Don't They ALL Look The SAME? (Face Wise)

There has been a lot of sculptors switching companies or starting their own.

Luts had sculptors leave and form Fairyland, taking sculpts with them as they left.
Another artist started his own company after working for three different companies.


It may be a case of same artist, similar face, different company, but there is also very much "flavor of the month" in this hobby as well.

a certain style of face my be on trend right now, but will change in the future.

 

Sorry, I just don't see it.

The companies you mention (volks,soom,fairyland) have a similar level
Quality and finish, but little else in common sculpt .

Faceup styling and presentation can be very similar, but that is just frosting , not the cake.

If you compare sculpts , untainted, it will be obvious just how vastly different and creative they are.

Love the extreme creativity of companies like doll chateau; that doesn't mean
That the less extreme dollmakers are any less creative in their work.

Learn to look beyond the surface styling that helps sell the dolls more easily.

Just my opinion ^_^

 

It feels like you're actively trying to start an argument here.

Of course there are going to be some similarities -- they're human faces. There are only so many ways you can put a human face together, so I'm not particularly sure where you're going with the "creativity" thing. But every sculptor, every company, has a defined aesthetic and those dolls are really not so similar as you think they are (barring the very obvious this-is-a-human-face similarity, naturally). But honestly, one of the biggest thrusts of this hobby has always been the creativity of the hobbyists. Dolls are blank slates. They were meant to be customized to match the mental images of the person purchasing the doll, whether that be through modding, painting, clothing, what have you. To that end, there are a lot of neutral-expression human faces on the market, because of the freedom that gives a hobbyist when it comes to customization.

I think what you need to take away from this is that what you find "monotone" someone else will find unique and beautiful, and what you claim is unique I might well say is grotesque and ridiculous. "Unique" is not automatically "better". Saying 'this is my opinion, you don't have to agree' doesn't change that you phrased this in a very combative manner, and you're essentially asking for people to get defensive at you right out of the gate. You may wish to leave out judgment calls with regards to the creative veracity of companies in the future.

 

Well... I think most of the pouty or neutral expressions look pretty similar anyway... but no, I don't think they are getting MORE the same. Human faces, y'know. It's difficult. I think we need more asians, smiley dolls, and teeth though x3

 

Ringdoll Mona, Souldoll Rabarem, Doll Adore Panda, Souldoll Jang. Those are some unusual sculpts. They are out there.

I think the similarity is due to dolls tending to have a blank expression and that most people want a pretty doll, so thin lips or huge crooked noses aren't as populair, since they are not everyone's cup of tea.

If you want unique faces, maybe try sculpting yourself, to see how hard it is (and practise further, if you are good at it) or try modding existing sculpts. The Doll Chateau spider you mentioned. Her face wasn't that special to me either, until I saw someone who modded two more pairs of eyes in her forehead. Just saying, creativity from both owner and sculpter, can produce some pretty awesome dolls.

 

Oh my goodness I was waiting for a post like this to vent.

VOLKS.

Aw man how long I've been waiting to rant about them :') Volks has the most generic sculpts I have ever come across in the doll hobby. Now before anyone gets their panties in a twist, I know that "they're not literally all the same". They're just so freaking similar and have become so unoriginal lately. Yeah those new sculpts? Coco is seriously Kurumi but just the 2014 version -_- Not to mention Bianka, Rose, and Miruku, I could go on forever, they all look practically the same.

Don't get me wrong, I love Volks, or at least I try SO hard to love them, but they're very unoriginal in my opinion, and the only unique sculpts are probably the really limited ones that no one ever sells or wants to let go of because they're "one-off" or whatnot.

Now some Volks fanatic is going to bombard me with arguments, but I won't digress. This is my opinion and perspective on this issue, there is no right or wrong.

Ok I'm done, this has lifted a HUGE weight off my shoulders T_T

 

Adding on to the unusual dolls as well, are Dikadolls Blanca and Amanda, 2D Doll, and some of the ones I personally own ; DollLove Arefa, Onlydoll Ran Xue (and her brother sculpt, Qian Yu), not to mention! 5Stardoll Quintin, Littlefee/Pukifee/Pukipuki Pongpong, Littlefee Reni... I could go on xD I also think Soom has some really unique sculpts even now.

 

I agree that Volks, Luts and Fairyland have a company aesthetic that all their dolls adhere to - but that's called branding! You either like it or you choose a different brand - simple as that. Many many people go for their particular, pretty, 'bland' aesthetic, so I doubt those 3 companies have much angst about being boring LOL

 

I kindof see what you mean. Round faces, large, oval-almond eyes, small mouths and tiny noses are the generic doll face. Like how all animes use the same general aesthetic. The only one I can think of off the top of my head that varies is Doll Chateau: smaller, further spaced eyes, some bigger noses, thicker lips, some longer faces, cheekbones. Some people find the exaggerated features over defined or grotesque, but I'd like to see a middle ground. More sculpts with different noses, or cheekbones, chubby cheeks, different eye shapes and mouths. I don't think there can ever be enough variety! Plus, more variety would help dispel some of the claims of copy-catting in the hobby.

 

You have an industry where there are only so many artists, and the artist move from company to company. There's bound to be some similarity based on that. But I think it's more than that. Every company has it's own style. It's own signature look when it comes to their dolls. They want to promote brand loyalty and repeat sales. Which makes sense when you think about it.

It's a fact that some styles are hugely popular while others never sell at all. The doll companies are bound to respond accordingly. They're not going to make hugely different dolls if hugely different dolls just don't sell for them. The new dolls that they will produce will of course have a family resemblance to a more popular doll because they don't want to keep putting out dolls that just sit there and never sell.

Dolls like the ones at Doll Chateau are definitely an acquired taste for a lot of people. I personally find them a bit too alien like for my taste. They creep me out so I'd never buy one. That's not to say I don't see their originality or appreciate it. I do. I just don't want one in my own collection. They're just not for me. I can't get into them on a personal level and for the record I rather like unique faces. I tend to go for the odd face actually. Looking across my doll collection almost all my dolls have something different going for them. They're vastly different from each other.

I do notice that there are similar dolls going from company to company, sure. But it doesn't bother me and I don't think there is any lack of variety for me to choose from. If there was I wouldn't have a dozen dolls, almost all of which look nothing like each other. I chose my dolls carefully. I chose them from various makers, but even the dolls from the same maker look pretty different from each other and from the other dolls in the collection as a whole. It just wasn't that hard for me to do, collect dolls that are different from each other.

 

In the five + years I've been in the hobby I've always had a problem distinguishing among many of the sculpts that others appear to have no problem identifying. I think it depends upon what you personally find appealing. The type of faces I don't care for myself are the ones I can't tell apart, but I can usually identify the dolls that I like.

I certainly think that there are more diverse faces now than in the past. I'm attracted to more realistic and not-too-pretty sculpts myself and I have to avoid browsing the sites because I am always being tempted by their new offerings.

All that being said, I still think Unidoll had some of the most wonderful and unique dolls I've ever seen. I often wish they were still around.

 

Yeah, I've been thinking that too for a while now, especially with companies like Volks.
Doll Chateau however is a prime example of how unique some sculpts can be. They're both pretty much like the two opposite sides of the spectrum!
But, then you get your own doll, and the customizing comes in, and then it's basically a new doll. That really does it for me, the originality of the people in this hobby makes me able to overlook the similar sculpt styles.

 

Then you need to focus on the companies that you do like. And if you feel so strongly that the companies you don't like are on the wrong track, write to them and tell them what you'd like to see.

I'm with Tez on this one -- is there really a point here, except that you want everyone to know that you don't like what you see as the prevailing aesthetic trend in BJDs right now? Good for you. And good for the people who do like that trend. The world's big enough for all dolly tastes.

 

Differences in sculpts can be seen the more familiar you are with a company. I'm hardly a fanatic, but the Volks four sisters molds ARE the same so it's pointless to use that example. It's not new news or anything people are trying to hide. It's kinda out there...it's four sisters for a reason. The longer you're in this, the easier it can become to see differences between companies. I may not be able to tell the sculpt name, but I can tell a neutral to pouty Soom from another neutral to pouty boy from another company. It's something in the lip, mouth, and nose.

 

What's funny to me is that Dollmore is mentioned as being the same as everyone.....I recently had someone tell me that the reason they don't like Dollmore is because their sculpts are too different from one another and they don't have a cohesive look to them. Not to mention a lot of their older, more unique sculpts (look at those noses. Who does that anymore? Just sayin.) got discontinued because no one bought them.

You can't make everyone happy, but you can cater to the majority.
And the majority seems to want perfect, beautiful or cute faces. It's obviously what sells.

I read the first post and I'm actually confused as to what the OP is complaining about. Is that all doll companies are looking the same? Because seriously, Volks and Fairyland? They're like night and day...absolutely nothing alike at all. Add Soom in there and I'm completely baffled...

Or is that within each company there's too much similarity? Which was addressed already in posts above me.....it's a brand thing. And when a company has one or even one or two or more sculptors making dolls of course they're all going to be similar!! Picasso looked like Picasso and CP looks like CP. What else are they going to look like?! Style is style, and artists have it. Most of them work hard to achieve a cohesive style, and a lot of them get crap for it when they stray or try to change.

If I can look at a doll and immediately know what company it comes from just by the style alone, even if I can't name the mold off the top of my head, I think that company has succeeded. They have a brand. If you don't like that style, there are plenty of other companies to choose from.

And centaurs (which are kind of everywhere right now anyway) and spider dolls shouldn't count anyway, as FACES not bodies are specifically mentioned in the title of the thread....

 

I can't speak for the OP, but my interest lies in the hopes that people will comment with some new or under appreciated companies that provide the variation that I feel is lacking. Maybe even the "big name" companies are lurking and this thread will give them reason to work on more diverse sculpts. Pipe dream, but a dream nonetheless.

 

i guess there would be popular proportions? a lot of them looking quite anime. I feel lutz, fairyland, CP has very similar styles/sculpts but probably because they had the same artists or something. but it would be nice if they can take it to the next level but then I guess they would be less commercial

 

Maybe the OP is just overwhelmed by browsing so many companies so fast. I know I was sometimes, and things have kinda started to blur together...

I think there is an extremely versatile palette sculpt-wise nowadays compared to where the hobby was when I started out. I remember searching for a mature male head and the only options I found were the tiny Orientdoll boys and the Dollshes (followed soon by Dollmore's Model boy Kyle). Everything else seemed to boil down to large-eyed youngish boys and girls. Now we have anything from cute, young featured sweeties to teens to mature adults. Sexy ladies and innocent little flowers, strange and seemigly disfigured features sharing space with flawlessly realistic or anime-like stylized features.

This hobby is incredibly diverse, you just have to find the artists that make sculpts to your liking. And that doesn't mean that the others should be dissed or that they are bland. They are just not to your particular tastes. Some people see uniqueness here, and others see it there...

 

You know, I actually don't think that the Volks resin sculpts look that samey. Now their Dollfie Dreams on the other hand...
I have no idea who their sculptor is as of late, but several of the limited DDs that came out after Neris look like Neris in my opinion. Nothing wrong with that! I just think that with DDs that have such a limited selection of standard heads, more variety would be nice.

Now, that being said, in real life I often hear people say that all [insert race of people here] look the same. It is something called the Cross-race effect. I'm sure that fans of Volks, Bluefairy, Soom, whatever doll company you love, can see the differences in the sculpts better than someone who is not a big fan of their dolls. Just my opinion.

Also a little samey-ness is good sometimes. Sometimes there's that one sculpt you didn't like one tiny thing about. Then they release a similar sculpt with that detail changed. It's a win!