Would you ever pay a LOT of money for a face up?

I'm also a perfectionist in faceup, I understand what you say of eyebrows and lashes style as I'm myself very, very picky when choosing artists, and I don't want to send my doll just to 'anybody' that is available to commission just because I can't send her to my first choice of artist. this 2nd artist is well-known for making high quality clothes for dolls and she does her own dolls faceups as well (I'm not sure if she accepted doing commissions before as I never saw any dolls with her faceup around), her style is very natural yet I find it beautiful but $350 isn't worth it, so now I decided to keep waiting for my first choice hoping they will open for commission or keep looking for another faceup artist..

whether she wanted to scare me or not I don't know xD but I think she never faceup on other owners dolls before but who knows? and I'm with you $350 can get you a whole doll.. I'm only sad that my doll is still faceup-less waiting for me to send her

personally I wouldn't mind paying $350 if the faceup wouldn't get scratches (but such faceup doesn't really exists?) but I'd rather buy a doll in this price.. and I'm always looking for talented artists, I don't really care for the price as long they're fair to their own ability, however my highest budget is $150 and that's the faceup alone not the shipping

 

Like most things, I think the cost of a faceup being "worth it" depends on supply and demand. If an artist almost never takes commissions, but there are a TON of people who want their work, I would think at least some of those people would pay $300+ if they had the opportunity. I have no idea if it happens anymore, but years ago there were customizers who would sell heads they painted on Yahoo!Japan and they'd go for a ton of money. And it's not the head itself that is worth so much money, it's the work by that customizer that was so desirable. I also hear that in the Blythe community, makeup artists charge a lot more than BJD artists.

I will say that using a company's faceup price isn't really fair for comparison. It's an entirely different situation. The company artist is probably paid hourly by the company, and they sit there and do it all day. It's their job. Whereas artists you commission usually have a day job and do the commissions in their spare time. They do not get paid hourly, so if the sealant messes up or something else beyond their control happens, they have to redo it at their loss. They are also doing a custom work to your specifications, unlike a default faceup that's the same as all the other heads of the same mold. Some companies will do a "custom" faceup for you, but they don't send you a photo to make sure you like it before sending it.

And as far as permanency goes, I don't really see how that factors in... there are plenty of things in this world people pay big bucks for that isn't permanent. Think about food in extremely high class restaurants- it might cost $100 per person but they're only going to taste it once. Something more comparable may be extremely valuable artwork. Stretched oil paintings are pretty resilient, but they can still be punctured, ripped, stained, water damaged, etc. I would say that buyers don't take that into consideration when they pay millions for a painting. It's worth millions because the artist is long dead and there are only limited paintings available, and a lot of (very rich) people want them.

Anyway, I don't like the phrase "is it okay" to pay X amount for a faceup, because it implies that a person who HAS the money available and WANTS the work enough is doing something wrong. However I am fine with "are you willing" to pay X amount for a faceup, because that just implies preference. :P If something were to happen and I couldn't paint my own dollies anymore, I'd probably try and keep it under $100 per faceup. If I had a bigger income, I'd certainly be willing to pay more!

 

The highest I've paid for a faceup was $125 including shipping and minor mods. As others have suggested, the artist probably doesn't want to take any commission which explains the exorbitant price.

Maybe you can try looking around for other artists with a similar style? I did waited nearly 4 years for an artist to reopen but in the end still commissioned someone else because she no longer takes in any commission.

 

Price is personal, isn't it? How much you want to pay and how much someone wants for doing it... It can all vary a LOT.

Faceups can make or break a doll. I usually go with company faceups because I know what I'm getting, and that is extremely important to me. I would pay a faceup artist if I knew what I was getting, also. Consistancy and living up to expectations is important.

If an artist is the only one who can do what they do and create the faceup you want, then you pay for what you want... or not! But there are some faceup artists who can easily add $350 to a doll by doing a great faceup...

If you don't want to pay that money, then simply don't. But to me, there are only so many great faceup artists that can do things in a good way... If I'm picky, I'll have to pay for it. If I'm not, then the field is more open for lower costs...

 

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable spending over $150 for just a faceup. If the work included modding or fantasy parts I would pay more. The artists' style and quality consistency is the most important factor to me.

 

I have someone who was sort of an unknown when I found her and started using her for faceups, but over the last year she's apparently exploded in popularity and with that, her prices have naturally gone up. Still, they come out exactly how I want them to, and her turnaround time is awesome. Even my husband (who's not on this forum but collects DDs) uses her.

What do I pay for a faceup from her? $75.

 

For just a faceup I would probably spend up to $120 or so, but some of my favorite faceups on my dolls have been cheaper than that. However, if I was wanting modding $350 would be more reasonable.

However, for just a faceup I would probably never pay $350, even if the artist was well known or popular. I really enjoy shopping around and giving new artists a chance, and for that price I could get my head repainted two or three times. For $350 I would want that faceup to last forever, which we all know doesn't usually happen!

 

I do my own faceups and am happy with my work so I've never sent my dollies out for faceups but I've thought about it. I'd like to see other people's styles and see if I can learn anything from them. I don't think I'd be comfortable paying more than $60 for a faceup. I just don't really get the whole idea of paying more when someone else who might be just as qualified can do it for less. I'd shop around to find the best artist for my budget, not everyone is worth as much as they charge.
(I'm not knocking anyone for paying what they want to pay though, if you want a free faceup or a $350+ faceup that's up to you.)

 

It depends on what you want done, I guess. Is it going to be blushed to match something else? Do you want the faceup artist to paint an intricate tattoo on the face? Are there scar mods? Does it require a lot of time because you want it to reflect a character exactly? The best faceup artist IMO is SDink and she only charged $150 for her faceups. (Her style is natural looking, though).

 

I think the maximum I've paid for a faceup so far has been 60usd-ish - and on a doll I no longer own. It was a beautiful thing, and I definitely would go for something similar again.

As my collection is now, I don't think I'd be able to pay over 100usd for a faceup (including shipping, possible customs and all that). Then again, I very much prefer the faceups my dolls have so far - some of them even have factory defaults. I only tend to get faceups redone when the previous one is starting to get in a bad condition. Considering that I now have 6 full dolls, a head and a spare body and my collection is still growing, this seems like a reasonable way to go.

So far I haven't been that picky with faceups, but I imagine that'll come around when I've gotten my collection to a state where I have all the main characers shelled. That's when I'll get on to more of the propmaking and the fine-tuning.

 

I guess it depends on the style of the face-up (fantasy face-ups, tattoos, etc)

All my dolls are realistic looking and have simple face-ups. The highest proceso I have paid for a face-up has been around 25€ without shipping cosas.
I don't think I'll be able to pay more than ~50€ on a single face-up, it's just too much for my funds.

 

If I were to want something complicated or very time consuming on an sd size I would say maybe around 90-130 usd but that's really pushing it. I can't see myself paying more than 50 for something that isn't going to be very skilled. Though I feel I may have to suck it up sometimes and pay a lot more than I am comfortable with due to me not being able to do very good work myself seeing as those I have cmt disease and arthritis. Personally I'm hoping that I'm good enough at face ups so that I won't need to seek out about her artist. Body blushing thoug is a whole different story. D

 

Yes I would. I don't like the idea of buying an expensive doll and then having it look mundane. And I while I enjoy painting, face-ups are specialized work that takes a lot of practice to get right. I just don't have the time and inclination to learn when there are so many other things I need to do and learn too.

Plus, there are so many artist styles that I adore. It's fun to have so many looks to choose from.

 

No, but not because I can't say it wouldn't be worth it. There is one faceup artist I would love to do my Saint..... but it's not going to happen for him anytime soon and probably never. Primarily because I do my own faceups, and I get a little better each time. Second, because facups don't last forever and I like to 'play' with my dolls. I think if I had a valuable faceup on a valuable doll I would not 'play' with them and therefore not enjoy them. Third, because I am stingy..... I would prefer to have nicer/more clothes, eyes, wigs, faceup supplies, another doll or at least a down payment on one.

I wouldn't bat an eye if someone else had made that choice for their doll but I wouldn't want to even be near it for fear of somehow accidentally damaging or being blamed for damaging the faceup. I would stay far, far away.

 

I've seen some wonderful work on here and elsewhere online. I know that some doll artists can command a lot of money. Noel Cruz comes to mind though he's not a BJD artist really. I'd love to have one of his dolls but there's no way I can ever afford that. On one hand I can appreciate the talent but on the other getting a face up done means letting my doll leave me and I'm not good at that. I have bought some dolls that came with and initially thought I liked the faceup "as is" but eventually I end up changing something so obviously I am fussy and I want my dolls to look like I want them to.

Part of the reason I got into BJD's was because you can customize them so much and because I liked the challenge of that. Getting it done might look better in the end but it's also disconnecting me from a project and a doll that I'd like to work on probably. Doing it myself really helps me bond with my dolls and I would miss that I think. I've thought about it a couple of times but it's too expensive to send dolls out plus I just don't want to once a doll is here. I'd rather attempt it myself even if the results are less pleasing. It's not just about money, but it is also about money, what I can afford and the fact that I like messing with a doll and learning to do things myself...

 

It depends on how much is "a lot". The most I've paid was $65, and that was actually a trade. Normally, I won't pay for a faceup because I do my own and am generally very happy with my skill level. The only time I ever pay for one is when I've had so many failed attempted that I'm beyond frustrated and think it's time to let a different artist tackle it.

I fully understand why some artists charge so much---I've had faceups take up to 8 hours, trying to get it right, and an artist deserves to be paid for not only materials, but time. If I didn't do my own, I would certainly pay my favorite artists fair wages for their work.

 

I don't pay for face ups, I prefer to do them myself. It teaches me a lot and I have a better appreciation of the skills required. I have rarely picked up a brush before, so mine are pretty bad. . I am not in this hobby to have the perfect doll, I am in this hobby to have fun and learning is part of the fun.

 

I will personally pay whatever I can afford at the moment for something I want. I don't know what "a lot" means - since it's relative. I pay for an artists style and quality of work. If I happen to find someone who can do a gorgeous $20.00 face up - then I would chose them and on the same token - if I find an artist's work that will cost me $200.00 - then I will pay it as well.

 

The most I have paid was right at $120 for one head. That included modding teeth, face-up and tats, old face-up removal and return shipping. The artist is wonderful to work with but has limited slots and seems highly sought after. Over the past two years she has raised her base price to $95 (I seem to recall it being $60 or $70, 2 years ago), but still not as high as some others and I think far and away better than many who ask $100/$125. Also the artist has offered slots on ebay and had them go for $200 and $300 on each occasion. So I guess it just depends how much someone wants something, as to what they are willing to pay.

 

I generally pay anywhere from $50-$100 for a faceup, but if I wanted something really special/complicated I'd happily pay twice that. I can't bond with a doll that doesn't have a good faceup.
I don't understand people who WOULDN'T spend a lot of money on a faceup (although "a lot" is subjective). An outfit + shoes usually ends up being $100+ and the doll will probably have several of both, but their face is always there.