Do it yourself or pay someone else?

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

i try to never get company default. sometimes i mess up though and get ones with faceups. : i've got one doll not faceduped by me. and that was kind of a spur of the moment kind of thing, and now i plan to send more to that same person.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?
pretty much at this point, i only get dolls done by other poeple cause i want a peice of their art. i asked krowbar to do my one floating head i head's face up cause he had been sitting on my dresser for almost 2 years blank, and decided to send it to her, and let her do what ever she wanted to it. she asked me what i like. and i said fish and sharks. and she was really into the joker at the time. XD i just saw her style and loved it. if i send a head to someone else, i can't have a plan for it. if i have no expectations then i can't say it's not what i'm looking for.

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
i like to paint and do crafty things myself. and that was part of the reason i got into these dolls.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
the one doll i accedently got a faceup on from the company i set up a want to trade thread like right away. i didn't want to wipe it, but i didn't want to keep it either so that was the best thing i could do.

 

So far, I've only had company face-ups. I don't have much experience in any sort of painting, so I'm not so willing to jump straight in. However, I would like to do them myself eventually and have a head to pratice on. Until then, however, I probably stick to the company.

 

I am not good with face up so I get either default face up or commission for face up to be done by artists.

yes, I usually do browse thru the gallery of the artist, see if I can get a spot then decide who to send to the artist - trying to match the head to the style of artist.

In the cases when the face up does not work out, I will find another artist to commission.

 

Generally I get company face-ups though I sometimes end up enhancing them. There was one doll that looked nothing like the stock photos so I completely redid his face-up. And now there's a floating head just waiting for me to get to him. I'm an artist by profession but still, painting in 3-D is quite different from using a flat surface.

I have bought several artist done pieces but they were already done when I bought them. And I did buy a Soph B head with the exact purpose of having Jay Searle do it. I'd love to have another by Meee as well but she's completely booked up.

 

I have the company default face-up on Alys right now; I'm considering having it redone by an artist here on DOA, but I might keep it. We'll see. At no point, even before I got her, have I ever considered doing the face-up myself.

I do love that bjds are so customizable, but I'm really not that artistic, nor do I have much of a desire to learn how to do it. There are some really talented people out there, and I'd much rather pay them and have a beautiful little piece of art on my shelf than struggle with it myself and get frustrated as I fail. So I'm sticking to the customization aspects that I'll actually enjoy, and pay others to do what I won't (and can't).

 

So far company face-ups....and to be honest I'm happy with how Annaleighs (a DOT E-an) face-up looks. Like Kagurei, I have yet to dive into doing my own face ups...I plan to try someday! Need to get a head to practice on first.

 

I prefer to do my own. I decided to do it because, 1) the anxiety of sending the head off (these dolls are practically a investment to me) 2) Doing my own face ups makes the doll feel way more personal. (which is why I liked these dolls) and finally it makes me feel.. good. That I'm able to do something like that.

Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with?

Actually my first doll I got, I ordered with a face up because I knew how hard and expensive it is to do it yourself. Unfortunately his lips got sticky and linty and scrapped off. I Emailed them and they wanted me to buy a face up and shipping..Which was eh..I didn't have the confidence to send the head all the way to Korea.

I fixed the problem by SLOWLY collecting face up supplies. And when I finally got everything I slapped on a face up. Even though everything was like 200$ in the end. I could get MANY face ups out of the supplies! So why pay 80$ for one face up. I'm glad I chose to do it myself though. Face ups are delicate things..

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?
>.> I want others to do it! But I'd do my own tattoo's. No one can do it like I can do it.
Its all about what your looking for.
2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?
ArrowChiiiiildddd Epic person. I seen her faceups, I love her faceups and when I get another bjd my life will be complete? WHY? Because I want her to do it!
3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
N/A
4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
Nope. Havent had that sort of bad luck yet. My recent artiste was amazing on her job on my brand new boy.

 

1. When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

If the company's default or custom faceup interests me, I would get them to do it!
I also engage other faceup artists ^-^

2. If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?

Yes ! I go around "researching" and keep a list of faceup artists I like~

3. If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
This only happened 3 times when I was being "adventurous" and later decided I was bad at it haha

4. Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?

I'll send to another faceup artist ^^

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

If the faceup by the company works for the character I have in mind, I go with that. I've dabbled a little in faceupping, but it'll be a long time before I can produce anything near good enough to meet my own ridiculously high standards (Luts and Fairyland have ruined me!), so if I don't think the company faceup is going to be right for the character I have in mind, I ask a more local faceup artist to take a crack at it. I haven't been disappointed yet! ;D

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?

sephyelysian and I seem to repeatedly harass overlordu and byouyuuken, who have different styles, but both are amazing.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?

Yep. Luts sent me the wrong doll when I ordered my Shiwoo, and the one I got a week later when they'd fixed the problem had a nice but obviously rushed faceup. They'd painted over his human teeth inside his mouth with lipstick color and it looked like they'd matched his eyebrows to the light-colored wig they gave me as an apology. The character has dark hair, so that irritated me to no end until I finally got fed up enough to send him to a customizer. The structure of the Luts faceup is still there (because I really did like it), but his lips were redone, his eyebrows were darkened, and his blushing was enhanced. I'm much happier with it now.

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

I am not good at face-ups. I prefer sending my head to an artist-- this way my doll's face is OOAK I ordered my first doll with company face-up (Dollzone) and I didn't like it at all so-- if I have a choice, I would rather get a blank doll On the other hand, if a doll comes with nice default face-up (Volks limiteds), I am not sure I would change it-- no point if I like it.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?

There is one polish artist I really like but I don't mind trying others if that certain someone is busy

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?

I tried to give one of my dolls a face-up because the company's wasn't nice and I just like doing stuff with my dolls. Unfortunately doing face-ups wasn't much fun for me-- I prefer restringing, body blushing.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?

*points above*
Dollzone's face-up was orange and very simple, no details to lips. I removed it-- "I will try; if I don't like it, he will go to an artist". Well, I tried. Then I sold him XD

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?
I prefer to do my own.

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
Because I'm cheap and an artist anyway!

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
This is another reason I wouldn't really like other people doing it... I know what I want and I don't feel bad wiping by own faceup, but I would have a much harder time wiping one I paid for.

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

If I like the company faceup, I might order a doll with it. I have several dolls with company default faceups and have been pleased with them. I also like to do my own faceups, or enhance the default faceups (they are generally too pale for my taste).

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?

I don't happen to have any dolls done by anyone else, but there are many artists whose work I greatly admire and wouldn't hesitate to commission if I felt it was the look I wanted for my doll.

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?

I have experience painting porcelain dolls, so I thought I might like to try. I have to say that painting resin dolls is much harder than porcelain, so I have had a greater learning curve than I thought in the beginning. I also like the idea of having dolls with faces that I have created myself.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?

Several of the company faceups I have were too pale to my eye, and so I enhanced them with pastels or acrylic paint.

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

I cannot do faceups myself for anything, I cannot work on 3D objects. I do not take the company option faceup because I am allergic to MSC so do not want to risk coming into contact with it (I have only ever found one company faceup that actually suited the character of the doll before too). I always have someone else do the faceup for me.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?

I have only found two people who will use a different sealant that I can guarantee not reacting to. Whichever does the faceup on my dolls is dependant on if I need something else done to them like mods.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?

All the faceups that my dolls have are perfectly fine, never had any problems. Then again I keep in contact with customisers, to see how things are going as they progress and to point out anything that might have gone wrong.

 

I do my own face-ups on Sanyu. even though I'm still not very good at it.

I actually was going to send Sanyu out for a beautiful face-up by some random artist I never decided on... but after holding her and having her with me... I just couldn't bear to send her head out! Silly reason, I know, but I felt like I'd rather learn how to do it myself so I didn't have to be without my little Sanyu.

So I promptly got up my supplies... sprayed icky testors in a bad environment... and kind of stained her ears. Well, I don't know if it's really a 'stain', but I haven't been able to get it all out and neither have my friends... but I haven't like sent her to a 'pro' or anything... but anyways~!

It doesn't really matter much to me because they don't show under all her hair.

I like doing my own face-ups because not only are they fun... but it's a good learning and bonding experiment. I feel more hands on with Sanyu. I am also less afraid to 'chip' or 'rub' her face-up because I know that I can always just bust out my supplies and re-do it. (I adjust her head with my thumb on her chin... so her chin always gets all shiny-like. XD)

People also tend to be more impressed by her and myself when I say that I painted her face. It's like they think she's cooler because she's so 'interactive' or 'custom' or something.

If ever I'm unhappy with my work, as I often will be until I'm a 'pro', I simply re-do it whenever I want to!

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?
Depends on how the company face-up looks like. If it fits the character I have planned...maybe.
Else I pay an artist.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?
I dream of owning a face-up by Sdink. But that is a far away dream.
Else than that I prefer an artists who is beeing close to me, so I can look over her shoulder, and party hard afterwards

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
n/a

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
can't complain yet, since I was there when the face-up was done.

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?
When I was new in this hobby a few years ago I wanted to do my own face-ups, but it didn't take long before I found out that I didn't like doing them. Every little 'mistake' in the face-up I noticed and completely blew it out of proportions. That's when I decided to commission someone. It saved me a lot of trouble, and I'm able to enjoy other people's work more than my own.

I always commission, never take a company face-up, because you can make your doll completely your own when you commission. I like how you still have a big influence in what your BJD is going to look like eventually.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?
Because I don't like sending my dolls away for commissions (partly because of the massive custom charges of my country and partly because I'm afraid something bad will happen to them), I only ask artists in my country to do the job. My dolls are either painted by Jubriel or Irrimiri.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
No. The beauty of commissioning is that you're kept informed throughout the process - at least that's how it was with Jubriel and Irrimiri.
First of all you decide together with the artist what your doll is going to look like. After that the artist will go to work and frequently mail you pictures to see if your still happy with the result. Irrimiri also has an option to do a one time repaint - when you're not happy with the first outcome - and she won't charge extra for it.

All in all I've only had positive experiences! For me the fun part of commissioning is to see how the artist interprets the character you've envisioned. Seeing the character come to life helps me with the bonding.

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?
I depends on the doll really. Sometime the company faceup is just perfect for what I want, and other times it's not, or too expensive for me so I'll want to do it myself. Only once have I needed to have someone else do a faceup for me, because I knew I couldn't pull it off and it was their specialty.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind?
For the one who needed another artist's faceup, yes. I knew right away who I wanted to do it. She excels in colorful faceups and I loved her style. I'm so happy I chose her because it turned out PERFECT. (slvrdrgn you rock!)

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
Originally I wanted to save money. I also really enjoy painting in real life and thought I'd give it a try since I already had some of the necessary tools on hand. Once I learned more about what was needed, it turned out I really didn't have much. xD; Now that I have done a few faceups and have even started to sell them, hesitantly, I do it because I enjoy it.

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it?
Yes. The faceup that came with my DZ Yuu, Caspien, was not what I wanted. I had actually asked for a Yuu3 faceup, and they gave me a Yuu1 faceup. So right away it was off. However, it was very beautiful so I kept it. It's not true to his character though, and once I get better at faceups I'll have to redo his. ^^;

 

1) When it comes to face-ups, would you prefer to do your own, let the company do it (when that's an option) or have someone else do it?

Since I have never attempted a face-up I tend to go with the company defaults. Although it is something I want to try some time soon.

2) If done by someone else, is there a certain artist you have in mind? N/A

3) If done by you, why did you decide to do your own?
I have decided to try and blush my incoming Glots Hoofs myself (They're coming blank so I figued I may as well try it myself first.)

4) Have you ever gotten a face-up you weren't happy with? (Either by the company or another artist) And if so, how did you go about fixing it? Also N/A