Pros versus cons of having a default faceup

I had the same dilemma when I received my first blank heads. I needed a face-up artist, preferably in Australia, whose charges were reasonable. I checked through the Commissionable Services thread until I found an artist who suited my needs and sent my heads off. Since then, I've commissioned a few artists here in Australia and found them to be wonderful to work with. Of course, my one failure was an artist I spotted when she was just starting out. Her work was gorgeous, but I didn't have anyone quite ready for a face-up. By the time I did, she'd become hugely popular and now I can't get a slot with her!

And, to answer the original question, if I like the factory face-up, (and I usually do) I'll pay for that. For the blank heads I've bought that I've had to send out for face-ups, or for the heads that have needed a new face-up, I've always used Australian artists mainly because I prefer not to send my heads overseas if I can avoid doing so.

 

Hmmm... I do my own face-ups. I have all of the materials and supplies at home, and it's cheaper to do it myself. I get exactly what I want, and if I screw up, I can just re-do it.

Some default face-ups are absolutely beautiful, however, and if I absolutely fall in love with the way a face looks, I will get the default, but most of the time expediency wins out and I decide to save the money.

 

My BBB Isabella arrived yesterday (yay!!! but I can't find my camera's USB cord to upload pics yet, boo) and I got her done with a default faceup. It's really soft, very natural, and totally adorable. Even better, it fits the character I have in mind for her (young girl, but mature for her age, enjoys playing dress-up and playing with makeup).

However if I had any hesitations, I wouldn't get the default faceup. Part of the fun of this hobby is the customization aspect of the dolls. I am planning to do my own face-ups eventually. For example, I'm getting a doll from a forum member later this week and she has a face-up already (done by an artist, not a default company face-up). It looks really great in photos but I don't think it suits the character I have in mind for her. So I'm probably going to wipe it and give her a face-up myself.

Also keep in mind that sometimes face-ups look VERY different than the company website photos. There's a really good thread somewhere on DoA of a forum member who ordered a Rao and HATED the default face-up she came with - it was REALLY bad and didn't look at all like the pictures! (can't find the link atm) So that's something important to keep in mind about company face-ups.

 

If I love the default faceup, I order the doll with it, and if not, I order it blank and paint it myself. I recently bought a head with a wonderful artist's faceup, something I have never done before, but it was a limited head and I love the faceup, so I am very pleased with it.

 

Hhhhmmmm, having never bought a new doll with a default face-up I guess I'm biased but I understand the appeal of opening the new box and having a doll that is ready to dress. Some of my blanks can sit around forever waiting to get their face when I have some time. That can really suck!

I guess if airbrushed perfection really appeals to you and you like the doll with the default face-up... you are taking a big risk by NOT getting it. The same sculpt can look radically different in the hands of another face-up artist, are you willing to take the risk?

For me, there was never much of a dilemma because although I admire the skill involved in airbrushed face-ups, I rarely connect emotionally with that look. Having realised I prefer face-ups done in pencils and pastels it wasn't a big leap to try it out for myself on my first doll. I had bought her very cheap on ebay and she had a slightly damaged default face-up. I did some research and was pretty nervous about wiping it but after my first shaky attempt I was hooked and haven't bought a doll with a default face-up since. Until recently that is, second hand, but even she got "enhanced" with pastels to play down that airbrushed slickness.

 

When I first started collecting dolls I ordered the default for two reason...one because I couldn't do faceups myself and had never even seen a doll blank (and i was a little afraid I wouldn't like the doll blank and would never like it after a negative first impression) and two because I actually liked the faceup.

For me, the biggest pro was opening that doll and having it complete right off the bat. Pull it out, slap a wig and clothes on it and it's good to go. A blank doll has to sit around blank until I find time to do the faceup.

The need to have my dolls exactly how I want them does outweigh that "complete on arrival" thing now however. I really enjoy doing faceups and seeing improvement in each one I do. I sometimes think I end up buying more dolls when i run out of blank heads XD I know for sure I start wiping faceups when that happens...it's become rare for my dolls to have the same face for over a year. The creative freedom of painting a doll is just too fun XDD
I don't ever order defaults for that reason....it would be a waste of my money.

I still have three dolls with their default faceup though, and I really like them, one is over three years old and I've repaired it and resealed it several times XD
I have a few customs and an LE faceup I won't wipe either, for the same reason. I just like them.

I guess my point is, if you like the default faceup, the doll doesn't need a certain exact look to fit a character, and you're not a crazy must-do-every-faceup-500 times person who would wipe it after 2 months cause you're already bored with it, go with the default! Why not make someone else do all the work if you're going to enjoy the end result anyway? XD

 

I've always went with defaults unless I've ordering a doll with a custom face-up from the MP. The only exception I've made to this was ordering a blank Crobidoll Camille because there was a great deal on the MP and I wasn't 100% happy with Crobi's default. I have no intention of ever doing a face-up for one of my own dolls. I do face-ups on practice heads, but my standards are way too high for my own work to be acceptable. Most of the time, I've loved the defaults because the face-up is a large factor in making me want the doll. I'm terrible at visualization and even if a sculpt is incredible, if the face-ups I've seen on the sculpt aren't to my taste, I'm likely to ignore the doll. Most of the time I've been happy with defaults, but I have wiped and sent three off for a commission. Two defaults I wasn't satisfied with were free ones, so I've only lost $50-60 by ordering defaults and I've ordered around 20 dolls total. Plus I like a lot of limiteds and dolls from Crobidoll, and those usually have great default face-ups.

 

It really all depends on the character I have in mind for the individual doll and how much I like the default, as well as whether or not I can afford to pay the extra for a default (I do a fair amount of my own faceups and already have the supplies on hand. If you have no supplies, then it's not really a cost savings).

It's hard for me to come up with any real concrete pros and cons since it's really all about personal needs/tastes. Some companies do really lovely defaults and several of my dolls have them. A couple have custom faceups by other people -- those dolls were purchased second hand. I am admittedly nervous about sending off heads in the mail, though people do this all the time without problems. If I have a very specific look in mind for a particular doll, then it's often easier for me to do the faceup myself, since I know what they're supposed to look like.

 

I've had a few dolls that I've ordered with default face-ups and they are lovely, but I've also had dolls where I got the face-up and was rather disappointed when it looked nothing like the default look I'd been expecting. There's a few folks that I commission for face-ups now, and sometimes their rates are even better than the companies and I am more than happy with the work and supporting the artist. Four of my dolls have custom face-ups (and one more will have either work by me or another artist) and five have default face-ups and I like them all in their own ways.

 

I only have one doll, and I got her blank. I've had her a bit over a month and she has her seventh face-up right now. That will stay for a while, since I ran out of MSC ^^; Her first face-up was bad, of course, but I've been learning bit by bit.
Really, though, just admiring the dolls might be easier if they had default face-ups, opposed to your own ones. So if that's a really important factor in the hobby to you, you might like to have the default, or get it customized.
Personally I prefer to spend the money on the face-up supplies though ^^ They win a default face-up in prize comparing right in the second face-up. ^^

 

For me, all of my dolls came with face up when I ordered from the company for a few reasons:
1. I like the default face up
2. I ALWAYS get lucky with the company, allowing myself to have minor personal customisation over my dolls. [Ever see a Tender Too in Code No.02 face up and a Bee-A with Shall lovely ver. face up? ]

As for the I-see-another-owner-with-the-same-sculpt-and-default-face-up, I don't see much doll owners around my area, even in cons. The chances of me bumping into someone having the same sculpt and face up is very very low, even if I do, I wouldn't mind too much because the eyes, wig, clothes and etc would still be different. Still, no one got the rights to get mad at each other if both sides are wearing pure default face up, wig, clothes and etc right?

Putting those aside, I do find some of the face up artist here are very talented and if I got the chance, I would definitely want one of my future dolls to be done by them.

 

I almost always go default. Mostly because I am very particular about the face-up and especially about eyebrows.

 

I tend to buy blank and do my own, but three of my dolls came with default or limited face-ups. I won't pay for a face-up because I can do my own, unless the doll is only available in stock that way. I do have one head by a well-known face-up artist and it's very lovely and I'm going to leave it that way because it is lovely and suits where I want that doll to go. But I basically bought the head for the sculpt and the face-up was just a wonderful bonus.

I've had my two LE dolls for two years now. Their face-ups are hanging in there. When I first got them, I didn't much care for the face-ups (even contemplated wiping them and redoing them), but now they're a part of who they are to me. It will be interesting to see how I feel when the time comes to do them myself at last. I suspect that for at least one, I'll be keeping him much like his default, though that was the one I liked the least at first!

 

As for my very first doll, her default one was really ugly, her eyes were so red that looked like she was punched... so I've bought her without and I painted her myself, its not a great faceup but I think she look fine

I'm ok with default when they're well done, my Yrie has a default one and she's so cute
But I don't really like the faeryland faceup my woosoo has, that's too red I'm not a fan of blush, I'm seriously considering trying to soften it but I don't really know how

The new doll I've ordered doesn't have a faceup because the default one is too sweet for what I have in mind

 

I want to order all my dolls w/out default faceup. I like the practice of working on something and having a creative outlet. My Luella came with default faceup because I didn't really have any other choice. I still like her but I can't wait to have the excuse to "redo" her.

 

I'm completely new to BJDs so I'm going with the default face-up options until I know what I like. I do know that that's likely to change though, as with other dolls, I can't stand the 'stock' options and always go for customs.

 

I ordered my first two dolls with the default company faceup back in the day. My first arrived and I had requested that they not put a large swoop of black eyeliner paint on his top eyelid.... which they did anyway, so he looked too girly for my taste after just a short while. I had ordered my second doll, my Soom Sard, before my first doll even arrived, so I got him with the default faceup too. Soom's faceup on him was really nice and I left it on for a good while, but after I got used to doing my own faceups I never ordered a default one since and have always planned to do them myself once the doll arrives. For me, it saves money and I can usually achieve whatever result I want since I've been practicing for so long. But the main reason is that it just seems like a gamble that it may not end up the way I want it.