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Thoughts about 3D printed dolls

Mar 6, 2015

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    1. What are people's thoughts about 3D printed dolls? I quite recently discovered a 3D printing facility in my closest city and it got me thinking about attempting to make my own dolls (I am already a member of the joint). I was just thinking about it and what you could do with 3D printing is sell the doll pre-printed or sell the pattern to people with access to a high enough quality 3D printer. But that could backfire and people could share the designs with other people who can also print it.

      But say someone did make a 3D printed pattern for a doll and sold the rights to the customer so they could print one quite cheaply so people who want to get into the hobby but haven't got a huge amount of funds can get into the hobby with a 3D printed "starter doll".

      Do you think 3D printing could revolutionize doll making?
      Is there something special about a doll being made from resin and that process?

      I would like to hear peoples thought's on the subject :)
       
      #1 RaelDanger, Mar 6, 2015
    2. I've seen Makies, and let's just say that the the process needs a lot more streamlining before I'd even touch a 3D printed doll, resin or otherwise. It's great in theory - but in practice, right now, the results are not terribly pretty.
       
      #2 MissyMagoo, Mar 6, 2015
    3. Makies are a bit freaky anyways in my opinion, I'm sure in the future the process will get more and more streamlined.
       
      #3 RaelDanger, Mar 6, 2015
    4. I saw a doll sold both 3D printed and in resin, she's quite cute.
      I doubt someone will give out the right to make it though, and 3D printers aren't cheap.
       
      #4 ninive, Mar 6, 2015
    5. 3D printers aren't cheap but in England quite a few open source 3D printing facilitates are springing up, the one near me you pay for the materials you use and you pay an additional fee if you want to make a project none open source.
       
      #5 RaelDanger, Mar 6, 2015
    6. Considering how long it takes to produce a workable 3D rendering, I can't see anyone selling their pattern/program for cheap. Interesting idea, though!
       
      #6 Alewife, Mar 6, 2015
    7. That's true, but those open source facilities usually don't come even close to the quality you'd need for a doll of this type. Printers that do create stuff with great detail are still really expensive and there is a lot of sanding involved to get the surface smooth for each doll. Maybe in the future this might be an option, but I think that for now, 3D printing only works when you use it to create a master mold that you're going to cast later.
       
      #7 Silk, Mar 6, 2015
    8. I think the makies are adorable!
       
      #8 Jobee, Mar 6, 2015
    9. Just different strokes for different folks :)

      That is a point, so at this point in time do you think getting a casting company would be more cost effective than getting it 3D printed?
       
      #9 RaelDanger, Mar 6, 2015
    10. At the moment I don't think it would be viable, because the technology just isn't available on a sufficiently widespread basis to consistently match the quality, price point, or convenience of some of the more economical resin or vinyl BJD companies. (I'm also not sure how well it would work for a "starter" BJD, because even if you had an easy way of printing it, you'd have to string it yourself right off the bat without having even taken it apart to see how it was put together originally - which I would think a lot of new hobbyists would find daunting.) Certain individuals are in situations where it might work for them of course, but I don't think there are currently enough of those people to generate a sufficient customer base.

      I suspect that in, say, five to ten years, the landscape will look very different and it will become a more viable option as a way to distribute dolls.

      I don't think it will replace traditional resin, but it doesn't need to. There very well could be a market for both, just as currently there's a market for both vinyl and resin.

      Would I consider a 3D printed doll? At the moment probably not, simply because I don't have access to a 3D printing facility so it would be much more complicated for me than just ordering a doll. Ten years from now if there's a high quality 3D printing shop on every corner, then sure, I'd be open to it.
       
      #10 Blakeney Green, Mar 6, 2015
    11. I think they are really cool :) I very much like SilverBeam's 3D printed dolls and she makes cool acessories for BJD. When I can, I want to get some of her dolls. I absolutely adore her pheonixling!
      I think they aren't really any easier to make than the resin dolls though. The whole thing still has to be modeled and from what I understand the complex jointing is very tricky to print well. It will be cool to watch the technology improve!
       
      #11 Nyxy, Mar 6, 2015
    12. I feel like 3D printing is like the 3D movie of the doll world. The technology is so cool and opens a whole slew of completely new possibilities, but at its current stage it's just not that exciting xD;

      I do like SilverBeam a lot though~
       
      #12 goshogee, Mar 6, 2015
    13. I think 3d printed dolls are awesome. I was researching 3d printing and 3d printed dolls a few months ago and actually was surprised how few people make them. The only two companies that I know of are the Makies and Eve Studio.

      Makies are a neat concept, they are cute, customizable and relatively affordable, but the fact that they do not have strung joins is kind of disappointing. It makes sence, since they are meant to be toys, and need to be sturdy and simple to go on all kinds of adventures with their owners.

      Eve Studio dolls are simply amazing in my opinion. The level of detail is incredible for their size, and I think this would be one of the advantages of 3d printed dolls over resin, one just cannot cast such tiny joints in resin. At the same time they do not look like resin, I think they have much more plastic-like look, so they would not work for everybody.

      The 3d printing technology is evolving fast, I think we will see more and more 3d printed bjd in the next few years, but they will not replace resin dolls any time soon because the 3d printing materials just do not have the same look.
       
      #13 CrazyAnna, Mar 6, 2015
    14. I think Makies have a a bad case of bobble-head syndrome, but there's a Russian artist who makes 3D printed Ball jointed pets that are adorable (the previously mentioned Eve Studio), and someone on Deviant Art uses Silverbeam to make little semi human fantasy creatures.
       
      #14 Leo Pheonix, Mar 6, 2015
    15. It would be interesting. We have a couple 3D printed resin models at work and they look very nice and have a lot of nice little details. However, the prices are too high for those to be feasible for commercial BJD dolls.
       
      #15 Etoile, Mar 7, 2015
    16. Eve also makes dolls, they only have a couple in 1:12 scale for now. The girl is really pretty and would be great to play in dollhouses, but I'm just not sure about this 3d printing thing...
      And for what I've seen looks like 3d printed dolls costs more than resin ones.
       
      #16 ninive, Mar 7, 2015
    17. I'm not amiliar with any of the 3D printed dolls mentioned here. Can you please post links or pictures? Thank you!
       
      #17 Pony, Mar 7, 2015
    18. I love them when they're made by the right person. I own two of the Makie dolls from the UK and with the right faceup they are very charming little dolls. I adore the ability to create the face yourself. It's a wonderful idea and MakieLab is a superior company customer service wise.

      However there's a doll artist that attends an anime convention I frequent that make 3D printed dolls as well and unfortunately they're not as high quality in my opinion. It's like resin dolls it just depends on the artist. It isn't the best method for everyone who wants to make a doll and it takes a lot of real life sculpting knowledge to pull off a decent one.

      The nylon material is really fun to paint though. It has a wonderful texture. I don't see 3D dolls being on topic here anytime soon but I really enjoy seeing the more pretty versions of them around.
       
      #18 StacheRabbit, Mar 7, 2015
    19. #19 CrazyAnna, Mar 7, 2015
    20. I'm at least interested in them, and have an octoling on the way from Silverbeam at the moment! Couldn't pass up and octopus doll. I agree that they're in early stages and not going to replace resin ever, really, but I like the idea of a parallel 3D printed doll fandom as well.
       
      #20 Redrosette, Mar 7, 2015
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