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

i tend to only buy blanks, or mod the faces if i can't. it's part of the fun for me.
company faceups are really nice but i kinda like a more toony look to my dolls rather than the realism most companies seem to go for. it does boil down to personal preferances.

 

It all depends on what you like. Trying to please everyone and anyone in this hobby is futile and not worth it for you. Personally, I don't have any company faceups in my collection, because I found I couldn't bond with my dolls unless I did the face myself. That's just as okay as someone who has all company faceups, all artist faceups, or a mix of any of the three! If you love your doll's face, then that is YOUR choice! Screw everyone else.

 

Factory face ups are cheaper most of the time, however; I find that they sometimes lack immagination. I have gotten some that were exceptional but there is no way I want my doll to look exactly like the next person's. For this reason, I usually opt for artist custom face ups for all my dolls. With a good artist, you get a pre-consultation as to what you want and then get to approve the face up at every stage with pictures, that way you can really get the doll to look exactly as you want. I find this better for shelling character dolls where all their specifications must match the storyline. I think it also lends authenticity to the doll and character it portrays.

 

I personally think that custom faces make the doll  more personalized and unique, but the doll company face-ups are very clean and beautiful :3 So it all depends on what you want to do with your doll.
I only prefer custom face-ups because I am an artist and I greatly appreciate the time it takes to create a beautiful face and such :3

 

I think the company face-ups are perfect for newbies like myself, who have never had a doll before and are just getting started on creating a personality and look for their doll. I just took off my girl's face-up and am now having an anxiety attack that she won't look as good as she would have if I had sought professional help. On the other hand, it's guaranteed that she will be unique, and that's the whole reason for the hobby, right? She won't look like the site examples, but, meh. That's not what I'm after, anyway.

 

I think it is possible to have a doll be unique with a company face up. Basic shadows do not make the doll, the attitude they have and the clothing and posing you give them are what make them wonderful.

That being said; I do prefer to see people do their own faceups. It's always nice to see people try for the first time, and improve with each try. I think it's fun seeing what people can create with the resources they have.

 

Okay, first up: Most people here know that I'm all about the individuality and customization of dolls. I shy away from the very idea of fullsets because, to me, it's completely counterproductive to the spirit of "make your own unique doll" that attracted me to the hobby in the first place. Not that I mean to insult anyone who gets a fullset doll--whatever makes someone else happy is fine with me. And I've seen some really beautiful fullset dolls. I would just rather choose my doll's look for myself and I would never purchase a fullset unless it was a doll sculpt I totally fell in love with.

That applies to faceups, too. I would much rather give my doll a faceup myself than have a pre-painted factory faceup. But that's my preference, and I'm not going to be some kind of customization snob who looks down on those who prefer their dolls to come pre-painted (or even pre-dressed).

Is it still possible to make a doll unique with a company faceup? Or is it a lost cause?

I would think so. Two dolls with the same sculpt and faceup but with different eyes, wigs, clothing, etc. are going to look like two different dolls. The faceup is little more than permanent makeup. Although it's an important part of the doll's look, it's still just a part of it. (And this comes from someone who does her own faceups.)

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?

For who? Joe Blow on the street? Susie Somebody on the Internet? If your doll is interesting to you, who cares what anybody else thinks? (More on this below.)

I tend to hear of instances where doll owners turn their noses up at company faceups. Is this true?

Sure. There are also doll owners who scoff at those who pay a faceup artist to customize their dolls. I'm sure, somewhere out there, there are even a few who would snub you if you did your own doll's faceup because your faceup wasn't "factory perfect" or whatever.

So. Effen. WHAT.

This is definitely a "man/boy/donkey" moment. You're not going to please everybody else on the planet (or even in the hobby) no matter what you do. When it comes to your own dolls, it's perfectly okay to please yourself and say "to hell" with what anybody else thinks. You don't need anyone else's permission or approval. It's nice, but it's not necessary, and not everyone is going to agree with your choices concerning your doll--or anything else, for that matter. If you're happy with what your doll looks like, that's all that counts.

 

I think, that if you like company face-up you can be happy. It's good for people who are afraid paint theirs own face-up or send heads to someone unknown.
But original face-ups are gorgeous because they are unique and people can see part of you

 

I don't think either one is better. It's just up to personal preference.

I have all company faceups so far, but that's mainly because I've found ones I like and I don't have much artistic ability. If I wanted a non-company faceup, I'd definitely have to find a commissionable faceup artist who does work that I like to do it for me.

 

i think it depends on the company and how creative the faceup is. for example i would rather get a bobobie doll withought a faceup and do it myself but if i were to get a luts kid delf doll i would rather whant to have the company faceup than my own

 

Well, I never get dolls with company face ups... I'd rather it be my own, and most nice company face-ups are more than I'd like to spend on something I can do myself.

My face-ups aren't the best, but I'm improving, and that's the important part. I'd rather do it myself and get better. But I do LIKE some company face ups, and think it is possible for a doll to be unique with them. Company face-ups are usually very nice... I've heard horror stories of awful ones, but they're usually nice.

They look good to the world, and if they look good to the owner too, then everything is fine, and it's worth it.
I've never heard of someone dissing company face-ups before, so it must not happen too much. O.O

 

I personally love custom makeups. I don't know how I'd feel about having a lot of other dolls look just like mine

 

Sometimes company face-up can be different from what is shown in the pictures.
As where I am living in does not have some excellently skilled make-up artist, I prefer choosing company face-up coz it is really nicer than finding an artist here

 

I love both custom and default faceups. Quality is the most important thing to me, followed by how well the faceup fits with the overall look I have in mind. Sometimes this means a company faceup will do the trick, other times it means I'll have to send a head out to be customized. I don't mind if someone else's doll has a similar faceup; with the right wig, eyes, and clothing, two dolls with default faceups can be unique and beautiful. I haven't encountered any "faceup snobs" who scoff at any and all company defaults, but I do notice brilliantly executed custom faceups get a lot of admiration and praise, which is only natural (in my opinion). ^^

 

I find companies face-ups and original in intrest.

The companies make thier face-up neutral to fit the most styles and personalitys, that's why I fell for my doll the first time. But after some time she needed a new face-up, I was scared that she would not be herself after that. But on the contrary she bloomed and became herself evenmore! So I think that the companies are helping to make the doll grow and then it's up to you how u want it to be.

 

I'm not good with faceups so I prefer getting default faceups from the BJD companies. However, if I was good at doing faceups, I think that would be a good option since you would be able to change up the look of your BJD

 

Having the factory faceup is important if you are collecting to resell--it's like having the original box, packaging, certificate all together. But if you really want to play with your doll, it's more important to find the faceup that you want for the character, and either doing it yourself (which can be frustrating and messy, but sometimes rewarding because you can say "I did the face!" when it comes out well) or finding a customizer whose style fits your own.

There is a difference between dolls that get attention in the gallery on DoA, and popular dolls at meetups--the ones at meetups that tend to get them most attention are 2 kinds--the newest ones that other collectors haven't seen before, and want to see in person, perhaps because they are interested in getting one, and the very personal, quirky, highly modded and/or theme or artist dolls, ones that are very unusual or have a imaginative theme (like Clean Slate by Candygears).

In the galleries, I tend to look for beautiful photos (rather than beautiful dolls), sculpts that I am personally interested in, and photos that show how much an owner loves a doll. Often the most rewarding of those are the AoD and RS dolls and other "entry level" dolls, where the owners aren't really collectors but are "keepers of characters" and much loved "little people," and the dolls are often imaginatively painted, modded, beautifully or creatively dressed (and yes, I like sock dresses and scarves). I also like blurry little cell phone images of favorite dolls in normal settings, like cafes and classrooms. I think if you really like your doll, that will come through in your photos and customizations and the people who like similar things will be interested and appreciative. Not everyone will be, of course, but the people you would like anyway will like your dolls.

 

Is it still possible to make a doll unique with a company faceup? Or is it a lost cause?
That's up to each individual's perception. I think a doll can be made unique in many ways. The faceup is only one of them. I don't see why you couldn't make a company faceup doll your own.

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?
What's interesting to you, won't be interesting to someone else. Again, it's individual.

I tend to hear of instances where doll owners turn their noses up at company faceups. Is this true?
Sure. This is a hobby that's very personalized and custom bent. The most beautiful faceups I've ever seen have always been done by individual artists, not doll companies.

 

Is it still possible to make a doll unique with a company faceup? Or is it a lost cause?

Of course it is! The doll's eyes, wig, clothing and personality make the doll unique as well.

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?

That's an interesting question. Do you want a striking/unusual doll, or a doll with the face that suits his or her personality/character? I fell in love with Arra, my DZ Aurora, because of her faceup--and it was a company faceup! It gives her this look of "No, I will not shake your hand. You suck." that makes her Arra in a way no other doll with no other faceup could be. For my IH Ryushin, the company's faceup just wasn't Dean, so I had an artist do a commission for me. It all depends on your needs/wants.

I tend to hear of instances where doll owners turn their noses up at company faceups. Is this true?

Some people are jerks that way. But they're jerks, so who cares?

 

It depends on the doll owner.
I have dolls with default company face up.
For me, even though 10 people with the same default company face up...
It still counts as 10 different dolls. =D

Why..? Because there's no 2 things in this world that exactly the same.
Even twins will have difference, though sometimes we can't notice it. ^^;

But yeah, the way people style their dolls are different.
The way they take photos are different too.
That makes 10 same molds with same default face up looks totally different each other. ^^

Don't forget the default face up will have slight difference with promo photos.
That's 1 point of differentiation. ;D