Are you satisfied? [Poll]

I hear you on some of your options, but I do wish their were people who would take wigs I buy and give them a unique style or even a better cut. I buy wigs that fit and right color, but they have weird bangs, or they are way to long or worse to thick. I have tried cutiing wigs and regretted it. So I end up spending money on wigs in hopes they will work for at least a doll. I think once I have all my dolls here the extra wigs and eyes will go out so I don't have to dare think that one of my dolls could make a wig work.

 

As long as you have likes and follows - you doing something right!

But no. I have finally been able to turn off my impulse buying senses and started getting bodies and still nothing is going as I hoped. I still like the dolls themselves though

 

Overall, I am very happy. I customize my own dolls so I feel over the years I have had enough practice styling my dolls to my taste/standard. However, I feel my problem is that whenever I learn something new, make progress in my painting skills, or just want to push myself to a new limit.... then I feel compelled to re-invent my dolls over and over again.

Basically I am happy, but never satisfied because I always feel I can make them better at some point. Just now, I've learned to take my time so I'm not overwhelmed and enjoy them as they are (imperfections aside) for a little bit.

 

I went for "a few tweaks," mostly because real life and my flitting about between projects keeps getting in the way of finishing them. But I do love my dolls (even in their unfinished states) and wouldn't trade in the vast majority (one might get reshelled...) even if I still need to style wigs, sew up clothes, and do/redo blushing.

 

For the most part, my dolls are what I want them to be. I'm pretty picky about finding clothes, shoes and wigs that look the way I envision, even if it means making clothes myself. But some wigs are just SO hard to find what I want and look right, usually it's because they're just so damn thick! Putting some of these wigs in ponytail is thicker than my own hair in a ponytail and I don't like it, especially on shorter wigs that just never have the style I want because they're just too fluffy even with styling wax or gel. I actually ended up thinning Cooper's wig drastically and it's still too thick even though I can't cut out more without him having bald spots. I don't know how else to get the hair right on several of my dolls.

 

My current crew.... kind of split 50/50 on whether I am satisfied or not with them.

Savio - absolute mess. I don't enjoy or have skill in sewing for his size and it frustrates me. I don't want to sell him because I won him in a costume contest I am proud of, so he is like my trophy but he's not a very good looking trophy.

Bertie - perfectly satisfied. It sure is nice when fullsets have almost everything I need (this is an absolute rarity for me). I only tweaked his face up a little and gave him a new wig because I prefer mohair over synthetics.

Percival - Needs work. His wig is massively difficult to style and keep in style. I also gave him a tummy so I need to redo sewing his clothes for those measurements. I am happy with his face-up.

Parzival - in the middle of an extremely long project journal because I want a very very very particular style and I will make it or die trying with my own persnickety behavior....

Persephone - not happy. has been sitting around in parts because I want to re-dye her. Needs new clothes.

Saif - finished but a little boring. he is my first doll but I have moved on from his aesthetic but also don't know what I would tweak it to.

Niccolo - finished, satisfied.

Az - finished, satisfied.

Valentina - in the middle of getting a new face-up. Not sure if I am satisfied yet.

Galaxy - pretty much done. I'm satisfied. Might get them some more dresses.

Kasiel - I finally made him some leather pants. He is officially done and I am satisfied.

Kanoa - pretty much done. I like how she looks.

Nick - pretty much done. I'm especially proud of his wig

Valteri - he finally has a face-up but haven't decided on his wig and eyes. A floating head because I am persnickety about bodies and wanting a transparent body makes things harder.

 

So this one is a weird one for me.

I'll start off by saying that I am happy with the styling I've done so far for my dolls, in general. Like what I've ended up creating makes me happy, so I'm not unfulfilled in any sense of it in that way.

But what has been getting to me recently, is that so far, when I've purchased a doll I have immediately started making plans for the character (I've got a big ongoing list of dolls and reference pictures and links to great items for my vision).... but when they arrive, all except one so far has become a *totally* different character and style than I planned. And in that way, they're basically nothing like I originally envisioned them!

So I dunno, it's a little frustrating in a way, because I *really* enjoy planning things, and I want to start the moment I decide on a doll. But that behavior has already caused me to spend extra on items I decided really didn't work out once the doll arrived! It kind of also makes me realize that I can't buy sculpts based on what I am inclined to plan out for them as I scope them out online.. I am learning that I just have to love the sculpt itself, then wait to find out what they are going to be once they arrive.

Guess I'll just have to learn to be more patient. I've got a couple on order now that I'm reeeeeeeally trying to not get my heart set on dressing in any particular way. But I still woke up early this morning and found myself visioning for them while I was laying in bed

lol.

 

I am a cheapskate when it comes to purchasing a lot of BJD related items; mostly clothes and wigs. When I first got into these dolls I did purchase wigs, at least three for each doll I owned, but later as I got into making wigs, I lost the desire to purchase any. I never purchased BJD clothes, due to multiple reasons, but I suck big time at sewing (yet I still try!). I love painting my own dolls, and I like modifying some of them (additive and subtractive facial mods, mostly) but I'm lazy. So, I guess my dolls look like what they look like for a while, then I get critical of the work, and think I could improve the way they look and change them if I'm in the mood.

I have never felt the desire to send them to someone else however, I have always felt the need to change them myself. That might be the reason why I am satisfied with them for a (short) while, and then want to change them again. However, I've always (strongly) believed that just like art, taste, beauty, aesthetics, all those things are just opinions. I could send my dolls to be customized by others, but that doesn't mean I'll like the work or feel satisfied forever either. I might as well just keep trying to find the right look for my own dolls, even if I keep failing, I'll just keep trying. I rather not waste a ton of money on something that I'll might not end up loving. My answer to this is, I feel satisfied for a while with the way my dolls look, but then I feel like I could improve -- I got into these dolls to customize them myself, although I never thought I would want to keep doing it over and over. But then again, I'm a big old weirdo. (:

 

So far it looks like I’m the only one who desperately needs a dolly stylist. I sure do! Fullsets are made for collectors like me. I think it’s from not playing with dolls as a child. No experience. Not that I’m any good at putting together my look either. I truly admire the skills it takes to make a doll come together. I see a lot of it here and just marvel.

 

As of right now, yes I am completely satisfied with my dolls. I went through the tweaking stage for a very long time. Constantly switching eyes, clothes, shoes. If I couldn't find a specific piece of clothing, I made it. I had to do several mods to my dolls to get them to be 'my characters'.
It started with ear mods, since then I've sculpted extra eyes, added tails (not magnetic), subtractive eye mod, and dyeing resin.
I've had to rehome a fair share of dolls in the process as well. Problems like not bonding, not the right size/shape face, and just plain stubbornness from me, has made it a longer process than it needed to be.
It's been a lot of work, but to see my characters come to life is euphoric as a creator.
Do I adore my dolls now? Absolutely!
Are there things I could still change or tweak some details, absolutely!
That's the best part for me. No limit.

 

I'm really torn between "They're.... okay" and "Sharpie faceup, wrap dress, and voila!"

My first three dolls didn't come with faceups, and it turns out that I have neither the skills to do good faceups nor the will/money to send them out. The second started off with a faceup that wasn't that far off from a Sharpie The next four dolls were impulse buys, and I wouldn't mind impuls-ing some of them away again, but my daughter would probably kill me. They're just sort of hanging around until she gets older. The last doll, in my user pic, is probably the one I'm most happy with. All the girls with more than one outfit do, in fact, have wrap dresses

So, um, their faces are okay, I'm mostly happy with the eyes and wigs, and while I would like some more/different clothes, for the most part I'm happy with the wardrobes I have (three of them have worn the same outfit for at least 2 years ).

 

I'm relatively happy with how my dolls look, but I'm the kind of person who's never completely satisfied with my own work I make the face up and wig myself, but I struggle to find a final look for each of my doll

 

Company wait times, layaway time, etc. has always left me with plenty of time on my hands to daydream about my incoming dolls. To pass that time I would work hard on developing their characters and come up with appropriate styles for them, order wigs, eyes, collect face-up inspiration photos, etc. By the time they arrive, it’s more a process of putting them all together because everything is preplanned and on hand. Even fabrics are at the ready to begin making their wardrobes. Only once did a doll “jump character” on me which necessitated a shift in plans, but fortunately I already had the supplies to quickly facilitate that change. This is why I’m completely satisfied with my collection.

 

I'm a original faceup and accessories con so I am satisfied with my dolls styling except my volks Alice I want to get her her original accessories to pair with my lorina. That would be so cute

 

I went for 'a few tweaks' too. Many of my dolls are unfinished as I like to do faceups, wigs, blush and tattoos. But if I can do quite quickly faceups or wigs, I'm soooo lazy when it comes to blush and tattoos! I think 20% of my dolls are finished (which means only 8-10 currently are).
Aside that, I really love my dolls and I'm happy with their styling. I also love nice dolls clothes and I have very specific taste in clothes, so nearly all my dolls have outfits I like a lot.

 

I know it probably isn't healthy, but I always compare my dolls to other people's beautiful dolls and it is hard to be satisfied. I just want to make them as beautiful as possible.

 

OOh what a good question.

Personally for me I chose envy and not what I hoped for. While his face up is beautiful I'm not satisfied with his clothes atm but the first top I made will not fit over his shoulders. It's a learning curve.

The envy applies to humans who can create such intricate clothes and wigs. Such small and neat stitching feels beyond me at present. Also face ups. There are some truly detailed and delicate ones out there that may my shaky hands quake in fear.

 

Most of the tweaks are to do with ability to get hold of the correct accessories, like shoes. I had a large(ish) selection of boots that worked well, and looked the part, but having spent a small fortune of them and now finding, some years later, that the faux-leather surface is crumbing and flaking away, so those expensive shoes are ruined and were, essentially, a waste of money, I'm reluctant to replace them with more overpriced faux leather that won't last. Finding the right styles in actual leather is not proving easy.

Also, wigs in the right styles are sometimes hard to come by - updo styles with no fringe are hard to find with realistic looking hairlines. Many of them look like wigs rather than actual hair so.

EDITED TO ADD: One of my girls who I was satisfied with now needs her head de-zombified. Rather than mellowing to a nice soft yellowing, it's taken on a greyish green shade. Not what I want for a pretty little nine-year-old girl.

Teddy