Are you tired of new companies every week?

I echo what many people are in saying, that the sheer amount of companies is very overwhelming! As a newbie, I was coming into this only familiar with Volks and Luts. After looking though a few, I pretty much just gave up on looking at companies for now. I'm certain which will be my first (a Volks doll) so I'm just working on getting her before I even think about another doll. I do however look at pictures of different dolls posted on this forum and am finding that to be a very enjoyable way to become familiar with all the different doll companies!

 

The doll making hobby is something that could bring in a lot of money, if you look at it. I'm really not surprised that after a while new companies started popping up out of the wazoo.

The hobby has grown a lot, and if people don't like what they see that's already out there, Volks, Luts, Soom, DT,DOD,DK,IH,etc. why settle for it? If you can make your own doll in the image that you want, why not? If you think your sculpts are good enough that others might want them as well, why not start your own BJD company and profit?

I am happy there are lots of new companies, because Volks, Luts, Soom, and a lot of the companies that already exist can't accommodate all of the characters that I want to create. Their styles just don't give the looks that I'm looking for. Somehow I doubt L/V/S/ or any other company besides Unidoll would come out with a doll like Ark, or something as masculine as the IpleHouse EID guys.

Those that have nice sculpts that people will buy will stay in the game, while those that have wonky issues, or lack of interest will fade out of the picture, just give it enough time.

The sculpts that are coming out could be plain or boring to you, or to a lot of people, but if there's a market for them they'll be here to stay. Sure, its hard to keep track of the new companies, but it's really not like you have to if you don't like the work they put out.

 

No, they didn't but they did have the humongous Mecha Angels and a lot of their female sculpts need time to grow on you, they aren't immensely popular either. I think Soom is a difficult one to compare because Soom's facial and body sculpts are detailed and refined and a lot of sculpts newer companies are presenting to us are... well... not.

I agree that until a company is established and has the funds to plough into new and interesting projects their dolls are just going to be variations on a theme...however, if they really do have something astonishing or ground-breaking in prototyping...why the heck haven't they employed some of those techniques in their standard dolls? I would assume that these extra special dolls would have more realistic limbs, jointing placement and a beautiful face...well, why not put these infinitely more attractive qualities into their standard dolls instead? If Soom was putting out dolls with tubular limbs, basic faces and dreadful jointing, it wouldn't have mattered how many monthly dolls they produced...people would be wondering why their regular dolls were so basic and the 'special' dolls were refined.

One phrase that comes to mind is "don't hide your light under a bushel"; if some of these newer companies are truly sitting on something amazing it would already be out there! Good dolls = more sales.

 

I love them!! A Viva to variety and to the new!!!!!

 

I don't think that a large number of different company is something bad. I think its good for everyone that want to spend different amount of money to get a doll. And different kind let an opportunity to get an unique doll. different face, different body.

 

I'm relatively new here and wasn't in this hobby during the time the first poster talks about, so I can't really talk about the change. But it was very intimidating at first to even start to look for dolls. There were so many companies and it was hard to keep track of things at first.

Agreeing with Faerie_Speak. More original names would have helped. (._.

Although it has been neat to see some of the "newer" companies grow more reputable and reliable.

 

It takes time, though, to work the kinks out of a process, and get a company turning out its best product. That wonderful concept piece may require several test castings before it is truly perfected - in the meanwhile, why not make a few 'more basic' dolls to iron the wrinkles out of the production line?

My concern is that more is being expected out of these fledgling enterprises than companies that are fully-established. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

Even those new companies that do have something unique to offer often have a tough time gaining acceptance. One person's 'beautiful and unique' being another person's 'fugly' and all that. I wish there were more dolls out there with the charm and personality of Tinybear's 'fat fairies' but I kind of gather not everyone agrees.

Didn't Soom have a tough time of it at first? Getting acceptance, despite the unique qualities of their product, until the Zodiac monthlies became so much the 'fotm'?

A big concern among legitimate designers at this point is probably being accused of 'copying' if their attempt at innovation happens to resemble someone else. I mean...there are only so many ways a ball-joint can work, right? Add on to that, all the really talented designers and engineers are probably being scooped up by more-mainstream sectors of industry and...yeah.
::shrugs::
Of course, I don't feel the need to keep track of every single mold and doll, so a plethora of new companies doesn't bother me at all.

 

I think in some cases it doesn't take that much to put out a "whole doll line all at once" where the "line" is basically one body with a choice of a few different heads. And for a company like Raurencio, where the dollie designer had already been working for Unidoll, it didn't take much effort for him to break away and start his own operation.

But I also think some of the new companies are building their lines slowly. For example, when Migidoll started she just released one or two heads (Ryu and possibly Miu). She had a couple sales of Ryu and then wasn't going to sell him any more, but because people started posting their Ryus on DoA she got so many inquiries that she not only re-released Ryu but put out a bunch more heads since. Sleetwealth only has one resin doll out right now (Briar). I would also think that the size of the line might depend on how many people are involved (just one or two, or a whole team) and whether for smaller operations the artist just wants to concentrate on dolls or has something else going on too, such as other art, school or a day job.

 

I think it wasn't until after their Mecha Angels became popular and the zodiac monthly dolls came out that they became one of the "big" companies. How many Soom Gems or Mini Gems do you see around DoA? They've never been all that popular... heck, when the Teenie Gems were first released there was even an accusation that they'd recast Volks' Yo-SD body (which it was apparent that they did not as soon as someone got a Teenie Gem and a Yo together). It seems that all a company needs to become one of the big boys is to have a few really popular dolls. There are companies that have been around for ages but never had a hit, and aren't really considered one of the main BJD companies even though they've been out there for ages. There are some new companies that have become popular very quickly because they offer something special (whether it's a doll or a pricing system or something else- Bobobie's low pricing and multicolour resin have gained a lot of fans in a pretty short time span). There are companies that are around for a while and never get much attention until they take a different approach and suddenly become well-known.

 

I don't get tired of it. For someone like me, it's a chance to get good dolls for less a lot of the time. Especially since I'm not all that fond of the bigger companies.

 

I didn't think anyone would be unhappy with new companies coming out haha. I just have to say that in the 6 or 7 years I've been into bjds, now is the most exciting time to be into the hobby. If there wasn't ever growing varity in the hobby, I probably would have dropped it

 

I'm not bothered since I don't know much about BJD's to begin with >w<. Altho when i do buy one it'll probably only from Volks or Luts since they're more familiar to me and I know they're outstanding in quality.
Although D= yes... i kind of wish that the male molds were a little more masculine. If a new company makes a moderately masculine mold, i'd deffinitely invest in that one first.

 

Actually... one thing I am noticing is some of the newer companies' sites are only compatible with Internet Explorer. I do find this a little annoying, and a little limiting, and a bit strange that a business site is not multi-compatible.

 

I'm not tired at all from new companies! I like to watch what they have for me, and most of the time I like the new ones most..I only do not like it that they have most of the time only a Japanese website,no english.

 

I agree--Soom's been around for awhile, and I actually like their regular 60cm line the best of all their dolls (really all of Soom's dolls have a pretty unique look IMO), but they didn't really seem to get talked about as much or become as popular until they started releasing the mecha angels and Zodiac dolls. Unidoll had a great website and lovely dolls to start with, but didn't get much attention till they started releasing their UniReal line. I wonder how much of the sense that there is a bombardment of new companies comes in part from older less known companies suddenly putting out new lines and becoming more popular--not that there haven't been a number of truly new companies coming out with dolls too, but it does seem like there have been a lot of new doll lines in general.

I was wondering the same thing. When I sat down to actually think about it AoD has been out for close to two years now, and Bobobie longer than that. I bought my Unidoll back when the company first opened their English site, and he's over two and a half years old now--time really seems to fly by. It's easy to forget that some companies aren't really so new anymore.

 

i agree. i think all the choices is what makes this exciting.

the more companys the better the chance you will find a doll thats perfect for you. (or the parts to make it)

 

With all of these new doll companies that are out or just beginning, I wish they would all do something new with their dolls' body shapes. What I'd still love to see is a real shapely girl with a slight pot belly and curves or a hot guy with love handles. (Refer to the "A fat Dollfie" thread)
Yes, I know there are Dollfie Dream girls and.... thank goodness for muscle bound iplehouse Akendo's.
But it's kind of sad that these companies don't think that a doll with "imperfections" wouldn't sell.... Or maybe their thinking of coming out with something soon.

Maybe Minimee could start this besides just sculpting heads that we draw.

 

Nobility doll has the option not only to design your own BJD head, but also your own body. It's just that it is expensive, but if people really want to they could see if a group order is possible and split the design and development costs Nobility doll asks for making your own BJD body.

I think that most new companies try to play safe and make what is generally sold well. If companies notice that things farther away from standard will sell too, they may be inclined to start making and selling that too.