Is it worth getting a custom faceup on a cheaper doll?

I always say to save up to buy the doll you'd love most, not the doll to fit your budget. There really isn't any good reason to buy a doll you don't like.

 

I would say the two things have nothing to do with each other. Inexpensive doll, expensive doll, in the end you want to like it, right? So what does it matter if the base was less expensive and the customization was more?

This reminds me how a customer once argued about how my price was too high, since they had paid less for the parts I was supposed to airbrush.
I asked them if with that logic I should ask less for a faceup on a cheaper doll, and ask more when it's an expensive one? How does my work change in quality, time and materials used because of the price of the canvas I'm painting on?

Usually proper customization always ends up more expensive than the base too. Even my more expensive dolls throughout the years have exceeded their purchase price through faceups, eyes, wigs, custom clothes and so on. I paid 500 for the doll and 800 on top for all their stuff to get it done

As it is, maybe see it like that: instead of thinking a "cheap" doll apparently is not worth having an expensive faceup, be glad you can reach a finished and nice looking doll for an overall smaller total.

At the end though I would tell you to buy a doll you actually like. If you don't like the base doll, you will most likely not enjoy it with a custom faceup either. Maybe getting a different one, maybe even from a company whose faceups you enjoy, is r better choice here.

 

If you really love the sculpt of the doll, then a custom face-up is worth it, regardless of the price of the doll. If you're not excited by the doll itself however, you'll likely be more inclined to dwell on the price.

 

It's not a question of being worth it or not. It's a question of do you want it or not (and of course how much do you have to save up for it)?

Do you like your "cheaper" doll? Do you want it to have a special faceup by that special artist? Then commission someone. I have seen amazing Resinsoul customs. I think a good faceup can bring life to any sculpt.

Like the other posters wrote: I would also reconsider the choice of the doll itself. You would not be asking that question if you loved the doll you were about to buy and were excited about it. If you are even considering the "is it worth it to buy expensive stuff for that doll" you probably don't love the doll enough to justify the doll purchase. Price determines if you can objectively buy a doll, but does not reflect how much you will enjoy it.

Don't just settle on a "Resinsoul or something near that price point". There is nothing wrong with Resinsoul dolls. It's fine not to spend too much on a doll. But nowadays, there are plenty of "less expensive" options, you are bound to find a sculpt that you like! Get one that you actually love. IMO, in this hobby, if you get something just because it was cheap, you will absolutely regret it.

Aside from price, what are you looking in a doll?

 

I hate dividing dolls into ‘cheap’ versus ‘expensive’. (I knew someone who berated me in the hobby for sticking to the less expensive end of the hobby, if it was a doll under a certain price range or from a big company it wasn’t good enough.) Sorry side rant. XD
Sure some dolls can get pricey but there is nothing wrong with more cost effective dolls. I’ve always tried to keep my budget in mind but I buy dolls that really excite me. I have a Resinsoul and she is one of my absolute favourite dolls, only topped by my Soom Mylo which has been a grail doll for me. I will say though that RS does not do very flattering faceups but they are very kind with questions and I hear they can do custom faceups. When I ordered my Zhen I simply asked if they could do a special colour and they nailed it. You could always ask what they can do for you. If Resinsoul is a company you would like to go for. Owner photos really help since you can see the same sculpt in different styles.

I have done a few faceups on my own dolls but I don’t really have a knack for it. Because of the artist’s time, skills, and materials I don’t find faceup prices to be too unreasonable. Does it hurt my wallet? Yes a little bit, but you get what you pay for. I’ve gone for cheap faceups in the past and not all of them have turned out well. A faceup by someone who is not very experienced can cause staining or the faceup messing up quickly. Finding the right artist is important, a faceup can completely change how a doll looks. (I also don’t live in the US so I can see where you are coming from)

You should always get a doll that excites you, regardless of wether it’s cheap or not. If you don’t like a company’s faceup, in my opinion, it’s worth saving up to get the doll customised to how you want them to look. This hobby is very much a marathon and not a sprint and it is so reliant on budgets since it’s an expensive hobby. In the end it’s down to you. There’s no right or wrong answer and everyone has their own experience.

You mentioned Resinsoul as the cheaper alternative but is there a specific doll you were thinking of when mentioning liking the companies faceup?

 

...maybe? I have a collection that's all over the place price-wise, but you can't really tell from the resin quality which was expensive and which wasn't. The quality is more in the engineering. A ResinSoul will need some extra tlc (I'd say a restringing with thicker elastic and sueding are a necessity), a slightly more expensive doll might not. But even then you don't have to go straight for Volks (unless you really want to).
ResinSouls resin feels rather nice. Chinese BJD in general will feel smooth. Korean BJD companies don't always because they don't sand their dolls by default. It's not a quality mark though, just a preference.

 

This is waht ai was going to say.

EDITED TO ADD:

I have a few from Volks and many from other companies, bothh high and low priced, and can't say I've ever really noticed any difference in the resins, and I hybrid a lot of my dolls. French Resin is the only one that LOOKS different to me, the rest look and feel very similar.

Teddy

 

@nanaislife : I have never held a Volks doll, so I am not sure about their resin. I have no complain about the quality of the dolls I own, and it does not matter to me that they are not "the best" that can exist in this hobby, as long as it looks pretty, is fairly solid and doesn't yellow too much. I would not worry about the quality of the resin before having an idea of the sculpts I am thinking of getting. You won't be admiring the Volks resin if you don't like the Volks faces after all.

Before thinking about splurging, if you are shelling a character, what are your requisites for that character? Boy, girl, child, teen, adult, sharp face, round face, small nose, big nose...? What size? Narrowing it down to a selection of sculpts you want seem to be more satisfying and safer than deciding from which company to order first.

It's the same when commissioning a faceup. Each artist has a "style". Paying for "the best one" without knowing and agreeing with the artist personal style can result in tears.

In summary: Don't look for "the best" because it does not exist! Know what you want, what you can feasibly afford/save up for ( Pretty much everyone here will agree that getting into debt for BJD is not worth it - treat yourself within reason), look around for companies in that price range and buy the one you fall for.

 

@nanaislife : Well, like many others have stated... there is nothing wrong with paying a higher customization fee on a more affordable doll. In fact I really love to see the economical doll brands get glammed up and really shine in their owners hands. Part of the joy in this hobby is the customization aspect, so having a doll come to life with your specifications in mind is really fun.

Of course, like many others stated, the doll itself should be one that you are excited and enjoy to some degree! A custom faceup doesn't always make you love a mold. However there is absolutely nothing wrong selecting a doll for budget reasons or concerns (even if yes, there are other dolls you'd prefer to own). In this hobby we do like to chant "Treat yo'self!", but no one here pays your bills... so pick the doll you like and also fits your level of comfort price wise.

 

Any doll is worth getting a custom Faceup for, provided you plan to keep it long enough to get enjoyment from having gone through the effort and expense. If you didn't I think it would feel frustrating. I think it can be really hard to feel like your oc is right if you cannot get the right Faceup on them.
And I don't know how you feel about the reinsoul doll, only you do. But if sticking to a budget is important and necessary I really respect that. Sometimes the advice of "get the more expensive doll you prefer" is good but in some situations it's not practical and just insensitive.
Well, there are some different textures of resin, yes, but personally I don't feel like volks resin is something especially rare or special, since you mentioned that. I think I have tons of dolls that feel the same/nearly the same. Outlying resin types for me are french/environmental resin and sometimes others which are more super smooth and then there are some dolls that feel very eggshell like, those are my favorite. But volks is in between which is where most companies are.

 

Well, if your looking to shell a specific character, then I'd say you'll risk spending more in the long term via reshelling the character by settling on a doll because of the initial price than aiming for something closer to your preferred asthetic. That isn't to say that cheaper dolls aren't great, but you don't sound thrilled about the affordable options.

I'm not sure what scale your looking at, but if your looking at 1/3 scale, you may find other more affordable options by scaling down. There's also the second-hand market.

I also wouldn't say Volks is the only company with good resin, but sure their, resin is texturally more matte than others. Of the dolls I personally have, Luts, Bluefairy and Cocoriang also run matte. So maybe Luts could be a more affordable alternative since they have various dealers that offer layaway.

One last thing. I'd say that don't expect perfection even if you choose to go expensive. Once you have a doll in hand, you may find yourself valueing posability more than you thought and, let me tell you, many of the best posers come from the affordable brands.

 

If you love the doll, it's always worth it.
My Resinsoul has the priciest faceup in my collection, because I wanted that artist for her. It wasn't about the money.

 

I would ask Resinsoul for a custom face up. They only charge slightly more than their regular face up prices.
I totally understand not wanting to go super high price wise and choosing a doll that fits your budget. I think a lot of the time doll hobbyist forget that it’s not about having the money saved up, it can also be about whether you think it’s a reasonable amount to spend.
There’s no problem with finding a doll to love in aprice point you’re comfortable spending in.

 

I have a cheap doll I ordered on a whim for the translucent color it was molded in. It's poorly engineered and thus not so fun to handle. I had a very nice faceup done on it and it looks great, but really it's little more than a display piece. The faceup can't overcome the other quality issues.

But I have other "cheaper" dolls that are great and if I didn't like the factory faceups already would definitely be worth a custom one.

So I'd say any doll you like is worth a custom faceup, while if you don't like the doll for any reason other than its faceup a custom faceup isn't likely to really change your opinion.

As to resinsoul in particular, I'd say their bodies are pretty middle of the road when it comes to engineering. There are others a little more expensive that are better in my experience, but also many much more expensive that are worse. I'm not especially concerned about resin feel myself so I won't comment on that, but I must mention that my white resinsoul body yellowed far more and faster than any other light colored doll I own. So I wouldn't recommend them if you're looking for white.

 

A cheap doll can definitely be worth a custom faceup; my first doll would likely count as a "budget" doll (Impldoll Avery), and I got him a custom faceup. In contrast, the most expensive doll in my collection currently bears the first-ever faceup I've given a BJD, and the second I did with the "proper" supplies, having done others on thrifted playline dolls with acrylic paint and brush-on sealant. Which, if you do decide to do a cheaper doll, it could be a good intro to brushing up your art and faceup skills. After all, it can all be wiped off and redone.

Of course, if this is gonna be a big investment for you, it's good to ensure you're up for it, as others have said. I actually have a Resinsoul doll I impulse bought, and though she's pretty, she's been a bit tough to find footing with, since I think I mostly got her for the rush of having a new doll. You're the only one who can answer if it's an investment you're willing to make, or if you're in a situation where you could wait and save.

As for quality, I've got three cheaper dolls and they're just as varied in quality as my two/three pricier ones. My Impldoll and possibly Resinsoul both need sueding, Impldoll needs restringing (again), but my Black Cherry Doll and Dollzone body are finickier than they are. I love the looks on my Black Cherry Doll's body, but boy her hips don't take dressing as easily as anyone else (though my Resinsoul's dragon feet also cause issues), and it's a bit of a pain point. Only my two most expensive dolls have some tooth to their resin rather than being smooth, including my Dollzone body which cost as much as a whole doll, but probably nothing a coat of sealant can't imitate. My best poser by a mile? My Huajing Doll Tian Ni, who, checking prices again, is my cheapest BJD. She's also the one I spent the most money on a single outfit on, though everyone wears a mix of purchased pieces and stuff I sewed myself.

IMO, price point is a benefit, but not necessarily an indicator of quality or that less fiscal, more emotional matter of worth.

 

one of the prettiest dolls I've seen was a resinsoul mei with a custom faceup! You do you!

Of course, echoing what others are saying, do make sure it's a doll you want. I wanted an elf doll and bought a cheaper doll rather than the one I really wanted. I wasn't thrilled with her, never really did too much with her, and she's been in her box for an embarrassingly long time.

 

I definitely agree with everyone else. If you find a body type that you really like, put whatever money you want into giving it the faceup that you want. As long as the end result is a doll who you love.

 

Bought a Doll Leaves head and I wasn't too big of a fan, but then I got a custom face-up and he's legit my most favorite doll on earth. I definitely think this can be an option.