Can dolls be too pretty?

Agreed! And your reaction is not bad as well.
Also, I haven't read every reaction to this topic (there's a hundred pages already!), so I am not sure whether someone mentioned it before, but I think it's very good that Vonbonbon pointed out that the ideas people have about beauty change all the time. For instance, a few centuries ago you were totally the hipster when you'd shave/depilate your hair line until it was practically on your crown (meaning the top of your head here, not a piece of jewellery). Imagine somebody like that walking around today and the stares she would get.
And look at old porcelain dolls: Most of them are not appealing to the current day human.
Maybe in a few decades people will look back on the dolls we have today and go "sweet lord what were they THINKING?!"

 

Also, I have to add... What is the appeal of NOT being too pretty? I can say as someone who fell down and hit every branch on the ugly tree, climbed up again, fell down a second time, and somehow managed to keep rolling until I fell off an ugly cliff....

I don't really see why we wouldn't want the dolls to be perfectly pretty! There's nothing really appealing about being ugly. It doesn't really make you a better person (you can easily become bitter with time). And it doesn't give you a better personality.

Sure, something ugly could be very interesting, and something too plain-beautiful can be off-putting. But I think true, utterly perfect beauty is certainly not boring! Looking at all the top models and top celebrities, they certainly don't have boring faces to me! They are hand-picked because their beauty is very interesting to look at. Otherwise the entertainment industry wouldn't be making nearly as much money! I have a much uglier, but certainly not interesting face. So, I don't really think perfect beauty necessarily means a lack of being interesting or having character.

The way I see it, the scars aren't really "ugliness" or marring the perfect beauty, so much as ADDING to it. A beauty mark for men, like a tiny mole is a beauty mark for women. But true ugliness, that's not something I would strive for in a doll. I personally don't see the appeal of wanting that... Other than to scare roommates with a carely placed doll on pillow.

 

Uh, everyone's posting such cool replies I feel I can't say anything new. So I'll mostly rant.
Generally I find "too pretty" sculpts less lovable than ones with flaws. For example, I don't like the Souldoll soul-kid girl bodies at all, because they're way too idealistic and slim-curvy, and will get rid of mine swiftly once I get the chance to buy a chubbier one instead. It's kind of silly to have that body too, since the head-sculpt for Lily.C is pretty chubby.
Souldoll seems to be known for being asymmethric, but I don't mind. Mine is really asymmethric too, but human brains do unbelievable tricks so it seems symmethric. -.- Compare this and this. (WTH is this even.)
When I first came to know the hobby, I was annoyed by the thought of extreme beauty too, but nowadays I don't mind it. Dolls are allowed to be pretty, just like people are allowed to put on makeup. And like someone said earlier, it's also a good point that everything isn't drawn in comics either. It's damn hard to make dolls realistic.

 

I don't know that a doll can be too pretty exactly, because what makes a doll physically attractive varies from person to person. I like very pretty highly stylized sculpts, I like slightly more realistic sculpts that are quirky, but I'm not so fond of the stereotypical western ideals of beauty as seen in many dolls designed in this part of the world. It's not that they're inherently bad, they just don't appeal.

I think scars can be interesting, as they naturally suggest a story behind them, and things like freckles are just too cute. I would not want pimples on a doll, however. Pretty much everybody has had to deal with the darn things at some point in their lives, and I've never found them pleasant on me, and don't want them on my dolls. My Ninodoll Anna head has rather large ears, and the Sukryu a large nose (love the nose). My Mikhaila's pear shaped body is so exaggerated that it is not really all that realistic, which I prefer to be honest, as I love stylization and would be less interested in a body of that type that was more realistically done. I also like the really beautiful anime-esque faces of some of my dolls -- they are gorgeous as dolls, but would look utterly freaky if they were real people. I suppose I prefer interesting looking to stereotypically pretty (especially going by US standards), but there are some flaws that I wouldn't want on a doll/don't find attractive.

As to bust size, I prefer smaller chested dolls and not because I equate small chest to being young. All but one of my dolls are late teens to adult in age (even my supposedly 'immature' minis), there's just something about that look that I like. However, I admittedly get a kick out of some of the huge custom made DD torso pieces, but I think that's my love of stylization kicking in.

 

I frankly have an issue with how "cookie-cutter pretty" all the doll-faces are. I want a girl with a slightly masculine, but still pretty face, (that's doable with a male head) almost all the female dolls I've seen have had huge eyes, a tiny nose, and look And I never tought I'd say this about a boy, but: Alot of male dolls look too much like girls. While I do want a pretty doll, I'd prefer a less stylized and more realistically so doll, and they're a little hard to find.

I also don't think it's neccesairy to make your doll a perfect mary-sue Vampire-demon-prince thingy. It's frankly a little annoying to see so many of these.. As long as you develop a nice personality for your doll, you can be creative with that.

 

Yep, totally agree. That's why you have Greek sculptures gracing hotels. And my future doll, I want her to be perfect. Yes, I am a bit of a control freak and a perfectionist. If I can't be perfect, nobody can (I have long surrended), at least something I control is perfect. Fine, I admit, I sound like a psychopath, but that's just who I am.
However, that does not mean I have no plans to bond with my future doll.

 

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of pretty molds. To me, they look overly perfect and are lack of characters and personality. Here I'm referring to molds where they have pretty big eyes and perfect little faces. I really not a fan of those dolls. For me, a face is a reflection of personalities. I like it to be more distinguishable, even though not perfect ^^. This is just me; I like to look at other perfect dolls as well, but I'm not planning to own one of those.

 

You should check out the Volks SD16 girls, hardly a big eyed little nose face in the bunch, in fact they work pretty well as male heads to. And then there's Soom and Souldoll, and well a lot more. I guess it just depends on what you consider big eyed and small nosed. But there definitely out there.

 

Very true. And also, the same sculpt will look hugely different with a different faceup style. A lot of female abjds look very sweet and innocent in the company photos, but they absolutely do not have to look like that. A lot of people seem to get very caught up in certain features and forget how versatile many sculpts actually are.

 

I don't know...I think I view BJDs the same way I view books: If I wanted reality, I wouldn't need this. To me, the beautiful dolls are the entire fun of it. I think of it kind of as a replacement for myself, in a way. Like, I always wanted to cosplay, but can't cosplay certain things because I don't have the body type. When I get my first doll, I'll probably spend a lot of time designing cosplay stuff for the sheer fact that I can. If I wanted to just see dolls that look like normal people, I'd just look at normal people. I don't want to see pimples and whatnot. Now, large disfigurements that don't take away from the beauty, like a scarred eye or something that just makes the doll have a backstory is a lot different. That sort of thing appeals to me just because of the creativity of it.

 

I personally don't want an ugly doll. I mean, you usually don't buy a house because you think it's ugly. Even if you like what one would consider an "ugly" doll, then there is clearly something appealing about them to you.

I don't think ugliness makes a character any more interesting than an extremely beautiful character. It's all about what you do with the character that makes it interesting and have depth. It can be accomplished with both sides of the spectrum and everything in-between. A quirky, odd-looking doll may be interesting and make you smile, while my Soom Amber, who is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, makes me smile. She is not boring at all. I am completely fascinated by her. I say get what you like and forget everyone else. Whether something is interesting or beautiful depends on the person

 

Well, that's certainly an interesting point of view. Personally, I like my dolls to be pretty. I guess that makes them harder to relate to, but I want something that is aesthetically pleasing, not completely realistic.

 

I think that adding acne would be extremely difficult, and actually a bit gross. I hate it when I have acne, and I don't like to look at pimples ready to pop, myself. I am not a fan of gross dolls. There are plenty of people who DO like gross gorey modifications and there are a few dolls that come that way from the beginning. I like looking at what /I/ find attractive. But not all of my dolls are pretty, and definitely aren't perfect.

If someone thinks that all dolls are pretty, or all girl dolls have large eyes, or any other generalization, they just haven't looked at enough variety of maker yet. Everything is out there.

 

I'm someone who has struggled with acne and I personally would never had that to a doll. A doll to me is a 'perfect idea' of a character. Why would I want it to be unsightly?
Although I also find the macabre kind of... Beautiful when others don't, and I find that within reason.
I guess I don't see the point in adding flaws? Dolls to me are like decorations (for lack of a better way to put it) in some ways. I want it to be aesthistically pleasing. But to each their own.
I will say my boy does have freckles. Vut it's not because I want him to be realistic or flawed, I just think freckles are really cute. >u<

 

I'm a bit two-sided about the idea of acne... I kind of like the idea of a pimply puberty doll, but then again I would probably get really frustrated I couldn't squeeze his spots :P I have this incredible urge to squeeze every spot in sight... I even get all nervous when someone with a huge pimple is standing in line before me (DON'T Puppit, DON'T... No, don't even tell him! Just shut up!)... So having a doll with pimples could prove to be problematic :P

 

I didn't post in the picture request thread as I have no pictures, but I thought I'd post here. I like a little imperfection sometimes; it can make a doll really interesting!

It's nothing too major, but when I did my first faceup I must have has uneven layers of sealant in the lip area (I've since learned and all, but that's beside the point xD) and instead of wiping him I've kept it, as it looks like he has chapped lips and I really like that! It adds some character to him~ Oh, he also only has one eye as he (the character) lost the other one in an accident ages ago, but I did that mod on purpose. Still counts, I just forget about it as I'm so used to it haha.

I'll post pictures at the other thread when I can; I don't have any good ones on hand. Sorry!



So yeah, tl;dr - I like seeing imperfections a lot as I feel they can really help flesh out a character, but if someone wants a "perfect", pretty doll then there's nothing wrong with that, either. Not everyone has dolls to be characters, anyway, so I can definitely see how it wouldn't appeal to some people.

 

Having hated acne in real life I would not give it to one of my dolls. My boy does have a couple of beauty marks around his eye which I have never considered a flaw or unattractive.

My main thing is symetry. Perfectly symetric face sculpts kind of creep me out. I usually find that dolls I find most appealing in pictures end up being having something a little off in person. I discovered this again last night while doing a face up on my new girl. Turns out her brow is not even on both sides. This made a headache for trying to get good even-looking(although not actually even since they had to be slightly different shapes to match each other) eyebrows but the end result is good and I think she looks better for it not being perfect. Perfectly symetric dolls which a lot of people consider beautiful enter the uncanny valley for me.

 

@famedglory: I agree about the symmetry thing! And I actually read in some psychology magazine that people with perfectly symmetric faces are easier forgotten (well duh, you would remember that guy with the giant mole or his cheek)...

 

Hmm... For me, my dolls have something I don't have, whether it is their big eyes, perfect body, flawless skin, etc. I think its much more fun to buy her pretty clothes and shoes than for myself, a short and *cough* flat-chested human.

I personally wouldn't want to make them purposely imperfect. But then again we all enjoy our dolls in different ways.