Trouble with doll resemblances?

I don't have many characters who are directly related, so this hasn't been a big issue for me. If I did shell Kinney's sister and father (he's a Volks SD13 Eden), I'd choose an SD13 Cristal for his sister and possibly a Leeke Koji for his father. Similar noses, you see . And there are "family resemblances" within the sculpts of certain companies that could be taken advantage of.

But even if the sculpts don't match in obvious ways, choosing similar wig colours and eye colours, or similar aspects of their faceup, is bound to increase resemblance. An issue I'd think would be more difficult to handle would be relative head size. If the scale of their heads was too far off it might be harder to accept.

 

Actually, I was sort of in a similar predicament before. When I was looking for a doll that would become Aubrey, originally I wanted him to be Iplehouse Chase, and he was going to be uncle to Mordecai (Buddydoll Teo). Over time, I realized that I wanted them to have some resemblance, so I started looking for other sculpts. Eventually I found Angelheim Ryan, and I thought that the narrow eyes, long nose, and downturned mouth are enough features to make them seem related somehow. But then when I finally got them side by side, there's no resemblance at all *lol* And now with Aubrey's brother Blaze (Angelsdoll Ivan), they don't even look like they're related at all, which is just as well. Sometimes, not all siblings bear any resemblance to each other anyway.

Overall though, I'd say that regardless of the sculpt, you can always faceup the dolls to make them resemble each other. Similar colouring and shading, as well as giving them the same eye colours and wigs as *timid* pointed above, would really help in that regard.

 

I've not had too much trouble -- it's worked to buy headsculpts from the same company which will tend to give a family resemblance type of feel, but often I'll just check for companies that have basic stylistic similarities. Plus things like similar eye and hair color can give a sense of relatedness.

 

I don't worry about it too terribly much, to be honest. I don't have any characters who are identical twins. I do have two different family sets in my story (Ryuuki and his siblings Hotaru and Kaoru, and Kazuya and his children Hideyoshi, Akira, and Izayoi). It was fairly easy for me to match up Ryuuki and his little siblings since I got them all from the same company. For Kazuya and his family, it was a bit harder. Kazu is a Luts boy but the others are from other companies because I couldn't find any Luts dolls that suited them. The fact that the kids' mothers (yes mothers, long story) don't exist in doll form made the whole thing much easier because I only had one doll they had to somewhat resemble, and I decided that they could just as easily hold that resemblance in terms of things like hair or eye color as they could in terms of things that would be harder to change or match, like face shape. It also helped me to realize that while I know lots of people who strongly resemble their parents, I also know people who look more like their aunts, uncles, or grandparents and that traits can get passed down for quite a long time in families. So, for example, maybe Izayoi doesn't look a whole lot like her dad Kazuya. It could be that she looks more like mom (who doesn't have a doll and probably never will, I'm running out of room for more!) or she looks more like some other relative, like a grandmother or grandfather. But if I were to have dolls for her mother and her grandparents, she would definitely look like somebody.

 

I have a couple of dolls who are sisters, and they're both from the same company (Resinsoul Ai and Resinsoul Dan). I'm 90% sure they're made by the same artist, so they have a nice resemblance without being identical. It's something I'm drawn to, I think; I just bought a DIM Kassia head with the view towards getting a Bellosse eventually, and having them be sisters. Those two are, again, similar but not the same.
I do find that dolls look good together based on the size of the head, or really, the size of the face. I actually think Nephelin and Monzo look fairly alike, all the Soom dolls look a bit related in my eyes. Or they could be half-siblings, that's a good way to explain any differences.

 

Even if the same sculpt will work for two characters, if the characters have no relation then I'll seek out another sculpt for one of the characters. Having identical dolls for twins or siblings is one thing but I don't want clones, haha.

If I have sibling characters, then I'll definitely try to get dolls that could conceivably look like siblings. I don't really go down the route of non-human/partial-human characters, though, so I've never been in quite the predicament that OP has.

 

I have Lucian (tan Dollzone Mo) and Lily Belle (pale DIM Flowne) who are half siblings. Their sculpts don't look that much alike in all honesty but each was perfect for their characters so I guess I hadn't thought of my characters looking that similar anyway. For some reason though, with both of their faceups and with them both in white wigs, I can see a resemblance when I put them in a picture together. Maybe it's just wishful thinking or the fact that I actually know they're related, but I do see it. There's a lot of people that don't look anything like anyone in their family or that has a sibling they look nothing like and no one sees the resemblance so maybe this is another reason why it doesn't extremely bother me.

I also have Gabriel (Doll Family Xiangyi) currently at home with me and his little brother Miles (Luts Wintery 09) is being payed on right now. Gabriel is supposed to look older than Miles and Miles still has that boyish looking side even though he's 15. I think both of those sculpts look similar in a way. The Xiangyi has an older look as compared to the Wintery 09 and with a natural looking faceup with each of them and similar hair and eyes they will look like the siblings they are I think =) I think they will pull it off a lot better than Lucian and Lily anyway.

I also have a Doll named Sabbath (K-Doll Kamyu) who I have planned a sister for and she will be a K-Doll Karon. I love all of the K-Dolls and they all look similar to each other in some way even if it's a small way. I also understand what you're saying about non-related dolls looking like other dolls. As I've said about the K-Dolls, it's odd because Sabbath is a Kamyu and his boyfriend is a K-Doll Kill_U. Even though I think the K-Dolls have similar features to one another and you can tell they are from the same company, it doesn't really bother me. They both have extremely different faceups so I think that kind of pulls the likeness from them. I also adore Dream of Doll boys and they as well have similar features but yet again, it doesn't really bother me. I have Cake on layaway (DoT Camine) and in the future will be buying his partner Bane (DoT Ducan). Another case of, with extremely different faceups I don't think people will see the resemblance and think "brothers". I think it really all boils down to the faceups (not always but a lot of the time). If they have different styles then I think it will pull the attention from the fact they look alike. - long reply was long and I apologize ^^;

 

I sold one of my only sibling pair, but when I reshell that character I'm a little worried about them looking anything alike. They don't really need too however since they're half-sibs, and elves...but it would be nice if there was some resemblance. Buying from the same company isnt' an option yet, they don't have a sculpt I like in WS resin. I'm hoping they change that in the future

My other two related dolls were much easier. I needed a 70+cm doll to be another dolls father. At the time there were not many options...just Mecha Angels, and they don't resemble my other dolls at all. Then I got lucky and the Glamor Models were released, even better Ripley Days who IMO is perfect with the same eye shape and even similar mouth.

If you're not lucky enough to get dolls from the same company I recommend just looking at features. Eyes and mouth especially, but face shape is another good thing to go by.
My Kara Klum and Leeke D Bebe look nothing alike but are supposed to be the same person...They do have the same slope in their eyes, and similar shape to their mouth, so I go with it XD

 

Do you have trouble finding sculpts that look similar for related characters?
I like Iplehouse dolls. They tend to resemble each other. The SOOM doll I wanted also looked like the brother of a SOOM doll I already have. I haven't really had any trouble finding dolls that look related.

OR, on the other side of the scale, have you ever had trouble with buying similar sculpts because the characters AREN'T related?
Definitely. I want one sculpt in ebony and normal skin. I worry that it's too similar looking, even if dolls can look very different with such a contrast of skin and faceup. What I've done for some sculpts, is decide they will be twins. I can't keep doing that though. I'm not sure what the solution is.

 

Often family members don't look too much a like I think there are hints you can give with hair color and face up to suggest a relation between two sculpts that don't share similar features.

I remember reading somewhere that in Black Swan Barbara Hershey had her eyebrows tweezed to look exactly like Natalie Portman's. That small feature made the two actually look related, Well, that and the tight hair in a bun look In my husband's family he has a small boned pasty white cousin who's dad is Jamaican! Her hair is light blond but the clue that she is not totally German is the frizzy and kinky curly texture of her pale hair.

I think you might be able to pull it off with some creativity. Btw Gelana is a cool sculpt

 

I don't really bother with it, to be honest. I have quite some characters who are related, but 'feel' of the sculpt and things like hair color, eye color and face-up are more important to me than mold relation. For example, I have a Volks Cecile, his brother is a CP Chiwoo, and his daughter is a Narae XD Her mother is going to be a Chrom girl. These 4 sculpts look nothing alike, yet to me, because of the styling and the same 'feel' they have, they do seem related. If it's like that for anyone else, I don't really care much. I also have a Glorydoll Louis and Dive Seimei who are the same character(one older and one younger), and those are different stylistically but it works. The only ones who really look alike are my Muse and (modded)Luv, who are brothers, and will have a third brother who will be a Zaoll Ramie. But that has more to do with my love for Zaoll dolls than the absolute need to have them look related xD

 

Do you have trouble finding sculpts that look similar for related characters?

I am pretty obsessed with making sure my dolls all look related to the dolls that they are related to. I am very picky about sticking with and picking up on consistent shared features. My main family started with a Cristal and a Peroth and all of their children share features with them - the pointy nose from the Peroth and the droopy eyes from the Cristal, on top of picking up their colouring from their parents. There are a lot of blue eyed redheads in their family. The Peroth's illegitimate daughter looks more like him but has no droopy eyes. My other trio of siblings also share a similar eye and nose shape, and two have the same pouty mouth.

My only odd duck out is my Michele who has no relatives in doll form but still stylistically fits in with all of my dolls because they are all from the same universe.

 

There are lots of things that contribute to making a resemblance... often the sculpt itself isn't the main thing.

Proportions--make sure the dolls look right together, size-wise, size of head and eyes, etc.

Faceups--this is so important! Eyebrows looking similar and blushing and lip color... More important than skin tone, actually!

Eye color and Wig color-- vastly different dolls can look related by having these be similar--not necessarily exact, but similar.

Style--of wigs, clothes, etc.,sometimes this can also help. Yeah, there can be huge differences within a family, but if they are all kind of in the same universe, it helps them look related.

 

I have a father and daughter who don't look anything alike, but that's a bit of a point in their story. Although, she doesn't look like the doll I want for her mom either. I'd just say non-resembling dolls could be said to take after other family members. ^^ For example, I can pick out my various features on relatives on both sides, but hardly any colors or features match my parents.
So I don't see it as a problem.

 

I don't have trouble usually, but I am particular about it. For example, I want two Musedoll Re-Che's (I have one already) and they'll be brothers, and their sister will be a Re-An. I also need a DM Cecile as my Maunier's younger brother, and I'm on the hunt for a DM kid girl that resembles my Hosoo to be her sister. I like to get related dolls from the same company so that they resemble each other properly.

I do have an issue with two sculpts that aren't meant to be related resembling each other too much though- I think it would really bother me. I think I'd have to take special care to make sure they looked different enough.

 

yes! very much! @___@
well... just with the "familly resemblance" thing. if it's just to find a face for a character of mine it's generally not too hard because I don't even try to find one. I just come across a doll and get all "OMG would be so perfect "

 

I have a similar problem...-somehow- my bf decided my soom Afi and my elf sabik where father and son. Ever seen those sculpts? Nothing alike, and not even quite to scale! We're just styling them to both have the same feel in how their hair grows, the poses they naturally fall into [e.g seated, standing, tilt of head] and the expression they pull by default [faceup]. Kids change alot when they grow up, anyway, so he may just grow into his father's features.

I can see a nephelin looking like a galena, though- seeing both of them blank, one reminded me of the other,

 

I only have a couple of characters who are actually biologically related. The problem I am having right now is I have two brothers who look similar enough to be twins (other than height) but I can't get a second of the same head sculpt to finally have both of them in doll form. It is my own fault for falling for an unpopular event head but at the time I didn't think I would want his brother in doll form. Now I am paying the price. But that head looks so unlike all other molds that I just see no way around finding the exact same, there just isn't a "similar enough" mold out there. *sigh* Other than that there is just my little vampire baby who needs a father. Eventually I will hit on the right mold for him. My other characters may have family but I don't intend at this point to own them as dolls.