BJD Struggles

I always struggle with wigs. By the time I get them on and in position, they look like tumbleweeds.

 

Lol yes! I have a Zuzu26Delf Persi that i struggled to keep wigs on her little head. She an anthro cat. She doesn't have a lot of forehead space so the wigs I had would slid right off. I totally didn't anticipate this issue after seeing everyone else's Persis in their cute wigs. I ended up stuffing tissue under the wig to artificially add height to the head and that did the trick.

 

I struggle so hard with eyes! Getting them in the right position, getting them to stay in... With my last doll, I was taking new arrival/dressing photos in a group chat with some of my friends...and one eye I just placed in fell out mid-photo. Which was frustrating for me, but then we all got a good laugh at my struggling and hilariously bad luck placing eyes. (One day I'll get it...) My friend loves eyes, too, and never has any problems, so it seems to be a me thing...

 

Depending on the clothing, such as pull-over anything, I have a really hard time taking it off even though putting it on was easy! I also sometimes struggle to put wigs on and not mess them up too much, but I usually fix them up after they're on anyway

 

I find restringing any doll under 28cm way too hard. I took the wings off my DV Bor to paint them and it took two of us to get them back on! The hooks were tiny and the elastic was quite tight. Never again. Lol. My human dolls I have never had a problem restringing though sometimes I find I put the hands or feet on backwards. XD

I use a wig cap or a very small piece of Velcro to keep wigs on. Eyes are another story! I either can’t get the sticky tack to stick to anything other than my hand or it’s too sticky and I can’t remove it easily. I have started favouring pupilless eyes so I don’t have to worry about alignment. XD

 

I just can't seem to enjoy faceups, lol. They turn out fine, and I tend to be at least okay with the results, but I just find them to be a big hassle most of the time and I never look forward to doing them. I have dolls that have been blank for years (although I did have somebody who luckily didn't make it to her 10th birthday as a blank doll at least, lmfao), and while I don't want to do their faceups myself I am also too fretful to feel comfortable shipping heads off to commissioned artists, so they just sit around blank for ages. I have so much respect for people who can crank out multiple detailed, high quality faceups in a single day, and I wish I could bottle that energy. In fairness, I do live in a super humid climate, so I tend to not be able to capitalize on my "you know what? Today I actually do feel like doing faceups!" energy when it hits me, lol.

 

Eyes
I haaaate putting in eyes and posing them correctly. Even after taking off the head, it is just incredibly fiddly and annoying. Absolutely no fan of having to do that.

Also, posing dolls. I know that's kind of their deal, and it makes such a difference when taking photos, but I am just not good at it. Or better, I am too concerned about the doll falling or otherwise damaging itself that I rather play it safe.
My first doll was victim to more than one nasty fall, and that really spoiled it for the rest of them throughout the years.

 

Among other things, I struggle with jointed hands! They always look so unnatural, I really can't pose them in a realist way

 

Ugh, eyes for me! I think it’s partly the sculpt of my only doll, but on one of his eyes the eyelashes either look unnatural or have to sit far back enough the eye pushes them out when you put them in! It’s so annoying, I’m hoping my next doll doesn’t have the same issue…

 

Restringing.....I don't really have the proper tools to do it so its always a weird experimental diy moment.
it doesn't help that my big girl is strung SO tightly, I got her heel feet recently and it was literally the worst trying to get them on

 

I'd like to join the "why are putting in eyes so much of a struggle" faction. Trying to put eyes in my first doll correctly was definitely the most difficult part of trying to get him dressed when he first arrived. So much so that I'm dreading the idea of changing them eventually since I'm not totally happy with the ones he's currently got.

Also dreading the inevitability of restringing him - he's a 70cm boy and quite tightly strung so I hope my clumsy butt can manage it on my own

 

I'm terribly afraid of re-stringing too -_-

One of my boys is in dire need of re-stringing (and possibly sueding o.o) since he's floppy as heck (he can hardly hold a pose and I won't even leave him standing up since I'm afraid he'll just collapse ×_×).

But I just can't picture myself ever getting him back together once he's disassembled ._. He's tall and lanky and I'm just weak and unexperienced Oo I wish I could just do it together with an experienced fellow BJD person for the first time but sadly no irl doll friends around ;_; Send help xD

 

Where are you located in Germany? There are a couple groups here, and some even start meeting up again

 

Ooh, there are!? I better keep an eye on those meetup threads then *.* (I'm located in the Cologne area btw, so fellow NRW peeps say hi ^-^)

 

For me, it's doing fine lines in faceups. After 14 years of doing faceups, I just figured out a couple of weeks ago that I struggle so much because I'm far too heavy handed! I had watched tutorials, read instructions, watched people do it in person, bought all the suggested paints and brushes, could not do it. Then by pure accident, I was painting and went a lot lighter than usual and...there it was. Fine lines. I'm still no pro at it, but now that I've figured out the problem, I think I will get better at it pretty quickly. Sometimes, it's a really small issue that no one thinks to mention when teaching.

 

For me it’s dressing dolls. I have some nice company outfits for my vinyl gals and it took me days to get up the nerve to tackle it. Getting everything on and adjusted correctly, I just find stressful and tiring. Even when I take my time, there is always something that needs fixing. Once all dressed, they look great though!

 

Like so many others it is the eyeballs. My goodness the walleyed dolly is a strange thing. Also I currently have a doll in pieces because i strung him too tightly then too loosely. Ugh.

 

I can't get skin-on.tibettan mohair wigs to stay on my dolls - I love them but silicone caps, elastic bands around the head, or any of the usual tricks to keep wigs in place just don't work for I have to resort to a dab of white craft glue on the head-cap to keep the wig in place.

The other one is high-dome glass eyes - I don't find glass eyes as realistic and detailed as cheap acrylic ones made for reborn dolls, but sometimes use them becuase they'e available in the size/colour i need and I ALWAYS regret it becuase they can only be place facing straight-ahead in the eye becuase of the high done, and the high dome always makes the doll look cross-eyed in photographs.

Teddy