The Face-up is Everything. Or is it?

I've never used a faceup artist so can't talk about that part of your questions. But faceup doesn't matter very much with me. I do try to judge the underlying aspects of the sculpt more than faceup or other factors. I'm willing to wipe faceups and attempt my own so the faceup isn't crucial. However, it can affect my overall impression of the doll. A gorgeous faceup might help me fall in love. And I do have one LE with the only LE thing left about him being his faceup, which I have no intentions of wiping.

 

I too am like this, I don't care if it is faceupped or not, as long as I can see potential in the mold. Sometimes faceups help me see that and sometimes they can really turn me away.

As for faceup artists, I have never used one, but being an artist myself I don't think I'd ever be too vague. Part of this is because each of my dolls is for a specific character of mine, so it's important that the faceup is done like my character's face. This is not saying that I don't trust the artist, not at all. I trust artists a lot, and I trust that they know where they can take liberties and where they should stick to the original request.

(not speaking from faceups, but from other commissioning experiences) I do not lay everything down to a T. I like it to be balanced from both ends. I want something that looks like my original idea, but I also want something that has the artist's own hand in it, otherwise I'd just do it myself

I like letting artists do their own thing, but I also like giving them some ground to stand on because as someone who takes commissions of various sorts, I am always very uncomfortable when someone tells me next to nothing about themselves and just gives me a character to draw and leaves, saying "oh this is [x] he's green and grey, but it is sort of here, I mean you can put the colors anywhere I don't really care. These aren't his actual clothes, you can change them." And yeah, sometimes those commissions can be really fun if I knew the person and the character on a more personal level (whether it is from repeat customers or friends or whoever) but when it is someone I don't know anything about it is very uncomfortable doing a bunch of work on something that the customer might decide they don't like in the end.

If I didn't have a character shelled out though I might just say "Make her really cute, use some brighter colors, but keep in mind her wig is brown" or "Make him look sad, maybe use a smoky grey around his eyes." These give a lot of freedom but also give the artist a direction to go in so they aren't stuck with infinite options.

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?
No. I want 'em blank.

If it does, why? If not, explain!
When I got into the hobby, I took care to try and learn to recognize what's face-up and what's sculpt. I buy based on sculpt, and the face-up is the spice. Like in food, the ingredients matter the most, but you still want some spice in it. (I'm so tired I'm coming up with metaphors...) Also, if a the seller has bad pics of a doll with a bad face-up, I'm not likely to realize even if it's really a good sculpt.

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?
Yesh! I got my doll last June and she's got her ninth face-up right now. It's also kind of a pain, but overall fun! ^^

 

Only bad face-up matter to me. If I've viewed a face-up artist's portfolio than I know what I'm getting. The last time I paid for one I had a few instructions but it my list of wants weren't super detailed.

Sculpt is the most important thing to me. If I don't love the sculpt a good face-up can't save the doll. It is important to look past the face-up to the sculpt beneath.

I do a lot of my own face-up not only to save money but because I usually have something specific in mind. A color palette or a certain design or style. But I actually don't LOVE doing my own face-ups. It's hard and I'm not that great, so I do have company face-ups as well.

 

Well, a face up IS important because it really changes what a doll can look like. My point is , if you love that face, I guess it basically mean you like the doll PLUS the face up because without the doll as a base, a face up is nothing. If you ever do face up yourself, you would probably know, the same face up can look totally different on different molds.

I have my favourite face up artist I often go to if I can't handle the mold well. We have many things in common so we ended become friends. Every time I send my dolls for face up, we chat and we talk about things like characters and colors etc, we actually listen to each other about it, and the result was always what we wanted. I guess its not just about your artist know about you but also you knowing the artist to get a satisfactory result ^^

 

I will admit, with my first doll, I fell for his faceup first BEFORE I noticed the sculpt. But, when he arrived, I was happy with everything and I realized that I HAD always noticed his sculpt the whole time, I was just enamored by the life his faceup gave him.

Now, though, I look at the sculpt above all and just use faceups as a guide to what can be done with the sculpt. Faceups can lie, good ones just as well as bad. I don't want to get a doll whose sculpt is just not what I'm looking for. I know you can mod a doll to look more like what you want in a doll but I'd rather redo a faceup than potentially destroy something I've spent a lot of money on.

To answer other questions, I'm actually striving NOT to use faceup artists. I came into this hobby wanting to explore all artistic ground so I'm trying them on my own now after buying my first three default. I find them fun, if not just a SMIDGE frustrating. It's hard getting out of my head what I envision for a doll. But, once I get it to that point where I see on my doll what I saw in my mind, I LOVE that feeling and I don't want it to stop, hence why I plan to get ALL my dolls blank from now on, unless the faceup is truly special.

 

Faceups, not just default, are important to me when considering buying a doll. I like looking at owner pics so I can see the potential of a mold, but I ALWAYS look for blank pics of any mold I'm considering so I can see what there is to work with for myself, and will probably order all future dolls blank. I feel there's a certain uniqueness to dolls with faceups that aren't default, which is important to me.

I've only commissioned one faceup artist, on my only doll that's stuck, and I had a general idea of what I wanted. But, each artist has their own details they add in, so I think it's important to leave room for them to do their own style. I gave the artist a picture and told her "please draw inspiration from this, but you're free to have artistic interpretation" because I liked her style. The faceup came out beautifully and I couldn't be happier with it.

I also find that most company faceups look like just that, a doll whose face has been painted on. I showed my mother the company faceup compared to my doll and she agreed that the default "looked like a doll" and mine "looked like something someone could do naturally" which I found as a huge compliment.

 

Yes, it's extremely important for me! I think I'm just a bit stupid when it comes to judging blank sculpts, and I need to see the doll with a great face-up before I'm even remotely interested. I don't know if it's because I'm not an artist (most people here seem to be a bit artistic in some way, whereas I am not), but a blank canvas does nothing for me - I can't even imagine how blank heads would look with a face. I envy people who are better at visualization than I am.

I try to be really specific when commissioning. I've used the same artist for all my heads, and she follows my instructions perfectly. It's very difficult for me to think of what I want sometimes, though, since I don't base mine off characters.

I've tried to do my own face-ups on practice heads, but I know I'll never be decent enough to use my work on one of my display dolls. I do think it's a bit fun if I have the right attitude, which is "This is going to look horrible, but maybe it will look slightly less horrible than it did last time."

Also, I'll add that I actually think face-ups aren't everything. For instance, with some of the heads I've had repainted, I love the new face-up, but after having them for a while something still seems off and it's definitely not the fault of the artist. It's frustrating to me when I like other owner's pictures of the same doll, I like my doll's face-up, but I'm not 100% happy with my doll. It's like a puzzle trying to decide what's wrong with it and how to fix it.

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?

No. I am very good at looking past faceups to see the sculpt behind it, and I have to like the sculpt overall for itself before even considering buying a doll.

Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?

No. I have very specific ideas for my dolls and their faceups, so I give pretty explicit instructions to faceup artists. I always make sure I match an artist whose personal style will work well with what I want for the doll.

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?

No. I tried it and it is frustrating and not fun. I definitely would rather pay a much more talented artist to get what I want.

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?

no, I would like to buy them blank and then just paint it however i want. i usually love the sculpt and not the faceup.

If it does, why? If not, explain!
sculpt is like when you see someone with no makeup, and faceup = the makeup. i want my dolls to be beautiful even w/o all the makeup =/ a good faceup doesn't necessarily mean a good sculpt, and i'm a sucker for pretty sculpt.

Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?

i always do my own faceup so i can't really answer this question =(

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?

yes! i work in the art field, so painting is a 2nd nature to me, doing faceup is just another outlet for that, (it is also the reason why i get into bjd in the 1st place, all the modification and customization that you can do to it!) of course sometimes it turned out good and other times might not be as good, but you can always wipe it off and try again i don't think it's that big of a deal :3

 

• Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll? If it does, why? If not, explain.
  

I also have difficulty envisioning how a head would look without a face up already on the doll. It helps to at least see what the head can potentially look like, even if I don't particularly like what's there.

So far, both my dolls have a default face up, and they were bought because I liked the face ups they had. Only now am I strongly thinking about doing my own face up, in part to save some money, as well as to see if I can do it. If I can do it, I can look at a lot more companies for heads so I don't need to buy the full doll.

• Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?
  

I've never sent my doll to a face up artist because I'm not a fan of immediately sending my doll away after I get it. I waited two months (the most I've waited for a doll, so far) and I'm not willing to part with it so soon. I'd rather attempt it myself before I decide to send it away. If I make a few attempts, and it turns out that each attempt is absolutely horrible, then I'd send it away.

• Is it fun doing your own face-ups?

I hope it will be. I have a full set of pastels already. All I need is some MSC UV Cut, some brushes, some acrylics and thinner, and some gloss (maybe). I know that there are things on both my doll's default face ups that I might change, though I'm not so adamant about doing so.

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?
If it does, why? If not, explain!
Not when it comes to buying a doll it doesn't, but in gerneral face-ups are important. When I buy a doll it's because I love the mold and there are multiple customizations I've come to love for the same doll (: So I never have the probably where I like a doll for it's face. HOWEVER, when I see a mold I like with a not-so-great faceup I die a bit inside XD sorry to be harsh! Honestly though, I think face-ups can make or break a mold and I hate to see a pretty mold not living up to its potential because of a less-than-satisfactory face-up.

I have never commissioned a face-up or ordered a default because I do them myself so I can't answer many of these questions ;;3;; However, one doll I bought second-hand came with a faceup that was not at all what I wanted but it was well done. I did not at all think the face-up made the sculpt look "bad" because of it not being my particular taste since it was done nicely. In fact I'm leaving it on as long as I can until I re-do it myself! So basically I wanted to say that, when a face-up ruins a sculpt for me, it is not because the faceup is not my style, it is because it just was not done very well. (Sorry to be mean DX)

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?
ABSOLUTELY EXTREMELY YES. Hahaha X3, I love doing face-ups! I do re-do them a lot because I'm a perfectionist and am only satisfied when I think it is the best I can make it, but I learn a lot and enjoy it! I' am definately not the best faceup artist, but I do it well enough to do all of my own dolls and not have them look like their faces got hit by trains..heh... XD

I hope this was helpful, I do not explain myself too well!

 

•Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?
No, but it helps if it's already what I like means less work for me

•Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?
I've only ever sent 1 head to a commissioner, but i dont think this works well for me. i can't seem to communicate what i want for them to do their thing, so i ended up training so i can do it myself.

•More importantly, do you trust them well enough?
since my problem is giving directions and waiting for a result then giving more feedback, i would rather see a fully finished painted head and decide whether i like that look or not.

•Or do you lay everything down to a T?
nothing is perfect in the world. i try to get close, but i can live with imperfections.

•Is it fun doing your own face-ups?
um this is crazy, but not really. i am only doing this so i can finish a character. i hate the flying dust, the mess, it's such a chore...but in fairness i have to say that at least this way my hand is doing exactly what my brain wants, no need to email a set of instructions...AND it sure is way cheaper!

PS: but can I just note here that it's totally nothing wrong to like a doll because of a particular faceup. Sometimes it's what really makes a difference. I didn't fall in love with a Hound until I saw Tensiya's Haute Hound edition, I have since tried to paint mine like that but no where near that which I think is perfection. So if a faceup that keeps your boat afloat, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's part of THAT doll. If you're worried that what you see on the company website is different to what you get in the mail...well um thats something u need to discuss with the doll company, but most companies stay faithful to their online representation. If you're worried that the faceup you love so much will rub off, then just be careful with it.

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?
Not at all.

If it does, why? If not, explain!
When I purchase dolls or heads I do so because I love the sculpt not the paint application on it. Besides, I have
learned that I enjoy painting my dolls myself. I am far off from being any good at doing face ups, but I like the bonding
process and I know I'll get something close to the overall look I'm going for, rather than expecting someone else to "get"
what I want. I'm kind of a weirdo and the past custom face ups I've got by professional face-up artists didn't turn out
anything like what I requested. So now I just rather have a half*ssed face up I created myself than pay someone else to "surprise” me. XD


Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?
I don't know what to say here. I only have 4 dolls that have been painted by face-up artists but through their respective
companies, I didn’t commissioned the artists myself. And although three were custom face ups (as in I paid extra to have
them "custom" painted), they didn't actually look anything like what I requested (despite the fact that I sent in mock ups of
what I wanted along with a clear yet concise written description). So I guess they did "their thing," but I wasn't informed about it.


More importantly, do you trust them well enough?
Or do you lay everything down to a T?
Not anymore obviously. XP That's why I do my own stuff now, even if I suck at it, for me it's better than the alternative.


Is it fun doing your own face-ups?
It is! I enjoy modifying a lot more than face-upping a head (I think I'm slightly better at the former as well) but I have definitely
come to love applying blush and trying new things on the crappy face ups I create. Hair-strokes are still my worst nightmare though.


- Enzyme

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?
No and yes.

No: I bought my first doll without a face-up, not because I wanted to, but because it was going to be way too expensive to get it. But now I'm glad that I did, it turns out that I love his sculpt!

Yes: I recently bought a Sov with the default face-up. Seeing all the pictures of other members' blank dolls made me realize that I don't like his face without a face-up as much as I thought I did. D: Hopefully that'll change with time.

If not, explain?
I don't think it should matter. However, it may be best to look up some pictures of the doll you're considering without a face-up so you can see how you really feel about it.

Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?
I just sent Hyun-ki for his very first face-up actually! But yes, I trust she'll do a marvelous job with him.

More importantly, do you trust them well enough?
Yes, however I am pretty nervous. Not because of the artist, but that I have to send him so far from me.

Or do you lay everything down to a T?
I was pretty vague with what I wanted actually. Like it was said, I'm sure she'll know what looks good.

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?
I have yet to try doing my own face-up, but I have been thinking about it more and more lately. Hopefully I get there one day! ^^;

 

Does a face-up matter when it comes to buying a doll?

No.

If not, explain?

I can see through the faceup to the doll itself, so I usually buy whatever is cheaper (which is usually without). If I really love the default faceup, I sometimes order the doll with it. I have also bought dolls on the secondary market with very bad faceups and repainted them as soon as they arrived.

Do you let a face-up artist do their thing?

I might, if I really love the artist's style. I haven't ever sent a head away to be customized, but it's possible that I might someday.

More importantly, do you trust them well enough?

I would only send a head to someone I trust, so yes.

Or do you lay everything down to a T?

If I were to send a head to an artist, I would prefer to just give them a general idea of what I have in mind, and then let them work their magic after that.

Is it fun doing your own face-ups?

I have a mix of faceups; a few are default, some I have done myself, and I have one that an artist painted and then sold. I paint my own dolls because it is fun. I prefer that my dolls reflect my vision for them and that usually means that I have to paint them myself. I think I do well with girls, but I haven't yet painted a guy. I have several male dolls on order and it will be a new challenge to work on them. If I can't get it right, I may have to send some of them out.

 

Let's say it this way.

I haven't been with dolls for long, so it's hard for me to see what you can do with certain mold, before I see some faceups on it. I can buy a blank doll. But horrid/mot-appealing face-up on doll caan ruin the deal for me.

Example.

I had looked fairyland dolls for long long time, and one day, I saw doll in sale. Fairyland minifee Ruth, which I now own. I fell in love with his face, face up was a bit pink for me, but pretty, none the less. but when I looked at him, I could not bring to my mind seeing this doll before, though I had looked minifee boys so many times. I went to the site, looked at dolls, and I imidiatelly realised why: Fairylands Ruth is stuled and made very, very, VERY girly, so I never saw how pretty face he acctually had under the makeup, wig and all the ruffles. He might even be one of the manlierside minifees out there, but I had never spotted him.

So yeah, bad makeup can ruin the deal for me. But it's not all that matters.

As for make-upartists, depends on artist. I would not ask a make-up for a doll for artist who's talent I wont trust. I would give they guidlines, and let them figure out the rest. I'm sure they have more eye for the job than I do. DDD

 

I have all my doll's faceups custom done after I buy a doll. I never get the default unless it is a limited and comes with the default. Then I end up wiping the default face up. It is nice to have a default so if you need to save up or wait for an artist you want to become available you have a doll to display.

Buying a doll second hand, I am willing to pay more for a nice custom face up. Although, I do not base buying a doll on their face up unless the doll is way over priced and I know Im gonna have to pay to send the doll for a new face up.
But all this being said I look at mold first then I decide what I want them to look like or what their face could look like. Bad faceups do not scare me because they can be repainted. Mods scare me because they can always look good with a face up but when it is removed they are very bad.