Doll Expressions?

My Unoa L-Bi faceplate (The Fayze) always looks either wistful and nostalgic when looking down or hopeful and a little excited when looking up.

 

Looking around at my crew, I seem to have a preference for more... I guess "gentle" would be the right word... faces. Slight smiles, or wistful neutrality seem to be the most common order of the day. A few are more somber-looking (That seems to be more common among my girls than my guys, honestly, though there are exceptions. Rowan for example, my Romantic Heliot mod, looks absolutely depressed. o_0), but for the most part? Not an angry bunch over here.

 

I have definitely disliked a doll based on their expression. I love expressions that are happy, devious, a little mysterious or slightly neutral but with a hint of a smile a la Mona Lisa. The pitifully sad/sickly expressions that I've seen depress me. Those are the ones that turn me away from a sculpt. That is so much more common with male dolls and it's a shame given the wonderful possibilities that exist for male characters. A subtle grin, devious or triumphant would work so much better as a commonly sculpted expression. It's much more open to possible interpretations. Sad is just.. sad..

 

I like this response, because it is completely opposite to the common believe. I agree with you though, although I believe that all expressions are able to give different interpretations. Human emotions have such a wide range that no doll will ever be able to cover all.

 

I have a fairly wide range of different expressions here... serene, wary, sleepy, sunny, surly, sexy, enigmatic, smug, bright, chilly, sultry.... over 35 faces, not many repeats... But when you boil it down, I guess they can be sorted loosely into 2 camps: cheerful and haughty. I love the younger Volks sculpts for their bright-eyed strength and bounce; I love the more mature Volks sculpts for their hauteur; I love the older Iplehouse sculpts for their feline elegance and supreme hauteur; I love the newer Iplehouse sculpts for their warmth and charm and presence; I love Soom guys for their eerie & slightly-otherwordly distance. Each face has some particular facet that really shines for me.

Claudes are TOtal offenders in this regard! I don't think I know one single Claude owner who planned to fall in love with that guy when he was sprung on us... I sure didn't. His bright-eyed cheeky smile absolutely seduced me, and I sprang for him when I was busy trying to buy myself a Lee instead. And also, me too, my heart still does the flutters when I look at him.

Other Happy Boys who grinned their way into my heart: Volks Arashi, Volks Ryu, all forms of Volks Shiro, Volks SchoolHead B, DD-Anne Lotus Near, Limhwa Mano, and that Iplehouse Lee who still needs to get purchased. ^^

 

Yeeeeeeeeeep.... I saw Iplhouse's Dexter (didn't know who he was at the time) in someones signature *aernath the evil one* and it was instant adoration. I am trying to get around to buying him but he keeps being bounced by deals I have to take. ><... But he is like a grail doll for me now lol... his pissed off expression just begs me to tease him! And it's just too sexy on top of that lol... god I love his face! I'd have a dozen of him if I could. And I hate to admit it but Claude is growing one me.... Iplehouse will put me in the POORhouse

 

I'm a huge Iple Dexter fan as well! *Scrimps and saves*
I've noticed that with different faceups even the most forlorn looking dolls can look wildly different.
One that hasn't been mentioned yet is DC Colin. I have him, and while his sweet face usually looks sad or even apathetic, every once in a while he looks as though he has the slightest smile playing on his lips.
The more I look at him, the more I think if one painted his lips differently he could have a little smile.

 

Expressions mean a lot to me since I deal with comic making and illustration. So to see dolls that are expressionate get me all fuzzy inside. I don't mind the stoic expressions but after awhile they tend to slew together for me and it gets a tad boring, sadly. Expressions can also make or break a doll if they are done well. I've seen both great ones and ones that made the poor thing look drunk off their rocker. It just ultimately comes down to taste of whoever is looking at the doll.

 

Yeah, I fell in love with the look on Luts' Kid Delf Mango's face. It was so cute, but so... mischievous at the same time.

 

I've never really thought about it before, but facial expressions aren't really that big of a factor for me. I do notice if the face has a nice shape, and if the expression is at least interesting. I don't go for specific expressions. I've seen some dolls with grins hat show their teeth, and for some reason I REALLY don't like those types of faces. It just seems kind of creepy to me, but I may end up buying a doll like this for fun later on.

 

I like a original face whith big mooth & small eyes. But need to found a good face up for sublimize the doll.

 

I'm a fan of dolls with smiles. Xaga Doll April, AoD Tao Hua Dao, and Pukipuki Pongpong are high on my wish list, and all three of them are smilers.

 

I'm not a big fan of doll with expression, because, weirdly, they seem... empty and frozen to me. I like dolls with neutral expressions because depending on the light, angle of vue etc they seem more smiling, sad, lost in their thoughts... It makes them more alive to me than a doll who is always pouting, or always smiling.

 

I have my little Maggie because she was a smiling sculpt. I find so many of the dolls have sad or somber expressions, and it really turns me off them. I don't want like, a constantly grinning doll, but a slight smile, even just in the expression in the eye shape, is something I always look for.

 

Yes, the expression on their face is exactly what causes me to want a doll. Dolls who have no personality in their face don't appeal to me at all.
All my dolls have slightly different expressions on their faces. Becca (5Star Becca)looks pensive and thoughtful, Genesis (5Star Tumnus) looks kind and patient, Evan (Bobobie Apollo) looks naïve and cheerful, etc. Those dolls probably don't look that way to others who have the same dolls, but that's what I see in them.

 

I like neutral expressions. I like to take different types of photos with them, and a neutral expression can be best for that. I do like extreme expressions, but I just don't want to own them, since a super happy cheerful smiling doll would be completely inappropriate in some situations. Likewise, so would a really sad or angry doll.

 

CloakedSchemer I agree about extreme expressions. I don't mind a doll who is smiling with a closed mouth, but I've seen some which are laughing with a wide open mouth, and it would bug me to have a doll expressing such an extreme emotion all the time. I have the same reaction when I see one of those vinyl baby dolls which has a crying face. I would hate to have it look like it's crying all the time.

 

This is exactly how I feel, too. Neutral is best.

 

I have the same feeling for neutral expressions, a doll with distinct expression(crying, laughing, frowning....etc.) ,as being said before, feels empty and frozen as they will always have the same expression no matter how you change their face up or the angle of shooting.
I think I am quite in the opposite of the majority as I always fall in love with dolls that have a feeling of melancholy. Especially for the guys

 

I fell for my Illusion Spirit Meilin because of her smile! I'm a bit unable to bond right now though, I'm thinking of completely reshelling her. But that has nothing to do with her face. She's adorable! It's subtle though. I do feel happy when I look at her, unlike how I want to cheer my serious dolls up!