But I think if you review a doll you should at least get the stirnging proper, especially when it's not the company's fault if the doll is floppy.

 

Exactly!