Company Faceups vs Original Faceups : Which is "better"?

Yes. Yes it is. What's more, it's a lost cause. If you try to make your doll into what you think other people want to see, there's a big chance that you might not end up liking him yourself. Rather, you should make your doll look exactly how YOU want him to look, and stick two fingers up at the notion that he should try to please anyone other than his owner.

Also, why do you CARE what other people think about your doll? Did the taxpayer buy him for you so you should be democratically aiming to please everyone? I think not. There's no need to be bitter and jealous over the attention that other people receive. In my honest opinion, that's a rather pointless and childish route to take. Presumably you're in this hobby because you enjoy your dolls. So go ahead and enjoy them, and stop coveting your neighbour's resin, custom face-upped or not.

 

Hmmm, when I chose my first doll, I ordered him with default face-up and he also looks awesome with it btw. Before I went to this hobby, me and hubby are kind of 'default collectors.' but when I become active with the hobby I kinda noticed that some doll owners preferred custom. I did not care much as long as I am happy with how I want my doll to carry himself. On one unfortunate bathing, I accidentally erased his face blushing which prompted me to send him off for custom face-up. I still love him and grow to love him even more. I think it kind of depends on how doll owners depict their dolls.

 

In my little collection of dolls I have some which I've done the face-up on myself, some that has been done by others and one with the factory face-up. I absolutely adore all of them and the one with the factory face-up is no exception. I've seen pictures of many other dolls of the same mold and with the standard factory face-up, but even though they have the same look-alike face-up, they still don't look the same. They're all done by hand, so it doesn't turn out the exact same way every time. Every doll I have seen with the same mold and face-up as my own do look unique because every other aspect of them is customized. Even those with the same hair color looks unique and different from my own.

When it comes to elitists or snobs, I have honestly NEVER met or personally seen examples of this. I'm not saying it's a myth, but a lot of so-called elitism can be explained by people misreading the tone in a forum/blog post or someone simply taking the fact that some people doesn't like their doll as a hint of elitism. And the matter of fact is that there always will be someone who doesn't like the looks of your doll. But then again there are always someone who will love it too.

I can understand the wish to have dolls that stand out and that people will flock to at meets. I often have that wish myself, but as people have said before me, it's not a good goal to strive after. Make your dolls look like you want them, and if you still want to make an impact on others, do something special for your dolls at meets. Clean them, groom their hair and dress them in their finest clothes, or make something for them to carry around. That way you will know that your doll at least is shown from its best side.

Though even if you do this, don't except your doll to be the belle of the ball. Don't even expect it to get extra attention because of it. But at least you'll know that you put effort into how your doll looks and feel good about it yourself.

 

While I totally agree with everyone who says that each owner should customize their doll only for themselves and that each doll can become unique because faceups are only one feature that can be customized on a doll...

Company default faceups are just plain vanilla to me. Most companies only offer one, maybe 2, faceup options for any doll. Yes, some companies will take small requests for alterations (like eyebrow color), but you are basically paying $40+ to have the company paint your doll in exactly the same style as every other doll of that type.

A custom faceup can tell more of a story and make the doll come more alive. None of my dolls would be "themselves" if I had got them with the default faceups. I can stick Vesper next to a default Loongsoul Emily and they hardly look like the same sculpt, because Vesper isn't the cutesy-girl character that LS shows on their website. I never planned on Vesper being who she is, I had no idea what character she would be when I bought her. I do my own faceups and the complete freedom to do what I want, the exploration of character, and bringing it out in the aesthetics is fun for me. (Plus, I never have to feel guilty for wiping another artist's skilled work, because the work I'm wiping is my own.)

 

Wait, so you got the doll to please other people? Cos that's basically what you're saying in all of this, that unless the thing gets you validation and love from the masses, you're not interested.

I have to ask why you bothered to buy one in the first place if that's truly the case, because really, that's like buying paint for your living room walls based exclusively on the sales figures for each colour, it pleases no one and you'll end up with something that says absolutely nothing about you and your taste.

 

Not all default faceups are created equal. Some companies are pretty terrible in terms of skill and artistry and some companies are pretty damn amazing. As to which is best for an owner, it's up to that owner to decide. I've purchased dolls default, blank, and with custom faceups already in place. I tend to end up wiping them all and sending them to people to paint because I do have very specific ideas about what my dolls should look like and generally the odds are not in my favour that a pre-existing faceup is exactly what I need.

Truer words on this subject have ne'er been spoken.

In all honesty, I can say that beyond my own dolls and the dolls belonging to friends, I don't much care about other people's dolls beyond a passing "Oh, that's pretty" or a "Oh, that's hideous" when I see a picture or encounter one at a meet. Most owners are also like that. I really don't care what other people think about my dolls, though I tend to poll friends opinions on whether or not something I am thinking about works for a particular character because they have a different perspective.

Yes. Yes it is. No doll is beloved by everyone. Hell, not every doll owner is going to like you, let alone your dolls. It's just the way the world works.

 

Let me start by saying that the opinions expressed below are MY opinions for MY OWN dolls. I think everybody should do what they prefer for their own dolls. The most important thing is that you enjoy your dolls, no matter where the faceup comes from. Hey, if you choose to give your doll to a 3 year old with a sharpie, it really shouldn't matter to anybody else! They don't have to like it, it's YOUR doll. That being said, my opinions for myself:


Is it still possible to make a doll unique with a company faceup? Or is it a lost cause? I can't stand having a factory faceup on my own dolls. ALL of them are done by me, except for one, which I bought secondhand and he already had an artist's faceup that I really liked, though I did alter it to meet my character's personality better. Most commonly, I find company faceups either too childish or too girly for my boys. They are all original characters and I can see them in my head. a default artist doesn't know how I see my character. Not only do want them to look like they should, doing the faceups myself is also a bonding experience for me. I have a really hard time bonding to a doll that has a default look that others also have.

Do I need to do my own faceup or commission a faceup artist to do it in order to make my doll "interesting" to look at? No, you don't. Your doll doesn't need to be "interesting" to anybody but you. If the company faceup is what you like and how you envision your character (if the doll has a character/personality), then there really isn't any reason to avoid that faceup, unless the company is known for doing sloppy jobs or low quality. Some companies have very unique faceups, others don't. You can always add to a faceup. Beauty marks, beards, darker makeup, scars, tattoos...all of these can be added to an existing faceup if you want something just a little different. I really don't think doll design should be a competition for most interesting, I think it should suit your taste.

I tend to hear of instances where doll owners turn their noses up at company faceups. Is this true? While I'm sure there ARE snobby collectors out there that do look down on it, overall, I'd say most doll owners/collectors are going to tell you that it's your doll and to do what makes you happiest. I think the biggest reason anybody looks down on a factory faceup is probably because this hobby is about customization and has so many options, that some may feel going for defaults is missing out on the bonding experience of creating your own doll. However, even with a factory faceup, you can still make/choose different wigs, eyes, clothes, accessories, shoes....a doll can be very unique, even without a custom faceup. Not everybody is an artist, and not everybody is comfortable mailing their doll to an artist.

 

I think certain companies definitely benefit from original face ups, like with lati dolls. Those little Yellow size dollies look fab with custom face ups! I have a gingerbread girl, a Lati Gaga, a clown, an Indian girl...

 

I ordered my first doll wth defaul make-up but it was so different from what in pictures that I cleaned it of.
Wow, now I feel very bad about that company-face-up-boo attitude. I don't do it myself but how someone can be so... UGH!

Anyway, I order company face-up only if it's suits the character that I have in mind but usually I prefer custom made: I like when I can say exactly what I want.
Plus, I can choose an artist and sometimes it cheaper.

But there's still many companies taht have wonderful face ups. There's nothing wrong on wantin one C:

 

Should have touched on this in my last post, but didn't, so here it is. Abouty wanting your doll to be popular at meetups...it's pretty impossible to determine. I've been to quite a few meetups and seen a LOT of dolls from different owners. And reactions are often not what one might expect, especially in terms of elitism. I've seen limited Volks dolls ignored while a Bobobie got fawned over. I've seen amateur faceups made over. I've seen dolls I considered the most attractive given very little attention, and I've seen dolls I found very unattractive be the most popular at the meet. Sometimes expensive clothing is highly admired, sometimes a handmade outfit gets more attention. At one meet, everyone made over a certain body and wanted it...it was the same body I owned 2 years ago and hated so much I sold it almost immediately. My two "expensive" dolls that I thought I'd done a really good job customizing got mostly looked over while my "cheap" OT girl got all kinds of love. There are lots of very popular sculpts and faceup artists that people will pay big bucks for...that I wouldn't want to keep if they were handed to me free. A lot of the dolls in the gallery here that have pages and pages of comments do absolutely nothing for me....and a lot of my faves have only one or two comments.

So...basically, what I'm pointing out here is that you'll never please everybody and there really is no way to predict what "everybody" is going to love. I have 25 dolls that I really do love. If I just went with whatever was popular, I likely wouldn't like any of them...and that, to me, is just a waste of time, money and space.

 

Just because a doll has a company faceup doesn't mean it can't be unique in other ways... like the way you dress them.

 

All right then, sticking only to faceups themselves... well, the answer isn't going to help you much. The truth is one is not inherently better than the other. Default or custom -- both can look great, both can be mediocre, and what people think looks good is going to be personal to them. I can't suggest which you should go for, because I don't know you and what you think looks good. You did spend a lot of time in the first post and subsequent replies discussing your concern over whether or not other hobbyists would like your faceup choice (hence the responses you've been getting). If the company you want your doll from doesn't have default faceups you like, then you can work on your faceup skills and do it yourself, or commission a faceup artist to do it for you. All three options are equally valid, and none of them are guaranteed to make your doll more 'likable' as what likable is depends on the individual person.

 

Hi All,

I'm a definite "newbie" on DOA. Still can't find my way around, so please excuse my 2-cents-worth.

I've been collecting BJD for about 12 years and what I find with face-ups is that it depends on the specific doll and what kind of look you're going for. I have some dolls that I want to be more three dimensional and require more than I can give them to achieve that. Others I'm content to add a little more blush or lip color to the basic face-up, usually on the younger looking dolls.

There's also that thing of dressing for a special occasion. I don't always wear make up (hardly ever, actually) but if I need a little extra glam or drama, then I add a layer of grease paint. It's sort of the same way with my BJD kids. JMHO
Jill

 

On the topic of faceups itself: Like Taco said, a company's faceup can be mediocre just as much as a custom one done by an artist or by yourself, and what's "good" is totally up to the individual. You have to decide for yourself which looks better. This is what I meant by the "better" of the two being the one that looks good in my previous post.

I would also like to point out that two dolls of the same sculpt with the exact same faceup (or as similar as one can get anyway) can still look completely different depending on how the owner(s) decide to dress the dolls and the rest of the dolls features. Doll A could have a multicolor mohair wig with bright neon pink pupil-less silicone eyes and is dressed in raver gear. Whereas Doll B could be a gentleman from the 1800's in a blonde synthetic wig and regular brown glass eyes. The faceup is not the only feature that defines the doll. And that's part of what makes these dolls so great.

I have dolls with both. I haven't come across a company faceup I haven't liked, but plenty of custom ones that weren't my thing. I've gotten confident with my own skills that I can do a pretty decent natural faceup myself. However if I see a doll that the company's faceup would look better, and I'm not strapped for cash I'll probably go for it. Especially if there's eyelashes involved since I have not yet mastered how to attach those yet. I'm neither here nor there really. Getting a doll pre-faceupped for you can be benificial if you're a newer collector and aren't to sure of your skills or don't trust someone else having your doll's head for months at a time. It's great if you wanna get right to the playing. Getting a blank doll has its merits too, because then you can make the doll look exactly how you want and potentially save money if you can do it yourself. Plus it gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill, if it isn't something you've done before. Either way is good, really.

And I'll repeat what I said previously about the often-mentioned-but-hardly-seen "snob", chances are they aren't going to be able to tell if your doll's faceup is company or not unless you say something, and if they're gonna snub you they're gonna snub you regardless of where your faceup came from. So the best advice is and always will be- go with what you want. We cannot and should not tell you what you would like, because we aren't you.

All 'you's are general, of course.

 

Is it still possible to make a doll unique with a company face up? Or is it a lost cause?
It's absolutely possible to make a doll look unique with a company face-up! Face-up is a very important aspect of the doll, sure, but other details are important as well - wig, eyes (color, type, position) and clothes all make our dolls unique. Also, even though the company face-ups are generally done in very similar color palette, they do differ among themselves because they are drawn by hand, and, oftentimes, by different artists. No two dolls will ever be painted 100% the same, unless they are done by a machine, which, thankfully, in BJD hobby doesn't happen.

Do I need to do my own face up or commission a face up artist to do it in order to make my doll "interesting" to look at?
No. In reality, all the little finicky details of our dolls are only important to the doll owner. It's analogous to wedding planning: the bride obsesses over the tiniest details of the wedding (seat cover colors, napkin folds, font on the place cards, etc. etc.), but the guests don't really notice this - they just want to see the couple get married and have fun at the reception! It's the same when it comes to dolls - at meet-ups, folks want to see various sculpts in person and mentally compare them to company photos, or marvel at a doll's engineering. To the observers, it's the whole package that matters vs. multitudes of tiny details.

I tend to hear of instances where doll owners turn their noses up at company face ups. Is this true?
A lot of these 'instances' are simply rumors. Are there snobs in this hobby? Sure. Just like in all aspects of life. But, they are not the norm and chances of you meeting one is pretty small. In all my years in the hobby, I haven't once met a snob/elitist. And, judging by a lot of the responses in the "elitism" thread, that's true for many DoA members. Ultimately, what is this hobby all about - pleasing some random snob you may or may not meet or yourself?

Or is wanting my doll to have attention just a recipe for drama and disaster?
Yep, sure is. At the end of the day, how will it make you feel when you realize that you bought something very expensive to please a random person on the internet vs. yourself? When the excitement around your super-popular, trendy doll dies down (and it will!), what will be left for you to enjoy? If you bought what you loved, you'll have a beautiful BJD to enjoy for years to come. If you bought what's trendy, but not exactly what you wanted, you may find yourself resenting the purchase. Something to think about.

* Disclaimer: all instances of 'you' are general.

 

I prefer doing my own faceups. I have a doll that is on layway from a secondhand buyer who has a limmited edition company face up, and I plan on changing it once I get my doll paid off and sent to me. It is because I am in love with fantasy faceups, and instead of comissioning artists I like doing my own faceups with my own supplies. That is my preference though. It really isn't that hard to learn how to do faceups. There is a book on amazon that can teach you how to do it too.

 

I don't think either are 'better', really. Custom faceups seem to be more popular because people like to... well, customize their dolls! It gives it a personal touch. But you can do just as much with a default faceup.

And you're more than welcome to attend some of the local meetups, darlin'! I'm not sure if you've been to a local meet before but they're fairly low-key affairs and everyone gets along really well.

 

It depends on the doll, really. Aisling still has her factory face up because it works perfectly for her and even if I wanted I couldn't imagine a better face for my girl....except the little issue of her eyebrows. (They messed up horribly and they stretch from mid brow-ridge to her ears.) None of my other resins have factory faces because they just didn't quite mesh with the personality I wanted. I have no problem with factory faces, but usually it just doesn't look like my character.

 

I prefer original faceups, though I wish I could execute the professionalism as company faceups, and professional faceup artist.. one day I hope to get to that level haha. I do prefer original though, I think it makes the dolls more personalized..which I believe is really the greatest aspect of collecting bjd.
There are more than plenty of amazing dolls out there that have company done face ups.