I am not that versed on actual sculptors/who makes what doll (head mainly), apart from what company the dolls come from. And I've been wondering about if sculptors tend to be freelance/commissioned or "stationary" at the company. I've seriously been trying to figure out if SOOM and LUTS share a certain sculptor... Some of their dolls look so similar, in a way. Anyone got some insight?
I think both are true, depending on the company and the artist. Some artists train at an established company and then split off to form their own. I remember when Infinitidoll (now defunct) first started out, I couldn’t believe how much I liked all their sculpts! And how familiar they looked! And it turned out their sculptor had worked for LUTS and I already had a couple of his molds.
What @Amet said, plus sometimes sculptors go back and forth over time. For instance, Gu Mi-Jung worked for Dollmore (sculpted Narsha and Zaoll), then set up MyDolling as an independent webshop, and now MyDolling's HeeAh and Tara sculpts are at Dollmore under the line name "Grace Doll" rather than being sold on MyDolling. I'm getting a little whiplash, tbh . . . I do wish that other companies were as forthcoming as Dollmore and Dollstown about who sculpted which doll! I always like to know the sculptor's name, but for multi-artist companies, that's often elusive info.
i wonder that too , like I know they usually open up their own company after they gain experience from bigger ones.. like I think Cerberus project from luts is now fairyland.. or when I read about DIM minimee was to end years ago cause their Chinese sculptor wanted to open their own shop .. But I also wonder if there’s freelance sculptor who works for 2 or multiple companies at the exact same time Maybe some of these companies are even sister companies or friends hehe
Miyadoll's sculptor used to do work for Soom & Souldoll! Her Instagram revealed that Soom Yarn is the baby version of her Souldoll Yarn sculpt. I think Soom's monthly doll lines have involved a lot of sculptors over time, which makes sense given the time demands. Also, part of the reason Souldoll does mass discontinuations would appear to be due to sculptor contracts (although probably narrowing down the choices buyers have to concentrate sales is a factor too).
I've seen that LUTS has started to post who sculpted their dolls (which initially made me look around at other companies, if anyone else might list theirs). Good on the newer dolls..! (unless it just says LUTS Team) But, yeah...
Cerebus Project existed before LUTS. CP was sculpting anime figures and then got into sculpting BJDs for LUTS. They then decided to release their own sculpts directly, opening their own storefront under the name Fairyland.
Dollzone and it's sister company, Doll Chateau, have shared sculptors, and the new company Dream Valley was made by sculptors who had previously worked for DZ and DC. The parent companies then discontinued a large number of sculpts, out of respect for the artists who had left to make DV (or so I've heard).