Famous Bjd people??

I'm not on tumblr so I'm not quite sure what those people are talking about.
I know some people are more well-known than others, mostly because they're artists (faceup, photography, costuming, modification, customization-wise) and share their work online like a portfolio, but I don't know about any "famous" doll owners per se. Some share more, post pictures online, write extensive blogs and things ... could that be what they mean? Call me naïve, but I've never heard of actual fame in the doll hobby (and honestly, if I were to, it wouldn't change my opinion towards either the doll or the owner - I'd either like what I see / what they've done or not, no matter who said doll belongs to).

 

Well, if you mean famous as in well-known, yeah there are probably a lot of people who are well-known for specific things they do, just like Jany said, because they're either artists, photographers, etc. I don't know many of them but two who I am constantly interested in their work, and I know a lot of people are too.

Andreja (Face-up artist: Nicolle's Dreams) - She's great and her aesthetics are breathtaking. And that's coming from someone who hates being a hipster or following trends, but honestly, she's really good and shares videos on her YouTube of tutorials and the like- very helpful

Marina Bychkova (Sculptor: Creator of Enchanted Dolls) - I don't really think she's very "involved" in the hobby, but she sure is famous for her porcelain and resin beauties! Also has a blog and has had her creations featured in various magazines and a couple of luxury brands advertisements.

Check out their works, they're brilliant!

 

I've noticed that too, some people are complaining a LOT on one certain person, wont say any names here... I have checked her profile and as far as I've seen, there's nothing to complain about there. Also, I've never heard of anyone "famous", so it feels weird to me too...

 

I've heard of famous people in the bjd community, mostly people who photograph their dolls very nicely or very well known face up artists, like Andreja. However, I've never heard of anybody saying that these people don't deserve what they have. I'm not a face up artist and probably never will be. I occasionally will take photos of my dolls, but I have seen people do *much* better jobs of it, like extensive photoshop effects or elaborate hand made props in the photos. If someone is talented enough to do gorgeous face ups or take photographs that make you go wow, why shouldn't they be well known for what they do?

 

I see the name Christy Stone thrown around with regards to faceups. Like people list in sales threads like "uh it has a Christy Stone faceup" like it's a name brand or something. So that's one I can think of. Asenva b/c of the BJD Addicts comes to mind.

 

I also don't understand why being good at something and recognized for a talent in this micro-corner of online doll collecting = bad.

It is what it is. We are not all equally good at everything; that's just life. Some people are absolutely brilliant at certain facets of this hobby, and they've gained a great deal of much-deserved recognition because of it. Whether that be a gifted photographer/faceup artist/costumer/whatever, it doesn't matter. I am not naive enough to think I could ever be able to produce the kind of faceups SDink or bread17 do, for instance; I have no artistic talent whatsoever and for me, doing any faceup is a recipe for total disaster. I am okay with this, and I feel sorry for people whose self-image is so completely wound up in what other people think of them that they feel the need to disparage people who get more recognition than they do.

I'm not sure where you're aiming with this. People have differing levels of recognition in the hobby. That's life, and it's very naive (and kind of insulting in a way) to think that recognition for superior talent doesn't and/or shouldn't exist in this hobby.

Yay entitlement!

 

I just started really getting into DoA and tumblr so I'm not sure about the 'famous' people on here, but I watch a lot of people on YouTube and Asenva is the first person that comes to mind, along with PHXXXCowgirl who has over 3k subs. I don't think they are any better than anyone else, but they worked hard to make themselves know and if someone works that hard I believe they deserve it a little bit. But I can totally understand where your coming from!!

 

For a second I thought you meant like, "oh this movie star owns a BJD" (I know Kerli Koiv, the singer owns them ;P)

But Anyway!!! There are just people who have built a name for themselves, but I don't know if it's on a Let's Player or Cosplayer level where they're like, living off their popularity! xD

I'm personally more on the Flickr, so its not really come up there, but names do crop up on doll pictures over and over >w<

But like Lysabear says with Youtube, I'm subscribed to both Asenva and Lorti and watch all their updates. I think it's nice to have people who are familiar all round, I'm really shy, even online, so knowing there is a regular well known poster gives you someway of being involved in the social side. I wouldn't put them on a pedastal like *o* oh she's famous -copy everything she does-!

 

In other fandoms this usually means 'BNFs' (Big Name Fans) and these people can sometimes have as big a following as the fandom itself. Some people can make a name for themselves for negative reasons too. I don't think it's anything to particularly aim for because sometimes trying to become 'popular' can have a backlash as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Being well-known in the hobby doesn't really give you any perks when it comes to companies; the person accepting orders at Luts or Soom, for instance, isn't going to give you extra freebies in your order just because they may recognise your screen name, and it won't make companies ship your dolls out faster or give you priority on orders. In that respect we are all equal!

Blueboy57, Christy Stone is a doll maker and face-up artist who has done some collaborative outfits with Dollheart.

Czechmix, there is a quote (I think by Bob Ross?):

I think this relates to what you're saying re: effort and talent. However, I do also believe that some people do have an innate ability in some areas that other people lack. For example, many people can learn to knit. Some will be great at it with little effort, some will need time to master it, but some people can take all the time in the world and knitting will still not be their thing, but as long as they're enjoying themselves that's all that matters. People who are going to be known for their knitting are either going to be the people who have a natural instinct for it or people who put in a lot painstaking effort, but the people who just do it for fun and might drop stitches or have uneven tension in their finished work are less likely to be known for it...probably because there are way more people who are average at knitting and far fewer people who are just amazing at it. The amazing knitters are going to stand out and the average knitters aren't, so the amazing knitters will probably have more chance of a following than the people who are average.

Then there is also the issue of volume! If you put out a lot of content and people either find it useful or entertaining they'll spread the word and your subscriptions will go up. People who are popular BJD vloggers on YouTube are generally people who put out informative, friendly videos frequently. If you do one video a year you're not likely to be high on anyone's radar, but if you do weekly updates or more then you'll reach more people.

 

It's not so much famous as being a BNF, and if you've spent any amount of time in any internet fandom, most BNFs become well known because of the drama that surrounds them. So, it's not really a title that it's entirely positive.

There are well known and sought after faceup artists and clothing designers in the hobby, but I wouldn't consider them famous. More like people known for producing quality work consistently.

I guess you could say that BJD celebrities could be some of the more outspoken BJD makers? Like Araki Gentaro of Unoa or Shigeta-san from Volks.

 

Yes and no. Talent alone won't get you anywhere. At the same time you could work all the hours in a day and still not get to the level of someone else if you lack a natural knack for something. Whatever you do, to be truly good at something, you need to have at least a tiny bit of talent in what you're pursuing.

For instance, it doesn't matter how much time I'm going to study math, I will never be a university math teacher simply because I don't have a knack for numbers. To be really good at something, you'll need to have an innate ability and combine this with years of hard work.

So, to answer the question: "Does so-and-so really deserve the attention she gets? What's she's doing isn't very special...":
Yes, I think she deserves the attention. If she's famous, without being terribly good at something, she has the ability to sell her act. And she worked hard to get as far as she did. Why not reward it? To be honest, I wish I mastered that skill myself!
Does it make her more important than someone else? No. But at the same time I do believe that superior talent/skill should be recognized.

 

That. Thank you, that is exactly what I was trying to say.

Using Lorde was a very poor example, because she has already illustrated she has the ability to write songs. This is a talent I completely lack, and not for lack of trying; I've been trying for a good two and a half decades to write a song that's anything more than a super basic music theory exercise. It doesn't matter how hard I work; I will never be able to do that and I know it. On the flipside, it doesn't matter how hard someone else works; if they're tone-deaf and have maybe an octave to their name, they will never be able to sing the way I (a classically trained opera singer with about four and a half octaves and two decades of hard work) can. That isn't arrogance; it's simply fact. I worked my ass off to be able to do what I can do -- but without the raw materials to work with there isn't a chance in hell I could've gotten as far as I have. I will never be able to sculpt a doll like Silk can, because I lack anything that even looks like artistic talent to a level where it's actually comical. No amount of hard work will give me the ability to do that, or paint a faceup like the really well-known artists can. But that's ok. Nobody is equally good at all things.

Like Silk, I believe superior talent deserves recognition. It doesn't make someone a superior person, or a superior doll owner. I think "recognition" and "sense of superiority" are being confused here. Saying "so and so isn't doing anything special" when they clearly are, or saying that "talent" is a farce and just a label people slap on others so they can feel self-important, is discounting very real abilities, and that is what ruffles my feathers. (It also comes off as sour grapes.)

 

Keep in mind the volume thing Jescissa mentioned, though. To use the example of doll sculpting, I know huge ("famous") companies and small, single-artist ("unknown") dollmakers that do the same quality work and I don't consider that fair, either; the quality is the same, it's simply the difference in the amount of dolls they produce that makes the one famous and the other one not so. A single artist couldn't crank out a limited every two weeks like some companies do, that doesn't mean they deserve less recognition. That's what I understood the original poster to mean - that the amount of attention given doesn't necessarily equal the amount of attention / recognition the person in question would deserve. A well-made piece of art deserves to be recognized as such, regardless of (the fame of) its creator.

 

Those who have earned a good reputation for producing a quality product in any field, whether it be through luck, natural ability or hard work or a combination of all three, deserve it in my book. Unfortunately, too often that recognition comes with a downside ... call it what you will - jealousy, sour grapes or tall poppy syndrome - there is always someone out there ready to take them down.

Fame and fortune, are two things that warrant very little consideration as far as I am personally concerned, when purchasing dolls. I buy what pleases me and what I consider to be beautiful, no matter who made it, did the face up, or clothed it. The same applies to whatever I buy, I don't follow trends, I follow my heart and what suits the specific situation at the time.

I just wish that people in general, would learn to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves and be a little more courteous, considerate and caring.

 

There's more to fame than just knowing how to pull of a little trick (like writing a song). Sounds to me like Lorde's real talent lies in her ability to sell her act, or to surround herself with people who are able to make her shine.
Look at Madonna: Her singing is pretty average, but she is a fantastic businesswoman. She knows what her audience wants and delivers accordingly. If you look at all the really famous people, you'll see that almost none of them are one-trick ponies. Yes, they have the ability to act/sing/dance/whatever, but more importantly, they know how to make people believe that what they are doing is something phenomenal. And ALL of them have surrounded themselves with people who were able to help them grow. That's another talent.

It's the main problem with Van Gogh, for instance. The reason he only sold one painting when he was alive, wasn't because he was 'ahead of his time'. (actually, galleries started to recognize the importance of his work even before he killed himself) But Van Gogh was a terrible seller. It was his sister-in-law who was able to sell all of his paintings to galleries. Unfortunately for Vincent, this happened after he died.

Yeah, but that is because the word 'talent' is often misused. 'Talent' simply means having a knack for something. Doesn't mean that this person still has to study a great deal to become good, or needs to take their time to produce something stellar.

All doll companies start out small . In my opinion what seperates the bigger - popular - companies from the smaller ones is that:
a. The popular companies deliver dolls that appeal to a large audience.
b. They know a thing or two about marketing.
c. They've gathered a large customer base.

Looking at my own company, I still have to master the bullets above. My customer base is slowly growing, but something like that takes time. The main reason why I'm still a struggling artist, however, is not because of my dolls (the quality is very good), but because I'm not very good at selling. Yet. It's something I'm learning .

So really, there's nothing 'unfair' about one company doing better than another. Sometimes it can be frustrating, yes. but succeeding has much less to do with luck, as it has to do with aquiring the right skillset.