Recommended BJD Magazines or Books?

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1371682

Are you talking about this page?

 

I took notice to the "Doll Books" section at the Dollmore website and was wondering if anyone has purchased them. I can probably assume that they are photo/art books of artist-made ball jointed dolls, but I'm unsure. Does anyone have them and could give me a description of them?

My apologies if this is considered OT or in the wrong forum.

 

I think you're right about them. I remember looking at these titles on Amazon.com, and they did seem to be on artist dolls, not our BJDs. One friend of mine has the BJD Making Book, and it is a guide to the process of creating a doll. Unfortunately there's no translation, so he's using the photos as inspiration--as a trained artist, he can figure out what's going on even without the text. It is pretty clearly not a book for beginners. That's all I know about the books Dollmore's carrying. I'm really hoping for more books besides just the Orbyarium someday!

 

Ah, well I have seen a Doll Book, I don't know what it was exactly, it was more then just a art book, it had things such as instructions to make a dress, and then up just talking about many different sites you can shop from all the way to some beautiful BJDs that just manage to be so fabulous they get a photo shoot with a professional and then go into the huge book. Though I couldn't read it, it was all in, I think it was Japanese...I saw it when I went to a meet awhile ago. It was really fun to go through though.

 

(sorry if this is in the wrong place or something and I dont think I saw a post that had to much on this)

I heard that Japan tends to sell them in thier books stores but what about here in America. My friend suggested that maybe they might sell them at Anime Con's but I was wondering, do they sell them in American book stores?

If they do, can anyone give me some good titles and Authors to look for? I have some gift cards I need to spend and I wanted so search for some for myself and my friends.

 

Do you have a Kinokuniya near you? They will sell them. In Australia, the books/mooks located under the Children's character books (Like the Gloomy Bear and San-x etc). Maybe it's the same overseas.

This site is good to see what books have what inside ^-^
http://bjdpatterns.wordpress.com/

 

At the Denver Doll Emporium they sell BJD books. You can order them off their website: http://www.denverdoll.com/books_ball_jointed_dolls.php

 

i just bought a book kind of like some on DDE, it's called 'the dolls dress maker' by venus a. dodge
it's not specifically for bjds
but you can sew cloths for msd sized dolls, i'm not sure about anything bigger and smaller
i think the patterns range from 12-25 inches or something like that.

 

There's a new book at Junkyspot, an American one... http://www.junkyspot.com I haven't looked into it really deeply, I just happened to see it the other day.

 

Very Cool Things http://verycoolthings.com/vct/Neo_getpage.cgi?page=listtype&contentgroup=83 12 days to ship does mean 12 days to ship from them as they're probably waiting for it to come from Japan but their flat shipping fee is nice.

 

I have it, it's an art book, as opposed to a book of, say, patterns, or a kind of catalog of expensive outfits posed like a fashion shoot. That is to say, it's deliberately made to look like candid moments of the dolls' secret or everyday lives. I really love it, personally. It's very accessible to non-BJD people too. The closest comparison I can make is to the photos in Edith, the Lonely Doll.

 

So I was thinking of taking the dive and ordering some japanese books about BJDs off of Amazon (the covers look fantastic!). I know very little japanese and the obvious problem is: what am I buying!? Images, articles, instructional... some kind of combination?

My questions to the community:
Has anyone done this before and was the product what you expected/wanted?
Deceiving covers...?
Any books you would recommend.. advice to share?
Similar books in Korean?
Reviews.. anything else?
To the Japanese/Korean speakers in this forum: which books do you like/own?

Examples of what I was looking at ^^
http://www.amazon.co.jp/yaso&#22812...#12452;ア/dp/4902916096/ref=pd_sim_b_13

http://www.amazon.co.jp/KATAN-DOLL&...可淡/dp/4309907423/ref=pd_sim_b_4

BJD books in any language are welcome to be mentioned! I'd like to know what's out there!
For that matter, why are there so few BJD books in english etc :/ (they seem popular enough internationally)

 

I have purchased through Amazon Japan, they have what looks to be an automatic surcharge for handleing but you can look over your order before making it final. Basically try to put everything you want in one shipment. I haven't bought anything from the secondary market.

There are some books and mooks reviewed on this page http://dolfielittles.com/books.html Dolly Dolly and Dolly Bird are great even if you don't speak the language. DD tends to make some of their patterns half size and it can get confusing if there are seam allowances or not, the one issure of DB I have has a pull out section of full size patterns.

 

Some of the doll magazines and books from Japan are not about resin bjd's at all, but porcelain ball-jointed art dolls by various artists. It's sometimes hard to tell from the photos on the cover, especially if you do not read Japanese. They're wonderful books, anyway, and very inspiring for costuming, faceups, and photography. I have a bunch of them and love them.

 

Ah, this was the thread I was looking for - sorry moderators! ^^

DollyKim Wowow thanks for the great links!!
'Very cool Things' helps a lot (extra pics (in some cases) and a mini explanation). It's still a bit hard judging which ones to go for considering pricing. I'd like to page through each - which leaves waiting or a trip to a Kinokunya...
This link: http://dolfielittles.com/books.html has convinced me to take another look at the book "learning to be a doll artist" which I had also seen provided here:
http://www.miniworlddolls.com/Books.htm
Thank you!

linakauno Which ones do you have? Which are your favorite/ Are there any ones in particular that feature mostly photography/beautiful images?

A little off-topic, but ever since I found hanano001's channel I have been madly interested in hunting down artisan-made BJD's - his (I believe?) are incredible. I like how there are more parts/pieces that expose how complex these dolls are...
That's why I'd like to find art books that can show me more well-crafted BJDs.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hanano001#play/uploads/23/SOosX3SwLiQ

 

Most of the books I see on this link: http://www.amazon.co.jp/KATAN-DOLL／カタンドール-天野-可淡/dp/4309907423/ref=pd_sim_b_4 are books I have and all of them are about porcelain artist dolls. Simply fabulous, but OT here.

 

I would swear by the Doll Artist book, I had that before the Yoshida one and the two work very well together. I also have copies someone named xxLady_Lazarusxx(?) made from an issue of Gothic Lolita magazine but don't want to put them on my site without permission. :/ They show a shortened crash course of the Yoshida methood but his book is still worth getting. I hope my reviews are useful when I write them, 'this book sucks' or 'tis book has cool patterns' never helps.

Nothing beats actually getting your hands dirty and practicing too. I've tried to make several Yoshida style dolls and sent them off on the fail boat but learned a lot each time. And be ready to spend what you'd spend on a doll.

 

Your review is good. Is the Yoshida book image-heavy enough to be interpretable even with minor understanding of each step? I've been doing a lot of internet research.. maybe that will be enough and the rest is experience (though I'm sure the Yoshida book would provide many enlightening details - I think I'll cave and need to know :P).

You've given me confidence in the Doll Artist book (I'm glad it can inform to the world of BJDs)! I'm going to try hunting it down in my town. I still wish the BJD artists corner wasn't closed down, I'd like to have discussions there ^^

 

The Yoshida book has step by step pictures. You might have to make a guess at what some of the supplies are, and some aren't to easy to find here, but in general you can walk in to a craft store and buy most of what you need. The doll artist book has design and construction elements that are great for anyone who makes dolls. Martha Armstrong-Hand worked for Mattel, and perhaps designed some of your childhood non-Barbie playmates, but she trained with old world artisans in carving and sculpting. She also did many of the dolls used in View Master pictures so she's done environments too.

I wasn't able to find LaDoll, and a bit impatient to order some, so I've used Paperclay and a product called DAS by Prang. For first attempts and experimenting both products work well and Paperclay, by the same people who make LaDoll, has been used by doll artists for years. The other key ingredient is Liquitex Modeling Paste.

The only thing I was completely unable to find was the cabachons used for the lenses for the eyes but several doll companies are offering eye kits now if you want to make your own or you can put regualr doll eyes in them.

 

Find LaDoll here (and it's really inexpensive, same with the sculpey )! http://www.miniworlddolls.com/ClothSculpt.htm

and here (it says the premier is smoother, but then it's also less expensive then the reg. la doll..?)
http://www.dickblick.com/products/activa-la-doll-satin-smooth-air-dry-clay/

... and this is first I'm hearing of Liquitex Modeling Paste (going off to research)
Our conversation is starting to get off-topic, I'm going to go ahead an PM you when I've worked out some questions I'm in the process of trying to gain access to The Joint - BJD artists forum..