Would you rather commission a faceup, or do it yourself?

I'd rather do them myself if I can (though I love when I buy second-hand dolls that already have them). The first blank head I got was sent off to an artist not too far from me (who did an amazing job), but after that one, I decided I wanted to do them myself.

I'm a pretty bullheaded person when it comes to making things--I'm normally firm that if I'm capable of doing/making it myself, there's absolutely no reason for me to pay someone else to do it, even if it costs me more in the long run to get the supplies. My face-up skills have reached a "good enough for me" level, so I do them when I manage to convince myself a doll has been blank for too long.

 

I can't do face-ups. I can't do my own makeup very well. So much as I'd LOVE to do my own somehow (wave a magic wand?) I have no choice but to send them out (or get company face ups). I don't mind. I DO sew thank goodness...

 

id rather do the face up myself because I can envision what expression/ face i like my doll to have.

 

Do it myself. It's fun, I get to learn, and I know what I want. The sense of accomplishment after a face up is a plus, too. ^^
Also, I'm too paranoid thinking about shipping a doll head somewhere, not necessarily because I don't trust the commissioned artist, but because I'm just paranoid about shipping in general. u__u

 

I like to do it myself, it's fun and i enjoy it, i could practice and get better with the time, also i'm scared about sending the head outside, because of shipping and costums too.

 

You have a choice. Try it. If you mess up it can be wiped off and you can start again. If you are truly not happy THEN send off. You have nothing to lose if you were going to have it commissioned in the first place. Or buy a practice head.

 

I have no experience with making a face up as i don't know from where i could get the things needed, or what i need . Yet i wouldn't let another person whom i don't know, do my face up for me as im fearing for my doll to be stolen. I do though let the company give me their default face- up and then in future reference buy a blank head and practice on it

 

I prefer to do faceups myself. I'm still very much a novice, but it's become an important part of the bonding process for me. Plus, I usually don't have a clear idea of how I want my dolls to look, so I wouldn't know what to tell the faceup artist! Once I've sat down with the blank head, I just experiment and see what happens.

 

I wouldn't trust myself to do a faceup, too scared of doing something wrong and ending up with a ruined doll -.-

 

I've been trying for over 40 years w/my OWN makeup - I do adequately for belly-dance gigs but I REALLY can't do it. There comes a time in one's life, dear, where you admit that you just cannot do everything, & delegate. As I said, I'm an expert seamstress/costumer. So I'll stick w/that.

 

I've sort of forced myself to learn how to do faceups. Hopefully, time will improve my skills.
Like it was stated before, I'm kind of afraid of shipping my dolls out. Just thinking of losing my doll's head in the mail mortifies me.

 

I've been learning how to do faceups. I bought my dolls with faceups because I was happy with the company default. After buying a couple dolls without faceups through the mp I thought it was easier for me to learn then to send them off. I feel like sending them away is a risk. A risk for damage, being lost in the mail..or even theft. Those are risks I'm not willing to take with my dolls. Although I'm still learning and I'm not nearly at a level I would prefer, I'm happy with the results. I feel more of a connection to the dolls I've customized myself than the dolls that have the company default. Eventually, I plan to give all of my dolls a faceup. Right now I'm waiting until I've gotten my money's worth out of the company defaults. I don't plan on paying for a faceup ever again.

 

Now that I have done three or four I would rather do my own than have default faceups or send them out. I don't know that I will wipe the faces of those defaults that I have as I'm happy with the minor changes that I made on them, but I will probably order blank dolls from now on.

 

I got into BJD to make clothing them. I would like to learn how to make wigs and I would LOVE to get good at face ups! For now, I am lucky to have a talented friend!

 

I would love to do face ups but sadly I'm not there yet. The thought kind of freaks me out.

 

I will always, always send them off to a professional. In my very beginning days in the hobby I gave my hand a go at doing them on my own, but the frustration, time and money just were never worth it. I know some folks find it a bonding process with their dolls, but it only made me irritated at them and myself for my own lack of skill. I do love drawing and digital painting, but actual painting on a canvas has never, ever been my forte and I suppose this carries over to other surfaces. I don't like the mess and I lack the patience. It's much more satisfying to know they're in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing.

 

I am waaay to terrified to do my own and don't feel as though I would do them justice. I have always sent mine out. I can paint and do my own makeup..... but the whole trying to do the even eyebrows.. no thanks!

I love how you can describe what you want and then its still a surprise when it comes back.... I have never been dissapointed

 

I'm finally getting my first doll after following people in the hobby for years! She's a Haru Adori and I cna't wait for her to get here, but the thing is I'm wondering about her faceup. I think it'd be kinda fun to do it myself, since I have some of the supplies from a workshop I went to some months back but admittedly they are very cheap and I have no practice. Also since it's my first doll I kinda want her to look good so I'm considering commissioning it.
My question is for a first doll do you prefer to go pro or stay personal? What did you guys do?

 

For my first doll I did her face-up on my own. I actually still like it now, and I'm very happy I let myself imagine her looks, without my imagination being clouded by someone else's style.

for my second doll I got the company face-up, and I'm glad I did, since I had no idea what his personality would be like, it helped me find out what fit him best

So I guess it depends on how sure you are about how you want them to look.

 

My first doll came with a faceup from the company. But after I few months, I just had to paint him myself! I have painted all of my own faceups since then, and never commissioned anyone. Faceups are a lot of fun!

You could also consider the time that a commission takes, though. You already have to wait a long time for your doll to be made, so are you ready to send out her head and have to wait some more for the faceup? If you do it yourself, you can paint her immediately (assuming the weather is good).