Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder...

I think there are truly ugly sculpts or customization work out there. Do I have to point them out and laugh? Of course not. But do I have to think that they're beautiful in their own way just to be politically correct? Of course not.

It's kinda like with babies. There are some ugly babies out there. While most normal people wouldn't point this out, we almost have a natural instinct not to call or even think that an ugly baby is ugly, because it's bred into us that its not nice to think of a baby as ugly.

I think it's the same way in our hobby as well.

 

I don't think it really matters if other people's opinion is that it's "ugly" or "beautiful" as long as you enjoy it. I wouldn't get a doll everyone else thought was the most beautiful doll ever if I didn't love it as well. Same for the opposite, I wouldn't be like "I really love this doll but everyone else will think it's ugly, so I won't get it".

 

I think the majority of sculpts are 'beautiful' from even just a craftsman stand point. It's amazing how lifelike most of our dollies are.

I also think certain molds from certain companies are down right ugly. If I had to look at it every day, I wouldn't be thrilled.

I also think the fact that this hobby leaves so much room for customization, it also leaves room for some dolly-ugliness out there. BUT, just as beauty is individual, so is ugly...

I can't imagine someone out there thinks that every doll is pretty because it's an ABJD. But I also think most people will agree that if that doll (ugly or not) makes someone happy, and is the realization of someone's concept, and they have put the time into making that dolly their own... then THAT is indeed a beautiful thing.

Happiness is always a pretty thing.

 

I'll be honest without naming any specific molds. There are certain molds that while I am interested in, I don't have any interest in owning. They simply are not for me. There are certain brands/molds I absolutely do not see why anyone would like them. I just don't think they are attractive in any sort of way. There's even certain molds by companies that I own dolls from that I do not enjoy. It isn't limited to either small or big companies or new or old molds. The thing is, I would never say "Oh that mold is ugly!" because there's no need to. I don't see how it does any good to go around badmouthing molds just because I don't care for them. All it does is stir up internet dramaz, and I have no interest in that. If I don't like a certain mold, I just wont own it or look at pictures of it. If I were at a meetup and I felt the need to say something about someone's doll, I would say something nice. I might compliment the faceup or the wig, or even just that I can tell the owner loves it very much. I don't see it as kissing up or being a pacifist, just as trying to be polite to people who probably love their doll very much.

A doll doesn't really have to be "beautiful" either for me to enjoy it. There's some that I would not call beautiful, but I still enjoy the mold very much for one reason or another. Actually, I don't think we, as a group of hobbyists, are even required to think all BJD's are beautiful in their own way. Some molds are just down right unattractive to me. The thing is though, the molds I think are utterly ugly, you might think is the most beautiful mold ever made. Or you may have come up with a creative way that has transformed it into something beautiful. To that degree, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

The beauty of this hobby is it broad enough that there is something in it for everyone.
There's people that enjoy the hobby because they get to be creative and do faceups or make clothing or do mods. There's people that only buy fullsets. Some people's dolls are cabinet babies, while other dolls go everywhere with their owners. I really don't see anything wrong with any of it. These dolls were made to be enjoyed by their owners, so we should enjoy them in our own ways. I don't have to think someone's doll is beautiful. As long as you enjoy it, that should be good enough.

 

I tend to prefer a more realistic aesthetic, so there are whole companies whose dolls don't appeal to me. And there's one in particular (not going to mention the name), whose dolls I think look absolutely freakish. If someone offered me one of those for free, I would probably politely decline, because it would creep me out to have one in the house.

BUT-quite often, I see more anime style dolls (and even the freaky dolls I don't want) presented in a pleasing and novel way. I can acknowledge the skill, vision and effort without caring for the particular doll.

 

I don't know. I think there's a lot of dolls that aren't so aesthetically pleasing. I think a lot of them are actually ugly and that no one could really find them "beautiful". However, I think people like these molds for different reasons. Maybe they fit an "ugly" character of theirs. Maybe they suit a personality that they want in a doll.

 

I like "ugly" things. Though that word is relative as is the concept of beauty.

Some people like dolls of certain sculpts from a certain popular company...one's that are considered to be very beautiful, but others will see something akward in them, because nothing is perfect.

We live in an ugly-beautiful world. Sometimes that line gets blurred, especially when people work so hard to attain perfection, when really, there isn't such a thing.

I've gone over this concept countless times as it applies to my life and issues I'm struggling with...but...

In short...I've realized that some things I find asthetically pleasing make
other people uncomfortable at times. I can't help but enjoy it. I see how the
things I do could be seen as ugly...or sick. The drawings I make, my dolls.
I think they are kind of odd sometimes too, but that's what I like. It makes
me unique, it makes other people unique in how they react. That's art. :'D
Art is "beauty".

Though, really, I think my dolls are beautiful. More beautiful than anything I
would have come up with. But, I've seen some people give the type of
dolls I like the eyeball...whereas I sometimes cringe at CP and Volks dolls...

Then I look at the Volks/CP doll and am like, wait...what made me uncomfortable is
interesting.

But I'll always be more fond of the squinty eyed pouty dolls with a scowl
and a glare in their eyes. ;'d

 

Great and interesting to read all these posts!
I most certainly don't find all dolls beautiful or appealing, and it doesn't just come down to poor quality of the mold or bad craftmanship in a faceup. Like literature, wine, art, all these dolls appeal to different persons, for different reasons. They fulfil a certain need, correspond to a certain stage in one's "dolly life" or just appeal to some unexplainable notion that I cannot even begin to explain. When I started reading I was thrilled with a whole other type of literature than today. The same with dolls. Still, some books that I read when I was a child continue to have the same impact on me today. There is a place for all dolls, as long as they evoke emotions and interest in somebody. And there should always be respect for all sorts of doll love, not only the conventional or mainstream!

 

I'm convinced that every doll has the potential to be beautiful. It's the creativity they inspire...the way they touch someone's soul...that makes them things of beauty. I am especially impressed when someone takes a doll I don't personally care for and creates something that absolutely takes my breath away! The artistry to do that can be as elaborate as a vision wrought by a fantastic faceup artist, amazingly costumed, then expertly photographed...or it can be the most simplistic of creative approaches done by a new and inexperienced owner. The fact is a sculpt I might not care for at all can somehow bring out the creativity of someone when they touch it...and they can then turn it into something completely amazing that I find beautiful.

A couple of examples spring to mind. First, let me say that I have always been attracted to tall, slim men exclusively (a fact that my hubby was very happy about!) I have always, from my teen years long ago, pretty much found the muscle-bound guys a real turn-off. So naturally when I saw the Iplehouse EIDs, I was, like, yikes! But then I saw this stunner of JinCIncy's and fell absolutely in love with the guy: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333999

And I don't much care for Dollzone dolls at all...they just don't suit my favored aesthetic (sorry to those who adore them...I know there are legends of you out there.) But the extremely simple, almost naieve artistic approach of orphansparrow's Roshald completely blew me away! She looks so amazingly etherial and antique: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272957

And one of my all time favorites in the "dolls I could never possibly find beautiful" catagory that made my jaw drop with mad love for him...of all things, a dead guy!!! Buff's dead Gary. http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272110

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, it's true...but sometimes the magic happens and they can sure make others love them too! So in that, I truly believe that all ABJD sculpts have beauty in them.

 

I think this was well said and summed it up nicely.

 

I totally agree with your Grandmother - we need all kinds of people and all kinds of dolls to make the world an interesting place.

 

JinCIncy's doll is gorgeous. He looks like somebody I know. It's amazing how much these dolls can resemble real people.

Anyway, I think if the doll is what you want, it's beautiful. I have my preferences as to what I like, aesthetically, but I'm a weirdo, so you're probably not going to agree with me all the time. For example, I think Alan Rickman as Snape from Harry Potter is hot, but most people just think he's a greasy old teacher. I like dolls with a horns, pointy ears, or an unusual shape. Those may not be the things you like.

 

I agree owning dollies means being gentle and respectful to others no matter what you think about them or their doll. We are individuals that means that we have different ideas of what beautiful is. Example for me would be I don't really care for Unidoll dolls they r personally to chiseled for my tastes but that doesn't mean that someone couldn't get a unidoll sculpt and make it gorgeous by being creative or just because they care about it makes is wonderful. So Its all what u like and how respectful one can be to others whom might be different from u. And we might be able to learn from each other.

 

Ditto. Probably there is always someone, somewhere who will like something that is poorly sculpted or horribly damaged, but the fact that the majority of individuals will have a clear set of standards beneath which they won't appreciate the doll, it indicates that the beholder who finds it beautiful is the exception that proves the rule

 

But emotional attatchment is a huge part of the reason people find or think of certain things, like a damaged doll, worn out stuff toy, etc., especially beautiful, even if it goes against the norm or the media's ideas of beauty.

As an example, you might see a doll with a weird, heavy, or slightly uneven face-up, but the doll's owner sees it with love and pride since it was the first face-up they ever pulled off.

I still say the same thing as before, just becuase I don't find it beautiful doesn't mean it's ugly, it's just not my taste.

 

yes, i do. but what about the dolls that this site deeps "unworthy" of DOA's attention? by belonging to a site that sees itself as higher than those dolls, are you not vicariously calling them ugly?

 

hrmm...yeah, it is! My sister doesn't really like Reika's new wig cause it doesn't seem right to her, but I adore it. So I guess it is just a mater of opinion. I see dolls that are beautiful, but not the kind I'd want in my collection, if that makes sense, I look for something in them, that 'calling out to you' thing.

 

Truthfully, I'm of the opinion that while every BJD is probably beautiful to someone, some are still unappealing to me, and a few I find flat-out ugly. It's all human opinion, and I'm fairly certain the majority of us just have a few sculpts that we go to the Gallery and avoid the threads of. (For example, I stay far, far away from threads feature a certain Notdoll vampire, because I don't find her sculpt appealing at all and feel rude looking at photos of her trying to find something pretty but going "Nope. That's... uh." then clicking the back button.)

It's great to have the optimistic view that everything is beautiful, and I really admire that some people can see and point out the beauty in things I, or even they themselves, find ugly. Personally speaking, I can't do that.

 

Unfortunately as humans, we tend to rate things on appearance, and I'm sure everyone has had that "man is that doll ugly!" moment. But, the difference is this: if they own said doll and we respect their opinion, than that's what matters. That person is the doll's owner and sees the doll on a daily basis so that opinion is most important. I think a lot of people get stuck on the "if that was my doll, I'd..." instead of realizing the doll has been customized or picked out by a person because they love it. It is our differing opinions which make us special, so I would agree and say yes, beauty is definately in the eye of the beholder

I had a friend who was teased over a faceup by a few people they knew. The owner thought the faceup was great until then. After that, the doll was wiped and sold....no one wins from hurtful comments, so be careful what you say....