What's the Appeal of the Sleeping BJD?

Honestly, I prefer Dreaming heads to those with completely closed eyes, but echoing what others have said, there's just something relaxing about them. They're something different from the ordinary, open-eyed sculpts... And you would probably be surprised just how versitile sleepers really are as photography models. I've take many, many pictures of my own closed-eyed dolls that don't look the least bit like the doll's "sleepwalking"... It's just a matter of how you pose them. XD

 

Haha! I've gotten used to the eyes of my dolls following around a room, but I think that if I had a dreaming head that suddenly looked like he had opened his eyes up it would freak me the hell out!

 

I want a sleepy/narrow eyed doll badly. Mainly because the character I have for one is a blind sniper. Besides that though, the daydreaming heads tend to look more natural, as my mate says as he wants one too at some point. According to him the ones that have wider eyes tend to be more anime-like. The ones that have eyes half closed tend to look more serious or sassy than their fully open eyed counterparts. They can also look like they've blinked or in the process of blinking making them look all the more realistic. For the completely closed eyes, they look sweet as others have said. But they also make for great fantasy characters, especially the elves. Plus, with completely closed eyes you'd save money and don't have to worry about what color eyes they have as much.

I think another thing about them that might draw people to them is that they're not as "creepy". That is to say that sometimes people get unnerved by having a smaller human-like shape staring at them all the time, and thus find them creepy. I know my mate gets unnerved whenever I have Anju facing his general direction for an extended period of time, he's always like "Stop staring at me, it's creepy!" With the sleeping heads, one doesn't get the feeling like a bunch of tiny eyes are watching you constantly, only a relaxing sleepy feeling.

 

I love dreaming heads! They look so peaceful and relaxed; they make me want to slow down and relax whenever I see them. I have 2 and they look so cute all snuggled up in their rocking chair together

 

when i first discovered ball jointed dolls i really didn't see the appeal in sleeping or dreaming bjds either. i still prefer OE heads as i really love doll eyes, but i have seen enough wonderful sleeping dolls and pictures of them i know i want one some day. i think ill get a OE AND sleeping head when i finally get one though.

aside from the obvious sleeping pictures, dreaming heads can look peaceful,relaxed, sad,hurt,happy etc. i think eyes can hold a ton of emotion but if your patient and determined enough you can get those emotions to shine through with a sleeping head too. part of the reason i want a sleeping head is because i know it will challenge me, ill have to pay closer attention to the way ive posed my doll, dressed them, the whole mood of the photo (lighting and background etc) to try and bring out the emotion im going for (im new to cameras and photography in general so im looking for things that will challenge me to get better and pay closer attention)


they can also have amazing face ups, my friend who is into make up is the one who made me realize this. she talks about eye make up alot and that got us noticing eye make up on BJDs more. most of our favorites are sleeping dolls =] have you ever seen Eldawyn's sleeping shushu calypso? shes fantastic.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...y-wings.-Calypso-(mnf-shushu-sleeping)-Nudity

 

I dont really get it either...
I can enjoy a SP face since it is really cute, but after a while i get really bored and need to change it to open eyes or i'll end up selling the doll

 

I would love sleeping variants for Dollfie Dream heads...DDH-03 (Yukino) and DDH-04 in particular. And of course a sleeping Gretel so Z would have a sleeping variant. It would be nice to have that latitude for my photomanga. Usually these dolls are not only wide awake, but somewhat bug-eyed as befits Anime influenced dolls.

Where Z's concerned...if you've ever seen a guitarist really get into playing a solo, they scrunch up their face and close their eyes. Z can't do that.

 

I like them.
I, too, wish more dolls will come with a sleeping head/faceplate!
They look so peaceful with the sleeping head.
Though admittedly I am also a squinting fan... dreaming dolls are lovely. They can look so different depending on how you position them and what angle you take photos from. Fitting eyes into them is a pain I'll admit that but .... they just look so nice.

 

The appeal to me IS to make a dead doll, haha. I want a completely closed eye doll one day to make a loosely strung corpse or coma effect. But, as for my other dolls, I would rather them be awake but with an optional sleeping head or face plate. I really love having the two faceplates for my littlefee Leah, because although I don't want her to be sleeping all the time, I love having that option. My Leah has her own tiny case that she keeps her extra face and hands in, lol.

I will say though that my favorite dolls are ones with half closed eyes, like my wake up goldie and hwi ki. I guess because I like kind of cold/mean looking dolls and the half closed eyes can be used to create that "pissed off" effect.

 

I was attracted to a Volks SwD YoSD precisely because he doesn't have that bug-eyed doll stare that tinies usually have. Instead, he looks like a realistic toddler who's gazing downward, perhaps contemplating some mischief.

 

Sleeping eyes just seem so nostalgic and dreamy which makes then irresistible for me; especially the sweet dream versions from Volks~!

 

There's a lot of really interesting points on here. When I first looked into the hobby I didn't think I was ever going to get a sleeping head, but now I 'm not so sure. I'm starting to see some of the appeal to having one, especially if it fits within my doll's personality to be more calm or tranquil. It would make for some very nice pictures.

 

Dreaming dolls are more serene and calm. Taking photos with them can be really fun as well.

 

Oooh, i think sleeping eyes are precious.
I find they make the doll look more alive then some open eye molds, like they are thinking about something....or maybe someone special.

 

I used to hate the idea myself, then I fell in love with a SwD Rengemaru. I thought I would never get one. Before I had I bought a DollZone Sleeping Ami and she has a lot of attitude for one who "sleeps". She isn't sleeping, she's just blind. Born without eyes because her kind live underground where there isn't any light.

I think it sort of goes with the mold and the character, to give the appeal. There's an added cuteness that isn't there with the ones who can see you. They need a little extra help to get around (in some cases) and a little extra cuddling. They're also nice to wake up to, because they still look so comfortably sleepy. It makes you feel relaxed to see them so happy. Tissy naps a lot during the day and I think that gives him his appeal. He just looks so trusting, lying there in your hands, his eyes peeking out at you to check if you're there.

But for me, not all sleeping molds work. Some I can look at and there's just nothing there. They really do look "dead"!

 

I've always liked dreaming heads over completely open eyed heads as to me they are more mature and expressive. I have ten times more trouble getting a range of expressions out of my open eyed dolls than my dreaming ones. I never thought I would get a completely sleeping head though, they didn't seem to express much. Then I got a Drayton 2nd and that all changed. Sleeping dolls are so expressive, and now I'm resisting trying to buy more!

 

I have a dreaming doll and he gets as much attention as if not more than his open-eyed twin bro. If I look at Lian from the front or a high angle, he looks very tender and peaceful (makes me feeling peaceful too ^^). If I look at him from the bottom, his half-closed eyes star straight into mine, and at that moment I know I got his full attention, haha. When I put him in bed, he automatically looks like a sleepy kid, so cute~~~ ^u^ it's a cute and moe side that only sleeping dolls could have. The thinking face of Lian always makes me curious of the thoughts, whether it's malice or cheerful, circling inside that little head.　Overall, I love dreaming/sleeping dolls, but it's hard to find eyes for them...at least I do have trouble finding Lian a right pair of eyes.

 

I think it's good to buy a sleeping head, because then you have two heads for one doll, that can do more versatile poses, as long as the face up looked the same, it's actually a great way to give the doll more life and variety ^^
This is one of the times where i think BJD's should have the ability to have blinking eyelids XD Problem solved!! Hehe ^^

 

I like it when a sculpt has different versions (half closed eyes, sleeping eyes, etc) because I like the variety of expressions. A sleeping head doesn't always need to convey slumber in a story--I've seen a few photoshoots where two dolls look like they're kissing, but you see one doll with its eyes closed. Super cute.

I'm the sort of person who wishes that every doll had a sleeping counterpart.