Is having a doll without a faceup normal?

It doesn't bother me in the slightest if someone wants to keep their doll without a face-up as a permanent thing. As for my own crew I only have 2 with face-ups at the moment and some of my dolls have been without face-ups for over a year (maybe 2 at this point). They're not intended to permanently stay this way as I have hopes to send some of them out and work on some of them myself (some have had temporary face-ups by me but never longer than a couple weeks before I wipe them). Without face-ups I still find them beautiful and the only time it's ever a problem is when the issue of meet-ups come about as I embarassed to take them out blank.

 

oh this is interesting! I didn't know so many ppl kept their dolls faceupless

 

Personally, I couldn't keep a doll without a faceup for very long, no matter how cool it looked. The pull of a blank canvas and a potential project would just be too strong! But then again, potential faceup failure doesn't scare me, either--after all, if it doesn't work out I can wipe it off and do another.

 

Dolls without faceups scare me. And i feel so uncomfortable looking at them. Cause im basically one of those people that doesnt care much for posability i just want the face and body to look good. >///< I feel awfully shallow but thats my opinion. No face-up = terror.

 

Whatever floats your boat, I think!

Though personally, I wouldn't think of keeping one faceupless.
To me, they come to life and become much more unique and defined as individual characters when they have faces.

A nude doll reminds me too much of a shell.
And I will feel a need to give them some "essence." by giving them a face.

Maybe, I feel as if they lack personality because they're so bare.

 

Faceups are important for me, because they are what gives a doll much of his/her expression and also what helps make them look like their intended character. A faceupless doll to me wouldn't seem finished. That said, different things work for different people, so if you prefer to leave your doll without one, then there's nothing wrong with that. It does not seem to be a common thing, however.

 

Keeping a doll without the face-up certainly isn't the norm, but it's not completely unheard of either. There are some dolls who's sculpts I really adore, and prefer seeing minimal face-ups on them. It's completely understandable to see the beauty in a blank head.

 

If the doll is yours it only needs to please you, if you like it without a faceup, you should keep it that way. If not, give it a faceup, change the faceup if you don't like it. That is what is so great about these dolls, they can be exactly the way you want them.

 

I generally prefer my dolls to have face-ups... however, I procrastinated about doing face-ups for several of them. From time to time the BF would very helpfully say, "They need make-up." Which I finally did this spring!

One doll, though, will remain without a face-up -- a Dollshe old-style ebony Hound. He's supposed to be dodgy and dangerous; the wig and eyes I gave him were sufficient to establish this for me, and the nuances and shadows of the sculpt and dark resin take care of the rest.

 

I have faceupless dolls at the moment, but I consider them on stand-by to get faceups. I can certainly appreciate the artistic merits of keep a head blank, but I love the feeling of seeing a head come alive with a faceup, and really admire skillful faceups. When a doll has an appropriate faceup, wig, eyes, and clothes, s/he turns into a wonderfully alive character to me.

 

One doll I have seems to suit the no-faceup look quite nicely, while the others who are also faceup-less is due to a combination of many factors D:

I can't afford to send my boys to a faceup artist. And I want to practice my own since it'll add the whole joy of BJD customizing
Though I haven't done any in a long time, maybe I'll do one every few months or so, but that's mostly because I'm not only a procrastinator, but I can't even afford a new bottle of MSC if I run out of my last can, which is the can I'm on ><;

 

I haven't seen many dolls that are without a face-up just because they aren't ever going to get one. I have only seen doll's without a face-up who are eventually going to get a face-up by either the owner or a customizer. To me, a doll without a face-up doesn't have much of a personality, they seem plain and slightly creepy to me but I can see why someone would want to keep a bjd without a face-up for an eerie feel.

 

I've had one of my dolls without a faceup before, whilst I was waiting. And while, I think she looked fine without it, I just don't think the doll is complete without a faceup. For me the faceup gives the doll it's characters; it's personality. *but* that doesn't mean I can't enjoy other people's dolls without faceups.

 

That doesn't bother me in the least. Some dolls can definitely pull it off, especially with a skilled photographer behind it.
I also keep one of my dolls blank for now, simply because I enjoy his mold so much.
However, he is gonna get a face up eventually, but I believe that's gonna take a while. Especially because I've had this certain character for a long long time and know him so well, it's extremely hard for me to try and paint his face without limiting his expression / the character itself too much.

 

My doll Cream actually drew me in because he didn't have a faceup. I never liked the angry/haughty default face up that most Borys have. XD;; (nothing against anyone with a Bory with a default faceup, it's just not my style >>; )
But without the faceup he had a very soft, sweet expression that I fell in love with.
He's out getting a faceup now, but I can see why people would keep them blank. (:

 

I had my first LS Ted without a faceup for a good long while. Didn't seem to really affect anything, I thought. Of course, he has a faceup now, as do all my other dolls except the newest head, but most of a year went by before he had a face. I also have a couple of dolls who have really dark resin (one is purplish-black, the other solid black) who have very minimalistic faceups, more just highlighting certain areas.

 

I wasted no time putting a face on my doll. He doesn't look finished without one and I thought he looked a little like a corpse. Yeah, creepy. I do like minimal naturalistic faceups, though. I plan to do something a little more bold next time if I can get my nerve up to try it.
I don't have the company do a faceup, only because it saves money to do it myself and there are so few ways to save a few bucks in this hobby.
Would I call it normal to have a doll with no faceup? Normal is in the eyes of the beholder.

 

I cannot imagine having my dolls without face ups. I understand why people have them without because of the expression isnt locked, as I had a very minimal face up on my Dia that really worked for her.
BUT when I get a doll I liked it with a face up even if it will be changed, theres a big degree of expression and character in a face up for me that counts towards that first impression when I open the box. If I have bought blank dolls I have organised a face up right away to bring it to life. Without a face up I see my dolls (personally my dolls) as lifeless.

 

I don't like my dolls without face-ups, although Peitan didn't have one for awhile because I was so busy I couldn't find time to do one on her. Still, I just feel like dolls don't look 'done' until they've got one, and it makes them look so much more expressive!

 

What I've discovered (and basically echoing everyone else XD) is that I can't really bond with a doll if it's faceupless. As far as I can see, all the dolls that remained without faceups I've sold off.

Is it normal? Well... it's subjective isn't it? On one hand, it's normal to put a face on a humanoid object, right? to personify and push a personality onto it. But at the same time, it's inanimate. It's a representation of humans, so a blank face suits it as well. Or C) I'm making up silly ideas