More diverse doll ethnicity?

I'd like to see all the ethnicities you mention plus some really interesting, unique Northern European looks. I like weirdly beautiful rather than classic beauty looks and body types. Freakstyle dolls come to mind and my grail, Nabarro's Booth. I've asked both doll chateau and DiM if they would consider doing a ebony or dark brown resin since some of their sculpts could take on an ethnic look in a deeper resin. DiM said no, DC said she'd bring the request to management. I'd love to see some African dolls that would reflect Ethiopian ethnicity and yes, Indian and Middle Eastern would be beautiful. So I agree, please! More ethnic dolls!

 

This is a topic that comes up periodically in General Discussion -- here are two interesting threads:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...Race(s)-standards-of-beauty-amp-the-BJD-hobby
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php/53153-Darker-Skin-Tones

 

I think that is mostly up to the doll owners. Most dolls are stylized and even the “realistic” sculpts are often neutral enough that they can be made to portray a fast variety of different people.
Resin color is one thing, but faceup, wig etc. can vastly change the look of a doll.

Diversity is great, but there are already so many dolls out there now that you can find a sculpt for nearly anything. And the doll companies will make more of what sells the most. They will not focus on making what we wish to see, but what we actually buy.
So in the end, it is up to us.

If you (the general “you”, not directed at the OP) see a hole in the market, fill it, or stop complaining. There is a very annoying attitude going on, where people dictate what the doll companies and the independent doll artist “should” do.

 

I don't feel that discussing the topic is "dictating" to doll sculptors as long as the discussion stays civil. Discussion threads of this nature might be helpful for both the hobby and the companies. Perhaps if an artist sees that there is interest in a direction they might have wanted to pursue but hesitated because of uncertainty in reception, they might be encouraged to bring an unorthodox project to fruition.

I personally would like to see more diversity, not just in ethnicity but in aesthetics. I would love to see doll companies explore more unusual directions. However, I do understand that it IS a business, and as long as the current direction is profitable, they aren't going to stray too far. These companies are usually small, and can't afford to absorb too many losses if a new direction doesn't pan out.

 

I'm not sure other than the companies are making dolls they think will sell better? It is definitely an odd thing. I wonder if it is because of this idea that dark colored resin will change colors- I know that I am a little fearful of that!

But it's true that most of the BJD companies that are "on topic" for DOA- when they make dark skinned dolls they don't actually create a different mold, it is just a color option. I don't think that there is a cost issue with making dark colored resin, because a lot of fashion doll BJD companies (numia, sybarite, jamieshow), do actually make black dolls, with unique molds, that look fabulous, but which aren't any more expensive than their other dolls. I'd share a picture of a couple of them, but they are "off topic" so they'd just get deleted.

 

i have laia from dim, and just painted the whole body a tan colour. i would love to see more african decent dolls as well as Colombian and first nations

 

I agree, I think discussions like this do open doors for artists who may be thinking about doing something out of the norm. Are the desires for different types of dolls any different than when someone expresses the desire for a certain type of fashion not easily found? (Like Viking attire? I'm very interested in it because of the show "Vikings.") I like to check out fashion trends that someone may mention that I don't know about. So I don't take their comments as complaints. The same is true of dolls. Many times someone may express a desire for a certain look which leads into a discussion about a company that I may not know about and that I will check out.

I don't take people's expression of their wishes as complaints. To me it's more like a new step taken in art and how art evolves. Like historical subjects to Impressionism to cubism to abstract expressionism. All of the artists built on what came before and then pushed into new areas. People get tired of the same things in fashion, furniture, cars etc. and I think the same is true in dolls.

Maybe the ethnic dolls will come from more of the "art doll" artisans because they may be able to create more freely. I sure hope I'm able to support them and that I hear of their preorders!

 

I'd love to see your doll!

 

I absolutely agree! We dont have enough options for African-American skin tones

 

I must say there are so many beautiful faces out there that are not brought into being by the BJD sculptors that it can be heartwrenching at times.
At one time, there was a picture of a twigling doll on the web that showed her to have an aquiline nose with more African/Central American (?) features. She was very beautiful and I surfed the web obsessively for hours just to find out which one of her dolls it was. It took me a while to realise that it was a trick of the light and the nose wasn't aquiline. I was so disappointed! Found it!
!

 

It is a solid fact that a LOT of doll sculpts can look European, Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American, African depending on skin tone, face-up, eye & wig choice - I'm talking the SAME SCULPT can do this. Why? Just underlines the fact that we all have a LOT more in common as humans than differences - those differences are in fact rather superficial. I've seen sculpts that were flat out minimees of European stars turned into Asian doll characters, and Asian minimees turned into European or African dolls. There are certainly some sculpts that have a distinct ethnic look (nordic, fareast Asia, African) but even those can be revisioned into other ethnicities. It is another fact that I've seen several S.Korean actors who look like some black American stars. Iplehouse made basically a minimee of Shin Min Ah, famous K-actress/model, but put her in that Wild West release (that saw Dexter - supposedly inspired by Michael C. Hall - as an outlaw, w/ the lawman etc). Zera - the IH Shin Min Ah miniature, was portrayed as a native American girl & looked like one.
I do agree that it is harder to get the darker skin tones but I think that's a problem due to the nature of polyurethane resin from what I gather.

 

Yes, I would love to see more diversity in the kinds of features used in BJD sculpts. Recently I was looking for an MSD sculpt that could be South Asian, and couldn't find any that seemed like they could work. There is of course a ton of phenotypical variation within every race, and particularly among multiracial people. But it would still be reasonable to say that within the realm of BJD sculpts, features that are typically European or Asian are most prevalent.

 

I love ethnic dolls. My favorite doll is my Kamau by Iplehouse, who is African American. I have two dolls who are Asian in appearance: Sooah and Mir by Elfdoll. I want more ethnically diverse dolls. I would love a doll who could be an Arabian prince.

The doll I will probably NEVER find: a minimee of the famous bust of Nefertiti in the Berlin museum. I would SO love a Nefertiti doll. That has to be the most beautiful face in the world.

 

hmmm .. i don't think they look Asian .. i mean have you seen some of soom bjds or dc ... they look inhuman .... no but really i think bjds have different shapes that can be from any ethnicity

 

I have to say I've seen some bjds that look decidedly non-aisan, how ever, I would love to see middle eastern and north african dolls.

 

I think a lot of dolls are so stylized, they don't really depict any ethnicity more than another. Others do, but again, color makes a big difference. Example? Jie Doll Michel. He's shown in pale colors in his sales pictures:


But I ordered mine in chocolate skin (which was discontinued right after the first batch, unfortunately), and it gives him an entirely different look:



In some cases, it's just a matter of resin color and how you customize them.

However, I've also read that darker colors (tan, brown, red, grey, etc) are more expensive to produce because it's so much harder to mix the resin evenly. One company (actually might have been Jie Doll, but I can't remember) said only one of 10 dark tan dolls was passing quality control. That's a lot of time and materials going to waste, causing higher production costs and longer wait times. So I understand why some companies don't want to bother, but at the same time, I'm willing to pay the extra for the perfect doll.

 

I agree that many sculpts can look like different ethnicities, based on their resin colors and other features of their face-ups, wigs, etc. So I'm of the firm belief that companies should offer more resin colors than they typically do. Most offer white, and one or two "normal" resin colors- pink or yellow, but it would be great to see more! Tan and dark brown are typical skin colors, so it would be nice to see those two colors more widely offered by companies as well. And maybe even fantasy colors (blue, purple, etc) for limited options maybe. But at least the realistic colors always. Also, it would be nice to see more variations in wigs. More dreadlocks, short hair, and kinky hair.

 

this is when i started to paint her

 

I think Iplehouse has some sculpts that have an ethnic look to them.

Ten years ago there were very limited bjd sculpts. At least now there are skin tone choices and lots of different sculpts being made. Plus you can always mod 'em. Or sculpt your own. The whole thing about bjds is that there is lots of room to try and get the look you want... and the variety is better and better all the time.

Iplehouse Theo (Noctarcana Circus, light brown skin)
14-11-SBJDcon-fairytale_9758 by aprilllee, on Flickr