A little thread about tan colours

I really like tan dolls, I'm actually saving money to get a tan Minifee Karsh. I just think she's so cute and I love her skin colour so much

 

I just got a tan LTF today and I don't know how I feel about her. Her undertones are almost like too red to me? Too orange maybe? I can't quite describe it. IRL she looks nothing like the photos of other tan LTF dolls I had looked up before I got her for comparison when I was deciding on tan vs NS. The pink wig I ordered just for her looks just terrible on her color wise. She looks almost more terra cotta than brown/tan to me. I'm not sure if a good faceup would help or what color I should get for her instead or what. I've had her all of 6 hours and I'm already considering selling her.

I'm really disappointed because all the photos I've seen of tan Fairyland dolls have been so beautiful. I don't know if I got a different batch color wise or if my expectations just weren't realistic.

 

I only have one doll in tan, and he is absolutely adorable. I have never seen other dolls in this skin tone with my own eyes, but Dollshe’s tan fascinated me to the core. Their polyurethane in this color has such a nice texture, I can't even really describe it: it is smooth and rough at the same time. The only thing I'm sure of is that this material is incredibly beautiful. I have never seen this on dolls with lighter skin tone. Of course, this is also because, as I understand it, the doll is painted over a regular polyurethane surface, and because of this it acquires such a texture.
But that doesn't change the beauty of the end result

 

@fbt328 Oh goodness, that's awful; I'm so sorry to hear that! To my knowledge fairyland has had a pretty consistent tan. If anything, the tan that you got sounds like their old- And I mean OLD- tan, which used to have a very red/warm undertone that mellowed over time to be somewhat closer to their current tan, which really has no undertone at all. Given time and even, moderate light exposure, she'll likely mellow as well simply due to the nature of resin; otherwise, most spray sealants face-up artist sometimes use have a habit of, well, in unpleasant terms, washing out colors which then in turn frequently result in nullifying tan and darker resins. Not a result most people want, but it may aid you.

But! Also know, photos have a habit of washing out color as well! So it could also be that the screen calibrations threw off the "true" color of the photos. Or, that the person who edited the photos washed theme out either by intention or by accident. I'd say your best bet would be to either to see if someone local has a tan fairyland doll, or baring in mind current global circumstances, taking a picture of the head cap on a blank, white sheet of paper in a naturally lit room and reaching out to the community- that way you can at least see if anyone who may have been cast in the same batch is having a similar problem.

Ahhh, I know this is getting long, but there's another thing as well! Fairyland has "discontinued" (more meaning that they have no concrete plan on when to re-release it, though generally it use to come up at least twice a year during events) their tan as of last event, which ended on august 8th, 2020, due to the casting complications that often come with pigmented resins, especially so with heat. So your dear may also be a victim of that, tan castings in hot weather can go awry! Again, you would need to reach out to the fairyland community to confirm that it is a casting flaw, as the other dolls released from the same batch would all have the same problem.

Still sorry that you're girl didn't turn out as expected though! Hopefully it will work out in the end, as red undertones can be quite lively and warm with a proper faceup!

 

@FactitiousEuphoria

Thank you for the advice! It was so helpful! I got her as an in stock doll from DDE, I'll have to see if her COO has her production date, but I don't think she's old old. Her box also has a STRONG new resin smell.

Overall, I have to be honest, I'm not really impressed with Fairyland at the moment. I was sort of gently pulling her apart at the joints to get a feel for what the unstringing process would be like and there is a lot of leftover flash in the hip joints. Stuff that would have been sooooo easy to clean up while stringing instead of just stringing around it. There is a spot on the top of her faceplate that is a different color since they didn't really do a proper sand and I feel like it's not a huge deal since it's not noticable with a wig but it just feels like a lack of care. There was also a small scratch right on her face that I had to sand with a magic eraser and DDE was basically like that happens with tan dolls, whatever, even though it's not the type of casting flaws you see with tan. Her magnet joints are kinda janky too. It's not what I was expecting since I had played with a stock puki puki in the past at a convention and had been really impressed with the quality. I'm not sure if I just got a lemon or what.

I'll also be sure to ask Fairyland people for photo comparisons and see if someone that knows the company better thinks something is off, but I might just be stuck with her, I didn't get the impression that DDE or FL would be any help. Between the Coronavirus cancelling both doll conventions near me and being new to BJD, I don't really have local resources this year for comparing dolls irl.

I was worried about the color being off because obviously everyone's camera settings and computer monitor colors are different, but wow this was way different than I was expecting. Most photos make them look so lovely and sun kissed in color, but she is just so different. I have found a single YouTube video that I think nearly represents the color of my doll, all the other photos and videos made them seem like a totally different tone.

I have to decide if I am keeping her or not. If I keep her I might give her a light full body sanding because the color of the sanded resin on her headplate is more palatable than she is now. I also might see if a couple good coats of MSC helps. I'll also have to see what difference eye and wig color make on her. But part of me just wants to get rid of her and get a tan doll from a different company.

 

I'm a big fan of Resinsoul's tan ever since I saw on tumblr someone's Chun in tan with a very cute freckled faceup. Most of my existing characters have light skin but I'm thinking of a new one to put in a tan Chun. Maybe a beachy mermaid type...

It's a complete bummer to hear about the trouble fbt328's having with their new tan doll though, that's such a shame it wasn't what you were expecting... But a terra-cotta type of tan color could be good for certain types of fantasy characters, if that's your thing. You should post some pictures if you would like to. I'm curious to see just how red she is.

 

I plan on it, but I am trying to take some photos that accurately represent her color, it's kinda hard to capture in photo how she looks in person

I'm not opposed to it, but in this case I had a specific look in mind that won't work with her tone : |

Edit: I feel like this photo doesn't quite accurately represent her color, but it shows the imo dramatic difference between the type of tone shown on the website when I ordered her vs what she looks like. She looks different irl but I'm struggling with my phone camera

IMG_20200819_133959058.jpg

 

DDE said they didn't think there was anything wrong with her, so I guess it's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I really just don't like her undertones, although I still love tan dolls, so I guess she's going in her box till I have marketplace access and can trade/sell her.

 

Hey there! I just received a Golden Era (small artist in China) Lloyd head that’s supposed to be FL tan. But, gosh, he looks like terra cotta pottery or a sort of strawberry chocolate?

I’ll have to post a photo when I have sunlight. This is a really unexpected colour from what I expected.

 

About three years later, and I have an Iplehouse FID Bichun standing alongside me. In the Special Real tone. He's my favourite doll, and he's not been here for quite a full month yet. That Special Real does live up to its name. It's gorgeous!

(And Eric is no longer 'my absolute dream doll'.)

 

I have an elfdoll head in tan. She photographs super bronzy and warm but in person, super LIGHT. It's the most confusing "tan" and she's never had a body

Supias tan is beautiful but I don't know if it's my favorite. I'm just glad they offer it all the time

There are so many tan colours I like online but have never seen in person.

 

Fairyland’s tan is really strange, imo, because it photographs WAY different than it is in real life, or least in my experience. When I got my first tan girl from Fairyland last year, a Maya, I was kinda shocked by how red toned her tan was in person. But every tan girl I’ve gotten since has been the same shade. And when I take pictures of them, they typically come off as way more olive toned, UNLESS you put them in photos with other tan dolls from different companies that ARE actually more olive toned, like Harucasting or Luts, for example.

 

I've discovered that Granado's Sunshine is a close match to Dikadoll tan. It's a warm color, and slightly translucent.

 

I have a question - what company's tone most closely matched the Fairyland Minifee tan?

 

I know Bimong has recently released the color New Tan which is intended to be a close match to Fairyland's tan @Aboost

 

Oh my gosh, thank you! I have been looking at Myou today too.

 

For Myou I can't really advice any first hand matches, but I know Little Rebel matches Myou Coffee and Little Rebel is also fairly close to Fairyland, so Myou Coffee and Fairyland might be within a blushable range??

But on that note, my Switch Mocha from 2014 is also in the ballpark, he's just a bit lighter than 2018 Fairyland Tan, and with a 2017 Switch Mocha being darker than him, it might work??

OH! and Supiadoll! Their Light Tan is also within a blushable range. Heard the undertones don't match, but the right faceup artist can work around those issues. Which means Migidoll Suntan(now called Latte Brown), which is startlingly close to Supiadoll's Light Tan, may also be workable!

I think that's all I got? Hope your hybrid works out! @Aboost

 

Amazing - this is so helpful. Thank you!!

 

I am loving the Supia Doll body!

 

I love tan colors! I may be a bit biased because I'm brown myself, but I wish there were more darker/tan options!

 

I love tan colors! I got my Lillycat Ellana in dark tan and she is so beautiful! I also have a minifee in tan, she's pretty, but I like my Ellana's dark tan more

 

Does anyone have a comparison photo with Minifee in tan, and Myou in tan or coffee?

 

I think pw and volks's tan skin are pretty. I have a LUTS real skin tan, but's looks really yellow in dark brown.

 

I wish FairyLand did darker skin tones. I'd really like a LittleFee in a tan color at least, but I never see it being offered.

 

I hear you. I jumped on the tan f65 release, but I wish they offered a dark tan as well, like iplehouse ebony, or twigling raw umber (or even iple dark brown for that matter!) someone dyed a feeple60 that colour once and she looked amazing.

 

I love tan colors because I always feel the make up looks better!

 

It's a shame too that FairyLand's tan is barely darker than the default skin tone.

 

Fairyland's tan seems to vary between batches. My tan Cupid is noticeably darker than my NS Pukisha.

 

I love tan dolls, and nearly every shade of tan aside orange ones. I especially have a soft spot for very dark tan, like granado chocolate.
I don't really like Ringdoll tan (too orange) and previous Supia tan (same reason). In the contrary, I love fairyland rosy tan and dollshe/dollstown different shade of tan from pure skin, from copper oriental to tan. I never try the Ebony, but it seems to be a gorgeous dark tan.

 

Yes!
I currently only have one Sunlight girl but if all the stars aligned, I had a big enough house and the Mother SD blessed me with the opportunity I would totally have a few more.
My favorite tan color has to be VOLKS Shadow skin but I also really like the cooler tan colors that some other companies have put out in recent years.

 

I'm currently waiting on an Impldoll Iris in dark tan (still 5-6 months away at least ) and I'm so excited, but also slightly nervous, as I could barely find a single photo of that mold in that colour online, and I know dark resin is the worst offender when it comes to defects/flaws/etc, so part of me is a little scared that after such a long wait she'll be a disappointment, but I'm hoping my excitement for my 1st real BJD outweights any of that, and in some ways small imperfections could be an interesting character trait for her or make her feel more unique and help me bond with her. Always look on the bright side, yknow?

 

Tan dolls are my favorite because they look closest to my own skintone. But I'm afraid of buying them because tan resin can be so fragile in terms of retaining its color. I've seen tan dolls turn spotty, get a green hue, all kinds of things like that.
A friend's Dollshe boy in Copper tone (batch of 2015) turned weirdly green in less than a year, while it took years and tears for my old white resin Dollshe boy to turn a bit greenish. Maybe it all depends on the resin and the company, but the risk of having a doll that I wouldn't know how to fix is too high for me.

 

I know iplehouses’s like 2010 Ebony looks basically new 11 years later! I also have 20...16? Dollshe caramel that doesn’t look different, even though the head is 2 years younger (it’s honey resin, which is supposed to make a difference..) my other tan dolls are too new for me to be able to give too much Feedback, but I’ve seen some really stable ones!

 

Thank you for sharing that about the Iplehouse BJDs. I love their tan resin colors and have a few dolls of theirs on my wishlist. I hope light brown and special real resins have those same qualities as ebony resin.
11 years in very impressive! I've never seen a doll over 5 years that hasn't had a noticeable change in tone.

 

Can confirm! My best friend has an original Cocori and she's amazing. Big kudos to Iplehouse on their dark resins!

 

I know their glow SR is stable. I got a girl in it in 2018, who I don’t think has changed colour at all. And Their Dark Brown is gorgeous (but that doll’s less than a year old, so no comment on stability of colour!) so far I’m impressed at the stability of their resin!

 

I absolutely love tan dolls, and it’s my next to-by doll as soon as I can figure out a good hybrid combination rip. I really want the new Impldoll 1/4 plump girl body in tan, but I don’t particularly like any of their 1/4 heads so I’m desperately trying to find something that’s compatible or something I like enough to warrant the extra cost of getting the Impldoll body made in custom resin (assuming they still offer that service).

if anybody knows of anything, all help would be greatly appreciated

 

.

 

I love love loveeee tan and brownskin dolls but I am afraid of blowing money on a doll only for it to take a change of color. A sickly green doll is not on my wishlist.
I was somewhat interested in a vinyl darkskin doll (which brand is off topic so I won’t say), Volks also has made a darkskin doll but it was the limited Anthy doll :/ I’ve heard of some brands with resin that lasts longer but I’m still a bit too nervous to bite the bullet.

 

I’m such a fan of cooler but darker tans, and it feels so hard (for me at least!) to find them! The carding system BJD companies have for skin show just don’t work for me, and I don’t know why artists don’t put the resin color on their posts…

right now I am obsessed with Fanff’s Chocolate color, but I don’t have a character for it

 

I’m honestly so in love with tan dolls, too. Right now I’m trying to find a good match for my Feeple60 in tan to make a hybrid. So if anyone has any suggestions on good SD female bodies that with match 80-90% that would be a big help

 

I love tan dolls! I wish that more companies offered a tan resin option. I don’t have any tan dolls at the moment (sadly ;-, but I want to purchase one soon.

 

I don’t have the doll in particular so take this with a grain of salt (and I’m not sure what size you’re trying to size up or down to) but Nakana’s new tan she described herself as “Fairyland Tan”.

 

I love tan dolls too but I've been really off-put from buying anymore because I bought two- one was second hand and the other one was straight from the company and they both had issues with uneven "fading" and discoloration. I knew it had been a problem years ago with some dolls turning green- but tan still seems to be a little unstable.

 

I love tan dolls but don’t own any yet! Most of my dolls either weren’t available in tan or were second hand (and still weren’t ever tan).

One of the few dolls I had as a kid was a Jasmine Barbie, so I have had a fondness for darker skinned dolls for quite a long while! Though I don’t want to create a Jasmine BJD, I am always keeping my eyes out for a perfect sculpt that makes me feel a similar vibe. I’ll know her when I see her. And of course if I get her, I want a partner for her too — so there’s at least two tan doll concepts I have in mind that I’d like to bring to life one day.

As for which company colours I like — Luts’s Bronco is nice as is Supia’s milk brown. I like the shades that aren’t too orange and look more natural.

 

My only gripe with darker tans is that in many cases they can't be sanded. I guess I'm OCD but seam lines and gate marks bother me quite a bit. But I know I'll cave in eventually. I'm already getting a dark gray doll and I can't wait

 

What doll are you getting in dark grey?

I love grey dolls so much, also don’t have any yet !

 

Dollstown Kana in Modern Grey. It's a fairly dark grey and it can be sanded!
I am also thinking of getting a doll with elf ears in a darker grey or black, to style as a Drow elf (I've always drawn Drow as pitch black).

 

That sounds so pretty, I will be on the lookout for pictures

 

If I bought my dolls new more often, I'd probably have more tans in my collection but I'm also a bit hesitant not knowing how the pigments age - I love how normal resin yellows (most of my dolls are banana haha) but tans can be very unpredictable, it's hard to tell what happens when the red pigments are gone eventually. I do have a tan unoa hybrid, though, where all parts were new and have so far held up well so maybe I'll be brave again someday!

I love faceupping tan resin a lot, it's a great base that doesn't need a lot of blushing to look "alive" imo - Vickie's faceplates have been such a breeze to paint so I assume I'll be getting more someday just for the fun of it

 

I’m with you on this!! I recently painted a darker tan (Twigling Raw Umber) girl, and it didn’t take very much blushing, just a trace of a deep cool toned red, and a little bit of interference mica powder to make her literally glow. I wish my WS and NS dolls came to life as easily as she did with blushing.

Khestri and Coris by Indifferent Red, on Flickr

The doll beside her is also “tan” though they’re a very light tan, being Twigling Vivid (old haru era vivid, Coris is from like 2016-2017ish I’d estimate).

 

I love tan resin so much! My first doll is a tan minifee~ the one thing that worries me is that right off the bat, she also has a very visible seam down her arm so I'll have to stick to clothing that hides it ^^; that, and the greening were both worries I had going into it, but hopefully it turns into a pretty olive! And I've been keeping her in a cabinet to help her avoid UV exposure

 

Minifee tan in person is definitely shocking, especially when it photographs into a more mellow tone. I'm genuinely obsessed with their ebony, she's everything I was hoping for from my violet narae (who came much more ashy than all the wip photos I received), and my new tan narae was definitely, nowhere near a minifee tan in person, it was much more yellow toned and lighter.

I'd definitely like to get my hands on the resinsoul dark tan some day, it looks gorgeous. Granado and impl both have some darker tones that also seem really appealing to me, but neither have a doll scale I'm interested in collecting yet so I can only admire through a screen for now

 

My only doll is a light tan and I love her. I'd love to get any artist's doll in dark tan eventually too.

 

love tan-colored dolls. They look much better in many outfits than white dolls. I like very dark colors best, but they are more difficult to photograph. At the moment, I am considering participating in the Harucasting preorder. He has so many beautiful tan tones, it's hard to decide. Otherwise, I really like Fairyland Tan and Youpla Dolls Caramel and Dark chocolate

 

I think tan dolls are absolutely gorgeous. I have one, a Ringdoll Sol. He is gorgeous, I need to finish working on him. I always really loved the iplehouse tan dolls and Souldoll. I think its just a beautiful color- though I haven't seen enough to comment on more.

 

I ordered a Luts Honey Delf in bronco, and I'm so excited to see the color in person! I love tan dolls.

Quick question while I'm here: does anyone know of any decent matches for Charm Doll/Loong Soul's light Tan?

 

I'm getting my first tan doll soon!
Dollstown's tans are gorgeous and quite dark, I'm looking foward to how different she'll look! My other dolls are all quite pale.

 

Alright, time to share a family photo of my tan dolls: Mauro (LR Sarang in caramel) Dante (LR Andre in peach) Joy (LR Kamu in chocolate) Zephyr (LR Jelle tan) and Anjali (LR Noelle dyed dark tan)
It's fun to compare the tans across the generations.

 

Love tan dolls! I finally worked up the courage to purchase one and it ended up being an angel philia. I used to love the old CP tan and iplehouse’s various tan colors are just lovely.