What Sets BJDs apart for you?

That's a very good question, I never asked myself!
When I was a child, I collected porcelain dolls. I didn't have many, maybe 6, but I loved them. I didn't play with them, they decorated my room.
As a young adult, I became interested in little apple dolls, bleeding edges too. That was before I discovered BJDs. I was amazed by the possibilities that BJDs offered (and by their price too). I tried Pullips before I could afford my first BJD. It was a leap into the unknown! He came naked and without a wig, so I had to find a wig and sew him some clothes. I, who had only had ready-made dolls, was in for a long journey.

When I begin to collect BJDs, I stop buying other dolls. Maybe because I couldn't afford too much expense, maybe because I found BJDs more interesting (in terms of customization possibilities). I'm not sure. There are plenty dolls I found lovely, but I buy no longer other dolls than BJDs. Well, I have some Pullips and some Monster High too, to say the truth. But I'm more used to work with resin, so I prefer BJDs.
Anyway, even if I would love to see more diversity in terms of body shapes, I like the diversity you can find in terms of faces.
For BJDs, I learned to sew (a little), to paint makeup (a lot), to craft wigs and other things. I enjoy working on BJDs. I like to gradually bring out a character from a blank BJD. I think that's why I'm no longer interested in ready-made dolls.

I also think only doll making could make me leave BJDs for other dolls. I've seen very nice rag dolls, I think I could enjoyed making some. But currently it's not planned.

 

For me it's the artistry, bjds are so beautiful and all the little details fascinate me. They're more similar to sculptures then Barbie dolls to me! Not to mention the art of the faceups, wigs, clothes, shoes, etc it's all so wonderful to look at and see the differences in style from every artist

 

100% the articulation, the quality of the materials, and the customization!

 

In other dolls, you more or less have to fight them (their original state) to customize them, to make them into something they were obviously not meant to be. BJDs were made from scratch to come alive only through your customization. Sure, there are fullsets to be bought, but the original idea was always to be the owner's canvas.

That's what sets them apart for me. That and also the SD+ sizes, handling dolls that big that do not represent children and still are posable was a revelation to me

 

I loved fashion dolls as a kid as well as game characters. As I grew up and got into gaming, I absolutely loved games with character creation. I will spend hours creating my character before even playing the game. I also jumped into Second Life just to build my avatar and go clothes shopping for her lol I also made some basic clothes for her.

I admire characters in games and I absolutely love and admire all the different BJD's, I love realistic dolls as well as the cutesie, almost cartoon style dolls. I love their clothes, wigs, eyes, shoes. I love their bodies and most of all their faces and faceups. I love dressing up myself too, I just love everything fashion, makeup and hair so the idea of having dolls to do it with too I just love haha I'm not sure why I am this way, I just am and always have been

 

This is a great question! I’ll preface my answer by explaining my foray into doll collecting. Once my children had all grown and left the nest, I decided I wanted to collect dolls. I joined a local doll club to explore my opportunities, and started off with an introductory level antique porcelain doll. I loved fashion, so I explored making antique clothes for her with antique fabrics. But I couldn’t afford to expand my porcelain collection much from there, so I grew bored and sold her. Then I tried out antique china head dolls and making appropriate civil war era gowns for them. It was fun, but I eventually grew bored of the antique style entirely, so I soon sold them and moved onto mid-century plastic and vinyl dolls, making outfits for them from vintage fabrics. But I still felt somewhat stifled. I gave 1970s Crissy a try, and found customizing them with rerooted hair was a thing which I enjoyed. But again, I felt stifled by the limited era clothing. So I sold them and gave the larger modern fashion dolls like Tyler Wentworth a try, learning to do faceups on them. But, meh…they just didn’t have enough character and substance to maintain my interest for long. I tried re-borns, which were fun to shop for but I eventually grew bored of shopping for baby clothes too. I was constantly re-cycling my doll money, trying one kind of doll after another, and had begun to despair of every finding the right long-term fit for my creative dreams.

And then…AND THEN!… someone in the doll club gave a lecture on ball jointed dolls. She passed around a Luts kid delf, and once I put my hands on that doll I knew! I mean, I just KNEW this was the hobby for me! I went home that bright summer day in 2006 and joined Den of Angels right away, and I’ve been here every day since! For all these years I’ve just been happy and content being right here on DoA and slowly collecting my BJDs. In truth, I’ve never looked back. This hobby gave me what I realized I’d always been searching for…complete customization and character building…the ability to create an entire fantasy world of my own making from scratch. I’m no longer limited by one style, I can create fashions in all sorts of different styles, so I’m never bored. I love the weight, substance and articulation of bjds which makes them endlessly posable for creative display opportunities. My dolls can have all sorts of looks and genders and species and sizes, fully embracing the creativity and diversity my soul had so long yearned for.

 

I had Barbie dolls as a kid, though their limited posing and weird proportions irritated me as I got older. As a teenager got into Tonner dolls. I liked them, and still and like own most of those I acquired. They pose far better than Barbies, but all come predefined by clothes and hair and faces. I've sewn a few things for them, but ultimately felt restricted by them. Fashion doll magazines like Haute Doll and Fashion Doll Quarterly led me to BJDs.

Their articulation, detail, and customizability, along with the variety available is what sets them apart from other dolls for me. They are evolving, interactive art objects as well as being collectable. I've done much more sewing, crafting, and writing than I did for my fashion dolls.

 

the way they feel in your hand... its just unlike any other doll. they truly feel luxury and its such a treat to own them

 

100$ seconding articulation.
I've owned many different types of dolls and the limited posing really starts to grate. When there's only so many poses you can put the doll in, there's only so much enjoyment you can get out of it. But bjd have a lot wider possibility

 

Maybe it's strange but I genuinely don't know exactly what sets them apart for me, especially considering I never previously liked dolls and enjoy some others so minorly in comparison. But the factors such as these are big:
Customization is possible and reversible and repeatable
Extreme modification is not very hard either
Tailoring the anatomy with hybrids is easy, and there is more selection of bodies and head appearances than other types of dolls (in my opinion)
Articulation which allows lifelike photos and a pleasant dressing and interactive experience
I can get them larger than fashion size which I like more in almost every way
So I guess it boils down to that I find them an artistic media that is well suited to my expressive interests. There is also the fact that I feel a more emotional relationship with them compared to any other doll or toy, and I'm not sure exactly what causes that but feeling this connection has been why I really loved the hobby.

 

I never even knew about the customization aspect until I started digging into getting one. But I knew I wanted one decades ago when I first saw one. It's only ever been pictures, so it wasn't the articulation or the posing. They just...they don't look like any other type of doll. I'm talking about the "classic BJD", more semi-realistic, not the cartoony/anime style or super realistic ones. They have a feel that's uniquely this style of doll, and that's what drew me in and keeps me here.

Also, at least for me, it's the clothes and the accessories and the props. Even the dolls themselves. I'm autistic, and I think this is fairly common for people on the spectrum - but I'm fascinated by small versions of bigger things. When I had barbies as a kid, I spent more time being mesmerized by her clothes than the doll itself xD. Not dressing her up, just. Looking at her clothes. I've always loved doll houses because of the props, but not had the urge to get one of my own, as they somehow feel empty and lifeless. But BJDs hit that sweet spot for me. Just...small, detailed versions of bigger things.

 

My wife collects more conventional dolls and she sews for them so over the years
we've attended various doll meets. I frequently photographed her dolls or other dolls
in diorama settings. One day I mentioned to her that photographing the dolls was fun
but really wished they posed better and she said "Well you can get jointed dolls, you know"
A friend of hers loaned me a pair of MSD sized Angel of Dream dolls, Fei and Min and I
was mesmerized. These were the models I'd wished for! I think I have 23 now and a
studio in our garage where I photograph them.

 

I have collected many dolls through out my life: Bratz, Barbie, celebrity fashion dolls, American Girl, baby dolls, Baby-Sitters Club 18" dolls, stuffed animals and many more. The one thing these all had in common to me were that they tended to all look very much alike and not have much variety, and also not nearly enough male dolls--most of the ones I collected either had no boys at all, or were the standard "stereotypically muscular tan handsome guy" look. Boring! As a kid, I would sometimes paint over my dolls' faces (or in the case of Ken, hair) just to have something that wasn't blond/blue eyed or brown hair/brown eyes. I had been saying since childhood that they should make a line of dolls where you could pick the head, body, hair and eyes and maybe makeup, but I never thought it could really happen. When I found BJDs, it was like a dream come true!

This was all in the 90s when I was having trouble finding variety in fashion dolls. I know there is a lot more now, especially with Barbie, and others include the ability to swap hair, but they still don't do it for me. Some are really cute, but they just don't have the weight, the size, the realism or "soul" that a BJD has. Although a lot of things have improved with fashion dolls since my childhood, I do feel like the quality has gone way down with cheaper plastics, hair that isn't as easy to style, and the clothes for a lot are just printed designs on cheap fabrics. Some even have painted or sculpted on clothing, and that really ruins the fun. I like that BJD clothes are often the same quality as human clothes, sometimes even better. I'm not putting down other dolls, they all have their place and serve their purpose. They just don't give me the same feel as a BJD.

 

The option to customize in the default version. I mean, you can customise all kinds of dolls, but usually you're then going against what the sculptor had intended. With BJDs it's advised to go against it: the doll artists often participate in the community and like seeing different versions of their creations.

Besides, the general quality. The sculpting is usually detailed, the proportions aesthetically pleasing. Hardly are these dolls e.g. bubble headed or alien-eyed *when* the intention is to make them 80-100% realistic. Often when you have eg a fashion doll, where the head is realistic, the body is too tiny - consider most collectible barbs of celebrities...

The bjds seem to have more quirkiness and personality to them. With BJDs it's not 'just about the looks'

I also collect Barbies and I love sewing for both Barbs and BJDs. I appreciate it that Barbs don't need too much fabric to create just anything and are smily. But when I want something detailed and realistic, I realise my potential best when sewing for the BJDs.

I also love it that you can mix and match various companies, thanks to the standarized sizing. You don't usually have it with other types of dolls. So I have my favourite place to shop for wigs, another for shoes though.

I also like the variety and varying degrees of realism. I like 80% of realism, so with nearly humanlike proportions, just heavily idealised. So, e.g. a layman would ask if those are humans.

I like the community's openess for gender non conforming dolls. With others you usually have strongly genderly typified dolls. I like small-chested girls with boyish faces and girly guys with angelic looks.

While other dolls may offer one of the above features, to my best knowledge, it's only the BJDs that combine them all

 

I love the variety! The height differences, different body types, different resin colors, widely different facial features and completely customizable eye and hair color. Playline dolls just don’t have those things. Pullips, which I collected before BJDs, had the customizable hair and eyes, but all the same headsculpt and body. I love that my BJDs all look like individuals!

 

I collected two main brands of vintage mass produced dolls and while there is an even number of boys and girls I still didn’t feel there was enough variety. Now with bjd there’s no more searching for the rare red head or color combination, I can make my own. Also my vintage dolls were my way of healing my inner child, bjd are my way of moving on.

 

I've always loved dolls and each doll always has had a different character for me. I also enjoy writing and character creation in general so that part of the community has really drawn me in. I also love how articulated they often are and how much goes into creating one.

 

At one point I faded to the edges of the BJD hobby and focused on OT dolls. That community's idea of customization was very limited compared to what's common in the BJD world, the dolls have less articulation, and not much in terms of face mold variety. I was considered an oddball for not wanting dolls with the same face molds. In terms of bodies, there were only 2 choices at the time, and to get the second body took hunting and ingenuity.

On top of all this, the DIY aspect of OT collecting was heavily downplayed in favor of a " BUY! BUY! BUY!" mindset. There was a big push to get the hot new things, to the point you were considered suspect for not playing along.

I love BJD articulation, the sheer variety of dolls, and the joy of creating the hobby encourages.

 

The first bjd I purchased was Eshe as Isabella by JAMIEshow. I purchased her because I loved her outfit, the entire look. When I unpacked her I fell in love with her quality and the weight of the resin.