Do your dolls reflect your own ideals of beauty?

I never really thought about this before but it is true for most of my doll plans. I find black/dark hair very attractive so all my plans for dolls have pretty much the same wig in style and color. I also like punk/gothic clothes really cool (despite not really owning any for myself) so a lot of the outfits I like are dark, punk, goth, etc.
As for the second part, even though I do a lot of writing, none of the dolls I want/have are part of a story. If I were to make a doll of one of my characters that I didn't think was attractive, I would still want him of course and if I found the perfect sculpt I probably wouldn't be able to resist. But for the most part dolls are separate from my writing. I make a story for them after I have the doll.

 

Yes pretty much. They have hair in colors and styles I find beautiful and/or cute, same for eyes, their clothes are on styles I like and I chose their bodies and head sculpts that I find beautiful. I'm the kind of person that give up a doll if their butt is ugly for example lol Sure I can't see it most time but I will know is there. And same for any other part of body or face, I have a serious problem with some dolls lips even if is the eyes that call more my attention. So yes I do follow my own taste on beauty for them.

Even with my characters that won't be dolls, and even when they are monsters (big teeth, huge hands, lots of eyes, etc), I find them attractive. But that is my tastes, I don't really care for having characters I find ugly.

 

I'm not sure if I buy my dolls based on what I find attractive in people, but there are definitely traits that I'm attracted to! I absolutely adore baby faces, teeth, tan skin, big lips, and the kind of squinty eyes that you really only see in eye opening mods. Not all together, necessarily, but if a doll has any of these traits I'm far more likely to get it. Fashion wise, however, I definitely cater to what I personally find attractive either on myself or other people. :P

 

I guess I could say yes and no I usually do my own face ups on the girls. I have a boy buy I'm no confident I can do a good job on him. the dolls are all very proportionate and I don't subscribe to that as the only form of beauty. It is just that that is the way they came and I liked their looks. I think "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" applies here. or else why would I spend money for my dolls?

 

Yup, they do. Never really realized it until I came across this thread... but it's shown in their style and wig and eyes, it's basically who I myself want to be. Which is kinda sad :/

 

I'm going to say no. They are all so adorable bit much like how I will look in the mirror and some days go on gawd what is happening. And some days I'm like who's that cutie. Same thing for them. They are not what I'd call perfect but when I look at them I don't have an idea what they should look like either so I just love them to bits for what they are so far. Though when I dream them up and its really good it's photo shoot time.

 

I agree with BJD Wandlust! Sad? I guess that's OK if it is also inspiring!! Then that makes it expression which kind of gives you a visual voice!

 

Visual voice for expessing things you don't have words for.
I really love that concept.
What you consider beauty don't needs to be plain sexyness ore some other quite simple stuff.
It could be character, a special colour ( or a whole ser of special colours), a feeling, somehow related to something you saw, read, experienced. I don't know. I simply love the freedom this hobby gifts to us with creating what ever character you want to and the possibility ofgetting rid of them whenever you feel like it, or redo it from start.
Maybe some even see beauty in uglyness.
But I doubt someone would willingly own or create something that they themselves consider as not reflecting what they like to look at.

 

For me, certainly - my own 'ideals' of beauty in art naturally influences all that art that I make for myself, such as customizing dolls. My characters were all already designed in the first place with some degree of my own aesthetic tastes in mind, as that's a major point of appeal in creating one's own designs to me (and is what helps make them more interesting/fun for me to draw and create for, especially before I flesh out their characters enough to really 'fall in love' with them). So of course that carries over in their doll forms, as well - their customization will reflect to whatever extent what is personally appealing to me.
As for the actual doll sculpt itself, I have also made it my own personal policy that any doll I buy, I must love it in its blank unpainted state/as an independent doll as well. I really must be 'in love' with my dolls entirely; this way, I know I can truly enjoy and admire them to the fullest, both as dolls and as the characters they represent... instead of being left regretting expensive purchases, wondering 'why do I even have this doll?', or looking around for replacements, etc....

I really like Prince Whitemare's post above about beauty as well~ it can have a very broad meaning and lots of personal perspective behind it. It's far beyond just the physical attractiveness of people as seen at face value!

 

Yes, every sculpt I have chosen is one I personally find beautiful. There are other human features I find beautiful besides the ones currently represented in my doll collection, but I don't really use my dolls to shell characters and I do choose them and style them based on what I find attractive and beautiful. Very much so.

 

I think I do it the opposite way. I never saw a tall, thin, scarred-up pirate guy as my definition of beauty until I picked his sculpt, and started making him. I'm not even done his character, but I've started to consider his character to be beautiful. They're beautiful not because they fit my personal idea of beauty, but because I can really see their stories written into them. If I saw most of my characters walking by, I wouldn't likely think "wow, they're gorgeous!" I find my characters beautiful for the same reason that I find my friends and family all beautiful, that personal connection.

 

The dolls I have an interest in definitely mesh well with my ideals of beauty. I'd say BJDs in general match well with the type of aesthetics I was raised around and have always enjoyed. A strange thing though is the way I draw characters and the types of quirky details I use have more in common with Doll Leaves dolls and styling, and yet I have no interest in their sculpts. They're beautiful but a little too zany for me, among BJD sculpts I'm drawn to the really cute but also really perfect looking types with very symmetrical features.

 

I haven't looked at it this way before but yes I suppose they do. All the dolls I have bought so far I have thought are lovely for various reasons from company face up to sculpt and I am careful choosing clothes wigs and eyes for them that I feel will go with their character.

So far I only have one sculpt that is a fantasy sculpt but I plan to add more to my gang over the next year or two as I love some of the elf looking doll sculpts out there but I am not finding it easy picking the first one to save for.

 

Most certainly. My girl not so much but my latest definitely do. I've known for a long time that I like long hair and leaner builds. Raico, Richard, and Aldric each have them. I think that, to a certain extent, all dolls reflect what their owner finds beautiful, unless the character is meant to be ugly which is a whole other discussion.

 

I suppose my dolls and indeed characters tend to reflect a little of my own likes, but I love me some imperfection. I don't know why but I just have a thing for big ol' noses and sticky out ears and all that kinda thing lol.
I can look at a doll or character and think "oh yes, beautiful" , but for whatever reason it's the more imperfect ones that get me more excited.

I think the best example of the "aesthetic" I prefer is best reflected in my Makies rather than any of the other dolls I collect, mostly because you design their faces yourself. It's hard to find a BJD with such extreme features, but the variety is getting a lot better as the hobby becomes more popular. I'm delighted to see more inhuman looking dolls but also a lot more dolls that aren't "conventionally pretty" or "anime bishie" in the case of the boys.

I like my men scrawny, dark haired with prominant noses. I like my women curvy (hard with bjds) and with either extremely cute features or very "ethnic" features. I have a bit of a thing for african features on women, and when you find a doll with such features and a beautiful deep skin tone it's just... it takes my breath away.

I love me some fantasy skin tones, particularly green. I have this huge NEED for like.. all the green skinned dolls in my life. I think this stems from this strange coincidence that all my favorite characters in media happen to have green skin lol.

I like pointy ears on dolls. I like them to be well.... unique and fantastical. I love the escapism and creativity that can go WILD with non human characters. Those human characters I do have, they'll be beautiful in their "humanity", they should look like real people because those little imperfections make them more gorgeous to me. I find conventional beauty a little hollow, shallow.. a little well... artificial.

I dig me some "so ugly it's kinda pretty" dolls

 

Even when I don't realize it, that's a yes. I want them to be perfect like I imagined. I always buy them the best clothes and props better than myself.
You don't have to buy the expensive props but take care of your dolls, right? That's your 'kid', after all.

 

Yeah my dolls do and I did not even notice it until i saw this!!! Many of us, when we choose a doll we tend to choose one that is aesthetically pleasing in our eyes!!! Many of us if not all have seen a sculpt at one point and was like "how gorgeous!! I need this doll in my life!!"

 

Well mine are all Asian based so yes because I have always thought Asians are gorgeous.

 

Since most BJDs I know about do look really beautiful I think... yes? I am ratheer looking for realistic looking dolls with muscular bodies as this is totally what I consider my beauty ideal. Then again if there was a fat BJD, I'd buy it in no time because the world needs more body shapes for BJDs then just either "deformed/weird" or typical beauty standart.

 

I guess you would say my boys do. I work in the fashion retail field doing display work so I deal with mannequins daily.
David is a "model" so he's very handsome, aristocratic & stylish. His boyfriend Marcus, I'm not sure of his career yet, I keep thinking photographer. Their careers will all center around fashion in some way or something close to it. To me, all my boys would be considered handsome & my ideal. I prefer realism in my dolls so they all personify that ideal to me.