Doll couples - matching aesthetics important?

I'm currently on the look out for a partner for my MNF Ryeon (her name is Nyne), and finally found a doll who 'is' her Grayson. She has a fairly non-realistic sculpt, she has big, big eyes and is a tad bobble-headed. The doll I have decided upon for Grayson is a Souldoll Joelle.D - Grayson was always meant to be smirky, and he fits the bill perfectly IMO! But he is a bit more realistic looking to me than Nyne is. But in my head as an OC she has always been so much more...not cartoonish, but more...she has always been vibrant and bright, and less 'realistic'. Where as my OC Grayson is more subdued, so I wanted a more realistic sculpt for him.

Originally I had my heart set on an Iplehouse Boris because I felt the body sculpt was more what I wanted, but the head sculpt was never quite right. So in the end I will go with Joelle.D because the headsculpt fits the character in my head so perfectly.

I think so long as both sculpts suit your OCs, it shouldn't matter too much whether they match each other

 

If you are looking to get a partner for one of your dolls, how important is it for you that the aesthetics of the two go together?
For me, yes, looking good as a pair (suitably matched aesthetics) has always been a matter to me. In one of the more recent ones I've put together, though (and one I'm ridiculously happy with!), some might disagree on aesthetics, as one is an old MNF sculpt (toward the stylized/"anime" end of the spectrum), while the other is one of WithDoll's mature minis (quite a bit less "anime" than CP's sculpts). However, for the particular characters they represent (one being an anime character, the other typically being depicted realistically), the aesthetics do in fact "match" in their case.

With other couples (and the other scales of that couple), and with family groups in general, I've matched much more closely between their aesthetics, however; most of my dolls tend to fall to the "stylized" side of the spectrum, as do my general tastes, so at that point, it's finding the best representation of a given character.

How do you decide if they do or don't?
For deciding if they match... I don't think I can actually put it into words; if the two styles fall into a suitably similar range, then it's just a matter of whether the sculpts look good together (to me). I can generally tell from owner photos (moreso than company ones) if it'll be a good match, though sometimes it helps to find owner comparisons of the two companies directly, rather than just guessing.

If they don't - do you keep looking or decide to try to make it work?
In the case of the first couple I mentioned (the MNF/WD pair), I did actually switch them out from the initial sculpts. Somewhat. When I first got the WD sculpt, the MNF was a MNF/MNM hybrid, who was definitely on the bobbleheaded side. I was okay with it while I had just him, but once I added the second doll (with his tiny little head), I couldn't stand the bobblehead effect anymore, so I switched him out for a MNF head that would (naturally) sit better on the body.

Have you ever successfully found a match for a doll that you're completely happy with?
Happier than I ever thought I would be! The MNF/WD couple is one of my all-time favorite pairs of dolls, now, and I love posing my other couples together, as well. I don't have a single couple I'm not happy with, but that particular case is especially pleasing to me.

 

There are going to be at least 3 couples I have to find matches for in the future, since I have a lot of OCs who I am very picky about. My favorite pairing though...I found the perfect, exact doll that matches my image (didn't even know who he was at first...I just saw the doll's picture and was like 'OMG THAT'S THE ONE YES!!!!' haha), but then came the problem of finding his match. The characters themselves are very different in terms of appearances - one's slightly more mature looking than the other, and the skin color is different between the two as well - so I know they might look a tad odd together no matter what, but I'm thinking as long as they fit my mental image of what they should appear to be, they'll look great together.
My poor Sammy is going to have more trouble though, because he doesn't look as...I don't know how to describe it, realistic face-wise? The doll I really wanted to be his partner has a very realistic looking face, so I feel like if I stuck the two next to one another it wouldn't look/feel right. Something like that will affect my decision on whether to get a certain doll or not.
All in all, I'm just super picky when it comes to choosing dolls that perfectly fit my mental image for characters, so I always make sure, when I find a doll I think I'll go with, I'll look at it for a while, then maybe go back to it after a week or so apart, to see if it still fits what I want.
I'd be sad if I did get a doll and realized, once I had it at home, that it wasn't working out, but I'd probably keep it anyway...just give it a different character or something.

 

Umm, like a real life, it is difficult to figure out things like that. Sometimes, what may seems like a perfect match is not a perfect match. I would rather let the natural course of event determine that.

 

I went with the same brand for my couple because they're an odd size and it turns out they can share clothes and shoes. They're the same skin tone for personal reasons. All I had to do was chose which face mold, hair, and eye color, then the doll came with free eyes that were even better. We were lucky to see some molds in IRL which helped make it easier.

What got tough was finding kids who resembled their parents' faces or combinations of them. The bigger one is the same company but the baby is by another one.

 

It's very important to me and my doll family that I try to make it look more or less aesthetically matching. Volaireix and Masumi are soul mates and most of the other characters are their kids so it's important to me that they match or at least look right together. But so far I will only be receiving Volaireix for now. I will be hopefully getting Kyiori and Masumi around Christmas. (Still have to find a proper Masumi)

 

I haven't had problems finding partners for my adult dolls, really, because the adult sculpts I like are all comparable in style and, fortunately, height. It was less easy to find siblings. My main character has three sons. I have had to replace the eldest son because he didn't match with the others at all. He is a slim mini with a fairly stylised face, and whereas I liked him on his own, he just looked all wrong next to his little brothers :/. In the end, I chose three sculpts that were all made by the same artist, and now they really look like a family .

 

~ If you are looking to get a partner for one of your dolls, how important is it for you that the aesthetics of the two go together?
Pretty important. It would bother me if one is more realistic and the other more stylized.
~ How do you decide if they do or don't?
It feels right or it doesn't.

~ If they don't - do you keep looking or decide to try to make it work?
I'll keep looking OR use the doll for something else.

And bonus if you want to answer it:
~ Have you ever successfully found a match for a doll that you're completely happy with?
Yes, some of my yo's (they aren't children to me) have partners. I have a fantasy creature couple and a vampire couple. My msd are seperate from my tinies. I had planned for my Souldoll Maa to be my Souldoll Joelle's girlfriend, but my friends Souldoll Yeon-Bee stole his heart instead. Maa turned out to be a great sister sculpt though.

 

I think if you had the faceups done by the same artist, just about any two dolls would work together. I can see if one of the pair was very stylized, trending toward anime influence, it might be a rough fit.
~ How do you decide if they do or don't?
I'd be more likely to change a backstory or expand the parameters of my collection than to deny myself a doll I really wanted.

 

~ If you are looking to get a partner for one of your dolls, how important is it for you that the aesthetics of the two go together? Somewhat. They don't need to be a perfect match, since they aren't family, diversity is ok. Just not drastic.

~ How do you decide if they do or don't? If the scale, size and proportions are similar, that's usually enough for me. I don't mine if one is a little more realistic than the other. I have a 5Star Edmund and a Migidoll Cho paired together, I think they look cute. But something extreme, like, say, a Soom Idealan and a olfie Dream, that would look too strange for my personal tastes.

~ If they don't - do you keep looking or decide to try to make it work? In general, I'm not a fan of overly styled anime-ish dolls, so I'm rarely drawn to anything that isn't at least somewhat realistic. Probably the least realistic doll I like is BBD, and the most realistic I own is Migidoll or Iplehouse. That pairing might would be a little off, but probably not enough to stop me.

And bonus if you want to answer it:
~ Have you ever successfully found a match for a doll that you're completely happy with? yes! I have several doll couples that I'm happy with, most notably 5Star Edmund/Migidoll Cho, AoD Gu/5Star Tumnus, Jie Doll Michel/CustomHouse Choa. None of those are perfect together, but they're perfect for their characters and that matters more to me than matching a partner.

 

I understands your worries, for I am trying to do the same thing at the moment for one of my dolls.
For me, the face up comes first ! Both dolls must have the same type of face up ( realistic face up for example )
then, I'd look at the body measurements. You don't want to pair up one of them with a doll who has a bigger head
then theirs !
I had it hard with my Supia Hael, but I finally found a perfect match ( Thank God ! ) and I'm just waiting for his
body to get here.
Just don't force your self, and have fun with the doll you had and find something to work out with it !

 

It's very important to me that they match!
Size and stature, like that their heights fit. The head size is important too, I wouldn't want one head being much larger than the other.

The facial features and faceup also have to match... it's hard to explain but concerning the face, the sculpt style has to fit. An anime style often doesn't go with a very realistic one and such.... of course it always depends on the individual sculpts!

I can't say yet if I found good matches because I don't have all my dolls with me yet but I'm really hoping it will work out, especially since I love to hybrid.

 

I hope you find a match for your Lucas! Sometimes you can't tell until you see them together in person, and I'm sure it's possible that two dolls you never thought would look good as a couple are perfect together.

As for me, it is absolutely important that the two look good together. Their facial features have to be similar sizes too. A girl with large eyes and a wide mouth might not look right with a guy whose features are small and close to the center of his face.

My Dollzone Hong (Maxim) and Dollzone Cherry (Maura) are a couple at my house, and I love how they look together. Siince they're from the same company, I feel that their looks complement each other.



In a way, SHE decided she wanted to be with Maxim! There seemed to be a real spark when I put them together. She didn't look right with any of my other BJDs (as a romantic partner) because she was so tall in comparison. But she wasn't interested in my tan Dollzone Yuu at all! Maybe he was too nice a guy? LOL!

Physically they look great together and I couldn't be happier -- but their relationship in my storyline is pretty rocky! LOL!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

It's certainly important to me, and as such I've been looking for a girl for my Spiritdoll guy. Spiritdoll females didn't interest me so I had to look elsewhere. I wanted the girl to look similar enough sculpt-wise so proportions and characteristics that looked good together. I try to check as many companies that share the same style that leans towards realistic and from there I look for a doll that calls out to me and fits the expression and height I'm aiming for. I've looked for as long as it took to find one that I believe is perfect for the character and for the male doll. I think I've finally found her in a Souldoll Elgar. She's more expensive than I was aiming for and it took quite a long time to decide but I think she's perfect so I can hardly say no. It just means I'll be saving up for a bit longer. It's worth it if the aesthetics are important to you.

 

Well ummm…. *cough* I do got two doll pairs atm, other I own a half of and my friend has the other half. Pair I own is Soom Pel (I have styled her as young adult) and Minifee Ruth. Pair I got with my friend is Dollshe Husky and Supia Joshua. Me and my friend are also planning another pair, she is getting Dollclans Kien in spirit doll proud body, while, well, unless supia starts to make even darker resin colours, I wait for that moment when lillycat makes Lyse in that dark skin tone (I just hope that happens one day and I got money when it happens! xD ).

I know, I made lot of you grinch just now, since I'm quite happy-go-lucky when it goes matching aesthetics.

For me it's much more important that the doll looks like it's character, than the aesthetics matching to their pair. I do prefer dolls to be "about the same size class", which mean their height difference looks something that real people might have with each other. And as we know, height on people differs a lot. :3 I also prefer them have closely matching eyes size, if possible, with lyse-kien I'm little worried about the head size though. But the thought of little, fairylike Lyse with massive grinning Kien just makes me in such a good mood that I think I let it slide. xD And well, as I have learned with our boys, having a bit mix and match might tell more about the personalities and the pair's chemistry with one picture, than whole set of photo stories would. :3

 

I only have one doll couple, and yes, matching aesthetics was very important. They didn't have to come from the same company, but they had to look good together. But I almost like her better with another one of my dolls that is from the same company. Scale is just as important to me as sculpt aesthetic.

 

~ If you are looking to get a partner for one of your dolls, how important is it for you that the aesthetics of the two go together?
I thought it was very important to begin with, but as I tried to match my girl with different dolls, realized it's not that important at all.

~ How do you decide if they do or don't?
At the risk of sounding like a crazy person, there needs to be chemistry between the two dolls- just like attraction between people I guess, but with dolls it's whether my idea of their characters have a 'spark' between them or not.

~ If they don't - do you keep looking or decide to try to make it work?
I'll try for a short while, but it's fairly obvious to me from the beginning. Then keep looking!

~ Have you ever successfully found a match for a doll that you're completely happy with?
Yes, after 5 years, I found a partner that works with my girl. I think the only similarities between them are eye size (12mm):


Addit: Actually, now I'm looking at them, they are probably more similar than I first believed. They both have the same worldly expression and stylized body lines. She is a petite 57cm while he is 70cm tall and her head size is almost 9-10 while his is 7-8. But yes...more similar than I thought!

 

I don't think aesthetics have to be a complete match. I mean, people come together from all walks of life and we all look totally different. However, I wouldn't match a realistic style/proportionate doll with a more unrealistic or stylized doll. Also the scales need to sync for me. I have never actually attempted to make a couple, but back when I had an elfdoll girl and a souldoll boy, I think they'd have looked cute together as a twosome.