[POLL] Most important part of a doll's look

I chose the overall concept because despite having a mostly perfect doll, any one little wrong thing can totally throw the whole look off and make me not like the doll at all. I usually do chose the sculpt and resin color first when picking a doll, but in the end, every part equally has to come together to fit the image in my head.

 

Oooooh, that's hard!

Many of these things are components of the final total, and each one could throw the final look. That said, I chose eyes and faceup.

You can hide a lot of faults in a wig with a hat or styling.
You can fake some approximation of clothes with draped cloth.
I have dolls that maybe should be a different resin color than they actually are, but it still works.

But you can change how the same sculpt looks from another with a faceup completely.
And for me, eyes are a very important focus, so I will tweak and tweak and tweak them until they are right. Because when they are right, the doll comes alive!

 

I picked the sculpt and the concept, since those seem to define the way a doll looks the most to me. Concept is a sum of components that make a doll look like an angel, a queen, a demon, or a modern rock star. The sculpt might be more important to me since some of my dolls having been waiting quite a while for me to give them face-ups!

 

I chose the sculpt and the concept, too; while a faceup can definitely swing the way a doll looks wildly, it can only go so far if the underlying structure isn't right. And for me, I'm considering the "sculpt" as the entirety of the doll, rather than just the head; for me, I need the right body, in the right size and build, as well, which also plays hard into the "overall concept." Once those two points mesh, it's only finding the intersection of time and motivation to get everything else working well.

 

I think the sculpt and overall concept are the most important, also.

Because the faceup comes second to the sculpt, and can be changed, I feel like the sculpt itself affects things more. A faceup can certainly change the look of the same sculpt a lot, but the same faceup on two different sculpts will also look different. It's kind of a toss up for me about which matters more, but I think the fact that sculpts are more difficult to modify makes them more important for the foundation.

The overall concept is important because you could have a very pretty face, wig, eyes, and outfit, but if they don't mesh well together or have a sense of cohesion or purpose, they won't live up to their full potential. Of course it's possible to have an intentionally mismatched look, but that would be a concept of itself at that point.

Those are just my opinions, though, so I'm interested to see what others think!

 

The sculpt.
Everything else you can change and adjust drastically - you can get face up by different artist, swap wigs and eyes, re imagine your doll with a whole new concept... The sculpt is the least changeable part, the mods you can do are very limited and not easily reversible...
So I look at the sculpt first and foremost - it's the basis for every other display of creativity the doll represents

 

To my surprise it's the mouth that's ended up being a deal breaker for me. Turns out that I don't get on with dolls that have a downturned or sad/angry looking mouth. If it's not a smiling or happy sculpt then corners of the mouth have to have at least an upturn to them or it's no go.
I think it's because for some reason I subconsciously try to mirror the dolls expression and having my mouth take on a downturn makes me feel over serious or sad/ grumpy etc and don't want to feel that way around my dolls. I've ended up selling dolls in my collection with downturned mouths because it bothered me so much and for the most part won't buy a doll with a downturned mouth, no matter how much I like everything else about it.
It's kinda of a weird thing I discovered by having the dolls, I would have never have guessed that would be such a big thing for me!

 

Hmmm... face up vs sculpt is a hard one, but a great faceup can make a basic, undetailed sculpt look pretty amazing, and a poor one can ruin the appearance of an otherwise gorgeous sculpt. Have to go with paint job, with sculpt squeaking in very close behind.

The overall concept is tricky for me to comment on because too many things fit under the umbrella. Hard to know if that refers to the traits and occupation and lifestyle and culture the doll’s look is supposed to convey, (“who” they are) or artistic balancing of colours and themes, or complexity, or something else entirely.

 

I agree with the above. The sculpt is definitely what shapes the doll as a whole. In particular I really focus on the body shape and joint movement, because I think that's definitely the draw and the artistry of a BJD in general. Faceup can completely change the shape of that sculpt, but you can change faceup.

 

I said eyes and faceup because... well, you can have the prettiest doll in the universe with the best face and the nicest clothes but it will still give me the creeps if the eyes aren’t aligned properly or the right size. Immovable eyes are the #1 reason why I don't collect any other dolls- eyes are the windows to the soul, and they HAVE to be perfect.

The eyes themselves don’t even have to be great, it’s just what you do with them. Acrylic, glass, resin, silicone... any of them could make or break a doll depending on how they're used.

As for the faceups... like, I've lost count of how many "meh" heads I've somehow acquired for one reason or another that became favorite dolls with the right faceup. IMO Faceups are kind of the heart and soul of the BJD community.

 

I chose sculpt and overall concept, but I would also say execution. An idea and good base is worth nothing when one can't make it properly shine

 

Def sculpt and faceup for me! I wouldn't be interested in a doll unless I like the sculpt enough. And the faceup can really make or break the look of the sculpt and help solidify the concept

 

I think overall concept! Thats what determines how all the other things on the list work together in the whole doll!

 

I put sculpt and color. I have a wide range of resin colors, and a different color can change the character for me. It affects what colors look good on them, things like that.

 

I chose the face up but after I thought about it, I realized maybe the photographic presentation is the most crucial for me. A good photo will bring everything, sculpt, face up, eyes, hair and outfit together and more importantly, it will be the channel to convey how gorgeous the doll really is to someone else.

 

Oooh all the things on the poll are valid but I ended up going with face up and sculpt. Sculpt - usually the head sculpt - is what draws me in because honestly, most of the doll body is clothed. When they're clothed, you can't quite tell if they are slim/muscle/normal bodied. If I feel a connection with the head sculpt, then I start to think of who can you be in my little doll world.

Face up next because I honestly am no good at imagining face ups. For example, a lot of the minifee heads look the same to me. But if I see them painted, I start to notice the differences. I just am no good staring at blank resin. So I do rely on company face ups to help me get an understanding for who a doll could be and if I am like ah yeah, I like that, I will also buy the default face up. That being said, I have also bought blank heads because I knew I could get something on them that would work for what I wanted!

If I could pick a 3rd and 4th, eyes and wig. Then clothes!

 

face up definitely!! i have seen difficult sculpt that only certain faceup can bring out its beauty, and i believe faceup can change a doll entirely.
Next is body, i am always very particular about their body, has to be proportionate (100%) else it will look awkward on the doll itself. Depending on the body, it can give off different vibes! cute, sexy etcetce
I tend to choose my body depending on the kind of look i want them to have, as well as how well it is sculpted (shape wise, mobility is 2nd priority to choosing a good body for me)
if i can pick more i would pick wig > eyes > outfit!

 

i chose the face up because you can get an amazing sculpt but, if you dont get an amazing face up, it can be ruined... and you can get an average sculpt, and do an amzing face up, then your doll will be marvelous

 

I chose the outfit because there have been people who owned sculpts that I actually didn't really like but they put em in spectacular outfits and I think "Wow maybe it is a nice sculpt afterall"