How much modding is too much?

*nods* I understand your point here. I tend to attatch to much emotion to mine, and other peoples. I had a problem bonding with a secodn hand doll I bought, because the original owner had told me his name an some information about who he had been... and I couldn't think of him as anything but that 'person'.

Though, my little Stark came from a long round of being passed around our local group before she settled with me. She had been in the area for about a year, an none of her personalites had really stuck, so I wouldn't really call her loved. She was cared for.... but she wasn't quite 'alive' yet? The only thing that had stuck to her was the name Celvice, that I had actualy given her when the owner couldn't come up with a name for her. Iono, I guess in some crazy way she alwasy felt a little like 'my doll' because of that? And after a few deals to move her away fell through the owner sort of gave up on her, an was going to box her till someone would "Just take her!" So I made up my mind that she was going to come live with me, she stayed with me for about a week before I realised 'who she was'. She still has her 'human' name of Celvice, but since she's a lich now she calls herself Stark Ravenmad, and she seems even more alive now that she's dead!

Sorry to blather on ^.^;;;; But yeah, sometimes second hand dolls come with a little more 'extras' then you expect with them. Sometimes that helps you bond with them, sometimes that distances you. I've had a few second hand dolls leave their baggage with me, to move on to new lives free from it. *sounds crazy now*

 

Okay, I have a question, actually.
I am getting a Volks Schulze (wow, did I spell that right? XD) and I adore his face. I don't intend to take anything away from him, but the general consensus seems to be that it's too much modding when you remove something that defines a limited sculpt-but what if you added to it? Say, what if I put elf ears on him or something? Would that be a negative mod?

 

From what I've read, and general consensus, elf ears are all good. I think if you were to sand off his nose completely, cut his lips off, and sand his cheeks to nothing, then it might be considered a bad mod.

 

As soon as you mod a doll, it's just not the same. It would be extremely difficult to find someone to buy a modded head with exactly the mods they were looking to do themselves. I would have to say that IMHO that the only exceptions are eye openings, but even those are iffy.

When I look for mod dolls, it's mainly so that I can have one to make further modifications or to practice on. The only time I really cringe is when someone has modded an extremely limited girl/guy, because you know that after the mod, there's one less of that limited sculpt now available.

I don't know. Basically, I live by the idea that if you buy it, you can do whatever you want with it, regardless of how I feel about it.

 

I guess I can understand someone doing a minor modification, like opening gentle eyes, or sanding a too-sharp nose. However, I'm really not a fan of modding.

I'd rather keep looking for a doll whose features I love, rather than changing them drastically on a doll I'm not quite happy with.

 

Someone who likes elf ears will think it's a positive mod. Someone who hates elf ears will think it's a negative mod.

If you're basing your notions of "positive" and "negative" solely on what other people think... on popular consensus... on mob rule... that makes me sad. :< It's your doll, you can do what you want to his ears. The feature(s) that "defines his sculpt" is different for everybody, so basing your decision only on the opinions of others is pointless. And sadmaking.

(For $.02: I personally think seeing an elf-Schulze would be sixty shades of adorable.)

 

So speaks the sooth...

I too would rather spend hours, weeks, days, months searching out a complete face which sates my needs than play about with something which is almost there. This, is not to say however that modding is out of the question - with one of the family, the eye-peice I had in mind for him would have required modding on any doll (and as I do not sell my babies in the main that is not an issue either).

Yuko.

 

If a face sculpt is rare, I think it'd be a shame if you did something like, sand all the features off to leave it a blank blob. You could do that with any old head. Mod on elf ears? It's yours, whatever. But to do something that completely decimates the actual sculpt would seem a little wasteful.
Individual mods- say, 'elf ears? no elf ears? fangs? no fangs? smile? frown? swoop nose? snub nose?'- are all subjective.
EDIT: Personally? As someone who will likely never have the money for a rare sculpt, if I see the doll in person I might act nice and polite, but if I know about it beforehand, I'd be kind of... perturbed. It'd be like wallpapering your house with hundred dollar bills- flashy and for the purposes of art, but really, Monopoly money would do just as well.

 

I don't think the question is whether it's okay or not - of course it's 'okay.' People can do what they want with their dolls. I believe the spirit of this thread is to go beyond that question, and to get to individuals' opinions about modding.

 

I love seeing really unattractive molds get an extreme-mod and look just awesome. Of course what is unattractive is highly subjective, we all have a different taste in dolls. For instance, I don't like Nanuri, but I've seen a couple of really gorgeous ones.

I've seen some nice DZ mods, but they've been on the SD size. What I would really love is to see someone mod the heck out of some of the really unattractive DZ mini's - especially the large, stretched out eyes.

If someone can make a DZ mini look more natural, I would be blown-over impressed.

If someone modded an already gorgeous looking limited doll, that would be too bad, because there are very few people that I consider great modders. Most of the time they come out looking wonky imo.

 

When you ask "How much modding is too much?" you are still asking if it is alright to modify the doll that you own. Is it alright to modify your doll beyond recognition, the answer will still be: I payed for it.

The real question should be: Is it "ok" to make molds of the modified work and call it your own? If the doll is modified beyond all recognition has it become your "original" work?

 

I'd say 'no'.

 

Hm, interesting. Part of me says that the owner can mod their doll anyway they wish. Whatever makes them and their doll happy.

I'm all up for mods, but I'd always like to know what sculpt it came form. Whatever fits the soul of the doll I guess. I myself find it interesting to see some mods, but I feel sorry for the dolls that have been destroyed because of it. (ex. disfigured nose, sanded off face.)

Oh! And I seen on another thread, blackwings, that you are pagan/wiccan? Thats exciting, cause I am too. Its nice to meet others like me too.
/ end rambling.

 

Who knows? XD

 

I look forward to modding in the future. I think the only two rules I will have will be..
1 do not compromise the structural integrity
2 have a plan!
beyond that why not! I couldn't do it to some dolls but others....

 

Here's a story for you guys...

I got a LE head, it was perfect for my 'Voldemort' character. (For those who don't know, Voldemort is a Harry Potter villian that is known for not having a nose). My doll was a 'younger' version of the character, before he lost his nose. So I take my doll around to conventions and after introducing my doll, the very first question out of everyone's mouths was, 'Are you going to remove his nose?'. I was asked and bugged about this so many times that I finally decided to do this. But I wasn't going to ruin the head I have and love, so I bought a second LE head, and modded it into a nose-less Voldemort.

NOW, I get comments from people who are annoyed that I would do such a thing to a LE Doll. Others who think it's cool. So there are people on both sides of the fence. What should I have done? Not modded the doll at all? Used another non-LE mold for the character and give up the image I had of the character?

I don't think there is such a thing as 'too much' when it comes to modding. I'm in the 'it's your doll, do what you want' group.

-Anneke

 

*glances at very modified SOOM Lupin sitting on desk*

What I have to contribute, is frankly, execution in the mods is everything. A small mod like eye opening can be too much if it's uneven and poorly planned out. A huge mod like the above linked zombie girl mod can be wonderful and appropriate if the research is done and the work is careful.

It's a matter of whether the person doing the modding knows what they are doing as opposed to whether certain mods are "excessive".

- Mel

 

From the stuff I've seen other people I think I do tend to prefer the major structural mods (the lovely zombie girl here, that doll with six arms, the centaurs you sometimes see, etc) to the minor facial mods.

If someone is taking a knife to an expensive doll that I really wanted myself I feel better about it when what they're doing is something that's obviously hugely complicated and well planned-out and will probably never be available commercially.