Can dolls be too pretty?

I think that our dolls talk a lot about who we are and what is in our hearts, so, people will fall for different kind of things, some people like dolls that are more human, more like us, while others give dolls personalities and dream live they would like to have, etc. even the kind of doll they choose: an anthro, human, elf, etc. plays a big part of this. and that is something grate about this dolls, the way you can customize them to express yourself one way or another. at the end they become part of who we are.

i second this! love Freckles! there should be more doll with them, if someone wants to get rid of a few Freckles please send them this way

 

Dolls can never be too pretty!

They emit a certain sense of flawlessness that we can't hope to achieve. But that's because they're what they are--dolls. They are created by our ideals.

But a doll can never replace a human, they are just lovable pieces of plastic in the end. They won't make dinner or pick us up after work.

 

As much as I love beautiful dolls, I totally get what you mean! I'm in love with the freckles on some dolls, and i think that pimples, blemishes, ect. are wonderful details to give character... When they're beautiful and gorgeous, they are something to stare at, but I couldn't become impressed very easily by them because beautiful it too easy it seems. Big eyes, pouty lips, perfect skin... no fun! Haha, I think some of my favorite dolls I've seen on sites are ones with a few qualities that aren't widely accepted as beautiful!

 

I understand what you mean. I do tend to like dolls that have traits that would be considered "ugly" by the masses. Freckles I just adore on dolls and humans a like, but many think freckles are unattractive. I also love dolls with proportions that are off. Especially those with small tops and larger bottoms. I find it enduring. Doll chateau's line of dolls I just can't resist due to their proportions. I started to collect these handmade little goth clay dolls, proportions are way off, overly simplistic limbs, a little scary. My husband thinks they are creepy, but I just love them.

 

A doll with some personality and character is always intriguing, but at the end of the day, I like pretty dolls. But can a doll be too pretty? Yes. Especially for a certain role or portrayal.

No disrespect to anyone, but if you're designing a doll to 'be' Mother Teresa, and all you do is order a real skinned Iplehouse Lahela, and do no type of special makeup or mod work, that's when a doll would be too pretty. Or trying to depict a gore-mod war vet, but the only modding that's been done is a painted reddish pink line over, all the while he looks like Lady Gaga, that doll might just be a little too pretty.

 

I really like the pretty dolls, but if these "flaws" or "disfigurements" are intentional and character based I see no problem with it.

 

It's all just up to personal likes and dislikes, isn't it?

I don't think dolls can be too pretty. That's bound to appeal to some people. I tend to like quite a bit of the whole "ideal form" thing, myself. Real people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes already and I'm not interested in re-creating reality... I prefer fantasy. If I'm going to make something or buy something, I don't want it flawed unless that is what I'm looking for in a character... but I usually don't shell my characters, so...

I don't mind unusual dolls at all. And I do have a thing for a beautiful/ugliness kind of look. But the whole spectrum is good. I might not buy them, but I appreciate variety.

 

Can dolls be too pretty? Well, they could varies because beautiful defines differently by everyone else. I had raised up a thread that relates very similar to prettyness and how they should be defined in your own sense of concept. But generally, beautiful dolls could mean they are flawless, like with pure color skintone without imbalance of skintone colors, and natural things like rashes, acne,.etc these considered as unnecessary and it is not beautiful. It does not occur all the time and leaving these flaws onto a doll for the rest of their life is like torturing them like they are lame...etc. no offense was *just* an example.

Distance is not a concern. We treat dolls as artistic appreciation, and perfection is acceptable and it won't make us feel bad or not feeling the kind of connection with the dolls. There's no way you would compare the distance from them to you based on their appearance. and they are non-living things. If it makes you feel distanced then you will never learn and gain improvement from your own experiences in getting to know *new* things as a concept. It is not an issue, if you love them, you love them, love is unconditional.

Yes, they are realistic and close to real-life figures. Some may keen on fantasy world, the thought of perfection in their desired world, and not being not very realistic but only semi-realistic is okay and satisfying for most people and not entirely, as I had said everyone's taste is different. If we only accept realistic dolls, then what is the reason? is it because it is closer distance to what you look like? the feel of humanity? in wanting to treat them as living things, human of imagining they are real friends, talk to them...etc.? it sounds good, but dolls with not so realistic is also a good thing, being pretty is not a sin and as an appreciation, it doesn't really matter...i mean being so picky in choosing the ones that look realistic, but have you overlooked the beautiful dolls? it doesn't always mean a discrimination against the more realistic aka naturally with flaws. they still look good, but I don't think it is an issue that dolls being too beautiful is bad nor too realistically natural with flaws or not with flaws but with richer depths in the rendering of skintones...

 

Personally I prefer natural looking dolls so if that means that the doll then has a few realistic things like freckles or bushy eyebrows. However I don't really like the idea of one with acne or something like that, I like having dolls which are everything that I can't be, I enjoy having perfe t mini humans in my presence.

 

I love beautiful dolls without imperfections, but I AM more drawn to dolls that to the standard of beauty in our culture, may be deemed "ugly". Quite a few of my dolls are odd looking in their sculpt, and that is very endearing to me. As far as warts, and zits and such, it's rare to see, but when I do see it - I think it's great!

Another, pretty much related thing, is that I have a strange weakness for dolls with badly done faceups, and poorly sewn clothes. I guess its because I like that fact that the owner, though not as skilled as others, does their best with their doll, and I feel that makes the doll look more interesting, and even more "alive", than the ones that are picture perfect. It's just kind of sweet.

(That being said, of course I appreciate the supremely talented customizes & tailors out there. Just in a different way.)

 

I agree, although my dolls are (in my opinion) pretty with no real "flaws" in the sence of spots or scars or things of that nature, I do love the idea of fitting the doll to a character to the point of adding inperfections that may help to make the character who they are.

 

Yes, in my opinion they can be too pretty just as they can be too cute. I'm not really into "pretty" or "cute" (though there are exceptions) in general, so I don't really like "your standard pretty doll". As far as beautiful is concerned, though - I love beautiful things, dolls included. Not necessarily want to own them but I love to look at them. Note: In my book, pretty doesn't equal beautiful. They're two completely different things.

 

my opinion is that i think that dolls that are pretty are nice to collect and nice to look at. i also like dolls that have a lot of character artistically put into them, i think dolls with pimples or warts are just another character trait for doll, if someone doesn't like dolls with warts or pimples than they don't have to look at or own them.

 

I think there are dolls that can be too pretty - and like some people mentioned, it can be a bit hard to bond with a doll that's too pretty.

I personally feel that dolls with beauty marks like moles or freckles are adorable, and would love to have one of my one of these days! I feel like it just overall adds to their charm rather than taking away from their beauty? It may be the same for other doll owners who like their dolls with pimples or warts?

 

I'd think flaws would be very easy to pick out especially in something like a doll that one might expect to look 'perfect'.

If you're looking for flaws, though. It's really up to the owner to define 'pretty' as it will differ greatly from one person to the next. In my opinion, imperfections add character but on something like a resin doll they don't have much appeal.

 

I think so.

I mean, there's room for stunning beauty, and heck, the doll I bought has a pretty face, but there's a certain...well, aesthetic, as you well know, and to my mind it contributes to a case of sameface across the doll hobby--on the one hand, you can easily tell the difference between, say, a Volks doll and a Luts doll, and even between two different Luts sculpts, and yet...I'm starting to feel like where angelic babyfaces are concerned, I've seen 'em all, I'm bored. Same with delicate, waifish boys.

And there's a smattering of slightly "different" dolls, some sexy vixens and ruggedly handsome dudes (Iplehouse, I'm looking at you), but even they seem kind of one-note.

Give me a beaky nose! Give me a crooked, rakish grin! Give me some bulk across the shoulders--even the most musclebound dolls are so narrow!

I think it's a little unfair to shunt people who look for imperfections in their dolls (fatness, bulk, crooked/unusual features) into the category of people who are "trying too hard to be different." I know for me, I just like a good-sized nose with a little bump on top. And many of my pre-existing characters are over thirty years of age, and of varying body types, with their own weird facial features. I didn't do it to be ~*~special~*~, or an anti-mary-sue or whatever (I'm sure they'd all get a few points if I went through that checklist!). It's just how they are, it's just who I'm writing right now.

I guess the thing to think about is marketability. I think there might be a market for "pudgier" dolls, at least as special/limited editions, just judging by what I've seen, but sculptors can't just make, for example, a beaky-nosed sculpt just to please me and maybe 5-10 other people who would buy it (I mean have you seen people complaining about the big noses on RS/BBB sculpts?)--it's a business, at the end of the day, and if it's not going to sell/make money, they're not gonna spend money to make it.

That's what modding is for, I guess.

 

I'm new to the hobby, and I'm already discouraged by just how overly cute and pretty the dolls are. I keep trying to find something more unique or something that doesn't conform to a traditional standard of beauty, and it's honestly kind of frustrating. And it's really frustrating that in order to get some droopy lids or bags under the eyes, or lopsided smiles that you have to mod it on yourself. This is probably why I've fallen so hard for Doll Chateau dolls. Their bodies are so different, and the faces have a certain "off" value about them too where they just don't have that usual standard of beauty about them. I would kill for a devious grin!

I find that as I'm getting older, I gravitate more towards characters that have something "off" about them. I call it an attractive ugliness, I guess. I make my video game characters scarred up and rough looking. I use skin and hair colors I would not have used in the past. I pick the orcs and trolls over the humans and elves. It's just more interesting, and I bond better to those sorts of things. So for now I just keep looking at dolls that might look good with some creepy eyes in them and some scars here and there, and hopefully I can make the best of it.

 

I have found that alot of the male dolls are too pretty. If im going to buy a male i want him to look like one, not like a female dressed like one

 

Your dolls are delightfully creepy. That's the kind of thing I'd like to be able to do some day. I might have to ship some heads off to a friend to manage it though. She's fantastic though. She painted an amazing lightning scar on one of her dolls. She wasn't aware that scars from lightning fade, but it's still awesome.