Can dolls be too pretty?

I don't think dolls can be too pretty, and I love seeing all those beautiful dolls out there, but when it comes to my own dolls, I want them to have "flaws", simply because it for some reason makes it easier for me to bond with them. In fact, when I sent my boy off for face up recently, I told the artist she could well make the blushing irregular, because that would make his skin look not as smooth, and I prefer that. Human beings have all kinds of flaws, and I like those to reflect in my dolls too.

I currently do not have too many dolls, but when my doll family grows, I'm quite sure that the number of dolls with pimples, scars, peeling skin etc. etc. will outnumber the very pretty ones. There's also hardly any dolls I want from those companies who use 3D modeling, as I prefer to have those dolls on which you can see irregularity.
I'd also love a really plump doll, if any company made one, just to create even more diversity in my doll family.

 

I don't believe a doll can be too pretty. If a doll were over-done (e.g. with too bright of makeup, too garish of clothing, etc.), I suppose one could call it 'too pretty'; but I don't think such a description would be accurate since that look wouldn't really be 'pretty' at all.

I try to make my dolls - which are all girls for now - as pretty as possible, and small flaws really bother me. My favourite doll has a small imperfection in her faceup above her left eye, which used to really irk me until her new lashes were applied (which happened to cover up the flaw). Asymmetry also would get to me, but luckily my dolls don't have that quality.

I don't think I would ever consider adding anything to my dolls' faceups that would cause them to appear less physically desirable, like pimples, warts, or scars. I am sometimes fascinated by gore-themed dolls, although I myself would never buy one because I wouldn't want to see my precious characters hurt or mutilated. I can understand why people would like beauty marks or freckles, though, because they can enhance a doll's appearance. I can also understand why someone may decide to add a minor scar to their doll if it complemented the doll's character since scars can add a dimension of ruggedness or toughness.

I don't really see my dolls' idealised and unrealistic physical attributes as something that distances them from me, as it makes them more aesthetically pleasing for me to view, and thus easier to like. Although I myself prefer dolls without 'defects' or noticeable imperfections, I do understand and appreciate that some people bond with their dolls better if they are more like real people in a physical sense.

 

Well, it depends on the owner's will. "When dolls and characters have flaws" yes it makes them richer and more interesting. But i want my doll to be ideal. Maybe with wrinkles or freckles but nevertheless IDEAL. Far more beautiful than people around. Some tattoos - yes. But sсars - no.

 

I think for me that really is the case, I've spent a week photoshopping Stella to make her less gorgeous and more 'cute' She's far too stunning to be my OC without a custom face up

 

I don't see how a doll could be too pretty. If it's so pretty that it's no longer pretty in my taste than the doll isn't pretty anymore. In my opinion there is no too pretty, it all depends on the personal taste.

 

I agree with you. I think the more a doll is humanized for real, the more interesting it is. I love dolls because of the characters they represent for the most part. But I also love beautiful dolls for their beauty. But in this hobby in particular - I love to see it all. Good, bad and ugly

 

While I don't believe dolls can be too pretty,I think that they can seem a little too flawless if you're trying to compare them directly to humans. We have acne scars, moles, freckles, larger noses, wide thighs and whatever other imperfection you can come up with. Though these dolls are based off of the human form, you have to take their appearances with a grain of salt. We are NOT supposed to look just like dolls.

I love dolls with all of these little extra flaws and unique looks. It give them a little more flavor than their stock counterparts. By flawing your dolls and making them look less pristine, you make them that much closer to you.

 

I've seen a few DD's with freckles and they're adorable lol. I'd totally make a girl with freckles if I wasn't making comic book character dolls. Also there's ryomou (sp) from Ikki Toussen that has a limited doll and she has a damaged eye so it's closed all the time with an eye patch. I still find her to be cute.

 

At age 58 I have enough wrinkles, warts, and sunspots not to mention grey hair that I can not cover, cut off, or plastic surgeon away fast enough. I don't want my pretty cool looking dolls to be warty, spotty, celullite battling little versions of me. They are to me the embodiment of my ideal, not the reality I look at every day.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think I made a comment in one thread about something related to this and everybody got mad >_> but this is the way I think and I'm not going to change just because some people got offended. For me, dolls are to be pretty and flawless, why would I want something I highly dislike on myself for my dolls?? ie. pimples, eczema (I have eczema and it is HORRIBLE) etc etc that's why, I wholly agree with lostkitten's post.

I respect those who think differently and I'm not a writer or anything so I don't create characters. I just buy dolls and create a certain image but some people might create a character with a background disease or hormone problems, I have no problem with that and I might think it's cool...just don't want it for myself.

 

I....don't like the big breasted dolls. I think they're harder to sew for, and I myself don't have big breasts. Although I admit a bit of it is because I'm afraid someone will see them and think something perverted. I just don't think I could pull it off in a classy way. Maybe one day.

That being said, I love flaws. I also love beauty though. I got into this hobby because I saw pictures of someones dolls and couldn't tear my eyes away because they were so flawlessly beautiful. My Ariadne has that little pointed nose, big dreamy eyes, and even, even body. But I did her face up myself and it's not perfectly even. It's basic. I noticed recently she was a little dirty along her chin, but I left it. I didn't even consider cleaning it. She has this big curly wig and it's gotten a bit out-of-hand fluffy, and I like that. She's a little messy in my head.

I know they're off topic, but I just got two funny looking hujoos. That's one of the things I like though. The 26cm has flipper feet and a huuuuuuge forehead. The baby has the big forehead as well. It's a weird look, but I think if you do it right it'll be beautiful. I'm trying to figure out a good way to do freckles and scars. Acne I think wouldn't look right on most dolls. They're sculpted with extreme attention to some details and an androgyny towards others. The pointed faces wouldn't really allow the curvy cheeks and such.

I'm fairly picky about my own skin, though. I hate acne and drown it in rubbing alcohol, if I ever had a wart or a skin tab, I would pick at it and end up cutting it off. A big, hairy mole might skeeve me out, but then again my cousin had a mole on his cheek when he was younger and it was completely suited on him. But on the baby-smooth resin skin? I think it would look too "LOOK, I'M REAL, SEE? I HAVE A MOLE. SEEEE."

Maybe I'm more accepting of freckles and scars because that's what I have. But then I'm not picky about the breast shape, when dolls do have them. I'd rather the not be HUGE, or the focal point, but I doubt they'd be a deal breaker for me.

I intend to try to make a little ginger doll one day, and one a bit darker and unnatural. I think it would be cool to try modding and make burn scars, and a chelsea grin. Truly, I haven't tried because I'm such an amateur at it and I'm scared I'll ruin my dolls. I may start looking for scar and freckle tutorials.

My first doll is a bit of a mary sue, but I think she pulls it off. I don't want a family of mary sues though, how natural would that be? I made my 26cm doll blind. And the tiny is a bit of a tomboy-animal loving-feminist.

 

I like naturally pretty dolls - in the human sense, that would be a person with great bone structure, probably who is naturally pretty without makeup, so like beautiful molds I guess
but I don't think imperfections make a doll less pretty - a beautiful person can have a zit, freckles, blemishes etc and it doesn't make them not beautiful!

I do think a doll can be too beautiful, so much so that it looks unnatural, in my opinion that's one of the worst things you can do in aesthetic terms to a bjd because you very rarely get a person who is completely blemish free (at least not one that isn't plastered with makeup), dolls should be the same, it adds to character and like I said, blemishes and imperfections don't make a doll less pretty, they add to character!.x

 

My favorite doll is one my room mate did the face up and the clothes for, and the things he did to her made her, in my opinion, over-the-top-beautiful. (It helps that she's prolly my favorite female sculpt, but still.) Her beauty is entirely unrealistic; she's flawless and hauntingly lovely. And it's this outrageous beauty that makes me love her so much.

The dolls I see that draw my attention are always the really beautiful ones. I mean, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course. There are beautiful dolls with scarring and what have you, and I think freckles are super cute/pretty when done well! But warts and acne have no appeal for me. ;x (My room mate also did my Saint's face up, and I think he's stunning, but in an entirely different way - he totally looks like some kind of meth-addicted psycho. And I loves him like that. :v)

Dolls work best for me as ideals of beauty that we will never reach. It's really fun to self-indulge with them for that reason. :v

 

Hrm.. you know I think you may have just enriched my brain.

At first I thought that honestly - it would change how I felt about the doll. And I didn't like that answer, but it was true. I couldn't fathom why someone would want to make a character so flawed to the point of unattractiveness. Even mutilated dolls, or dolls with scars look somewhat beautiful.

But then I remembered an old friend I had. He had acne but he was still attractive so his spots probably made life difficult for him, even though he was a really good guy. Then I realised I've never approached that viewpoint either in a writing sense or artistic sense but that it would really be quite a worthwhile and interesting pursuit. The thought kinda makes me nervous because of how the doll might be perceived but also excited because it's a chance to make something unique and special - and to improve my own opinions on life in the process.

 

I'm not very much into perfection.
I like to see a pretty doll, but for me there is "Too pretty".
Some doll are so beautiful, so sweet, have such sugary expressions, they ressemble an hiperglycemia atempt.
That doesn't mean I'm into ugly scars either, deformed dolls or such. I saw one that was scary. But those acne or eczema problems you were asking for, whould only give them a bit more personality to me.

 

Dolls can never be too pretty, but some of them are too hideous to believe.

 

Well, different people have different taste, i must say. But for me, i just want my kids to be pretty, but then again, a freckle or two wont hurt.

 

I think the question of the OP is a matter of how much your doll is a "doll" and how much she is a "character."

The more characterised you want your doll to be, the more interesting flaws such as birthmarks/scars/freckles/moles+beauty-spots/etc could be. For me I would be less interested in pimples and warts because they tend to cause negative and possibly revulsion reactions. That said, if you wanted to create a witch character or a self-conscious teen character, I can see how they could be used effectively.

If you enjoy your doll a lot just as a "doll" then the beauty is going to be an important aspect. We enjoy looking at pretty dolls for a reason: it produces a chemical response in our brains that is pleasing. We get the same response from looking at children and our loved ones. Because we meet our dolls as strangers and do not already know and love them for who they are, we can only get that pleasing "aw I feel love for you" response when they are "cute" or "beautiful."

 

Freckles on dolls (and people for that matter) are adorable.