How much modding is too much?

I think when you can't even recognize the original head mold anymore or the previous mold looks just totally...fuc*** up. I mean, why getting this mold and mod it do death when you can have a suitable and better mold?D:' Something that looks just fine how it is?

Sanding the nose a little bit rounder or lips a little bit smaller are not such a big deal, because the overall look is still the same.

 

Hmm... A mangled zombie doll... Maybe that WOULD be interesting.

But, I guess if you can afford to practice modding a doll, then it's cool. But if you have a doll was either very expensive, or very precious to you, then when it's ruined, you've gone too far.

So I guess, I'll "fix" my original response.

You've gone far when you've lost something in the doll that you liked (or the entire doll...). When what you have makes you regret what you did, you've gone too far. Anything is worth doing if you can be okay with the outcome

I agree with the whole "It's my business" thing. If people don't like what you've done to your doll, they have to suck it up. They weren't the one who shelled out the cash to get it. They aren't the ones who own the doll. Different people have different tastes. What may seem extreme and unattractive in a doll or mod to someone, may be beautiful to another.

 

hmm tough question....I have a hound who has undergone a fair amount of modding, elf ears, pierced nipples and PA (these are drilled not glued) and ears, eyes opened and reshaped slightly, several scars, and probably the biggest mod, I sculpted abs on him. A lot of people say it is a lot of modding, but it makes him him. Some people don't like the way I have done one feature on him, but that is the same as saying that a faceup, or even a factory sculpt does not appeal, it is personal choice. Honestly as long as your doll still functions the way YOU want it to, and you are not living with the expectation that everyone will love it well then it is not an issue. Mods, like everything else about the asthetics of these dolls, are highly personal

 

What if you can't find a suitable or better mold? Maybe the head is not recognizable as what it started out to be, but that doesn't mean that it's underlying structure was not the closest or easiest to work from. Depending on what a person wants, there aren't necessarily good options to have something that looks fine as is. Customization is a big part of the hobby so I would expect to see dolls that have a lot of work done and changing the overall look is one of the reasons for modding.

 

I am a person that mods almost all her dolls. Even the more limited ones, my sandpaper does not shiver when it's time to change something. Recently, I've tried to standarize the eye size that all my dolls wear, since they are all supposed to be related and belong to the same world. Perhaps, opening a couple of milimetres the eyes makes them totally in shape with the rest of my dolls, and for me, that's important. Sometimes, I buy my dolls fopr features that other people wouldn't like at all; I have an example yesterday, showing nayuta kenzo to a friend of mine, that said 'Oh, he would so great changing half of his face!!! because that nose is too long, that jaw is too defined, and etc'... obviously, that is NOT a doll she would have to buy, there are many more dolls with blander features. I liked that exaggerated facial features myself, because I thought they suited the character i had in mind so well, that I do not think that any modding is necessary. So, here you have quite a contradiction: i would leave untouched Nayuta Kenzo, because he fits the character like that. And I modded the 'perfection' of my Sard, for slightly larger eyes and softer chin, because he would fit my character better.

Modding depends on your feelings to the mold. everyone knows their reasons to get a certain mold, and what to do with them. As mentioned abouve, for example, I do not get the point in, for example, getting a Sard and modd his ears human (Why not getting a Dia instead?), but the point made before of 'That's a doll I would want to have!' makes much more of the deal when feeling bad about moddings.

 

I don't think it matters. If you have the artistic ability to mod your doll well, I can only say I envy you.

 

I think as long as you love the product in the end, there's no such thing as too much modding. If however, you mod away to the point where -you- are no longer happy, that's too much.

 

To me, I guess it depends on if it looks "natural" or not. And I don't mean "natural" as in human, I mean "natural" as in fitting the doll/theme the doll is going for. It also has to be well done. I've seen some bad jobs with opening the eyes on a head, but if it's done well and looks nice, like it belongs on the doll, not like it was forced/awkward, then I have no problem with it.

I would cry a little bit on the inside if I saw a LE that I /really/ loved or wanted modded so much that you could barely tell what mold it was, but as long as it's done well and looks in place, I would just sigh and chalk it up to artistic creativity and personal taste. I can understand being creative, but I can't stand seeing something sloppy. >_<;;

 

Depends on what doll it is, and the amount of modding.

If it's a regular edition doll, I won't be bothered, no matter how much you mod it. Go crazy! But with an LE, I'd be a bit sad to see it edited in an irreversible way.

In the end, though, it's your money, so... I can't tell you what to do. But seeing an LE or hard-to-find doll being modded beyond recognition would definitely make me think, "Why?"

 

Of course with an LE, you immediately raise the value of the non-modded LE's..unless your mod is SO COOL that it becomes an art object in itself. Considering the quality of some of the work I have seen here, I think that is quite possible.
(looks at curiouscourtships

 

Dolls are a form of art. Those who make them work hard to make them as beautiful as they are.

Now, minor modifications are fine. It's like art collaboration. Stuff like scars, minor changes to the actual sculpt (like changing one feature and only one), even elf ears, anything to which the sculpt is still complimented by the work of the buyer.

When a sculpt is modded beyond recognition, it's a bit disrespectful to the person who made it.

I mean, at least, as someone who has done art in the past, I would be rather hurt if someone bought a painting or drawing, and ripped it, sloshed paint on it and added their own stuff into it. By that point, it's just destruction and the same can go for dolls.

 

I personally love scar mods, horror mods or anything really unique. The one that always gets me is the modifying of the actual facial sculpt. I understand this if maybe the head comes only in open eyes and you want them closed/partially closed, or something like that, but I really don't understand modding the one feature that makes the sculpt stand out from other sculpts. For example, what drew me to Abadon was his squarish, plump lips - so different from every other doll! But I saw an Abadon with the lips sanded to look like every other doll's lips, and I really didn't get that at all. Why would you get a doll only to take away its most defining feature?

 

I feel that one should not go so far as to change the structure of a doll too much. I think that one should find the doll as close to the idea you are going for as possible. Example, if I wanted to make a Jareth doll someday....which would be AWESOME...I would look for a doll with those pointed features and those ears. If I managed to find one and not the other....the face being more likely to find, then it would be more important to me to have that face and just mod the ears if I had to.

 

I like some modding in some moderation. If it's something minor like opening dreaming eyes or adding vampire teeth to a non-vamp doll, or elf ears to a non-elf doll, or claws onto the nails... minor things like that. Some people (like me) don't buy a doll with a character already in mind. I buy a doll that catches my eye with its look and don't actually have a character for it until it gets here. Like for instance my Vamp Breakaway... i already have a normal breakaway and wanted the vamp breakaway, but when I got him, i really wanted his character to have certain color eyes, so i had his eyes opened. Things like that i think are fine, it's when people start changing the doll so much you can't even tell what it was in the beginning that I start to disagree with modding. Use the doll for it's natural beauty (or ugliness), play up it's existing features, only change what's absolutely necessary.

 

I think modding the features are just as much a part of the customisation process as changing the hair/eyes/clothes. It's good to make each doll and individual.
x

 

i have a lot of respect for anyone who has the artistic ability to mod their dolls - even if the mods are kind of 'extreme'.
so for me there is not really a 'too much' and especially if you can't recognize the mold anymore, that's what catches my attention. to see what people are able to do to a doll that might not have looked very interesting or special to me before.

 

I'm relatively new to BJDs and so far my modding has just extended to making a very pointy nose more feminine, but as someone who paints and sculpts I can see that if you have an idea for a doll and just can't find that doll on the market, well, you will just be itching to try and sand or sculpt on an existing doll til you get what you want. I don't think creative types can resist those urges for long!

I personally don't have the kind of money that would make me feel comfortable modding a brand new doll in any way, but as I buy mostly from the secondary market, and most of these poor creatures are less than perfect when they get to me... why the heck wouldn't you mod them if that get's you the doll you want but can't afford. If you are happy with it that's fine, but maybe don't expect to get top money for it if you want to sell it on )

 

When I was in this discussion a few months ago, I seem to have neglected this response. I must not have seen it. I think it's a great rule of thumb and serves my opinion (as well as an opinion of practicality) quite well.

I thank you for this.

 

I'll echo what other people said before, and as long as you're happy, I'm not going to say boo.

Speaking in a more general/theoretical, I find heavy modification of LE dolls a bit strange -if you're just shortening the nose or dying it, that's one thing, but if you got that particular LE for the eyes and then went on an 18-month dremeling spree, couldn't you have bought a cheaper head and modded the eyes as well?
I understand that a lot of people think that sloppy mods are bad, but I also have reached a point where I screwed up something (not a doll) beyond my ability to repair, and I just started over.
As to the "wishes of the artist" vs. "unrecognizeable is AWESOME" debate, I'm squarely on the side of the modders. If you're a sculptor and want your dolls to be viewed as the lifelike, gorgeous molds they are ... making BJDs is not for you.

 

Would it be considered by some as too much modding if I got a ResinSoul Long, sanded his nose flat, softened his features some, gave him a few crinkles and made his head all spikey? That is something I am really wanting to do, especially since that would cost an absolute fortune as a minimee if it is even done right. Ya wouldn't even know he is a Long when I'm done with it.
Of course, I can in the end do what I like with him, but I thought I'd put that forward because I can bet there would be no chance recognising his mould after all that, and some think that is too much.
I've had some people give me glares at getting a robotic claw modded onto my AiAi (I cannot mod, my ideas are more extreme than my skills, I ask someone with more skills to do it). AiAi is not limited in any way or anything, the character needed a claw and he has one