Single Versus Double Jointed Bodies

Wiring can also make single-jointed arms pose almost exactly like double-jointed ones. There's so much variation, some single jointed bodies pose well (though they won't have the range of motion of a double-jointed one) and some double jointed ones are not balanced well and don't pose so well. Torso jointing is a major issue for me, double jointed legs are really nice to have (wiring helps knees somewhat but can't add an upper-thigh joint), and arms I can wire so they don't matter so much.

I do know the bodies with only a torso joint at the hip and solid upper torso drive me nuts. I like my dolls to be able to sit upright and slouch, and those can't do that.

 

It is my impression that the vast majority of people like double jointed bodies more than the single jointed ones. Since I haven't seen many doll bodies in real life, I'm just wonderings what are the pros and cons of each? Are there actually any advantages to single jointed bodies?

It seems that more companies are moving toward double jointed bodies these days (or perhaps I just didn't discover them before). Do you think single jointed bodies will be a thing of the past in a few years?

 

Well I have a single jointed doll while my fried has a double jointed, I've handled hers too and I know that witht the double joints, you can get the arms and legs to bend farther than with single joints. I'm not quite sure about this but my single jointed boy has a leg lock system where his leg will lock so he can stand more rigid. I'm not sure if double jointed dolls can do that, my frind's doesn't.

 

I think double joint gives an advantage to dolls when it comes to posing as opposed to a single joint doll, then again it varies from company to company. There are dolls that has single joint posed just as well as a double jointed doll so I guess it depends on how people looks at all. Both have equally advantages and disadvantages...It's matter of different people's taste : ).

 

I think the main advantage single jointed dolls have over double jointed is the aesthetic - they tend to look more natural. Generally double jointed dolls pose better than their single jointed counterparts, but it's not a hard rule - sometimes they aren't well engineered.

I don't know that single jointed dolls will be phased out completely. I do know some people really dislike the unnatural look of many double jointed dolls, because of this I think there will always be a niche for single jointed dolls.

 

I've noticed that my single jointed dolls can't do as many poses, but they're more stable and able to hold poses better then my double jointed ones. If my single jointed boy is too tight, he's just hard to move, but my double jointers are all kinda flail-y and kicky lol

 

Double-jointed ones can touch their faces. That's enough said for me. XD
Single-joint ones, though, do look kind of better, and if you want them sitting, you don't need to wonder whether to bend the knee from up or down. ^^; And I guess the holding poses thing. With 2-joints you have more twisty places to look after...

 

Double jointed bodies are more poseable, but they do have the quite obvious physical difference, as Latte said.

 

I've found that my single jointed dolls (I'm thinking Zaolls in perticular) are very natural posers. I'm not sure how best to explain it... like I don't have to put as much effort into posing them they just naturally fall into natural looking poses, so they never have that tossed doll look. My double jointed dolls on the other hand can definatly do more technically challenging poses, but it takes more effort to get them to look natural in those poses.
There are advantages to both

 

I personally prefer single joints because to me the overall look of the body is more important than how well it poses.
Though some companies are able to made small double joints that doesn't look as big and unattractive as before.

 

I agree with that, some double jointed bodies look a bit clumsy and the joints are too visible, too big, so I understand how some people prefer the single jointed bodies as they look more realistic. Some double jointed bodies are very delicate and natural, too, as well as some single jointed bodies may look very stiff and uncomfortable.

Still though, with my own experience I can tell, I had three different single jointed msd´s (B&G, Resinsoul and Bluefairy) and really couldn´t pose them at all. They were pretty but didn´t look natural in the way I would have liked them to do and felt difficult to handle. Later I bought a Fairyland Minifee with the double jointed A-line body and it´s like a dream come true. The posing takes a bit more time because there are many joints to notice and her legs are a bit kicky, but in general she sits and stands very naturally and even when let down from my hands, seems to settle herself in positions that look very comfortable and cute.

With tiny and petite dolls I do own both kinds and I´d say that with them the difference between body types isn´t as noticeable. Still though, I have learned that Fairyland engineering with the double jointed doll bodies works for me, by the looks and the posing, too.

 

Double jointed dolls have more flexibility. Really well engineered ones will be better able to hold the poses you put them in. However, extra joints can also lead to less stability where they can bend in all kinds of different ways, but they aren't going to stay there. A single jointed doll can't do things like kneel without the joint popping out of socket, but they tend to be overall less fussy to deal with -- more stable. As for aesthetics -- double jointed dolls can fall into very natural looking poses, yet the joints themselves sometimes look less natural and are more obtrusive than a single jointed doll. How well any single or double jointed doll poses is also effected by the company, how they are strung, if they've been tweaked at all (wiring, sueding etc), and how good the owner is at posing them.

One is not inherently better than the other, it depends on what the owner wants. I perfectly happy with single jointed dolls, and if I'm really dying for that much more posability, I'll just go with a vinyl body with an internal skeleton. One of my best posing resin dolls is my AngelRegion Little Fair who is single jointed, and so rock solid. He also gets a good range of motion. You don't have to have oodles of joints to have a doll that poses well -- you just need a body that is well made.

 

I agree with Taco that it's all in the engineering. Fairyland dolls, for example, are wonderfully engineered. Granted, I have nothing larger than Littlefee, but their posing is superb, whether single or double jointed.

In general I find that my single jointed dolls are more stable. I set them down and they stand. My double jointed dolls require all kinds of fiddling and adjusting until I find their center of gravity, and even then I'm not assured they will pose for very long before deciding to take another pose on their own.

I also find the body line of single jointed dolls more aesthetically pleasing than that of a doll with big clunky elbows and knees. Yes, double jointed dolls can touch their faces. I happen to own a double jointed SD that reaches for his face so consistently that I finally put a violin in his hands to weigh them down. Another double jointed SD (from a different maker) holds any pose I put him in. His engineering is obviously superior to violin boy's. Unfortunately, you don't know how well engineered your doll is until you get him or her home.

 

I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between single/double jointed bodies... can somebody help me out?

 

@Devilette, Single-jointed bodies can't slouch-- they have only 1 joint in the torso (either chest/waist or hip). So you have to prop them up to make them sit. And you have to do a lot of camera-fakery in order to make them look like they're posing really naturally. A doublejointed body has a three-part torso (chest & hip), and can slouch & shift his weight from hip to hip.

I would rather have a double-jointed body, because it can get into more lifelike poses. Who cares what the joints look like when they're exposed? Not me. It's a ball-jointed doll; its joints are part of it.

I do have an SD10 non-jointed-torso boy who can really fake an action-pose well. Volks guys are so sturdy. ^^ He has to be wearing baggy clothes to hide the fact that his torso is straight as a ramrod, though.

Stability doesn't have so much to do with whether a body is double/single jointed-- it has more to do with your stringing. If you really tighten up & suede almost any doll, he'll pose and stand just fine. If you keep them strung floppy, even a singlejointed doll won't be too stable.

 

As someone who prefer aesthetics over posing-ability, I think that engineering truly makes or breaks the sculpt,
regardless of whether it is a double-jointed or a single-jointed body. Fairyland sculpts are a great example of what
I am talking about; most of their body-lines have both, multi-jointed limbs and aesthetically beautiful bodies.
In the earlier days, the knees were the biggest issue for me, most double-jointed knees looked off or were knobby-looking,
but now days that is only an issue depending on the company you purchase from (or what you are looking for).
I love my FL Chicline Rou; he has double jointed knees and elbows, a three-part-torso, upper-thigh-joints (w/cups)
and yet he has the most gorgeously sculpted body I've ever seen in the doll universe (I'm a bit of a doll-nut so I mean
all kinds of dolls). (:



- Enzyme

 

Ohhhhhh, okay, I get it now. Thanks JennyNemesis.

Yeah, I don't mind about joints showing either. It kind of enhances the artistic experience for me- their faces are so realistic that it lends itself to kind of a human-trapped-in-a-doll's-body vibe, which some people find creepy but I personally like.

 

Actually, when people talk of single or double jointed dolls, they are usually referring to the doll's elbows and knees, not just the torso. You can spot a double-joint if there is a third piece between the upper and lower part of the limb.

The general rule is that a double-jointed doll has a broader range of movement, but people aren't kidding when they say it depends entirely on how it was sculpted.

ResinSoul in particular is an example of the exception. From my fairly recent experience with a doll I sold and my friend's BJD, their MSD sized single-jointed body far out poses their newer double-jointed option simply from how poorly designed their new bodies are by comparison, though the newer ones are more detailed sculptures and a good bit easier to shop for with their thicker bodies.

On the other hand, companies such a Fairyland and DollZone both have single and double-jointed options for a few of their lines, and the double-jointed dolls they make are among the most flexible and stable you can buy, while their single are pretty ho-hum in that department. Fairyland, in particular, gets a ton of credit for the fact that they manage to make their dolls gorgeously detailed and still put the effort into making them pose incredibly well. Their price-tag shows the effort, though!


Personally, I hardly take the jointing of a doll into account on whether I want one or not.

 

... Actually, it was never specified whether "single/double jointed body" was referring to torsoes or limbs. More commonly, the term refers to the number of torso (i.e. body) joints.

But, limb joints are definitely something to take into account too. A double-jointed limb is generally more attractive when it's bent.... with a single-jointed limb, making the doll kneel or touch its face means you have to be staring down the big empty tunnel inside the arm or leg. Which is no big deal, but it's just one more thing to have to camouflage/Photoshop out of the picture.

 

double jointed pose better and more naturaly, however sometimes the joint looks very ugly.
single jointed: a single jointed torso for exemple looks very beautiful! also in long sleeves and pants, the elbow and knee koint is less obvious but it is very hard to make your doll hold good pose with single joint