Buying a new doll: with or without company faceup?

I don't understand how people can send a doll off for a face up. Do you tell the artist what you want? What if the doll comes back and you don't like what the artist did? Then what? How do you learn to do your own face up? I can see the satisfaction of knowing no one else has the same doll's face, but what if the face is totally wrong? I don't buy a doll unless I love the face. I have seen so many face ups that I personally think look terrible. And I mean terrible. The whole look of the doll is ruined. The original doll looked totally better. Someone please explain how to go about getting the face up you love!!

 

I definitely prefer blank, since that leaves you open to doing whatever from the start; no removal, the 'first' face being on the doll, and no worries about messing with stains if anyone somehow messed up... overall more worry free because there are less things to mess up as you go through a shorter process.

Also, I'm just not a fan of most company face-ups. They are usually kinda generic so to suit a wide range of taste... but that can cause a lack of character. Definitely not saying they lack skill, or that some don't have some great character -some I really do like quite a lot-, I just really prefer that 'one and only you are you', I guess.

 

Well, for me at least, I have a very hard time picturing eyebrow shapes and other small details in my head unless I am looking at an actual photograph. So asking a faceup artist to "please give this doll a natural/really heavy on the eyeshadow/other relevant details" faceup works for me. For other people, it's possible to give a skilled faceup artist an extremely detailed description of what you want... eyebrows need to be this shape and thickness, lips need to be exactly this shade of pink, cheeks need to be heavily blushed or not at all, and so on, and if your description is good enough, they can reproduce exactly what you have in your head.

You may think they look terrible, but the person who asked for it might not agree. I personally think that all dolls with pink blushing on their chins look... not terrible, but strange, in a way that I wouldn't want one for myself. Other people seem to love these faceups. Just because someone likes a different faceup from you does not mean that their faceup ruins a doll.

 

I didn't even think of that, but that would be good practice... and I've even tried it before! My daughter plays with MH dolls, and she has asked me to repaint a couple of their faces for her. They came out pretty cute, too! I guess if I can do that, I shouldn't be too intimidated by a BJD face-up. Thanks for that thought! =)

 

i like make up for my dolls by myself, i think this is a part of my hobby, and i am very enjoy of it.

 

Since I don' dare try doing it myself I will always get a company and if I ever decide I want something special/custom first I would ask my local club members (more or less to check if any of the art ppl had the time mostly lol) if they could or if they could recommend someone.

 

I buy my with the face up, but only because I don't think i'd be good enough to do the faceups myself. Maybe after practise, i will start buying them blank

 

Depends. If it was a yosd or msd. A company faceup would do. If an SD and above. I definitely would ask someone to commission it for me. It depends on my money really

 

If I like the company face-up then, I would just go with it. If not, I think I will just try to get custom face-up.

 

Company face up - I am not an artist nor do I want to be one. I'd rather commission someone and leave that to you all. LOL

 

It depends for me... I bought my first and so far only dall second hand but she had a commissioned faceup (paid for by her original owner). When she got to me I hated it so I sent her out to another artist. When I ordered Mirodoll Wind for my wife she liked the company faceup so we went with that. I guess it depends on the doll and the sculpt. I would like to have a go at my own faceups someday though!

 

I have bought my both girls blank, and done face ups myself. And same goes for my oncoming dolls.

 

It really depends for me. My pukis and latis all have company faceups and I like them that way. My minifee has a custom faceup and my incoming minifee is blank as well, so I'll be sending her out. I think most of the time I prefer to buy blank so I can get the look that I'm after, but if the company faceup is really really nice (or limited), or if the doll's character doesn't require a specific faceup, I'd probably just get the default.

I just think that there are so many amazing faceup artists out there, it's hard to not want to take advantage......

 

My two dolls were both purchased with the company face-up because I was/am new to the hobby and didn't know what I was doing. Also, I was so excited to get them and wanted them kind of instantly complete. Future dolls will depend on what the company face-up is like. For example, I want to buy a minifee later this year, but haven't decided which one. If I get a Celine, she will have the default face-up, because I love it. But if I get a Mirwen or Chloe, I will send her off for a custom face. In the meantime, I'm experimenting with a spare yo head in the hope of one day doing my own faces.

 

I purchased my first doll as an in-stock, so he came with the faceup already in place; the only other one I've gotten with a company faceup was a second-hand (and the only one who still has any of the original, which will likely eventually be replaced as well). I have specific characters in mind for my dolls, who don't generally tend to match the company's view of their work. So while the company faceups can often be quite lovely, as they don't match my vision, I order everyone blank instead, and eventually they'll all get their faceups and blushing!

 

MY first came without because I had a very set artist in mind and her style, she is local and had been a good friend before she left our hobby. But now, if I were to do it again, I think I would go with a company one and just enhance or work it as a base

 

Sometimes I will fall in love with a company's faceup, but that is rare. Usually, a default faceup will look too eneric or bland in my opinion... Even when that is not the case, I like the idea of having a doll with a unique faceup. That is also the reason why I am drawn to sculpts that are not too popular.

When it comes to faceups, I love seeing what different people are capable of creating, and the different styles that are used.

Only once I bought a doll with a company faceup, as I truly liked it. Usually, I do prefer to order the doll wihout a faceup, and then pay someone to do it for me

 

I wonder which company it was that made you fall in love with the faceup?

 

I don't know how to do my own face up at the moment, so unless the company faceup is weird looking I will get the company face up. Most of the time it's the company faceup that sells me on the doll, but sometimes I need a custom faceup that I rather have somebody else do. Like a realistic faceup.

 

Though I do plan on learning how to do face ups, for now I'm getting most of my dolls with the company face up. Most of the time when I fall in love with a doll, half of the reason why I love the sculpt is because of the face up displayed in the sales pictures. Once I practice a bit more and feel confident in my skills, I may start to order more dolls blank.