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Only young and thin dolls

Dec 4, 2011

    1. First of all, sorry if this thread is on the wrong place! This is my first thread ever and I didn't found another one with this topic yet... (and sorry about my bad english!)

      So I was wondering...I've spent a lot of time searching dolls and companies, and I must say all the dolls I've found were beautiful...but in 100% of the cases all dolls were young and thin. So my question is: Why there is no over weight or elderly dolls? I mean, it would be so nice if we could have a body variation on marketplace. There are bilions of people in the world, and there are a huge variation of age and body shape.
      I would love to own a "grandma" doll, or a cute chubby girl...

      What do you think about this?
       
    2. Personally I believe they are trying to capture 'beauty' as the sculpting artist sees it, I'm not saying there isn't any beauty in a "grandma doll" and personally I would love me a chubby girl but they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
       
    3. I know one issue of having larger bodies is that it impacts the joints, and causes issues with the flexibility.
       
    4. I don't think doll makers are trying to represent all the people out there. Some dolls are a little thicker than others, but I don't think any of them are supposed to be over weight.
      When people think of dolls, they usually think of an idealized human form, and that means beautiful, young, and slim. But, you know? There are art dolls by individual dollmakers that vary a lot more. Different body types, and lots of monster-like stuff mostly. I don't recall seeing any elderly dolls except for a rather extreme mod in the customization forum here on DOA.
       
    5. I think that when it comes to dolls, most people go for them because they want to look at something that is pretty and/ or unusual, not the ordinary. Like when we read romance novels or look at movies about beautiful people, and we kind of live through them a little. It's a fantasy for entertainment purposes. I am an ordinary-looking looking older woman who happens to be a grandmother, but I like to play with youthful pretty girl dolls precisely because they are not like me.
       
    6. There increasingly is variation in BJD body types. Occasionally there are older dolls from Souldoll, although those are so far both male. Female dolls with large hips is a growing trend. And there are certainly people who give their BJDs wrinkles when they customize.

      But it's true, for the most part these dolls are young and not overweight. They tend to reflect strongly idealized notions of beauty, just as most characters in movies, books, etc. The difference here is that you can customize or mod your doll to be different from those ideals if you want!
       
    7. Large hips =/= chubby/overweight/not slim. I'm sorry but this is an excuse I read a LOT on this forum in the argument that there are 'thicker' female BJDs out there and it seriously is a huge pet peeve of mine.
       
    8. Thank you Katyok, I'll read this threads!

      Oh, by the way...When I started this thread I was not saying that I don't like thin and young dolls. I like them very much (I just bought one!). I know these dolls are idealized models, but the question here is if there is anyone else that think it would be intresting to have a diferent kind of beauty.
       
    9. All conversation of mechanics aside, the beauty of this hobby is that there are, generally speaking, different sculpts for everyone. I have the usual assortment of idealized bodies, but I also have a pear-shaped doll (Leekeworld Mikhaila) and a fat fairy (Sleepingelf BonBon). I'm drawn to the more unusual sculpts, especially those with shapes that celebrate diversity of beauty. Even my BonBon is an idealized larger body.

      However, there are lots of people who really only want anime-styled dolls, and those who want hyper-realistic ones. Likewise, there've been a fair amount of people asking for dolls who aren't the equivalent human female size 0-6 (US sizing), and a lot who really want the slender forms.

      What's almost impossible to find, though, are larger male dolls. On those, so far, none exist AFAIK.
       
    10. Not me, I do not want an old, or overweight doll. I am already overweight, and closer to middle age, though I don't act like it, or look it. But why should my pretties be overweight? I have a hell of a time finding pretty things for me. Be harder to find them stuff! My Mega gem men already have a hard time since Soom makes so little for them that's not breaking the bank, and Iplehouse does but when you're broke, it's hard to buy then. So it wouldn't be beautiful to me. I already know what 99.9% of people think of me...I'd hate to think they think the same of my doll.
       
    11. There are actually a lot more variations now than you'd think. Doll Chateau has some pear-shaped beauties, and Tinybear/Sleeping Elf has a very cute overweight doll. There are others, but those are the first to come to mind. As for the young aspect, I couldn't explain it better than anyone else already has.

      Plus, I image wrinkles would be a pain to sculpt. There are more mature dolls that don't look old, but age doesn't seem to be a big concern among collectors.
       
    12. I would personally absolutely love an older-looking doll. I can see what people see in child/young teen dolls, but I don't feel it myself, and prefer a more mature/complex sculpt - I just feel it makes a face more interesting!

      But then, I know my perceptions of beauty are perhaps not mainstream or... you know, widely-appealing. But it would be a nice. A boy can dream, right? :)
       
    13. I've been watching a mod on a Zaoll that you might like - she's modding him into a man in his 60's.

      http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?444548-I-m-Coming-Home-(Zaoll-mod)-Nov-30th-update!&highlight=zaoll

      I'm not suggesting you try it (not that I'm saying not to! ;D ) but it's really cool to take a look at!
       
    14. if you look at the actors in movies, most of them are young and skinny. the ones that are old still look pretty darn good for old people! better than the average.
      why? because this is apparently what the majority of people want to see: classic beauties.
      (there are of course exceptions. but I am speaking for the average american movie: actions and hot chicks )
      and generally this is what people will want in dolls too. not many persons will like to pay hundreds of dollar for something that is imperfect. the few that are willing to it's because this is specifically what they are looking for.

      I would LOVE to see an adorable chubby girl personnaly! but I wouldn't buy an old looking doll. I want pretty, perfect faces for my dolls. this is why I buy them for: to be pretty. not to be real tiny persons...
       
    15. I think this may be because of the difficulties involved with making larger dolls. The more 'weight' the doll tries to imitate, the more difficult it becomes to give her a range of movement... And considering that the dolls are ball jointed for that very same movement, I believe a lot of the crafters may consider it to be redundant.

      And as for seniors... I think it would be interesting to have, but I don't particularly feel that they would sell well (if at all), if only because the visualization of beauty that people tend to have is very specific and it isn't exactly a graying doll. Another problem here would be realism (yet again). The elderly tend to have saggier skin due to the aging process, so when you consider the finely sculpted appearance of the current dolls and try to apply it to a sallower doll... It would probably just look a bit sickly.

      Needles to say, this is only my opinion. :)
       
    16. Frankly if the demand's not there, there's not a good chance of it happening. There isn't a big demand for old, overweight dolls, so sculptors have no desire to spend all of that time and effort on something they probably don't find too appealing themselves. Being attracted to youth is just instinct, and there are few people in the doll community that overcome that instinct.
       
    17. Asian preferences skew heavily towards youthful and thin, but these are also preferences that occur in a wide range of cultures.
       
    18. I think what the original poster is fighting with is how uncommon or hard to find such sculpts are here on DOA. You have to watch for some time to see them, it's just a matter of keeping an eye out for them.
      It might help to put out a more obvious call for links to the kind of look you want, requesting pix and specifics on it.
      I know I've seen some chubbier adult women sculpts among the artist-cast dolls. However, they can't keep doing it if the popularity isn't there. As a thinner, more recent example of this, Twiglimbs has done some interesting gals with some heft to hips and thighs but remain muscular-looking. They don't look fat to me, but they do to some folks.
      http://www.twigling.com/owner-gallery/

      There's also Domadolls Okja, famously chubby--also infectiously cheerful. She seems to be fine in the wide-limbs joint issues. (Actually, "too-thick legs" complaints were made about Iplehouse EID guys who couldn't kneel because their leg joints were not engineered to do so as the customer wanted, not because they were "fat". It's about the engineering of the joint.)
      http://www.domadoll.com/okja/domadoll.htm

      Tinybear's littler sculpts also manage to do just fine on the chubby joints issues. BonBon is clearly a large woman in the elvish scale of things, and also cheerful.
      http://littlebloomers.tripod.com/thesleepingelf/id39.html

      Older face sculpts with wrinkles are not so difficult technically, it's more a matter of a company asking, "will they sell?" Perceived popularity. I'd be the first to agree that a frowny, grumpy face that's acquired some lines is not the same as an older face at all; it's just easier to mod it into an older face. As far as older sculpts go, it's far easier to find older guys, who have status in a lot of communities. Older women seem to be taken entirely for granted, I'm not sure why--and smexy adult women often present younger faces than just regular girl character dolls.

      I don't have any connection to these companies, trying not to be biased about who I present here, but here's one example that's still up and working:
      http://iplehouse.net/shop/step1.php?number=2508
      That's Iplehouse's latest guy, Dexter, who has molded brow wrinkles where he's frowning, it wouldn't be hard to faceup shadows along the smile lines and deeper shadows around the eyes to suggest he's much older than he looks here. I've seen criticisms of such molded-in frowny expressions, too, where people complain they aren't "adaptable" enough.
      Souldoll's Lemkin (Tarot series, the Hermit) has an alternate head that's obviously an older guy. But it says something that the current marketing has buried the pix of that site way down the scroll list, under a lot of pix of the pretty younger guy as the main sale head.
      http://www.souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=1964

      Souldoll's Amon, Kyle, and Rouse, lookik older at first glance, and come in different sizes. Amon and Kyle look (to me) like younger characters who are frowning, however, not as older men with frown lines.
      http://www.souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=2138
      http://www.souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=2133
      Rouse, it's a little harder to tell if the lines under his eyes are molded in, but his proportions are clearly like an older man.
      http://www.souldoll.com/shop/step1.php?number=2047

      With Raurencio Studio, it's more about the facial proportions rather than outright frowns. I'm trying to remember the other company that sculptor was associated with, who also had older males, but I'm not coming up with names.
      I'd refer you to Raurencio's Baal
      http://www.raurencio.net/shop/step1.php?number=583
      or to their Kahathel
      http://www.raurencio.net/shop/step1.php?number=594
      And more recently Walter
      http://www.raurencio.net/shop/step1.php?number=635
      or Azrail, who has a very square jaw that makes him look older.
      http://www.raurencio.net/shop/step1.php?number=603

      There's also frowny fantasy dolls among HZ's series. This goes to Mint on Card, as the dealer's pix of Wang Ye.
      http://www.mintoncardinc.com/dolls/item_details.php?BJD=1393&name=Wang+Ye+(62cm)&cat=26&DOLL=YES

      You notice there's no *older* women among that lot. I'm not recalling where I've seen some commercial dolls of older women; the older guy dolls above, I would call easily available, but you might have to buy them secondhand on the Marketplace.

      There's a real question of perceived age, too. Many of the DOA folks consider an SD17 Volks to be a grownup man, which...no, he's supposed to be 17 years old, not an older person.
      Seriously, to some of the collectors here, Iplehouse EIDs and SOOM's Idealians and dolls like Souldoll's Vito seem like really *old* grandpa-age grownup men, and the gals with bigger bosoms and more adult sales presentations were just too much (even some of the smaller mature Fairyland gals.)
       
    19. And for myself being a 17 years old who, until last year, was surrounded by hundreds of teenagers I can tell you these dolls are definitely not teenagers! Definitely not 40 but I would say some where in their 20s. They could go into a bar in the US! And SD13 also don't look like 13 years old!