Mobility vs. Aesthetics

Since I own mostly dolls with terrible mobility (can't even sit properly), I would say aesthetics, but I am not sure. Since not many dolls went through my hands I do not have the necessary knowleadge of what to look for to get the mobility. Either way, I do not mind visible joints at all.
I do not have any favourites.

 

Mobility for sure! I like to keep my dolls clothed anyway, so it doesn't matter to me if their joints (especially in the torso) look a bit wonky.

 

It’s not really a hard question since I have multiple dolls, so...some of each? I really like the look of single piece torso dolls but I appreciate the mobility of more joints. I tend to like my dolls to be able to touch their faces but I don’t mind single joint knees with a prettier leg line. Sometimes the slots and peanut joints look mis-shapen to me but when covered, I love the more natural poses. Just a good excuse to have several types of dolls, I think!

 

I’d have to say purely 50/50. Possibility is so important to me because I love to get creative with posing... but it’s all a waste if they look awkward when doing it

 

I think I'm somewhere in the middle. Of course I like nicely posing dolls but sometimes I choose a doll based solely on aesthetics. I'm very fond of Doll Chateau dolls and they are rather poor posers. I don't mind visible joints, I'm not that obsessed with natural look.

 

I like visible joints, if I didn’t, I would be collecting some other kind of doll, not BJDS. Feels like I have to mention that because after skimming some replies in this thread, it seems like joints being a focal point is seen as a drawback for some? I like the aesthetic of joints.

That aside, aesthetics are more important to me than posability, regardless of whether or not they’re more realistic or more stylized. If they can pose well, that’s a nice extra to me.

I have to like the overall shape of the body as well as the sculpting details. There’s a lot of doll bodies out there that I think are well executed, but for whatever reason, they don’t stand out to me. Then they have to have a doll aesthetic that grabs me as well.

 

I would rather have a pretty body with worse posing than a very meh-looking body with great posing. I feel like posing shortcomings can always be overcome with different stringing solutions, wiring and sueding but melon boobies and tube limbs are forever also a good sculptor can do both! And good aesthetics definitely also lend to good posing often enough - the way that lines and posture look are never only in the joint engineering. Since I also photograph my dolls a lot, I feel like there are many ways to enhance the lacking posing range with the camera also.

With poseability, I value stability much more than the number of joints - my single-jointed Volks MSD absolutely out preforms my Dollmore Judith body that has a heck ton of joints and questionable anatomy, and is much more fun to handle for me. I also don't mind my solid-torso Everpurple Iris because I can just plop her down to stand without much fiddling around - even though I do love putting my dolls into slouchy poses - and the body is also so beautifully sculpted that the way elements flow together lends to the limited posing still looking great as a whole. There are definitely some past dolls I've had that required moving every joint to appear nicely posed, but it's so much work that way that this can get annoying also.

Tl;dr - a well-posing doll doesn't need a huge amount of joints, just skilled engineering and sculpting for them to work together in harmony, and also aesthetic sculpting choices contribute to it a lot.

 

I find these "which is more important?" questions hard to answer, because it's not an either/or situation for me - it's both/and. I play with my dolls a lot so mobility is very important, and I prioritize this when looking for dolls/bodies to buy. But if I don't find the body aesthetically attractive I will not be buying it in the first place, doesn't matter how well-engineered it is. I have rejected reportedly well-posing bodies because I didn't like their physiques, and/or didn't like how their joints look when engaged. Eg. shrug shoulder joints and jointed necks do functionally extend the doll's range of posing, but I don't find those joints aesthetically attractive because they break up the lines of flow through the body. I'd rather make do with less posing range in neck and shoulder.

Both/and also applies when the doll body is home. I want to enjoy playing with and posing my dolls, they have to have enough mobility to fulfill this pleasure. I'm very confident in my ability to overcome mobility limits through maintenance (sueding and wiring go a long way) and learning how to handle them. If after all this effort the doll still falls short in mobility, aesthetics can make up the shortfall: I have to find them beautiful enough that I'll put up with their posing limits. But this doesn't always succeed. I buy BJDs to play with them and want to enjoy that playtime, and if I become consistently frustrated by the doll's posing limits, no amount of beauty will save it from getting sold or re-bodied with something that poses better and gives more enjoyment.

Ultimately it's a compromise between mobility and aesthetics for me, I try to find the sweet spot where both traits are optimized, and every doll in my crew has the sweet spot located in different places. I own a doll that is an outstanding poser but the sculpting somehow makes them always look stiff and awkward unless I introduce rhythm into their poses. But I like them a lot, and their awkwardness has become part of their character. On the flip side, I own single-jointed dolls that I won't rebody because I love their aesthetics too much, they always look natural and graceful no matter what pose they're in, and their range is extended after I sueded and wired them.

 

I need both too. A beautiful brick will sooner or later start to annoy you with its clumsiness. I always choose an aesthetic that matches the character, but is also poseable! A true artist must also be skilled in engineering to interest me. Only rarely is it otherwise...

 

I would say aesthetics is more important for me. The dolls that can pose best are beautiful, but I have a preference for how the knee/elbow joints are. If I'm going to splurge on a doll, I get very picky about that.

 

Definitely mobility. Ever since I got a doll with double-jointed elbows/knees I can never go back. Single-jointed elbows/knees might be my only dealbreaker. Otherwise though, I like how both a large number of joints and the bare minimum can look and have no preference.

 

Both.
I’m very artistic so a doll body needs to be pleasing to my eye, it has to look ‘right’ for the kind of doll in question whether realistic or stylised.

Posing wise I’m no expert, my overall doll experience despite being in this hobby for close to two decades, is pretty limited but I do get frustrated very quickly with awkward joints and dolls that cannot even sit. My opinion of posability is the same as my opinion of technology such as mobile phones, etc…….what use are all the fancy flashy extras if it cannot even perform the basic functions properly.

 

Hmmmm, as much as possible, I prefer the balance between aesthetics and mobility for the BJD body. I'm a sucker for dolls with a wide range of mobility but do not want it to look unnatural.