Dolls that are stunning... literally!

I never had something as intense, but what I did have was receiving a doll that was just SO intense even blank and naked.
Like I unpacked it and would just go "wow", because I could immediately see this doll had all the potential in the world.

Some dolls really need a face-up to work, and blank they just look weird as hell, and some are already blank so full of character it's crazy.

 

True. I bought a specific blank doll that desperately needed a face-up. He was not so handsome without one and I was like oh my, what did I just buy??? But with a face-up, he was so much better !

 

Well, I had one doll for a while who I found so cool he was intimidating and I was ultimately paralyzed by that, so I traded him away for something I might actually touch.
I have a similar feeling when I have over idealized dolls I've got a strong familiarity with already. But this is a pattern I've actively worked to break away from now. Anyway sometimes I feel like that with my favorites that they enormously disappoint or frustrate me because I love them too much. I just have to cool down on it and come back. I can't sustain that feeling you're mentioning so I either have to work through it or move on.

 

Yes, I have! My very first 1/6 Obitsu was like that. He was my "gateway" into BJDs, kind of testing it out before spending a fortune. I'd never bought a blank doll before, and when he came in, he was just...too perfect? He had no eyes, and was the type that needed them painted on, but I think I left him blank for about a week because he was just so pretty and I was afraid I'd ruin him if I painted him. (Kinda true, he was my first real faceup ever other than painting over Barbies and other dolls....) When I got my first BJD, I had that feeling all over again. He looked kind of alien, bald, blank and naked, but he was still just....perfect. I gave him the most minimal faceup ever because I was so scared of ruining him and making him less beautiful. Like literally he had eyeliner, eyebrows that were just simple lines, and lip gloss with just barely any pink tint and nothing else. I just wanted to admire the beauty of the sculpt without taking away from it. I've had him for almost 16 years now, and he has a proper faceup and body blushing now, but it took me a long time to do it!

 

I've never had a doll do this to me as completely as in OP's exampel, but I have had it in smaller doses throughout my time in the BJD hobby.

I've had dolls that I've hesitated to paint because I feel there is no way I could do them justice. This has happened enough times that I've come up with a system to break through that block. Much like what @CloakedSchemer describes, I give them a bare minimum face up first. In my case I usually do a pastels only face up where I block in eyebrows, minimal lip colour, a bit of light shading etc. None -or very minimal- line work, no gloss. This way I can let the doll sit for a while in that inbetween stage and eventually I will get over it an either redo it, or add to it. And yes, sometimes it takes years.

I also have a huge number of accessories, shoes and clothes that has not happened yet, because I can't see a way to do them justice. Sometimes I'm ok with a temporary soloution, but sometimes nothing but perfect is good enough. It's usually the doll that triggers this, over all I'm usually a fairly confident crafter, but with a beautiful, icredible, amazing, expensive, doll sitting there to hold me accountable for my preformance... I get the crafting equivalent of stage fright.

 

I’ve never had that problem, and the perfection of sculpt usually has the opposite effect on me and I get so motivated to do faceup, dress up etc. But I think what you’re experiencing is a BEAUTIFUL thing And I don’t believe you have to force yourself to develope if the doll is perfect regardless. Maybe try to spend more time with him outside of customisation? Like let him go with you everywhere in the house, chill on couch while you watch tv etc?

As for faceups, when I want to try something but too afraid of failed outcome, I use water based pencils and paints I can wipe off easy to try different brows shapes or even “makeup” look. (You must seal the blank head first tho, so the pigment won’t sink in the resin.)

 

She isn't naked, but... I have a Unidoll I picked up at a convention who just... I bought her a wig and eyes, and gave her a sock dress for a top and pants, and they suit her perfectly. I don't know how I'd have her blushed, because every time I try to picture how it would look, her blank face looks prettier.

 

I've never felt that with blank dolls. I don't know if it's the traditional artist in me, but whenewhenever I see a blank customizable toy, I feel like I should paint it.

I got into BJD through blank customizable Volks Dollfie fashion doll line. While I found the Neo Go head sculpts stunning, I always wanted to paint them. With mass-produced fashion dolls on the other hand, I rarely ever feel like repainting many of them. I was always admiring people who would customize Barbie, but I always felt intimidated by the size. I still hoard those, and there are many that I find stunning. However, most blank customizable toys/dolls I want to paint right away. (:

Maybe DollZone Moment would have been the exception, but I never got him, sadly...

 

I’m currently in this dilemma right now! And I should preface this by mentioning that I have a large collection amassed over a period of 18 years, but never had this ever happened until I brought that re-released Dollzone Sawarieda mermaid home last September. She’s in special lavender skin, and I swear I’ve felt positively frozen by both her beauty and her size (105 cm.)



I’m the artistic sort who always manages to start on their faceups right away, but this has been going on for months now! After a couple of months I did manage to create a special wardrobe for her, so that’s some progress certainly. But I’m still having trouble bringing myself to start on the enormity of what needs to be done here. I have the vision, I have the plans, I have the supplies, I’m just still frozen in awe of this sculpt!

 

What??? When did they rerelease Sawarieda! I don't remember ever seeing a news post about it

 

I'm usually like that when I first get a doll. I get scared to touch them because I'm worried I'll damage or ruin them somehow. Ultimately, I hate having blank dolls more than anything, so while I might be too scared to touch them myself, I at least send them off to artists for face-ups and try to finish them. At the moment I have 3 blank dolls, 2 that have eyes and have been sent off to an artist and one that just arrived last week, and not having them completed is killing me a bit. I have a head without a body, too, and I'm desperately trying to find one for her. I understand how intimidating it is when you get a stunning doll, but the fun of having BJDs is customizing them so it's a bit sad when I have them sitting unfinished in their box, not being seen by anyone.

 

I had to put my girl on a 12 month layaway in order to afford her, but I believe it was in the fall of 2022. She was quite limited (only 17 available worldwide) but I was able to pounce on her right away through BJDivas.

And yes, she was in the news because that’s how I found her. She was my grail, and I couldn’t believe my luck when they suddenly rereleased her. Perhaps that’s part of why I’m so stymied about working on her now. Here is her ad for reference:

 

I had the same situation as well with my jamieshow muse doll. before she arrived I had a lot of ideas and inspirations for this doll, I was hyped, but in the end I pretty much let her on a shelf and did not feel as motivated as I would have expected. the thing is these dolls seem to me even more delicate and fragile then other BJDs, even their faces look quite "severe" in a way, so they are stunning to look at (the JS outfits as well) but kind of hard to play with freely from my experience.

 

I've never been "stunned" by a doll. Honestly, it usually gets an eyeroll from me when people describe things that way. It just seems a bit too breathless and over-the-top, I guess.

That's not to say that there haven't been dolls that really impressed me, or that I haven't looked at right out of the box and said, "Yeah. You're exactly right." There absolutely have been. But I've never been quite so taken with one that it gave me the real wide-eyed wibblies.