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

Yeah, it's just you.

Next.

 

I'm also a fan of "weirder" sculpts with more pronounced features, like Doll Chateau and DIM. But I think doll companies need to straddle an interesting line between creating beautiful dolls and creating beautiful dolls that are customizable. A huge part of this hobby comes from the creativity of the buyers, so I think "blander" sculpts and expressions definitely have a place here. Mona, for example, is a beautiful sculpt, but she doesn't have much range of expression. Generally, the more "unique" a sculpt is, the more it's going to dictate your creativity (the sorts of clothes a DC body can wear, the sorts of faceups you can give a stylized DIM). It's all about balance, I think. Some people look for more from the sculpt, some people look for more from the faceup.

It's also about personal taste, of course. Loads of people love Fairyland-type faces, so obviously they're doing something right. I think the range of tastes in this hobby is pretty cool, actually.

 

Perhaps some research about Volks is necessary before you start going on about how similar their dolls are...?

Nana, Megu, and Kira are the same head sculpt (aka The Four Sisters, or F01) - hence why they all look the same. The reason why they're called different names lies in their default faceups.

Even this very information is mentioned in the webpages you linked to.

 

I fully agree with this. I'm not at all interested in Fairyland, I probably couldn't pick out a blank Chloe from a line of their dolls unless I had a lucky guess. But to a Fairyland fanatic, I think they could list every single sculpt at a glance. Now, hand me some BlueBlood Doll heads (whom many people think all look alike) and I can tell you exactly what you're dealing with.

 

I definitely think there is difference and versatility between sculpts. My Fairyland Marcia vs my fairyland Chloe is day and night! Also my Volks Kurumi next to my Chloe and Marcia oh and Juri 13 are completely different I do find similarities between some sculpts (Kurumi and Coco) Large eyes, cute lips etc yet I still find a TON of differences in them, more so than similarities. I'm extremely detail oriented and just the way a chin curves can make a big difference for me when it comes to sculpts.

 

Volks recent stuff... it looks like other dolls they've already made. They're still cute and lovely though lol but Coco etc just looks like they are recycling sculpts. Other than that... I can pretty much pick out a brand and sculpt of any doll. Most companies are pretty cohesive... except maybe Art dolls, etc.

 

I find that in general, I can look at a sculpt and know what company it came from by now. Each company has their own little quirks that make a doll completely their own, even if it's subtle. For example, when I was on the hunt for a more cute/sweet mold, I kept getting different visions from every company. Volks F-20, Unoa Lusis, Luts Aru, Dimdoll Flowne and Dream of Doll Cherry were among some of the molds I was looking at for this vision, and you know what? They're nothing alike. They may have wide eyes, but their noses, their cheeks, even their head sizes are different. They are not the same mold sold at different companies, they're a very vague description that has been interpreted by different companies, and so far each interpretation has been different. I couldn't even make some of these molds be sisters with eachother, they're that different.

So, no. I'm not buying it.

 

I think what the OP is actually seeing is the popularity of a certain aesthetic of dolls and not so much a similarity among sculpts. Such as the anime/manga style which is fairly popular among the BJD crowds. When I first started looking at BJD I too felt like all these dolls were were just anime characters in resin form. As I got more and more into researching different companies I realized that they weren't just anime dolls but there were realistic and fantasy dolls available as well. That's when my mindset opened and I realized these dolls weren't all the same but there were just dolls in a similar aesthetic that just happened to be more popular among collectors.

So no I don't agree that most of these dolls are similar in sculpt. There are just some companies that make a certain desired aesthetic well and they stick to it. Every artist has their own trademark or certain way of doing something and it will show in every piece of work they create. It is not a lack of creativity you are seeing. Making dolls (or any sculpt work) is hard. I sculpt all the time and have yet to actually complete a piece I would try to sell so I bow with respect to all the doll sculptors out there who are selling. Maybe 90% of what they are putting out on the market is not your cup of tea but that doesn't mean these sculptors lack creativity. Obviously the "big name companies" are doing something right for them to become "big name companies" and if that means making dolls along a certain aesthetic line then more power to them!

Companies are going to make what sells. If you don't like what they are selling then move on. Its as simple as that.

 

I think the reason for that may be that a lot of companies follow the same aesthetic when crafting dolls, especially with the larger scuplts. There are companies that break the mold as far as looks go though but usually those companies focus on smaller sizes.

 

I think most female sculpts look the same from company to company. It's frustrating :p

 

I know I tend to look at the same companies all the time, because I prefer a particular look and I know these companies deliver. But there are a lot of companies out there I've never heard of, and some very different sculpting styles. So maybe it's a matter of getting out of your box.

 

Sometimes a bunch of dolls can look quite similar, but when you are preparing to drop hundreds of dollars on one, the nuances of the sculpts become important. I mean, it's fair enough to say Luts Kid Delfs all kinda look the same. But looking at them as a Luts fan and prospective buyer, I can cross Jamong, Salgoo, and Carrot off my list easily... The features on these dolls don't appeal to me. Basil, on the other hand, I love! Small details like the shape of the eyes or curve of the lips make a big difference in whether I want the doll or not.
Face ups can make a huge difference on how unique or how appealing a sculpt is too. You can take a bland sculpt and make it look stunning and one of a kind... understandably most companies won't present their dolls with really unusual looks though, since it hides the doll's basic potential.

 

^ THIS.
Why would companies go out of their way to make dolls that some might find "ugly" (ie. bigger noses, smaller eyes, prominent facial structures) and risk having all that work go to waste because no one is interested? Yes, dolls like crying Mona have their shock value and created quite an interest in the community, but how many people actually bought her? Most reactions from the thread I viewed said something along the lines of "she's so cool, what a neat concept, but I myself wouldn't personally buy her." It's difficult for companies to come up with something completely new because there is just a huge risk of failure, whereas it's easy to sell what has worked in the past. It's a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality.

That being said, I totally agree with OP when you can just look at a certain doll and say "yup, that's definitely a _______" because each brand has their own aesthetic. It's not necessarily a bad thing, and if you're looking for something different, just buy from a different company. While there may be little diversity WITHIN companies, there is a huge amount of variety if you buy from different brands!

 

The reason that luts, fairyland,and CP are very similar in style is because CP, until recently, was creating all the dolls for luts,and they now create the dolls for fairyland:
They are very similar BECAUSE they are the WORK of the SAME SCULPTORS!

Nothing surprising about that; it is called HAVING A STYLE.


Most of the time, when people have a hard time telling dolls apart, it is because they are not really interested, or familiar,with said dolls: it all looks the same , if you are not interested in it.

That's what happens with non doll people, they can't tell the difference between a Barbie and a volks because that is not what they are interested in or like.

 

Sure there are popular styles. I know this artist that makes one of a kind dolls however every single one of her sculpts has similar faces. But as soon as she started deviating from that same style of face, people didnt bid much on the new sculpt. So she reverted to her original face style. And no one is saying volks looks the same as Barbie. Once again they are slightly more commercial so they may tend to pick more popular styles or make things that would be more popular. That's how reality is


Sent from my Tardis

 

Short and to the point. thank you.

- To be adding my own thoughts on the OP.


As a collector who's been in the hobby for a lot longer, I don't see the "Sameness" among different brands that the OP is whining about. It's not something that you see right away, it takes time and a lot of time participating in the Hobby's social activities. (Like looking at different owner photos, going to doll meets. anything that puts you in close viewing of dolls of all sorts of different brands and sizes.)

It don't sound like that the OP has been in the hobby for very long. perhaps a year or less? Otherwise it would have been worded completely different and not so confrontational.

**Pokes the OP's post count**

 

I've been in the hobby for 6 years and yeah, I actually agree with the OP.

They're not IDENTICAL to the point of not being able to tell them apart, but there's a lot of, uh, aesthetic inbreeding going on.

Now as an artist part of me understands where it's coming from. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a set of favourite noses and facial shapes that I can remix ad infinitum and remain perfectly satisfied with the end result. But it's also something that I constantly struggle against, because the joy isn't actually in executing the same poofy-lips-straight-nose-cheekbones-that-can-cut-glass for the hundredth time. It might be visually appealing to me, but it's also, at the same time, boring. I'm happiest when I push my boundaries, draw a face with a combination of features I don't normally try, and get blown away by how unexpectedly beautiful and unique the final product ended up being.

And I don't see a lot of that in the BJD hobby. It's not entirely the makers "fault" (to use the word, though not entirely correctly), because as someone else said, it's not just the artists who are afraid to step outside of their comfort zone, but also the buyers, who have demonstrated again and again that they're not interested in things that go against the norm. If you're a big company like Soom, or Fairyland, or Iplehouse - you have to keep delivering what your customers associate you with. Bills gotta be paid somehow. Part of the reason I feel the draw to smaller companies is that, I think, they're more willing to do something crazy - or at least they're more likely to stick to just one person's artistic vision, the end product coming out more flawed because of it. Its flaws then makes it stand out. A lot of them still fall into a lot of the "trends", but once in a while, something unique does pop up.

And, well, it's kind of frustrating to me because I happen to be bored with the the aesthetic trends within the hobby. They were my trends before I grew out of them, and saw my interests shift to things that are less conventionally "pretty".

But, at the same time, maybe it's a blessing in disguise because it's so, so easy to pass on the vast majority of new releases these days.

 

Congratulations.... you just had an entire rant at Volks about how the same sculpts look the same. Please do a little research next time. Kurumi and Miruku ARE the same sculpt. Rose and Bianka ARE the same sculpt. Kira, Nana and Megu ARE the same sculpt. They are not ridiculously similar. You have not noticed some great similarity we have all over looked. These literally ARE the same heads released with variation extras/fullsets or in the case of Miruku and Kurumi one is WS and one is NS and that it why they have different names.

Now don't get me wrong, I do see where one would find Coco and Kurumi similar, and it may or may not have been intential. But "ranting" about the "similarities" between the other molds you listed it just.... funny. Because they are literally the same doll.

Edit:

I should have just quoted satyrsmoon who was... a little less snippy than me. I just don't appreciate the preface of "oh if you disagree with me you're obviously some Volks fanatic" which seems to be the go-to "insult" every time someone corrects/disagrees with another person about Volks, even if it's a case like this where someone clearly needed to do a little more reading. :/ Like, it's 2014 and this has been the way of it since 2006. Can we knock it off already?

 

I probably shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did at this.

 

I would hardly call them "new" or "underappreciated," but here are just a few of the dollmakers that I think of as having particularly distinctive styles:

Dollstown
Lumedoll
Limhwa/EOSdoll
Dollshe
Supia

But an hour spent browsing the Database forum will give you all kinds of ideas of your own -- your definition of "variation" may well be different from mine. There really is no substitute for looking, looking, looking; how can any of us form opinions without gathering all the information we can?