Pros versus cons of having a default faceup

Well, on one hand, default face-ups are great if you really like them and do not want to send the head off later to get a face-up. Sometimes when a long awaited doll arrives home, it's hard to part with it again, even if it's just a piece of the doll. It's also easy to replace if you choose the default face-up.

On the other hand, custom face-ups are a great added feature to the customization of this hobby. They can also show a new side of a doll mold. For example, I am personally not a fan of Minifee Chloe's default face-up, but I have seen some with custom face-ups that are simply beautiful. While the mold is still not for me, at least I can enjoy photos of it and think, "Hmm that is a better look on him/her" and "wow, I really notice the eyeshape more with this face-up."

 

the pros of company faceup (such a luts) is that their faceup is very professional! the eyeleashes and eyebrows hair is so thin!!!! I am still wondering where they got a brush small enough ôo

cons, in my opinion: most company faceups are.... boring. the quality is there but I much prefer a custom faceup! more style and imagination, and colors ^^


edit: very important pro, already mentionned many times: your doll have a face right out of the box and you can play with him/her right away! ^^

 

With my first doll, I got his default face-up but within 3-4 months after he arrived, I ended up getting his faceup redone(it didn't look so good IRL) so that was waste of $40-$50.
The good thing about default faceup is that when your doll arrived, that's it. You don't have to send him/her off to somewhere else for an extra month and you can start playing with them right away!

At the time I didn't have access to DoA, I didn't know how to do faceup or that there were so many talented faceup artist that could have done it for me. So, from here on out, no more default face-up! I'll do it myself. Default is good and all but I want my doll to look different from the other of the same model, even by just a little! =)

 

I think the pros of getting a default face-up is that the doll is more 'complete' than if you'd gotten a blank doll. Another pro for a default is that you don't have to do a face up if you don't want to or you don't feel you're ready to, yet.

Cons, of course, is that the default pictured might not look like that in real life - and that might be good, or bad depending on how you feel about what you get. Another con of getting the default - or any face up on a company doll - is that it's going to cost you an extra $50-60.

 

Well, but if you can't do your own face-up, it'll EASILY cost you another 50 to 60 USD, maybe even more, to have it face-upped by an artist! The good ones aren't cheap (and their face-ups are worth every penny you have to pay for them). I got three dolls with default face-up and three with custom ones, done by the same face-up-artist. I love them all.

Of the three with default face-up, one was my first doll and I didn't know about face-up-artists etc. back then. So I got him with face-up - and it's simply perfect. Of the other two, one's a Cherishdoll Cynical Baby and one a Realpuki, so both quite small. Again, both face-ups are perfect (and I don't even want to start imagining how difficult it would be to paint their little faces!). The pros about default face-ups, imho, thus are that
a) they can be just perfect, especially when you want the doll EXACTLY as pictured
b) they're not necessarily any more expensive than artist face-ups
c) you have a "finished doll" right out of the box

The biggest pro of face-ups done by artists (or yourself) is, of course, that you can get THE face-up you want. The face-up-artist who did the face-ups on my three dolls is absolutely fantastic - as in "ohmygosh, how did she manage to crawl into my head and actually SEE what I wanted?"

I'll decide whether I want the default face-up or not depending on whether the default face-up is what I'm looking for or not. If it is, I'll get it. If not - well, then not.

 

I've seen plenty of default faceups that just don't do the sculpt justice. It's part of the hobby and I feel having a custom faceup makes my doll even more my doll.

 

I used to do all my own face-ups, but then I moved to LA and i didn't have a place to safely spray MSC. I fell out of practice and... my face-ups are just not as good as they once were.

then I got a doll that had a face-up already from a company and wow! she was gorgeous! It was better than I could do. I really like her and i'm happy she came with a face-up. I also got a doll that Lyn Raftis painted and geez. It's so incredible looking! the detail is amazing. One of my own machinas is painted by Sdink and it's just so amazing and photographs so well.

I've started painting again now that i have a place to safely spray, and i'm getting a bit better. I don't know that I'd purposely choose to get a doll with a face-up, but I'd certainly be more than willing to commission Lyn or Sdink someone else that's talented in that way to paint more of my dolls when i have the chance/money. The quality is worth the price.

 

All my new dolls have default face-ups and secondhand dolls have face-ups by face-up artists. I had to repair both of the secondhand dolls face-ups and body blushes to some degree. I have also enhanced the default face-ups on my new dolls. It's a matter of your tastes. If you like the default face-up then order it but if you don't like it I wouldn't pay for a face-up that you will eventually have removed.

 

Though I do like the original faceups on some dolls (a lot of Soom Monthly boys are quite handsome), I would still order most without. I am a cost conscious/frugal/(read cheap) type. Since I went to a makeup school and a painting program I think I feel a leeeeetil more confident in my ability to do a faceup. It's great to practice and do your own thing too. I do however have an AoD head with an original faceup that I bought secondhand. I was planning on removing the faceup so I could do modifications to his face, but he's so handsome that I decided to leave it alone. It all depends, really

 

I like the default face-up my doll has; it's cute. But it doesn't "fit" her character at all, and I'm going to re-do it. As an artist, it'll be an excellent opportunity to test my skill. The doll I plan on acquiring next (wow, how clinical) has a face-up which suits the character I have in mind for her. so if your dolls have characters, their default face-up may cause their appearance to deviate from their actual character, or may work well in tandem with it. As cliché as this sounds, it's all about perspective, I suppose.

 

At this stage, still being very new to the game I find it hard to picture a doll with anything other than their default faceup, so its definitely a selling point for me, that and the fact that as soon as a doll comes home he/she is ready to rock and roll and look wonderful for my camera I would like to eventually try doing faceups myself, but I'm not there yet!

 

For me it depends on the doll. My first was a custom Dollfie Dream which came blank. My second doll I actually regret not ordering it with a faceup because when I got attached to it, I got attached to the company photo as well- so when she came home blank I was rather disappointed and didn't like her as much. Later on I did both of their faceups myself, and bonded rather closely with them. My third was a limited and knowing full well that I do have a terrible tendency to fall for the display photo- and having a terrible experience previously at trying to apply eyelashes, I ordered with a default faceup. It fits her character, is absolutely beautiful, and because she's so small I don't think I could have done a better job myself. So to me I do like the "completeness" the default face offers when it gets home, especially since I have a terrible time visualizing what it would look like blank. Then again I don't make character based dolls so default faces don't bother me. However I do think it would be a great learning experience for newer owners to eventually get a blank doll and paint it themselves, even just once. I found I bonded with it closer and that my faces are good enough so I get to save a ton of money in the process. I also found that I can't apply eyelashes at all. Lol

 

I like to order a doll with default face up then it is 'ready to go'. If you dont know exactly what you want its a good basis for what works and what doesnt work for you. You might think the eyebrows are well done but maybe the lips could be darker... I like seeing the potential. A face up less head actually puts me off, the blankness of it, but to others that inspires them, its a blank canvas.
Over years I have different artists paint my dolls faces but I much prefer the default face ups of Soom and Iplehouse, I guess its a case of having the intended vision of the artists? Thats my excuse I think

 

Well, I think default face-ups have a very basic look in general , that anyone could work with.The good part is the fact that , as you said they are ready to go be photograhed , displayed ,whatever. The part that isn`t as attractive to me is the fact that basic faceups look just soo basic .Wich usually mean boring or common for me.I like dolls looking unique and expressive, but there are some faceups that are default , taht are completly *aaaaa* fangasm! Like Souldoll Madelyn. Mabye not everyone`s cup of tea , but definetly mine.

 

I'd say when you first start this hobby, default face-up would be good considering you don't know much about the blank faces yet. A default face gives exactly what you see in the promo pics as well as a professional finish. It is also relatively cheaper if you can't do it by yourself. Commissioning an artist can cost a lot.

But the bad thing about default face-up is it really limited you creation and imagination on your dolls. So sometimes giving a few days touching the blank face would be good for you to see the potentials (and surprises ^^) on your dolls. So if you are totally experienced in this hobby, I wouldn't recommend default face up.

 

I ordered my first doll with a face-up because the default face-up is simply perfect for his character. I didn't have to think twice . I'm not sure what I would have done if I'd liked the sculpt but not the company face-up, because... Well, doing your own face-ups seems kind of scary if you are new to the hobby.

I ordered my second doll blank after thinking about the matter for a while (I went back to the shopping basket at least three times to switch from 'blank' to 'with face-up' andd back again :P), but in the end I thought it would be silly to pay €40 for something that isn't exactly what I want. Also, I have had some practice with my floating head and find that, even if my face-ups don't look as perfect as the professional ones, they are great fun to do and I believe I'll be able to paint something that pleases me well enough.

That said, I am still very happy that my first doll will arrive with eyelashes and a face-up. Apart from the fact that, as others have mentioned, it is just nice to see a lively rather than a blank face come out of the box, it's also good to have a professional example of how it is done. (I have never seen a bjd in real life, lalalaaa...)

 

You have a professional doing the work?
A standard approach for your doll?
They arrive “ready to go”?
Is it respect for the artists vision of the doll?
What do you classify as the deciding factors of whether to purchase the default faceup or not? How do you weigh it up?
I have never bought a default faceup or commissioned one. I always do them myself. My dolls always have a character to go with them (whether the doll is based on the character or the character based on the doll varies) so I usually have something specific I want which is generally not the default. In fact, most of the time I find molds I like by looking at owner pictures and I do not even like the company photos XD For example, I own three Migidoll heads and a body and I LOVE Migi but I really do not like how the dolls look in the company photos! So for me the faceup should go with the vision you have of the doll. Also, because Faceups influnce the dolls look quite a bit, I think doing your own is a great way to make a doll yours and say "this is my art".

 

I'm saving for my first and i decided to get her with the default faceup. The reason is because i have never done it before and i don't even know what to use for now (need to study deeper) and i'm a bit scared with the idea in general.

The con is that it'll never look like that artistic dream doll you saw somewhere if you have a default look. I also fear that, if i get the default faceup It'll make me want to keep it for so long that i'll hardly ever practice. Does it happen?