The handcrafted quality, 3D technology, and the future of BJD

Adding to the mention of actual 3dp dolls. I have one of those dolls by Julie linked above. He's a little rabbit dude. You have to string them yourself and it's a bit fiddly as the parts are really rough (they're printed using an SLS printer so the finish is kinda stepped) but he's cute and the joints work pretty well.

I also have a lot of Makies but they're not ball jointed, they have hinge joints like a fashion doll. they're printed out of powdered nylon so their texture is more like bone or woodgrain. Means they have wonderful "tooth" when blushing but it also means tehy kinda absorb anything that goes near em. nylon is very very porus.
they also dye wonderfully but sadly, do yellow just like resin.
You can sand them a bit smoother, but as the grain goes the whole way through, it won't really smooth them off like resin or plastic, they'll always have a grainy sort of finish.

 

I have no problem with 3D modeling if an artist or company decides to use it to make their own designs. I think if a doll is 3D-printed, however, it should then be used to make a mold and cast in resin, because 3D printing doesn't allow for use of resin and the product is generally pretty rough when it comes out, from my understanding. I have a doll from Youpla Dolls, who makes really unique designs using 3D modeling, then 3D-prints prototypes and has them casted in resin.
I feel like some people think 3D modeling software is easy to use or a "cheating" tactic, and this is in no way true! Modeling software is simply a tool, and a difficult-to-master one at that. To create a good art piece with it, you need the skills and training that any handmade-doll artist would need.
Recasting is a huge problem, but I don't think the elimination or demonizing of 3D modeling/printing technology will solve that problem. It's been an issue since before those things gained prominence. The focus should be on educating people not to buy recasts, which should reduce the demand for them, rather than eliminating whole doll-making techniques because some recasters are using them.

 

Doesn't sweet doll use 3d printing to get her prototypes done and then casts after tweaks? A few artists do and it kinda opens the door for a lot of artists to do this kinda thing at home, which is awesome. Tweaking is easier when it's a 3d model, you can make much bigger changes non destructively.