Buying a new doll: with or without company faceup?

I bought my first doll with company face up because I knew nothing about the hobby and didn't know how to even begin doing a face up. The second doll I bought had a face up done by the prevu=ious owner and the third I bought blank and am attempting to do myself. I think it depends a lot on the doll.

 

I usually go for the company face-up because that's usually the one that "sells" it for me.

However because I want my doll to be "unique", when I have funds again I would have their face-up customized.

 

I bought my first two dolls with face-ups because I didn't have the guts to do it myself. My third one came with a face-up because I won it as that. I impulse bought one doll with a face-up, but wiped the face-up. Epifan, Niccolo, and Camou were bought blank. I was looking for a blank L-bi and ended up getting a really good deal on one with a face-up, so got one with a face-up... except the face-up is so cute I can't wipe it to get him modded so I might need a second L-bi faceplate. And Benedict Cumberbatch came blank and I'm fretting over how to face-up him really nice.

Well, I like doing face-ups even though I am so-so at it, so I think for the most part I'm going for blank dolls because face-upping really helps me get a feel for a doll.

 

I only have 2 dolls so far, and I've bought face-ups for both of them. For my first doll it was because he came as a full set with face-up included anyway, and for my second doll it was because she was a limited edition that I wouldn't want to send anywhere else for a face-up just in case anything happened to her. I do plan on eventually learning to do it myself so I probably wouldn't order any more dolls with face-ups, but I think it also depends greatly on the company I'm ordering from and how nice their own face-ups are.

 

I get my dolls with company face-up. Partly because I am in no way able to make one myself and I kind of make their character from their face-up in a way. For example I would never make an angry emo-ish character from a doll with a company face-up looking all light and kind... ^^; It's probably the wrong way to do it, but it kind of makes me feel comfortable

 

I always paint my own dolls. My first came blank, and even though looking at photos of his first face-up made me cringe, I'm glad I went that route. Nowadays, I like my own work, and I love how my dolls look and feel (like their something I dreamed up out of my head).

That said, I don't always get a choice. A few of my dolls came as limited full sets, so the face-up came with them. I wiped one (she wasn't version of the full-set that I'd originally wanted anyway, and the look I gave her fit her a lot better.) Another kept her default because somehow it just fit the character. And I liked it. A third just had a really beautiful default Limhwa face-up, and I really liked the look of it so I left it. It doesn't fit her character at all though, so when I next get the chance, I'm going to re-paint her.

If I can't think of something better, then I let them keep what they've come with, but if I get to choose, I always get them blank so that I can do what I want with them.

 

I plan to paint most of my future dolls, but every now and then companies offer a face-up that I truly adore. In such cases it is difficult for me to turn away and not pay it, so for me, it really depends on the doll and more specifically the company.

 

I've bought 3/5 dolls with faceups. This is how it went.

1. First doll came with a faceup. I had no idea how to do it myself and didn't know anyone else who did! And I wanted to love my first doll right out of the box with no waiting. (He arrived with clothes+wig for this reason too)
2. Second doll came with a faceup as he was second hand. I gave him a new faceup a few months later.
3. Came with a faceup off the marketplace. I've painted him a few times since then.
4. A pukipuki which came blank. I painted him.
5. An SSDF which came blank so I could paint him.

You can't always choose "no faceup" in the marketplace, and it's rude to request the owner wipe off the faceup before selling it to you. I just buy it and wipe it down to start over myself. Otherwise, I prefer to buy them blank as long as I have the supplies. I'm kind of out right now, so I'm debating on buying more supplies or just having someone else paint any new doll I might get.

 

I'll get the company face up because I'm to scared to attempt it on my own.

 

I -always- buy my dolls with faceup. I bought a really cheap plastic head to practice on once. I know the material is different. Made NO difference!! I still sucked balls!! If I get someone to commission my dolls face I know how to remove it for them but I will never try to alter my dolls face ever again.

 

I would get my doll blank because them I could customize it to my idea of what the character should look like.

 

Evelien: As you already know I buy all my dolls blank - I like doing their face-ups myself, it gives me more room to improvise if inspiration strikes, and lets me work out what their character is going to be like. That and it's really the only hands-on thing I can do at the moment (what with the sewing machine being busted, and lack of patience on my part!)

Well - I'm also a paranoid git, I like to know exactly what chemicals and in what order I've applied to the surface. Horror stories of badly sealed company face-ups and artist face-ups gone wrong have made me leery. If the doll did end up stained (touch wood hasn't happened yet) I'd like it to be my fault!

 

Since my first doll was a Volks, I kind had to plunge into it headfirst - first stringing her together, then doing her face. I did get my Blue Fairy with the face up, but she came as a full-set. I think her cheeks are just a shade too pink. I did my Iple boy's, and I'll do my Luts SD when she arrives. I can't say I'm great at it, but to me it's part and parcel of getting a new doll.

 

I prefer getting my dolls blank so I can do my own faceup. Even if I'm not as good as a proffessional, I like to add my own personal touch to the doll, with the faceup as much as the clothes, eyes and wigs.

 

I buy most of my dolls without company face-up because some company's faceup really stinks well not to offend anyone tho but it affects me to buy that doll because of the company faceup i have to search for more info and photos of that doll and if its possible that i make that dolls face up good then i'll go for it

 

Definitely doing it myself. I'm a very DIY person in just about every regard - I have done the faceup for my first doll, sewn faux fur wigs and am about to try my hands at making eyes, sewn a box full of doll clothes and have made my third pair of doll shoes (they're now almost recognizable ). I just prefer being more independent, being able to do (and fix) things myself. I haven't got much money either, so being able to do my own faceups is another way for me to save up for dolls faster; I also like to play with them a lot and I'd be terrified of messing up an expensive company or artist's faceup and having to send the head away again to get it fixed.

 

I can't bond with dolls that I don't do face-ups for. So to spend more on something that I don't like isn't really something I wanna do.

 

I bought my first doll with company face-up but I somehow grew into this irrational fear that my doll would look like everyone else's, so I commissioned someone to do my next doll's face-up instead of sticking with the default. I'm working up my skills to do my own face-ups now

 

For me it depends on the doll. Their are dolls, which i like with the companies face-up, for example I.O.S Osiris or Souldoll Lionel. These two will come to me with companies face-up. But for the other dolls i am planning, i am thinking to give them a hand-made face-up by the friend of mine who already did my boys face-ups. That is because i think that a face-up is like a tattoo. If you have some dolls belonging to the same project, i think it is good if all of them have a face-up made by the same artist.

 

It depends for me. In one case I bought her blank because I knew she'd be going to get a face-up by one of my favorite artists as soon as she arrived. Many of my dolls have come with company face-ups though and after awhile I'll send them off for work. Sometimes I like company face-ups in photos but like them less in person. In the case of my Pukifee she was a gift from my sister and she got me one with a face-up because I hadn't decided how I want her to look yet, but wanted to play with her in the meantime. I do still have 2 girls with original face-ups and both are dolls I'll have had for 7 years and I just can't see them with anything else.