SO many Sculpts, how do you research?

The first place I look through is Google with a more specific search (company name + sculpt name + -what I'm looking for- f.e. measurements). The company specific discussion threads are an invaluable source of information as well, there might be comparisons with other companies linked there, as well as where to buy clothes and shoes that fit. You can also find a lot of pictures. The DoA wikia also lists a lot of companies' sculpts' measurements as well and have information on each company. The galleries and photo requests threads and databases are the place to go to if you want to see a lot of owner pictures of specific sculpts, though~ c:

I always check these places when I'm researching a specific sculpt but usually I know as soon as I see the doll, however! I hardly ever go by owner pictures because I might end up liking the customization but not the actual doll! I usually choose depending on the pictures of the blank molds rather, and those are usually easy to retrieve from the company itself.

 

I check company web sites first, and then I look in the DoA wiki.

If I want to see owner photos, I look in the databases here on DoA and I also look in the Discussion threads specific to the doll I'm interested in.

Flickr and Google Images are also good places to look for owner photos.

 

Sometimes, depending on the doll, there just isn't anything out there at all. I've ordered sculpts as they're released in the past, so there's no way anyone can own them already. If the doll is new or limited, there won't be owner pics, you just have to hope for the best. Someone has to take the plunge first lol

If it's an older doll, but not so popular, you could run into the same thing. No owner pics, or at least very few. SapphireStargazer mentioned the discussion threads - these are great places to hang out and get info. Also you could request photos in the photo threads. If someone here has them but doesn't post often they may see the thread when it's bumped and reply.

I think owner photos are great, I love seeing them, and more than once they've made or broken my decision to buy a doll, but in all honesty some of the dolls that are my most favorites I bought without seeing any at all. My first doll was one of those...I just saw his company photos. He was a new sculpt at the time, and I was totally unaware that there was a community aspect to this hobby (I was unaware that it was even a hobby), I bought him completely blind. Best thing I ever did in BJD land

 

I love to browse company websites for all the information I can get about a doll. Then I come here and browse through the database/galleries/discussion threads for that company. I look up company feedback because that's very important to me. I also take to Flickr and look for even more owner pictures. Seeing owner pictures really lets you see the doll from many different angles and with different faceups and clothes so you have a better idea of what the doll will look like outside of fancy company photos. When I bought my first doll I didn't have access to DoA so I was flying blind. Plus, the doll I wanted was rather new and it was hard finding pictures of her. Google really helped in finding the information that I needed so I felt comfortable ordering from that company.

 

I generally start by trying to find owner pictures, especially blank ones, of a sculpt I'm interested in. I'll head to the discussion thread for that doll and look through people's pictures and thoughts, as well as heading to the Photo Reference forum to search for owner photos there as well (or start a thread if I can't find one already existing). I'll ask people what they think, run some searches on Google, and take a look at company feedback if I haven't dealt with the company before. If I get a chance to actually see and handle one in person first, even better, but that's not always possible. Still, I generally haven't been disappointed; the only time I felt like I made the wrong choice was for a body for a floating head that didn't look right in person... but the body itself is still around, probably getting a completely different head.

 

Sometimes, I do a LOT of research--skin tones, sizes, owner pix, etc. Other times, I impulse buy. And to an extreme! For example, I paid for my BlueBlood X (Gen X) Salem before there were even any pictures of him, and he arrived to me two months ago without much of a clue at all as to what he would look like. But I owned all of the other BBD sculpts, and I just KNEW I'd love him (I do!), so the risk was actually pretty exciting to me!

 

I sometimes find out about a new doll by checking out the Company News forum. So sometimes my research starts at DoA. Sometimes it starts becuase I was already on a company's page and noticed a doll.

I always look at the company's website first. What I look for there is their FAQ or Customer Service area to see their command of written English, what forms of payment they accept, if they accept layaway and what the terms are, how they ship, if they have a dealer in the USA, etc. If their Question and Answer board isn't locked, I like to see how they respond to customers. I do this to evaluate their command of English and how easy they are to understand. Then I look at the doll's page and to see if there are any extra parts available. Hands, feet, that sort of thing. I check to see what clothing, wig, eye, and shoe options the company provides. If anywhere should have those things to fit the doll it should, in theory, be the company it came from!

If the company has a dealer in the USA I go there next. I repeat the same process of looking at the FAQ, looking at what is offered, and looking to see if the dealer is able to purchase anything from the site or only specifics.

After all of that I come back to DoA. I check out the feedback threads for the company and then head over to the Size Discussion Forum to look for information there. I really look for eye, wig, and shoe sizes people have used. Owner pictures can be helpful in that sense, but not always. For example, I am not a fan of small bust dolls and do not pick that option when given the choice. It's not helpful to me to go looking for clothing options when the little bust is the one that those owners all have. With owner pictures you're just as much at the mercy of selective photography and photo editing.

That research on a particular doll can take anywhere from a day to a few days. I'm not a years long evaluator type.

 

I just bought my first three dolls. My Fairyland Minifee Seorin is second-hand, but I've just sent the first lay-away payment for two brand-new Resinsoul dolls. The research I'm gonna talk about was for my Resinsoul boy & girl.

I started by looking at a few of the cheaper doll companies; I think I started by looking on Bobobie Doll Mall, which led me to Resinsoul. I'd also been looking at Iplehouse, because that's where my best friend bought her first doll from. I wasn't prepared to spent $405 on my very first doll, though. My first two from Resinsoul will be $386 with shipping.

I fell in love with the RS Mei sculpt pretty instantly, so I've known I've wanted her for about two months. Then I decided I wanted a boy as well, and I'd been really attracted to Song's little face. When I finally got access to DoA, I spent most of my time in the Bobobie/Resinsoul discussion thread, as well as trying to look in the BJD Database at the individual sculpt threads.

When I got approved on DoA, I started posting and asking questions in the BBB/RS discussion thread almost instantly - I was really curious about the difference between the two different bodies (single-jointed vs double-jointed), and I noticed that a bunch of different hand poses were available as well, so I started asking about those. Several members in that thread have been SUPER-helpful, and have supplied me with TONS of reference photos - it's been an amazing experience getting to know them, and I can't wait until I have my RS Song and Mei/Rong to post pictures of!


As for Seorin? He was one of the first dolls I met at the first local meetup I went to, and I fell in love with him instantly. I started looking into how much ordering him would be...and got pretty intimidated. Then it just so happened that his owner needed to sell, and I jumped at the chance to get him.

 

Google will become your best friend, that's how I found out about a bunch of stuff before finding about DOA.

 

My method was to find one company I loved and only bother keeping track of their releases It actually works well if you're planning on buying multiple dolls and want them all to share a similar aesthetic. Finding my first doll was easy - I discovered Soom's dolls by searching for 'BJD centaurs' (and finding Beryl and Sard, who weren't centaurs but were amazing). I'd missed out on both Beryl and Sard (as they were Monthly Dolls, only available for one month each), but I kept watching Soom until they released Cuprit, who I loved just as much. Once I had Cuprit, all my other dolls came from either watching Soom's new releases, or hunting down old Soom Limited Edition dolls I'd missed

 

I try limiting myself to what websites I look at. If I find dolls I fall in love with (for instance Fairyland dolls) I tend to stay on that one company. There are way to many doll companies and choices that I think I'd feel overwhelmed and would want a doll from here and there and I just can't afford it.

So in the end, I find a company I love and then I try to stick with that one as far as buying dolls.

 

I look at doll site "omg"
see a lovely face "love!"
come here to look in database "mhmm"
FLICKR lol

I've been caught up company pic vs real life drama. I give myself time to really think about it and look at all the owner pics I can find. Looking at it blank is pretty helpful

 

For the moment at least I want all my dolls to be the same scale, with adults being 30cm. That narrows the choices a lot. Some of the dolls on my wishlist fit preconceived characters but many don't. The database on DOA is great for seeing owner pictures. However, I'm still eyeing SDs wondering if I have found "the one". I don't want multiple SDs but having one is mighty tempting...

 

For researching, I just open anywhere from 30 to 100 tabs on chrome/firefox with different stores and dolls I'd like to look at, flickr, google images, searches etc. It ends up with me desperately trying to close tabs to save my pc from crashing.

I like just browsing stores to find out more dolls I didn't know of so it usually goes from there ( I know that feel of being overwhelmed op). I've done the "research, plan character you want to make, research more" thing but it didn't work that way for me, I just fell in love with a doll and had the opportunity to buy her (right place, right time).

But trying to imagine having the doll in front of you could help rule out some sizes and stuff.

 

Do you see them here on Doa? Or do you just randomly find one you like while browsing a company's website?
For me, I often find that owner photos cause me to look up the original doll.
How about everyone else?

 

I usually just look on company websites. I try not to spend too much time looking at dolls when I'm not shopping for one because it's kind of dangerous for my wallet if I do :p

 

I browse the BJD tags on tumblr and I look at owner photos on Flickr. Tumblr can be a little nasty sometimes, so Flickr is definitely better.

I ran across the perfect sculpt for my girl while browsing tumblr, though, so you're never sure what you might find.

 

Yeah, I like to use flickr as well! Finding owner photos there can be very easy.

That's very good advice. Being interested in too many dolls can get overwhelming for me.

 

I learn so much by looking through the waiting rooms to see what people are ordering. I wish all the companies would announce their sales at the same time so I'd know my options.

 

I prefer that my dolls all come from the same company, so I mostly find new sculpts just by watching for updates on the company website

I originally found that company because I was doing google searches for 'BJD centaur', and their fantasy sculpts showed up (even though they were satyrs and not centaurs).