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First doll w/ or w/o a face-up?

Feb 11, 2011

    1. I got all my dolls with face-ups and changed them later on ;3
       
    2. I got Emily with a face up, It's nice, but not what I wanted for her, but I didn't know how to go about doing a face up. Now only a few months into having my girl I'm debating on trying my hand at a face up >.> If you feel like you can do the face up then get your doll with out one. But if you don't want to hassle with it and don't want to wait the extra month for a face up artist to do it for you then get it with one, worst come to wear you will change it. it's one of the good things about these dolls, they can be changed.
       
    3. I've never paid for a company face-up, and most of the dolls I've purchased second-hand have had theirs wiped (unless it was so **amazing** that I couldn't bring myself to). I was nervous about the first dolls I bought; would I be able to make them look good? And the answer was 'no', of course. But I loved them anyway, and kept re-doing them. Now I'm at least passable, and painting them is my favourite part of the hobby. Are my face-ups perfect? Nah. But they don't need to be. I like how they look, and I love working on them!
       
    4. Certainly, your comfort level with your own artistic ability is the biggest factor. But don't forget that it's pretty easy to spend as much on good quality faceup supplies and sealants as you would on a nice company faceup (if you don't already have the supplies on hand.) I've done fine art and portraits for most of my life, so it was only natural for me to want to try my hand at a faceup on my very first (I had the confidence to do so, and I was perfectly willing to shell out the $ it took to invest in specialized supplies.) But over the past 5 years I've been involved here on DoA, I've found that I enjoy a lot of variety in my collection...and let's face it, every artist has their own "style" (which can cause a certain amount of similarity in the looks of their dolls.) That's why if I buy a doll here in the marketplace and I like what someone else has done with their faceup, I keep them as is...I have two like this. There is also a company whose sculpts I really like that have very inexpensive, soft basic faceups (Resinsoul...only $10!) I have a couple of their dolls and I chose to simply "enhance" their existing company faceups rather than wipe them and start over completely from scratch. Even with the variety of faceups on my dolls, I've never had any trouble bonding with one over the other. If I bond, I bond whether I've done the faceup myself or not.;) And keep in mind that a really big part of any doll's overall look and originality has to do with your choices of wig, eyes and clothing.
       
    5. Get it blank and pay someone else to paint it for you. That is my faceup philosophy. I have specific ideas about how I want my dolls to look and company faceups rarely match them. I tend to switch genders on dolls and hate sweet looking faceups.

      I also want my dolls to look good and I am not someone who would be satisfied with a...homemade faceup, for lack of a better term. I am not bad at drawing or applying makeup to others, but it's not something I excel at and not something I particularly want to put the effort into improving. There's no enjoyment there for me with that, so it'd be a waste of my time, effort, and money to attempt faceups on my own. I view them as work and this hobby should be fun, not work. Thus, I am more than happy to pay faceup artists to do the work for me and end up with a doll who I love looking at.

      Good faceup supplies are just as expensive as commissioning an artist, so you're not going to save money there. And trying to cheap out on your supplies is going to lead to poor results and possible damage to your doll, so I would not recommend it. It all depends on outlook, of course, and what is more important to you - being more hands on but potentially not getting pretty results, or being more hands off and getting better results off the bat.
       
    6. Well, I am really no good at doing Face-ups myself, but I still got Three of my dolls without Face-up.

      I tried it myself a few times (and failed.....really) in the end I did the face up on my first doll with some help from a friend.
      The onther two dolls went to an artist, Why buy them without?
      Because I had a fixed idea for the dolls and did not think the default Face-up would fit them, OR because I did not like the default.

      I would say think about it, could the default Face-up fit your plans for the doll or not?
       
    7. I got my first (and second) doll without a faceup. I wanted to do my girl's faceup myself (because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted and didn't want to pay alot then decide I wanted something totally different. I did have some experience, though (I had a blank hujoo and did about 5 "first faceups on her). When I got my second doll I decided I'd do his faceup too because it's something I enjoy (even though I'm not real great at it).
       
    8. My first doll arrived with the company faceup because I thought the doll looked beautiful in its default state from the company photos.

      Unless the buyer has an interest in creating their own faceup, doesn't want a faceup, or plans to hire somebody else to do a custom job, it's best to buy a BJD with a faceup. If possible, researching and looking for owner photos is helpful because not all companies represent their default faceups as accurately as some would prefer.
       
    9. I got my first with a faceup -- I wasn't confident enough to try one myself right off. It took till my third doll to buy one blank. However, when it comes down to what other people should do, that depends entirely on them. They do need to be aware that the materials will cost money, and they should do some research first so they have the best chance possible to get a good result. Other than that, there isn't really a reason to wait if you don't want to. Just be aware that with the cost of supplies, there probably won't be a cost savings.
       
    10. I have gotten all of my dolls except two without face-ups. I usually prefer to do them myself as practice and work samples for my gallery, and I like to use it as a sort of bonding experience. I have to sit down and consider the character pretty carefully to do a good face-up, so it really helps me attach that special meaning to my dolls. I also find that it's significantly cheaper in the long run. XD

      My first doll went through several unfortunate face-ups I'll admit, because I'd never painted anything like that in my life when I got him. I think the whole reason I got better was because I was determined to make the dolls look better or else:sweat

      Also I don't like default face-ups. None of them have ever really grabbed me except my DM Hosoo's. I couldn't get her without a face-up because she's limited, but the noir version sold out before I could get one, and that was the one default face that I'd really liked. Either way I was going to get rid of it, but I would have let her keep it for a little while if she'd come with that one.

      As for the rest, I feel like you shouldn't "have" to do a face-up, you should want to. And if you don't, then don't! There are plenty of artists out there (myself included ^__^) that enjoy painting dolls for people. It's a roaring trade here on DoA, so you shouldn't feel like you're going to have to do one yourself if you don't feel ready/right about it. I personally started because it's one of the main things that attracted me to the hobby, and I did tons of research before I actually tried it (nearly 2 months of it! My boys too FOREVER to get here XD)
       
    11. None of my dolls have come with face-ups except for one and I ended up wiping that and redoing it because I couldn't bond with her at all and sadly never did. Because of that experience, I tend to stay away from getting factory face-ups. Maybe its because I'm an art student, but I feel like spending time with them blank until I get a feel for their personality and then doing their faces helps me bond with them. I've vary rarely seen a factory face-up that I absolutely wanted. Doing their faces makes them all the more unique and mine ^^
       
    12. I got my first doll with a faceup - mainly because I loved the look of it, I knew I couldn't be able to do it to my satisfaction and I hadn't known about DoA to realise that there are people that can do it for you!

      Thanks to DoA, I always go to an artist on here! *shameless love for how awesome they are*
       
    13. I got my first doll with the factory faceup, then decided to wipe it and try my own a couple months later. If the faceup isn't too much extra, go for it! If you think you might just try your own, it seems a waste of money to pay for the factory one.
       
    14. Originally I was going to buy my first doll with a faceup but over the time I spent saving money I realized I didnt like the style and I wanted something that felt more like my own =) If the company faceup was nice I probably would have ordered her with it and tried a face up later though. Really, its all dependent on ones comfort level with their art skills or if they'd rather send it off to a faceup artist for a faceup that would better suit the character they had in mind =P
       
    15. Emma came with a face-up. I liked the basic one she had on the site, and I was also really not interested in doing it myself. I also (still) don't have the time for it.
       
    16. I think if you like the faceup you'd be getting definitly go with for the first go. But also keep in mind it's pretty easy to commission someone for something more particular that you might want after the arrival, though I admit I love being able to open a box, pick up a doll and play with it instantly. Over the years I've gotten several dolls with and without faceups and I have I say even though I'm a faceup artist and will eventually redo a faceup if it's not completely to my liking, I still would almost rather have that faceup on it so I can spend a day enjoying my new doll without him or her being completely blank.... unless it's dollzone becuase if I don't like the faceup I don't want it because by far that has been the one company with the hardest to remove faceups for me.
       
    17. I bought my first doll without a face-up because the blank Volks kits are less expensive and I was on a student budget. I must admit that buying the pastels, gloss pain, UV spray and other materials added up quickly but at least when I recently got another doll I had all of these thing already.

      Your own artistic ability plays a big factor in deciding if you want a doll with or without face-up, but at least if you make a mistake you can start again.
       
    18. I learned to do my own face-ups, starting with my very first doll. There is no reason -at all- that someone should buy a company face-up if she wants to learn to do her own. The first few attempts may not be great, but it comes quickly to those with the drive and desire.

      If you like the company face-up for itself, that's (in my opinion) the only reason to get one.
       
    19. I ordered my first doll with faceup since I loved my doll's default faceup.
      I'll probably learn how to do it after I had the appropriate tools and the skill :)
       
    20. I ordered Gabriel (Yder SP) without a face-up, so both heads came blank. I personally loved the blank heads, and kept them that way for a while before deciding to send them off for a faceup. It's really just a personal choice. I decided to leave them blank because I was curious to how I'd feel about the mold unpainted (loved it!) and because I hated the current default faceup. Also by the time I decided to have them painted, I had a clear idea of what I wanted and who I wanted to send them to. They both came out beautifully. I can still remember the natural beauty of the blank face and will not order the faceup when I get another Yder. However, I can understand why some would prefer receiving a pre-painted doll.