Your doll preferences?

i feel like i lean toward girls more because i am not a fan of the super muscular man bodies. Also i loooooooove skirts. I love lolita fashion, frills and lace so it makes sense to have more girl dolls. I also currently only have anime sculpts but im a bjd newbie so that might change in the future.

 

It depends on the character I want to make mostly. I'll have ideas of what they ought to look like and try to find sculpts that match those ideas rather than stick to a specific aesthetic. I will say one thing that has been kind of annoying is how nearly every male body is sculpted with super defined abs! It's so hard to find softer bodies, and a lot of the time, the face sculpts just don't seem to go with the super sculpted bodies, which puts me off a lot of dolls on principle. I mostly own 1/3 scale dolls, but also like ones that are msd sized, but generally the ones i like in smaller sizes are super stylized (big heads and cutesy bodies that are sort of chibi like but not chibi sized like a yosd. The smaller bjd i own takes a 9 inch wig for example). The larger dolls I have, i'm drawn more towards more realistic/ semi-realistic features and proportions, but I'm drawn to a lot that have bigger eyed, soft/ sweet expressions.

 

Sculpt -- I'm just so into realistic sculpt, especially because I use them as references for my works. My Maskcat Doll is the only one non-realistic MSD. I have a pet doll for my dolls, he is a fox and is also hyperrealistic. Other than my curated collection, I adore any style of dolls!

Size -- I started with Volks, so I have this strong size/age mindset. I keep my dolls sizes and ages accordingly. The bigger the older, the smaller the younger. But don't keep getting bigger just because it's older setting. I have Mini Me she is 56cm. Many older male dolls are over 70cm and I'm like "Are they easily over 20 yo and still growing?!" LOL

 

I could go into a long diatribe of the specifics, but I don't think I have all day to type it out

So, for a stream-lined version:
General: mature features, longer faces, defined features (especially cheekbones), a nose that isn't a blip at the center of the face, SD (60cm) and above (70cm+ are especially delish), elf ears preferred (but can sculpt them onto a head lacking them; this is also a more character dependent trait than an overall—although I do love me a good set of elf ears), resin darker than paper white, and I'm a sucker for realistic, yet depth/detailed eyes. Also—realistic. Semi-stylized but leaning more towards hyper-realism.

More specific: I prefer the boys. My crew is actually rather diverse in size/shape/color/gender/ body type (I collect based more on OC shelling than on sole aesthetics), but I do tend to be drawn towards more realistic, masc-leaning male faces with some character (a smirk, grumpy, larger nose, cheekbones, etc). I don't often find myself interested in that many girls, especially since a majority seemed to be those doe-eyed, heart-shape faced, delicate mouth/nose/other facial features—just that general slightly more realistic young, innocent anime girl look. Give me narrower eyes, a longer face, a nose with some character, and overall more mature features. Or maybe just give me an originally male sculpt and I'll just make that one female instead

Just those odd additional details: I do have a slight preference for darker resins, but also am content with the pinky/yellowy normal shades. Hands that don't look like four hotdogs attached to the palm along with the thumb. Male bodies that come with a moveable/magnetic bit in the nether regions. Not really a fan of the sculpted on stationary ones

Yeah—as I said, I don't really strictly stick to these guidelines, but if I had to define what tends to particularly draw my eye, this would sum it up.

 

My preferences have changes a lot since I first started collecting and now. When I first started collecting, I mostly wanted MSDs, preferred boy dolls, and went for traditionally beautiful faces. I took a break for four years, and now that I'm back I prefer SDs, prefer girl dolls slightly more than boy dolls, and mostly enjoy sculpts with outlandish or unique features and horror sculpts.

There are some preferences that have stayed the same, though. For example, I don't like ripped muscle male sculpts, I prefer smaller/medium busts on female dolls, I don't care for YoSDs, I'm not a fan of most fantasy sculpts, and I prefer slimmer bodies in general. I also still have the same preferences when it comes to how I style my dolls, opting to give most of my dolls clown/jester-like face ups and outfits, but now, when I'm not going with the clown look, I'm also into giving them more gothic looks over any traditional, normal looks. I have a bunch of dolls from before I took a break who's face ups I want to change to give them more of an edgy look, in fact, haha. Not all though, like I love the face up of the boy in my pfp too much to change.

 

I definitely prefer female dolls. I have been interested in a couple of male dolls but ultimately chose another girl. My collection leaned more into the fantasy/anthropomorphic than I originally intended but I love them all so much. I have two human girls and four magical fantasy dolls. They all share a story that I will never actually write but exists in my head haha

I have two MSD and four SD. I really enjoy both of these sizes and I don’t think I would ever like to go bigger. I am pretty content with my collection right now so I am not looking to expand. If I ever get another it will probably be the one size down from MSD. I’m not interested in anything smaller than that.

Two of my girls are paper white, one is purple, and one is cocoa (SD sized but off topic for this board), and the two human girls are “normal” skin. I enjoy my three fantasy shades the most!

 

I tend to stay with more realistic sculpts personally and I gravitate more towards female than male sculpts. With that being said, I also stay away from dolls with teeth and like "pureskin normal" type resin more so that colors etc. Facial expressions are not a big deal but I don't like overly expressive faces.

Clothing wise I like more of the normal teenager with hoodies and jeans. Always have. But I am not opposed to colorful wigs, colorful eyes and the occasional over the top dress.

 

I usually have a character in mind first and then a doll I like, unless I really adore a sculpt and need it regardless...
anyway, the common denominator of the majority of my dolls are:
-80% facial realism
-delicate noses and jaws
-downturned eyes
-female or non-muscled, girly male
-scurvy but slim girls

As for their fashion, I'm still in the process of creating the full wardrobe (and tomorrow I am going shopping for another big storage box, actually xD) but contemporary elegant or stylised, period-like dresses and overcoats are my thing. I also love cotton, cute underwear.

 

I'm a huge fan of a 1/3 bjd boys, which is ironic because in like all other dolls I prefer girl dolls. I like more realistic face sculpts, mostly so the characters can exist together in the same story and I can easily change their appearance. But I wouldn't mind to get some diversity in the future, once I cover the "basics" for the characters/dolls I really want. My only exception so far is FenJieXian YoSD because she has more anime-like eyes and I see the doll more of a girl. But she already had a place in the story, so all is well

 

I love androgynous dolls! 65-70cm in height makes then really huggable for me.

Preferred features would be tan skin, light hair, classy high fashion clothing.

For facial expression, I really adore dolls with a smirk on them, with fangs and pointed ears, and sharp eyes!

 

I have a huge preference towards female dolls that are not more than 50cm due to issues of storage more than anything. I really like dolls with really long skinny bodies and limbs and have the alien look to them. I don't really have a preference for skin tones, but i do prefer colder undertones. I like for them to typically have a neutral expression on the face. I also like high fashion style clothing or fantasy styles. I'm not a fan of anime looking dolls nor do i like them to be too realistic looking. I also like face ups with a lot of shimmer.

 

I prefer 1/3 female dolls. And pouty lips, fully open eyes, slightly revealing teeth and non-realistic looking sculpts. I am not really picky about skin tone.

 

I'm a character driven collection, so it all comes down to the character, but I tend to gravitate towards 1/4 or 1/6 sized dolls, and they must be overly realistic-looking or completely fantasy-themed (anthros), but there's no in between.
I always look for a cute smile, even if it's a faint one that needs to be highlighted with a face-up, just because I can't stand having a sad or not happy character (there's enough sadness in the world outside).

 

Bright, saturated colors! My own art is very heavily dependent on color to give it life, so I end up being drawn to a (slightly muted) version of that in dolls. Give me saturated, rich skin tones and bright jewel-like eyes. Pastel is cool too, as long as it's still got a good range of coordinated hues.

I love ruffles and lace. I have a pretty strong hourglass shape in real life so ruffles and lace don't really compliment me that much (plus taking care of both is a pain in human clothes), but with my dolls, they're all slight, skinny little things so the ruffles just look adorable on them. Plus I love the way light colors look - but again, they are a pain to take care of in people size... dolls don't accidentally sit down on a crumb of chocolate!

I really like natural textures on dolls. Natural fabrics (linen, silk, wool, etc), natural hair (like angora fur) for wigs. I don't like the plastic-y sheen that most synthetic materials have. I think the muted/dull texture of more natural materials compliment the more shiny but toothy resin very well.

I like doll sizes between 25-50 cm. I think they are the perfect size to be hefty but not hefty enough to eat up a ton of space. Plus until recently I had a neck injury that made lifting stuff really difficult, and it's been nice to not have to worry about pain while carrying my dolls.

This one wasn't intentional, but I seem to really like slighty-parted lips, haha. Sometimes I like the more calm demeanour of a fully-closed mouth, but I think the partially-parted gives a lot more expressive range to a sculpt. It's just too bad almost no male sculpts have this.

 

Despite the Shoushou Nikos in my home who have more clothes than any other dolls...
I really do prefer more realistic faces over the anime ones. They don't have to be hyper realistic, but defined noses and mouths are the way I roll.

Also I like half lidded eyes over wide ones. They feel more serious and solemn. I even like 1/6th / YoSD scale dolls like that!

He may be a simple discontinued sculpt, but damn do I love DF-A Julian.

 

I love feminine & slender dolls, fantasy parts especially hooves and centaur body, unicorn horns.
Clear body parts, sleeping or dreamy eyes. Tan, french resin,white, grey & blue skintone
Vampires
victorian style (trying to make something different for my dolls but somehow I always end up in this aesthetic)
Long wavy hair and fantasy crystal eyes (or without pupils)

 

In two words... "Old School".
Think classic Volks, Lati Reds, CP/Delfs, older IpleHouse and Dollshe and that sort of thing.

I prefer somewhat stylized sculpts over very realistic ones.
My favorite dolls tend to be SD-scale in the 57-65cm range.
I usually go for peach-or-darker resin tones if I can, since I don't like the way most white resin ages.

With my ladies, the maturity of the face MUST match the maturity of the body... I won't put up with nine-year-old girl heads on boob-a-palooza grown-up bodies.

Avoiding that issue has landed me with a collection where the guys outnumber the gals about 3-to1, even though I don't really have any specific strong preference for male dolls over female.

I like fairly neutral expressions and faceups on the natural/subdued side.
I don't like "textured" faceups, overly heavy blushing or over-painted bee-sting lips.
I go for wigs in natural or nearly-so colors more often than fantasy colors.
I'm more open to the idea of exotic eyes.

Slightly-open mouths are okay... but I won't have dolls that look slack-jawed or like "mouth breathers".
Wide-open mouths, especially if there's a tongue involved, just give me the heebies.

Style-wise, my gang are all over the place, but I'm drawn to traditional Asian outfits (Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Indian) for a lot of them.

I don't get particularly hung up on historical accuracy with my crews' wardrobe.

In terms of mixing eras, styles, materials and construction, any specific outfit may end up more "Fantasy Pan-Asian" than anything an actual human being might have worn in the real world in a particular time or place. I accept that outfits like that drive Authenticity Purists absolutely crazy... But most of my dolls are the resin avatars of tabletop RPG characters. Exalted's Creation isn't our world, so why should my Sidereal's fashion choices be limited as if it is?

 

I have a taste for strange, creepy dolls with exaggerated silhouettes. But I also like delicate, fairy like dolls. My first and only doll so far is Narae 43, and I still find it the most beautiful doll ever XD. I bought it in 2008 If I remember correctly, and today If I was to have only one doll It would still be this one. However currently Im waiting for Hanged man from DZ And Gytha from dollchateau, which are more on a creepy side

 

Cute, MSD sized dolls with a neutral expression and big eyes. Given how my current collection looks at least, lol. Nobody has an extreme expression, although my one SD is definitely and I have one MSD with a smile since it is one of the distinguishing features of their character. I do like the ambiguous expression on my Leekeworld Mabel - I didn't notice until I caught it in a random picture but depending on the angle he can sort of smile. It's cute.

Natural hair colors, since everybody is either blond, brunette, or black haired. And nobody has an elaborate outfit except for the princess. We keep it casual. Everyone is also pretty and adorable! At least to me. And they're all kids. I'm old enough now that the 18 year old counts as a kid too. They're mostly 10-12. Babies.

 

I think I prefer large size doll with realistic face up