Can dolls be too pretty?

THIS! So much.

Agreed. I like dolls in all breast sizes.

I sometimes give my characters physical characteristics that I think are interesting, rather or not others would agree is another thing entirerly. I probably wouldn't give my dolls pimples or warts but I do like freckles and "beauty" marks, neither of which I consider inperfections.

 

I think that clothing stores make too many assumptions about what should fit when you reach a certain size. While I don't have that exact problem, I am an irregular size, which gives me the same headaches.

But where doll busts are concerned, I do like for something to be there. I'm not a fan of having a mature female doll with a flat chest, nor do I want a DD Dynamite-type bust. Never have I thought a human female to be immature because she was flat, nor have I thought a woman slutty because she happens to have a large chest. I think people's perceptions might be different with dolls because, like the rest of them, their chests are also highly stylized.

 

This could just as easily be written-Try buying clothing that fits when you smaller than an A cup. It's a JOKE. Honestly. No one needs to play victim here. It sucks BOTH ways. All I know, in the dolly world, I would like to see more female dolls sculpted with small breasts (and I mean SMALL, often when people give their laundry list of 'small' breasted dolls only a handful of them actually do indeed have petite breasts, because these 'B-cup' dolls are not small) while still looking mature.

Do I find large breasted dolls ugly or trashy? Absolutely not (so long as they are sculpted well but that goes for pretty much anything). But I just as much think small breasted dolls that are still portrayed as adult women are beautiful too, but find them quite lacking in being offered in comparison to their bustier counterparts. Does this somehow tie into the original question of wanting 'the ultimate pretty', and that small breasts are now considered one of these 'flaws' that so many people like to have to make their dolls 'unique'?

 

No. It started up here, exactly like this -- which doesn't in any way disparage smaller bust sizes. Not quite the opposite, either, but it does lean in that direction with the 'porn mags' reference, I'm afraid.

 

I think so... I actually couldn't agreee more when my parents seperately, at two different times, commented that my doll was "worse than a Barbie". Perfect skin and faceup I could accept I suppose but the bodyshape of these dolls... I'm not a fan. Any 'mature' looking male/female body I've seen has ribs showing, honestly, I don't think it's a great look. Some people may love it - the mile long legs and anerxic ribs, but not me. My dad's girlfriend laughed that her daughter (who is about 8) might have some clothes for my doll... but then she decided they wouldn't fit his long legs. I don't know though... I am partial to boys with meat on their bones, so I suppose this is reflected in my opinion. Oh what I wouldn't give for a tubby/"normal" adult body sculpt...

 

I think maybe most of the eastern like perfect dolls, and much more the western like dolls of realism~Forgive my English is not very good, so not write too much^ ^

 

I've been longing for a big meaty guy for some time, not the bodybuilder types that pop up but just a bigger normally proportioned guy with a bit of belly. I can say that the articulation would be difficult but the companies out there can handle it.

Now, on the topic of flaws, I've got a birthmark on my cheek kind of like a wart and I've dealt with a lifetime of "why won't you have it removed?" and the fact is I walked into a dermatologist's office once and asked him about it. He said it was of no risk for cancer and it doesn't hurt me in any capacity, then he proceeded to tell me that he can numb my cheek with a needle, guillotine it off and cauterize it with a hot piece of metal to keep it from growing back. O_O I replied "but why?! You told me it was fine!"

He seemed incredibly confused by the fact I didn't want my face mutilated for no good reason. So when I got into dolls I made an OT mini me, mark and all, and when I met my husband he said it looked like a sea anemone or a flower and if I got rid of it I wouldn't look like "me" anymore. I could't be happier. Maybe that's why I don't like the normal "perfect dolls" I always feel like maybe they're missing out by having to be flawless for someone to love them.

 

A quick note on the clothing sizes. As somebody who is studying clothing design, the sheer gauntlant of shapes and sizes for people make it Impossible to cater to everyone. So all clothing generally starts with the assumption of a C cup. It's the affect mass production has on clothing. To make a profit, you gotta cater to the most people at any given time. General rule of thumb, fit the boobs first, the rest can be tailored to fit.

Back on topic! I would seriously KILL for a chubby hefty doll. Somebody on the not slender side of life. A dude with wide shoulders, muscles and the bit of gut that actually goes along with a wide frame. Plus a woman with a pooch and Really big thighs, boobs would be nice too. http://lh4.ggpht.com/_I-D83k7iK0A/T... HYPER CURVY GIRL photos galleries 24[9].jpg Like that chick. XD A curvy arm and everything. But that's just me.

 

Harlequin, I know right!?! A truely pear shaped one would be nice as well. I know there's a few controversial sculpts out there with that shape but they're not very realistic as they've shrunk the shoulders as well.

That'd be one heavy doll though. XD My glamour eve is quite heavy for her size, if she had more weight in her arms and tummy? Yikes! XD

 

To me, dolls are like a simplified expression of a human being, much like typical cartoons/comics/manga/anime style is a simplified expression of a drawing of a human being. The aim is to highlight the most important characteristics by de-emphasising or removing physical realism from less important parts. Thus, unless the imperfection or flaw is integral to the visual expression of the doll's character, I would omit it in order to better emphasise other aspects of its character.

I do think some dolls appear 'too pretty' to me, but only when they reach the level of generic prettiness that bores me.

Regarding boobs, I don't like them. It's just a personal preference, because I find it troublesome to accomodate them when making clothes/costumes. For my 'girl', I'm using a Luts Delf boy body, because it fits nicely into most SD13 girl clothes. I do not think that boob sizes of either extremes can or should be considered a flaw, though. XD

 

No, it's pretty much a male thing. Just because women say it too doesn't mean it's not male orientated. Men have been dictating what is sexually attractive and what's not - why do we get so many magazines telling us how to look sexier to men? As a result, it's trickled into Western culture as well, so it's permeated into female brains. Besides, women can be misogynistic too. It was proven to me when I got told off by female classmates for saying "Women are capable of running a country"! Because obviously we're too weak and stupid and female to do so

I don't think dolls can be too pretty or too beautiful. What's pretty or attractive is personal taste, so for me every sculpt has a 'flaw' or two that makes them not perfect. On top of that I find quirky 'flaws' more interesting to look at, and on top of both I find well executed work to be more visually interesting. Many people have physical flaws (we're only human after all), but we can make dolls have virtually none. I see acne, sagging body parts, scars and (greeeeat) stretch marks in the mirror. I accept who I am, I just don't wish it on anyone else, never mind my doll

 

Yes, sculpt-wise, I've come across sculpts that are too pretty. They just had these perfect shapes and very, very popular "attractive" features that I just could not see my character in them at all. I had this happen with Yeon-Ho - got him for a character and just could not get past his perfect dolliness, so off he went.

At the same time, I do not want a conventionally "ugly" character. Seriously, there's plenty of ugly and average people in the world around me (including yours truly), why would I want to put someone completely plain into my fictional world? I have absolutely nothing against them as PEOPLE, god no, but for my characters, I want them to be aesthetically appealing - in unique ways. There are ways to make characters interesting and unique without bestowing them with physical features that would turn the VAST majority of readers away. In ways how normal people can be pretty, not the hand-picked magazine cover supermodels that are all blond or all super muscular or whatever. There are many ideals of beauty, and I want them to fit into at least one. For example, I love SID Felix's slightly droppy eyes - they give him a lot of character and personality, and I really like the prominent eyelid look on real guys too (Lordy knows I absolutely SWOONED over a classmate of mine in senior year...). SID Eva, despite her total lack of cat eyes and a slightly boyish face, just looks like a very, very intelligent woman and I love her for it. Soom Chalco has a pretty big and wide nose, but he's got a very kind and knowledgable look to him, and I love that his lips curl up into a smile just a tiny bit. Soom Chrom has a beautiful, beautiful big roman nose. You know? "Unique" features don't have to be UGLY (or whatever) features. They can just be features that are interesting and not common among the "accepted" standards of beauty, but are still aesthetically pleasing, and that's generally where I stand. And yes, I'm extremely picky about my dolls. That's why I've pretty much sold almost every single one I've owned - if it looks too much doll and not enough character, out it goes.

As for doll breasts... I believe the reason some of them are sculpted with the "push-up" effect is because it looks good in clothes. Resin breasts aren't malleable and soft like real ones, and so if the choice is between "naturally slightly saggy, looks odd in clothes" and "slightly (but only slightly) unnaturally perky, but looks fantastic in clothes", I believe most sculptors go for the second one. I think Domuya used to offer two different breast sculpts for their Flexi Perrenial women - one that was was droppy and "no bra", and one that was pushed up, with a cleavage, for clothes and the like. Personally, I like variety, as long as it's harmonious and the whole body sculpt just belongs together (i.e., no super tiny waist and hips and then massive boobs that don't even fit on the doll's chest).

 

This is true. But studies on sexuality show that females tend to find other females and males more attractive, whereas men tend to prefer one sex, either male or female, much more strongly. So, keeping the fact that female sexuality is so fluid, I wouldn't think it is entirely male thing. But it is a male-orientated market/world, that's for sure.

Edit: I also really agree with what you say at the end. A lot of sculpts people really swoon over do nothing for me, while others say my favorite sculpts are too "pretty" (or feminine!).

 

Dolls are almost expected to be pretty, or at least appealing in appearance. Take this quote from an 1868 children's book, purported to be narrated by a small wooden London doll:

Off-topic though she might be, I believe Seraphina speaks for all her kind.

 

I actually like weird or slightly twisted dolls more than overly pretty dolls. Call me weird, but when something is too perfect it I find it to become boring. A doll with a face that is "too pretty" can mean a loss of character. Not always, but sometimes when a doll gets too beautiful it gets "unearthly" and I don't feel a connection with it any more. So I like a little flaw here and there. In fact, I love all my dolls to have both characteristic and physical flaws, just like real people.
I think "beauty" is a very complicated subject, as it is extremely personal and also very influenced by culture and age (meaning age as in the year, not age as in old... Though that can be of influence as well, not necessarily on your physique or that of others, but on your ideas).

I must say I wouldn't really like a doll with pimples though... I would probably get really frustrated because I couldn't squeeze them ("Pimple.. must... go!") xD But character-wise it could be really fun! *imagines thin nerdy character, or beautiful elf with puberty issues*

 

Adhara explained it so much better than I did, and for that I apologize -- I'm so accustomed to using the term that I get a case of the dumb and forget to explain the premise behind it sometimes.

I have to wonder if part of this is also that it seems a number of sculptors are male. I'm not sure how many male or female sculptors are responsible for which -- but from what little I know of sculptors, most of them do seem to be male. Admittedly, my very favorite female body is by a female sculptor (the original Limhwa body, which I find stunning... and I like that her backside has bulk to match the top half). There was no fear of 'junk in the trunk' there, for which I'm grateful.

I also have to wonder, in part, if the more extreme kinds of proportions -- which I've seen more in the 'realistic head sculpt' category -- is a bit of contagion, crossover, or lure to the fashion doll community, in which less realistic bodies and similar head proportions to those sculpts are more the norm.

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned scars. I've seen just as many Mary-Sue type characters with scars. Over-the-eye scars seem to be the most popular, and I would count them on the same level as acne/spots/whatever.

Going to second all of this! I sort of equate dolls to playing video games: I play with them to help relax from real life. Anybody who's played World of Warcraft knows how buff the males are and how unrealistically pretty the females are. The entire game also looks like a rainbow threw up on it. I play because it's so silly and over-the-top.

Don't get me wrong, I'm OK with "ugly" mods. If somebody has a doll with a ton of acne or a beer gut, great! Diversity in this hobby is always welcome. I'm firmly aware of the beautiful and ugly parts of me. My dolls are a way to express both parts.

 

My elf has a pretty annoying black mole that I painted on her cheek and above her lip. I love how she has these thick, bushy eyebrows and more unusual features. I think she looks wise, but beautiful. Why not have both?


Aluriel by designbasia, on Flickr

before I saw this topic, I was actually debating selling my other doll, my "princess" because she is just SO perfect. I know what you mean about bland beauty. But then I realized that her perfection really fits her character, and in a way, makes it a flaw of itself. I think go with what you like, there is always modding and bushy-eyebrow-faceups that can remedy the doll you think needs a face lift.