Dim Minimee Update & Talk Part 1

I for one am still saving for my two Minimee heads, plus one male body (as you don't do the female body yet, otherwise it would be two bodies!). I would hate to see this project die, and not for my own selfish reasons, but just because it's such a wonderful dream for yourself and everyone able to benefit from it.

I really hope everything works out for you and your team, Denny.

 

We know a LOT of work goes into these, and expect that perfection takes time. I always thought that even though the project was pricey, it was a great deal.

I wouldn't want 100% likeness. That's a bit too far into my eerie valley. I'm hoping I'll be able to order several Minimees in the future, from realistic to more BJD like, but I even think 80% is too close for comfort sometimes. ::idealised::

I think restricting public figures that could be sculpted would be hard on both you and the community, as we're not aware of every order that goes through, and as you said, your business would decrease. Perhaps if you make it clear on the ordering page that orders would be a new sculpt?

 

I think it doesn't really matter. It's true it may upset someone if say, they order a Final Fantasy Cloud doll or something, and then 4 months down the road someone else wants to order one too but... I'm sorry I think it's a little bit selfish to say "No one else can have this doll! I'm the only one that can have it!" when it's a video game/animation character that the person doesn't even own the rights to in the first place. (Wow run-on sentence of doom!) It not only hurts future buyers, but it also hurts Denny and the team, and DIM too. We are lucky enough to even be able to order minimees at such a decent price in the first place. I think it's rude to try and tell Denny to run the show, especially since compensation is so low as he has mentioned.

It's inevitable that there are some really popular characters out there who would be best represented by a minimee, and that more than one person is gonna want one. Putting limits on who can order what would do greater harm to Denny than it would to any of us. And I think that... if we really loved the doll for the doll, the craftsman ship and the character... then it wouldn't matter if there was only one in the world or one thousand... we can still make our own doll dreams come true with a special minimee. I would love to have several animation character minimees. I would not care if someone else ordered the same character. In the end, it's not the same doll anyways because we each do our own thing with them and have our own vision.

D: jmho........................

edit: But I do think that the price should be the same/proportional for everyone. Not cheaper because it's a re-order (aside from special events and stuff?)

 

I ordered a wierd person, and when I started this, I asked for people to join me for a month or two. No one did but one person, so we split the order. Now I feel I must ask her if its okay to give anyone the okay to get a copy of our scuplt. I wouldn't care if people submitted pictures of the same character to be made, even in a group order of 10, because like Denny said, their would be a different variation from my sculpt. But for people to write in and say "I liked so and so's preview, here's my 40-70 dollars I want one too," kinda bothers me. part of that is the fact that we spilt the total cost between two people and not 10.

 

Animation or video game characters have a pretty static face. That is to say, that although the display different emotion the basis of their face stays the same. They do not age or change. So, that being said -- people who order Minimee's of their favorite Anime or Video Game character need to realize that if the character is popular that 1 of 2 things might happen. 1 - Someone might have already ordered that character and 2 - Someone might order that character after. It's only natural that they'll look the same because, as I said before, their faces don't change. A little patience and alot of understanding will help them alot.

Denny, this is YOUR program. I understand that you like to make people, but in the end the decisions you make are your own. I will support you in whatever decision that might be. Others will do the same. Good luck with everything. I know you'll do the right thing. ^_^

 

That wouldn't be fair at all. But what if someone didn't see your original post but now offered to pay you 1/3 of your total cost? That might be a way to do it. Sort of a post-group group order.

 

yes yes.. totally support Denny...who should be sleeping...^.~

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but I didn't think Denny was suggesting recasting sculpts from the same mold someone else paid for. I think he just meant is it ok to do 2 sculpts based on the same animated character from the same set of pictures.

If the latter is the case then I don't see any problem with it at all.

If we're talking about recasting from a mold someone else paid hundreds for then that seems a bit unfair to me .

IMHO

 

Yes yes I agree. I dont think that $40 is just, even for an event. You would lose more money in the end Denny. Most standard heads cost at least $100. I think half the price should be sufficient.

 

To be fair, it makes me sad to imagine someone who thinks just because they were "first" they should have the rights to a certain character's head. Unless you were the one who invented the character, then it isn't yours to forbid anyone else to enjoy. Using a popular example, if you wanted a Minimee Sephiroth, then it isn't fair to say only you can have one, since he doesn't belong to you more than anyone else! Everyone should be able to enjoy him equally.

 

Denny, does the limit of 10 casts per sculpt still apply with this event going on? As in, if someone wanted a recast from a PREVIOUS group order which went to 10 heads, would they be able to do that (with the needed permission, of course)?

 

Okay, this is a little OT with the current re-ordering discussion... but the idea that the future of the minimee project is uncertain has got me a bit worried and bumping up my minimee on my list of "to buy next"s....

So, to people that ordered celeb Minimees before: how did you do your reference photos? Did you make like a single small collage thing? I know that the minimee order page requests that you not send in too many, and that you try and stick to a single look... so I'm wondering how you guys did your refs ? What kind of notes do you stick on it? Or did you just send in a few links and I'm just thinking too much into this ^^;...

 

I've just sent in a few links per Minimee. Just the views they ask for. They always do a really good job.

 

With both of mine I began searching for pictures with a few things in mind.
1 - I made sure that the pictures I chose were all taken with a relative amount of time from each other. That is to say, pictures from the last 2 years as opposed to some from 5 or 10 years ago.
2 - I made sure to find a profile, a front, and a 3/4 shot.
3 - If there was something special I wanted, I made sure to find pictures of that area or expression. For example (although I didn't opt for it) Pete does a snarl in 75% of the pictures he is in. If I had wanted that as his expression I would have made sure to include pictures of that.

I didn't make any sort of photo collage, I just sent the individual pictures in.
As far the number of pictures I sent in, I sent 7 for Billie Joe and 11 for Pete. The better the quality of the photo, the more useful it would be I would think. Lots of times, photos taken at a Primere Event (Such as a movie, or party or awards event) are very good quality. Most of the time they are very close as to provide good detail. I didn't send any notes to Denny, I just let him work his magic, and both of mine came out great.

 

I sent a ton of photos in for Kyo - some were magazine scans, some were live screencaps. I found ones that displayed the jawline I wanted, and the expression. I requested a frown and an open mouth, so I sent in a few cropped photos of those areas specially, and the boy I got back was perfect!

 

Wow, Denny!! This is great! Thank you so much for your consideration!
What a wonderful project- you're such a thoughtful and kind guy. I guess you must be under a lot of stress to keep everyone happy, but I think your company is popular because you're willing to make real effort to help people. The Minimee project made my dream come true, and now it's cheaper too!

Group Orders count as recasts too, right? *___* That means our GOs just got cheaper!?!