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Favorite Starter Head

Aug 31, 2022

    1. Hi there!

      I’m new to the hobby and wanted to ask what everyones first/favorite head to do a face up on was! Was it part of your first doll? Was it separate? Do you have a ‘practice’ head on hand?
       
      #1 unicor, Aug 31, 2022
    2. All my dolls have ended being my practice dolls in one way or another :sweat, that said, I don’t necessarily have a dedicated practice head. I do have some dolls that get more faceups than others but I don’t personally like having excess heads if they don’t have a full character I’m gonna make. As for my first faceup, I believe it was on my first doll! A resinsoul Ming. He’s been through every phase of my time with this hobby and is probably the closest to a practice head that I have
      If practice heads are helpful to you though, I don’t see any problem with it! This hobby is all about expressing yourself!
       
      #2 kiraabsol, Aug 31, 2022
      • x 1
    3. I've never bought a head jusg to practice on, and the heads marketed as practice heads from established companies are the same quality just promotional items, so they are good candidates for turning into full dolls if you so desire. To answer the question I think the ones I've enjoyed painting most have been a big variety, and there have just been a handful of sculpts I really found difficult to paint how I wanted. Even while learning, there was a difference between: I'm still learning, and this particular head is giving me the worst time. :XD:
      So for you, what visual styles do you like? In dolls, art, character design, etc? I think if you choose something very well within what you are normally drawn to looking at (or if you are an artist, the style you already work in) that's how you will have a lot of fun learning faceups.
       
      #3 AlisonVonderland, Aug 31, 2022
      • x 1
    4. I also never purchased a practice head back when I first got into these dolls, a million years ago. There weren't cheaper options back then, and the idea of practice heads being sold by legit companies was probably a dream. I first faced up my most expensive doll of all time, he was the first doll I modified as well. I don't regret it, and I sincerely don't feel like a practice head is necessary. If you use materials that are known to be safe and removable on resin, then there should be no damage left behind, once you're ready to remove the face up to try again, or just because you feel you've improved. Of course, that's just my personal opinion and my very personal experience. I've painted and repainted many of my on-topic BJD, and many more OT toys, I still have yet to "damage" any due to painting them (or doing mods on any, but that's also just my personal opinion and the only one that counts when it comes to my own dolls). (:
       
      #4 Enzyme, Aug 31, 2022
      • x 2
    5. #5 ellie, Aug 31, 2022
    6. I used a doll whose company faceup I hated as a "starter head". Though I ended sending him to an artist because I disliked my work, lol. Now I use one of my floating head that I like less than the others.
       
      #6 lyaam12, Aug 31, 2022
    7. I tried to paint my first dolls face-up but in the end I didn't like my face-up and sent it to an artist.

      Few weeks ago I did some moddings with Apoxie Sculpt and for knowing how to handle the materials I bought a practice head (it was 2nd hand with a really ugly face-up for only 30€).
       
      #7 Pinkes Pony, Aug 31, 2022
    8. I'm another that doesn't use practice heads. Having a spare head has so far been an in-between state before I find a body for it. : )

      I did my first few face ups on less-expensive sculpts that are consistently available from doll makers/dealers that have lower shipping costs. So if I did mess up really, really badly I would be able to buy a new head without much trouble.

      This worked for me but as mentioned up thread if you want a practice head there are some good inexpensive ones on Alice's Collections.
       
      #8 Seafoam Shade, Aug 31, 2022
    9. I do faceup for all of my dolls(except those I got default faceup for). So in that sense they are all practice dolls...?:lol:
       
      #9 Panda_K, Aug 31, 2022
    10. My first doll came with a faceup that I liked for a number of years, so the first doll I tried painting was my second doll - a Luts Delf El. It was a pretty terrible faceup so I eventually redid it... and still hated it. haha After I'd painted several dolls I started to get the hang of it. I still have one doll wearing a faceup I did myself. (over time, I realized doing faceups really stressed me out so now send them out to be painted)

      I already had all the supplies I needed: watercolor pencils, chalk pastels, acrylic paint, brushes, Winsor Newton brush cleaner, respirator so the only extra expense was the sealant - so I went in pretty confident that I could paint the doll and wipe it and redo it without damaging or staining the resin. That ended up being true, so I repainted as I wanted with no ill effects. No special "practice head" was needed.

      If I had started right in on doing additive or subtractive mods, maybe I would have wanted something to practice on first. My wife on the other hand, she went right into her first doll doing a subtractive mod and the project went fine. It really depends on your confidence level there.
       
      #10 idrisfynn, Aug 31, 2022
    11. My first faceup was on my first doll, and I guess he and my second doll (Angel of Dream Chen and Dollzone Mo) were the ones I practiced on most. I never bought a head specifically to be a practice head. I never really felt a good reason for it, since you can redo faceups endlessly without harming the doll as long as you use proper materials.
       
      #11 CloakedSchemer, Sep 1, 2022