What makes a doll "stand out" to you?

If I may be a bit shallow, it's definitely how it looks with its faceup. It's hard for me to visualize how it will look just looking at the blank sculpt, so i tend to look at how others style their doll. I've come to notice that dolls I really like will look good regardless of how they are made up.

Sometimes viewing it in other styles, I realise that I just like that particular faceup rather than the sculpt itself. It usually means the doll is not for me.

 

The face-up can definitely influence whether or not I want a doll. Another thing that differentiates a “pretty but boring” doll from a “wow, what is that sculpt” doll are how soulful and lively the eyes look. Some dolls have almost a dead, blank mannequin stare, whereas others look like they’ve been frozen in the middle of a moment in time.

 

This is an interesting question considering just how many dolls there are and how many of them I have basically ignored or put into the "pretty but not for me" category without ever seriously considering them (instinctively knowing that I don't need to)!

This is hard to articulate, but a doll stands out for me if I remember it and recognize it among various collections and picture it in my head easily. Sculpts like this seem to haunt me in the sense that I still search for photos of them month after month and basically admire them in any rendition, even if a particular faceup isn't the best.

Some of the collections I admire the most have a nice balance between the "perfect" styling (pristine clothes, wig, etc.) and a certain kind of "grunge" effect (realistic skin textures, jointed hands with great blushing, etc.). I'm drawn to a kind of "vintage" aesthetic as well - Victorian-ish, cottage-core, mori-style, and so on: high quality clothing made from beautiful materials with attention to detail, wigs that don't look cheap, eyes with depth, thoughtful posing, etc. I definitely admire collectors who can make specific dolls seem "alive," with actual personalities, likes and dislikes, and interaction with other dolls/characters that seem significant. I'm definitely not there yet! But maybe someday!

 

Oh gosh...I mean I love to look at other people's dolls! I'm always looking at the new doll profiles here! For me, it has to have a whim of fantasy - elf ears, checking it out. Witch outfit, checking it out. Lots of stars or glitter, checking it out. Interesting face-up/clothes/wig/photograph, checking it out.

I'm always drawn to Luts/Soom/Volks sculpts since I recognize them at this point but I just like to look!

But it when it comes to buying, that's a whole other list.

 

To be honest I usually don't follow other owners for their dolls, and I rarely look at doll profiles. If I do - the thing that draws me in are creative ideas and/or good photos. Even if the aesthethic might not match my personal taste.

But I have to say a good idea has to be executed well, if not the first sparked interest will vanish as soon as I take a closer look. I have high standards myself for my own works and they are not that high for others I can say that, but if you go for a beard (for example) and you can see the glue all over the face... sorry, nice idea but not worth looking at more photos.

I don't pay attention to the usual "i toss my doll somewhere and take a pic and call it a day", those get overlooked by me, they don't appeal to me. Sometimes I even avoid certain companies for the "oh yeah it's just one of those dolls, and you can tell it's a full set", if it isn't a super rare awesome fullset it's another reason for me to scroll further. Sorry, I am almost 15 years in the hobby and the usual Soom or Volks Fullset just doesn't get me anymore, they all look the same to me even if its a new release.

I know this sounds rather harsh but it's like that for me, I get bored by repetitive stuff quite fast, that's why I unfollow a lot of doll peeps after a while on social media, if we don't interact on a true social basis and their posts don't get me anymore after a while it's easier for me to hit the unfollow button than to scroll over the stuff every time they post something. And I can fully understand people doing the same, when you are in for a certain type of doll and I don't post it anymore, please feel free to unfollow, it's your time, use it for your own enjoyment.

I do get hyped for other people's dolls if we know each other and interact outside of "hey look at my doll" even if their dolls maybe don't have that spark for me.

 

Hmm, I have only recently joined but I seem to be drawn to the character portrayed by the doll. I enjoy browsing profiles on here and seeing people's interpretation of the doll's character they received, making them truly unique.

Outside of Profiles, I appreciate more mature, gentle feminine faces with painted smiles, they almost seem patient and like they are happy to see you in their photographs. Little Snow was an exception to this and chosen because she happens to be 1/6 and more manageable for a beginner. Her face sculpt happens to be so sweet to me.

Meanwhile with company male dolls, I love detailed face ups and their clothes, but they need a bit more than a just a pleasing faceup to catch my attention.
Thankfully none have made me want to impulse buy them... Yet.

 

definitely the official faceup haha( *´꒳`*)

 

Interesting sculpts tend to catch my eye! I find that a lot of BJDs have very similar faces, with sleek faces, button noses, and big eyes if they're a smaller doll, or more often a more realistic eye size for bigger dolls. I just can't tell them apart! I remember different features better, hence my own collection being a variety of sculpts, none even from the same company so far. (I do have a couple of the like, button nose big eyes dolls, one's Resinsoul and one's Huajingdoll, but on each there was something/the total combination of features that got me.)

Beyond that, fantasy elements and out-there faceups. Realistic faceups are cool, and sometimes a more pared-down, simple faceup works great, but I love eyecatching ones that have drawings or unusual markings or colors in them. They're so awesome!

 

I agree that the faceup grabs my attention immediately. The feature that I look at first are the lips.

 

From an artistic point of view, I'm definitely a sucker for Lifelike/Photorealistic dolls and people who can get dolls to look so lifelike they're telling stories with every photo. It doesn't matter the *style* of faceup or doll or outfit, but if the doll looks lively and animated then I'm into it. When it comes to *sculpts* and *bodies* I like to buy, I'm boring and a sucker for sad femboys (Points to my growing collection of Luts Bory) because I am at heart a sad femboy. I want something that looks soft and you want to hold it, something that wears cute soft pastel outfits and can hold tiny cute props for sad, femboy pictures. Thinking about the sculpts that have really captured my attention, I'm a both extremes. I love me some Bishonen House MSDs and have one myself. He's fan-flippin-tastic. No one looks like him, nothing else quite gets to his level of pushed cartooniness. But I also can't. stop. staring. At Dollshe sculpts. Anyone with an Amanda wearing a halfway realistic faceup is my new favourite artist. It's a Dollshe thing.

 

My eyes are always drawn to colors/palettes first so I think for me it starts with overall colors and composition of the photos either the company uses for the sales page or what people put forward as their "This my doll" picture. From there I look at faces. I am all about some faces that can say a few emotions with just an adjustment of eye position. But otherwise I'd answer this in 2 ways based on what I'm looking at dolls for:
Ooh We Shoppin': I'm looking for cute faces. Anime, baby doll, big eyes, pouty cheeks. (I'm basic I know)
Admiring others dolls: Modded dolls. Unique clothing/faceup.

 

For me it's a mixture of visually pleasing and well put together. There are a lot of dolls/styles I like that I would not want to own myself, but I enjoy seeing with others. The reason for that is usually a great execution (clean, skilled etc.) combined with good presentation.
If I had to choose a style, it would be dramatic (semi) realism. I like photos where the doll looks very real, or where everything feels like it's from a movie scene.

Faceups are a big thing for me, and I often like to look close there. If the doll looks "crusty" or messy, it's a huge turn off for me I also enjoy it when people clearly know what they do, put in an effort and go the extra mile.

In the end it's of course always a little judgy and shallow. People like to look at pretty things, and with so many people posting their dolls you gotta have to weed out what you want to look at if you want to get to the stuff you like.

 

For me, its the faceup...I can look at 2 dolls of the same sculpt and be drawn only to one of them. I love beautiful realistic faceups.

 

There are a lot of different dolls that catch my attention, but I think it comes down to a handful of the same things:

Faceup: Well done faceups whether natural or fantasy catches my eye, but also when they're not the standard doll-like doll. As perfect as a basic/company faceup may be, they just kind of blend together to me. The ones that stand out tend to be realistic, unique or not the stereotypical "pretty doll" ones. Also, fine linework really gets me, just because I know how hard it is to do and I really admire artists who do it flawlessly.

Sculpt: There are just some sculpts that draw me in, regardless of faceup or style.

Clothing/Style: I prefer casual dolls, but high quality clothes, so the more they look like actual clothes people would wear on a regular day, the more I like them.

Eyes: I really like realistic eyes with small irises.

 

What attracts me most to a doll would be if I can visualize them when I'm shopping for my dolls, or when I'm in my doll space I need to be able to see them fitting on my shelf. I think a doll's aesthetic and faceup make a big impact on whether or not I'm interested. Some dolls are just so beautiful with the art they have painted on, and others are just captivating by the aesthetic of their sculpt. So, it really just depends. But if I can go away from their post or photo without that nagging feeling of 'Oh I need them!' or 'maybe just one more look' then I know I can live without them.

 

I want to say it’s all about the ~vibes~ but realistically that comes from somewhere, right? I think when I’m looking at other people’s dolls it’s all in the details—faceup, clothing, how they’re photographed. I love looking at dolls that give off a defined sense of personality, even if they’re a sculpt I would never own myself.

 

I'm a type that giving priority to the 'purpose of having that doll' before looking for a doll that suit the purpose, so I hardly make an impulse purchase.

When I'm looking, I tend to prefer a doll with not much emotional (No laughing, no crying, no extreme expression, smiling is ok though). I'll consider if the doll is easy to use and could dress in many different way. I also prefer a good poseability. Most of the time, unless there's no other choice, single jointed is a deal-breaker for me.

 

When shopping for myself: Dolls that fit my Ultimate Doll Plan. I usually already researched the sculpt and such to fit The Plan.

Window Shopping and other people dolls: I love unique, strange looking dolls. It could be the sculpt itself or just the awesome ideas of a persons face up/modding. Also dolls that are cute and small grab my attention. If its cute and creepy, I feel like I found heaven .

 

For me it seems to be largely random. It might be the faceup, the character, or even the company photos. The eyes hold a lot of a dolls character for me.