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Realistic-Idealized & Mature Vs. Stylized Youthful-Dolls: Which Do You Prefer?

Apr 1, 2008

    1. I like stylized dols, but not necessarily youthful or childish. My favorite sculps are Volks Cecile and the whole Lucai family(Lucas, Sasha, School A, Irvin..)so that is the style I like-they're not realistic at all, expecially when compared to Minimees and such but they're also not overly anime styled.

      I'm 21(almost 22), I love taking pictures and my biggest joy with these dolls is making clothing that looks realistic and not like doll clothing. I let Jubriel do my face-ups because she makes them look so alive and vibrant, I love the look of french and Volks resin because it seems alive. So I want my dolls to appear real. But..I don't need my dolls to appear human. I love that they're dolls, their joints, their seamlines, their little faces and little hands..I like them to look like dolls..who could come alive any second, but still look like dolls. A bit like Rozen Maiden, I guess?

      I'm not sure if it's a certain type of person that is attracted to a certain type of doll. The poster above me says photographers are intrested in realistic dolls, yet photography is a big part of the hobby for me and I'm not intrested in realistic dolls at all. I do think the market is changing towards more realistic dolls, but I also think most companies will stick to their style-I can't see Bluefairy making a MNM-like realistic doll anytime soon. I don't know if it's a fad, only time will tell I suppose.
       
    2. There are definately a lot more realistic guys coming out (a lot more 70cm boys this year!)
      I guess the companies are just reacting to customers demands. More people want "realistic" BJDs.
       
    3. I like them both, but I find that 'realistic' is more interesting/fun to photograph.
       
    4. I very much prefer teen/young adult-looking dolls. I've never been into dolls that look like little kids, even as a child.
       
    5. No I'm not sure that's the case. I really think it's a personal preference like most things. There's grown men that like looking at quite young girls, and young girls that like looking at quite old men:lol:(I don't want to be offensive, just making a point). Same way there's probably young people that prefer mature sculpts and older people that prefer less mature sculpts, I think that it's difficult to make any generalization when it comes to aesthetics.

      I'm 18 (though I look 15 :|) and I personally prefer more matured sculpts. But that's given one condition: realism. If you are gonna make a doll with huge breasts (which I probably wouldn't like to be honest) then make sure the doll has the waist, hips and fat deposits to match those breasts. I've seen quite a few dolls with mature sculpts where it looks as if the dolls have an invisble pushup-bra and that I think is quite ugly, and no matter how pretty the face is I'd never buy that doll. A doll with a NATURAL C/D cup I'm fine with as long as the hips match.
      Strangely enough my preference for matured dolls only apply to girls... the last thing I'd like to see is a big brawny boy doll. A little bit more masculinity in the face isn't something that I mind, but huge biceps? No thanks.
       
    6. I think that because the market is growing, maybe companies are trying to reach collectors of different tastes? There has to be a reason for the increasing number of 70cm dolls. The new Luts releases is just a proof of that. They sell no matter what, but they probably didn't want to miss buyers who prefer bigger dolls with more realistic/detailed bodies and poses.

      Maybe the market's been influences by the increase numbers of doll photographers, who will try to depict their dolls in a more realistic way, whether they look realistic or not. So why not give them what they are asking for? The number of male dolls is ridiculous when compared to girls. I myself would have girls if they were taller, there aren't many companies going for that, so i believe is a demand thing.

      I'm almost 31 years old and i do prefer the more realistic dolls and they tend to look more mature as well. What i don't like, however, are dolls that look too realistic to the point of having human imperfections. I still go for the handsome man, with a touch of femininity.

      I might be wrong, but i believe that age does count when choosing a doll. I see alot of people who have characters and get dolls to embody them. Characters usually reflect the person preception of the world therefore young kids would probably not have characters looking too old for them. That's my opinion obviously. I've been creating stories since i was 13 and back them my characters were all around 16 because anything above that was too old.

      That doesn't mean i don't like young looking dolls. If the character is young, then i would prefer a mold that fits better their personality. But when it comes to preference, i would go for more mature and realistic looking ones.
       
    7. Why not older and stylized? (Or young and realistic?)
       
    8. I think the more realistic sculpts have come in mainly because there are more doll artists about that have brought in a different style of sculpting. More and more of them seem to have perhaps come from a more traditional fine art background rather than that of toy designer. Its just a progression in style and I get the impression from statements made by the sculptors e.g. Rainman and possibly Mr Dollshe is that they are making the dolls they want to make.

      I love stylised and realistic sculpts equally. I swore off getting more realistic sculpts for a while because I thought they would clash with my stylised dolls, but they're starting to creep into my collection (two DTs on the way) because they're so wonderful!
       
    9. Illusionss, I don't see how I could be wrong about what I had seen in the galleries?
      Unless you were with me at the time I was browsing through them, I don't know how
      you could possibly know that I was 110% wrong my judgement of what I saw, at that time.


      My questions to specific age groups, were targeted to the specific age groups, I didn't expect
      60-year-olds, to answer the questions I "meant" for the younger hobbyists. Although I do appreciate
      all the responses nonetheless, I thought it was a bit more obvious that specific age-group questions,
      were targeted to specific age groups. ^_____^;;;

      It was never my intention to categorize people, as I have mentioned previously in earlier posts, I am a curious
      person, and wondered if age had any influences in the sculpts people prefer. It was out of curiosity that
      I started this thread, not out of wanting to argue what people should or shouldn't enjoy, based on their age.
      I do see how this topic could make an interesting debate, if proposed differently, but debates are not usually
      my cup-of-tea, unless I know exactly what I'm discussing and have the facts to support it. When it comes to
      others' preferences, I doubt many people have all the facts needed to start a good civilized debate.

      I appreciate everyone's comments, this has been a most enlightening thread for me so far. Not only
      has it made it clearer for me that most of the time age has little to do with tastes, but also that
      indeed as one of my instructors commented to me once, "most people only read about 25% of what
      is written in any given page." Most humans get bored rather easily/have short attention spans. That is not
      meant as an offensive comment, just as a reminder to me, that I should type less and be more specific,
      particularly more so, when replying on a multi-page thread, moved to a debate forum. ^______^;;

      Thanks to Everyone, for all of your interesting comments on this thread.


      - Enzyme ^___________^
       
    10. Because i don't find stylized dolls pretty, like i don't find extremely realistic dolls pretty either, say, old with wrinkles, extremely crooked nose etc. It's just my personal taste and my own concept of beauty.
       
    11. Idealized & mature but to a certain degree?

      I’d reckon everyone has a personal preference(these dolls, they have an aesthetic appeal yes? That’s entirely subjective) but part of the appeal for me was the fact that the first face that’s caught my eye was one I thought was gorgeous, simply put.
      It had (okay he?) a face shape and what seemed like a bone structure that I thought was visually, beautiful. But he did not look too young. He was somewhere in-between the young look and the more mature sculpts floating around.
      Some of the younger-type dolls I have seen around do not appeal to me, but then everyone is different, and I bet there are plenty who think the more mature dolls are nothing to get excited about. I do prefer the more ‘mature’ dolls. The Soom doll faces in particular with that strong jawline…? Ouch, they slay me.
       
    12. My exact sentiments.

      I love looking at pictures of realistic-looking dolls, but to have one sleeping beside me every night would creep me out. No offence.

      I am 26 this year and my favorite molds are also from the Volks Cecile and Lucas family. I would say both my oldskin F-29 and F-28 boys gravitate towards the anime bishounen style. How can any person have eyes as BIG as Kaito's? I enjoy taking pictures too and i love how they appear unreal (yet a little real) in our world.

      A selfish thought but i hope most doll companies will stick to their style.
       
    13. I prefer a more stylized mold to own, I think the realistic molds are beautiful but they just don't fit what I'm looking for in a BJD, I prefer a more stylized looking mold but that dosen't nesicarily mean they have to look childish. although i do like them to have realistic qualities, proportions, eyes that are realistic vs. anime stylized, and facial feature more on the realistic side, especialy in noses for some reason.
       
    14. The deciding factor with me in a doll is the expression. I tend to like more realistic males and more youthful girls.
       
    15. Your original comment was that you were certain that more mature sculpts were not very popular, because you were not seeing them in the galleries here, or that was what I remember, at any rate; I have not went back to the post and checked that against what you originally posted. If I am wrong, I stand corrected.

      The problem with that statement is bi-fold: 1. Are we certain that the galleries on DoA are indicative of the *entire* BJD hobby? and 2. If so, then what are we to make of the unending stream of Minimee head special/group orders, 98% of them of mature subjects such as popular actors and actresses?

      And of that multiplicity of Minimee heads, how many of those have actually been painted up and are on their own bodies as of now? Probably not many, so far. These are new, and being new, probably not posted in the galleries much as of yet.

      What of the new Soom "dolls of the month" and/or the Mecha Angels?? These dolls, such as Beryl, Sard etc. are hardly "child"-style dolls. They also seem to be runaway hits. These are a few examples of many.

      This is why I call into question your assessment that mature sculpts are not that popular. I am not sure we can correctly make that assessment on the basis of the DoA galleries alone.

      Perhaps a more cogent question might be, How many "younger" collectors are actually making their own purchasing decisions, and by proxy influencing what BJD companies decide to produce in the future? [This is an expensive hobby, and I know my parents would have lain down and died before they bought me a $500.00+ doll. But maybe that's just me.]

      My guesstimate is that most in this hobby are old enough to hold down a steady job. The operative word there is "guesstimate." I would, however, bet heavy money that most of the people driving the BJD hobby's trends are, in fact, "older" collectors. Especially outside Japan. [Older meaning, at least to me, 20+ years old and on up.] These are the people with jobs and credit cards, who can make thier own purchases without running them by Mom first.

      Just my assessment, of which I have no concrete proof.
       
    16. i wouldn't like BJDs if they weren't realistic. i love the photography side of things, making them look like real people and taking pretty photos. the less-realistic heads are not among my favourite molds.

      i'm not so keen on a lot of the female molds because none of them are really curvy and voluptuous. they're all skinny and flat-chested. i like a woman with something to hang onto, if you catch my drift ehehe :sweat
       
    17. Oddly enough many of them aren't flat chested enough for my taste. I was failing to bond with my AES largely due to the big boobies and booty. I've just got a Tinybear CoCo though, who is adorably ample :aheartbea

      Count me in the mature and realistic camp for preference usually. I do like some stylised sculpts and I'd love to see more fantasy sculpts but I definitely prefer older looking dolls. I've always preferred spending time with adults, even as a child, so I'm not surprised I'm not into many younger looking dolls.
       
    18. don't get me wrong, i love the skinny slender flat-chested types as well. i think generally speaking, there needs to be more variety, whatever our favourite body-types are :)
       
    19. I like both styles. Although I tend to gravitate towards more realistic-looking dolls. :)
       
    20. I love both, equally.

      I like how youthful and innocent the child like dolls can be.
      And how mature and elegant the older looking dolls can be.