Your dolls and posing (or lack thereof)

I have a Soom Wolf the Hunter and I can't get him to sit. I don't know if I didn't string him right or if Soom dolls just don't sit. Could someone help me? He looks like he is strung ok, but his joint are weird compared to my other dolls.

 

Most of my dolls are generally considered to be poor posers (old style Soom SuperGems), but I honestly don't agree. With suedeing, I have yet to find a pose my dolls cannot hold comfortably. And even before suedeing, I honestly didn't find their posing to be poor. I suppose I haven't handled any dolls considered to be 'good' posers, so it might be a case of not knowing what I'm missing out on, but I do know that I don't like the aesthetics of those bodies (Iplehouse and Fairyland, as the main two examples I remember). Soom's SuperGems, in my opinion, are a great mix of aesthetics and posing.

 

Like I said. I think I have him strung correctly, but he cannot sit down. His legs come out of his sockets. He stands like a champ, and he'll kneel just fine. It's when I want him to bend at the hips joints and make a L that I have issues.

 

I have all vinyl in my group currently, which are usually considered pretty good posers, but they aren't all equal.

Agatha: Dollfie Dream Dynamite (first version, on the II frame)

She's not particularly floppy, but she's still the least poseable out of my current group. Her hips and boobs are the main factor in that: The hip vinyl is pretty thick, so getting her into a sitting pose takes quite a bit of wrestling, and even then she ends up at 90 degrees at best. Her boobs are somewhat less of an issue on their own, only causing issues in that her arms can't go very far over them. The hips and boobs together have an additive detrimental effect though: They leave her a *very* small center of gravity, so it's nearly impossible to get her to balance enough to stand on her own. There's basically one or two very stiff postures that will let her stand on her own, and the slightest bump will send her falling either forwards or backwards, so I use a stand with her on nearly all standing poses.

Nanoha Takamachi: Dollfie Dream II, M bust

Nanoha has the same internal armature as Agatha does, but the outer vinyl for the bust, hips, and thighs are different. It's definitely easier to get her to sit and stand on her own than it is to get Agatha to, and she doesn't have the boobs-in-way-of-arm-posing issues either. Her elbows are a tiny bit weak though, and the foot-boot parts that come with her default outfit don't have a very good range of motion, so I usually use a stand for her when I dig that one out. Basically I'd say it's a fun body to play with, but I like the security of a stand for long-term display.

Homura: Obitsu 48cm

She's my newest addition, and DAYUM, she hands down the best poser of my entire group, no contest. That's even if you make the comparison more fair by ignoring her foot magnets. It barely takes any trying to get her to stand on her own, even on uneven surfaces and in action poses--all in heels, by the way. Also, due to her bust and hips being made of a softer vinyl than the rest of her, she can also use a bit of base-of-the-neck articulation, and I got her to quite nearly hug her knees to her chest. She holds the poses quite well too: I put her in an action pose on one rock, picked up up, carried her still in that pose, and with minor ankle adjustment got her to stand in the same pose on a completely different rock. (Pothole links go to relevant photos.) This body's posing totally makes up for how hard it is to find clothes for!

I have a DDIII Miku incoming, so in a few months I might edit this with info on how her posing compares.

 

Of the four I have so far my DIM Honey Alana is the best poser of the group, due to her double joints, three part body and mobility thighs. She can kneel, touch her face and sit on flat surfaces. She can't stand alone though.
My Soom Mini Gem is single jointed and nearly automatically crosses her legs when sitting down, and tends to fall backwards if not seated with her back against something. My Real Puki and Dollmore Banji can both self-stand without shoes. The Real Puki is too small and top heavy to pose well. The Banji poses decently, but not as well as my DIM.

 

The delf single joint arm is KILLING me lol I wonder if there is a way to add to the existing joint to make a double peanut of some sort.

 

Dashiell is a DOI and he just... with posing he's good but just very fruestating. It takes maneuvering. My B&G Ymir is pretty good with posing, but he has trouble sitting. Dashiell does too sometimes. My AOD MIng is pretty good at posing but its a shame since he's currently got no head because I'm awaiting money for a new faceup so I cant get any pictures and his clothes are absolutely horrid.

 

My Doll Chateau Charles is a bit of a pain with his extra leg joints but the overall lankiness of his thin frame is amazing in photos when you get it right. Haven't tried to stand him up since his last faceplant onto the floor (OMG that is the worst feeling in the world, isn't it? Luckily no harm done ;D) but I'm sure kips or sueding would help. His sculpt is amazing when kneeling though. The arch of his back and everything is really pretty. His extra neck joint makes for great range of motion as well.

My ResinSoul Song (who I love to bits!) is a bit more loose and floppy though. I tried restringing and hot glue sueding but there are still moments where his knees just don't want to stay locked. He sits like a champ though and I love how his hands are sculpted. I think kips might help with him or at least I hope so. I think it's a RS thing though, the floppiness of their dolls makes for amazingly effortless poses at times. I think with each doll company and sculpt there are good and bad things you need to work around but when you finally figure it out, it's totally worth it!

 

My Luts Kid Delf girl body actually stands really well, even on one foot. It takes some coaxing, but she's a solid stander once she's balanced. My male body is currently too tight to do much with outside of try and loosen the elastic a bit. They both have a bad habit of their knees and torso joints folding in with a light knock, so I'll probably have to suede them and see if that does anything to rectify the problem. Their elbows are a bit...unnatural looking when nude and bent, but they look almost fine in clothes. It's not entirely noticeable if you're not looking. It takes a fair bit of fiddling for me to be satisfied with it, but they are very solid dolls with reasonable posing if you're willing to put in the effort of posing them.

 

My Pukifees are a little top-heavy, but stand well in shoes or boots. I do have to be a little careful with Scaramouche - one of her legs is fractionally shorter than the other. My Mio poses well, but for some reason her left arm won't hold a bend at the elbow - it feels loose and slips back almost straight. (Her hands are almost impossible to remove, too. They all have their quirks.)

My DT Seola poses like a dream, but she has the earlier style body with the wobbly knee joints, so she can't stand up well at all. I use crutches to stabilize her on her feet instead of wiring - it's part of her character. I did suede her, though.

 

My favorite posers are my Dollshe Saints, I didn't need to suede them or anything and they pose very well. My Soom Amber and Heliot are probably my worst posers, though they are pretty so I don't mind. My newer Sooms and Iple guy pose quite a bit better. My Latidoll Largo poses okay, but I dislike the fact that he does not have a chest joint. I have hot glue sueded a couple of my dolls and it's helped considerably.

 

I got swept up in the 'omg super amazing posing must have!!!' craze for a little bit, but even then I still never managed to acquire a super monster poser. And that's okay. I've discovered that as much as I admire it, I just don't care for photography. I get nothing out of it and I'd rather draw my dolls than photograph them. Nowadays my dolls spend all their time sitting on a shelf and I like it that way. Super floppy dolls irritate the heck out of me, but if they're strung tight, and can hold a basic sitting pose, then I'm a happy camper.

 

I'm so fortunate that my doll is able to stand and pose pretty well. If he had come loose and needed restringing or something, I would have been nervous since I still don't feel confident enough to do it. (I did look up videos on the process before getting him, but it was nice that it didn't need to be done so soon after he was purchased.)

He stands on his own even when he is wearing the only pair of shoes I have for him so far. His arms have an okay range of motion, the only thing about them is that they have the tendency of coming down if put in a certain position. This is okay though since all I have to do is position them a little differently.

Even if he stands on his own, I got him a doll stand since I'm scared of him falling and breaking.

 

my dolls posing right now is more dependent on "ME".... I'm still learning to handle these guys (big or small). They all sit nicely at least if they have a good spot (bench makes one girl awkward since she needs a back support... the seat tips back). Some stand some.... I have not learned the balance yet... Only my JID is bad ... but she needs restringing and I have yet to learn that ><. Although since I put her heel feet on... she stands a 'bit better?

So ya I'll learn how eventually lol

 

Most of my dolls have posed pretty well right out of the box, but when I got my 5stardoll Ria she would stand for a second then wobble forward. My friend (who doesn't even collect) just sat there playing with her for a while then all of a sudden she was able the stand! I dunno what she did (maybe playing around with her a bit did something to the elastic cord) but the doll had had no problems posing since then. I still might suede the joints where her legs connect to the hips though, that part is slippery no matter what.

 

My most graceful poser, by far, is my Doll Chateau Dolores on the A-03 male body. There's a bit of a learning curve involved with handling those extra wrist and ankle joints, and the "gangly scarecrow"-proportions aren't everyone's cup of tea, but once you have a feel for how the body works, it's very easy to get into natural-looking poses.

My worst poser is, again by far, my older IpleHouse EID Akando on the Superhero body. The body's detailing and proportions are gorgeous... 'Absolutely beautiful, in a very sculptural, very classical kind of way... But he's about as flexible as a six pound brick. Actually, I think a brick might be MORE easy to pose than he is! The brick won't have knee and "butt-plate" issues!

My other dolls... mostly old-school, single-jointed CP/Delfs and Volks dolls, with a few Luts sculpts and older Sooms... are somewhere in the middle. They aren't champion posers, but they do well enough that I don't have serious complaints about them. I do pliver their joints or use KIPS disks, and I keep a pretty close eye on their stringing. That helps a lot. Back when I was doing a lot more doll photography, I even wired some of them to help them hold certain poses, but no one is wired currently.

 

The best poser in my collection must be Volks Okita and SSDF Avalanche. They both can stand long and have easy beautiful hand posing. The worst poser must be my MNF Kyle. He just can't stand straight, although I have already restrung him twice... (T^T)

 

My IslandDoll 26cm tiny is by far the best poser out of my little group. I've yet to find anything he can't do!

 

I have a DS18M body for my Saint, and I absolutely love the way it looks, but I have trouble posing him. I do know for a fact the poor guy needs restrung, and I have the elastic to do it hiding in my drawers somewhere (because Dollshe sent me extra when I first got him), but it doesn't help that his butt is basically his legs, so sitting up by himself is... A feat. I also think sueding him would help, but I have yet to sit down and suede any of my dolls. Need to try and do that during my Christmas break.

I have a Bobobie Pixie from a friend, and after restringing her, she poses alright. Her torso joints are very finicky and I feel like something isn't quite right with the little knee balls in her legs, but it doesn't look like they're on the wrong sides or anything so I have no idea. She stands well, though.

Best poser by far is my basic cheshire. He will do just about anything I want him to with a little persistence, and I've had so much fun with him because of that. The limited cheshire I bought, however, seems to have uneven legs so he's nowhere near as good.

 

I have a problem posing my Dollfamily H Nangong. He looks awkward in some angles. I also need to retring him.