Mobility vs. Aesthetics

I love dolls that can hold natural-looking poses, and I usually keep them fully dressed, so I'll take low detail and lots of joint lines any day if it means great posing. But aesthetic is important to me for the parts of the doll that show: the face and hands.

 

For me, aesthetics overrule posing, as you can always work and mod to improve posing! I myself am planning to mod a lovely single jointed girl I have into a double jointed and suede her so she can pose better.

 

It depends on the character and the story I want to tell with said character. I like a decent amount of mobility and the ability to hold poses for taking pictures or using as reference for drawing.

I have a big thing about how some joints look though... Example of a deal breaker: I really do not like weird "kneecaps" that stick out obnoxiously on double jointed knees. I don't care if it poses AWESOME.... I refuse to buy a doll with weird looking knees.... lol

 

For me personally I like a balance of both. I feel like if a doll´s body has got a lot of very obvious joints i wouldn´t be able to enjoy it. (of course this could be fixed with clothes) I used to love jointed hands a lot but at the time I´m thinking about if they still fit into my aesthetic. I would prefer a double jointed body over a single jointed one any time, I don´t mind how thigh joints look like on dolls that can hug their legs but I feel like toros with a lot of mobility seem to be sculpted... very obvious and not aesthetically pleasing to me. I am also not a fan of seperate neck joints

 

Both, or the doll won’t last long here. I’ve been in the hobby for a long time, and I’m finding I’ve gotten more picky in what I want in a face and body’s aesthetic now. On the flip side of that I photograph my dolls outside a lot, and I’d rather not have to lug along heavy metal stands on a hike when I’m already carrying big dolls and a bulky DSLR. With few exceptions, they need to be able to stand relatively sturdily and assume natural poses when sitting and standing. A doll that can’t touch its face drives me insane. I’m a little picky about how the elbows look when they’re bent (a little boxy is fine, awkwardly independent of the rest of the arm look is not), but for the most part I’d rather the doll have obvious joints and be a joy to play with than look super great because their joints can only bend at a 90 degree angle and fight everything I try to do with them.

 

I agree heavily with Amet.

Mobility is very important to me. My first bjd is a terrible poser (Soul Doll Lappy Bunny) and I hardly ever mess with her because she is only good at standing. I think a combination of frustration of her, plus I like to actually 'play with' my dolls made me 'team mobility'.
Fortunately I love seeing joints on my dolls so as long as they are actually functional I am not picky on how they look.
I almost only get/look at dolls with double joints (I like doll that can sit on their shins), at least one torso joint(preferably two), and ones I can find pictures of them holding good poses.
I can be picky about how torsos and heads look which would be how I might show some favoritism in aesthetics. I also like hands and feet to look natural. Sometimes it looks like a sculptor just 'forgot' about the hands and feet when making a doll, or only made them because they had to.
There have times that I have seen a doll and said "I want that" without paying attention to mobility (like Elfdoll Hana Devil, the doll that got away) but they are few and far between.

 

Middle for me but leaning towards aesthetic than anything because I don't really take a lot of pictures of my dolls and often they are just sitting or standing most of the time.

 

I don't even know how to answer this. Most of my dolls are single-jointed and the first time I encountered "mobility jointing" I wanted to break out the glue to stop those things from twisting the legs every which way.

My favorite is actually CustomHouse's old SD girl body.

 

Hmm it depends. For bigger and male dolls, I choose aesthetic over mobility. But for bigger and female dolls + smaller dolls, I choose mobility first. I like to take topless pics of my hunks, so...

 

When I first came into the hobby, my answer definitely would’ve been aesthetics, heck just a body to put clothes on and could stand and sit. Now almost a year later I am definitely going for poseability has become VERY important to me. There’s nothing more annoying than trying to get a doll ready for a photo and your back is hurting because your messing around trying to get this thing to stay put for a photo . I’ve done all the wiring, sueding, etc and its still a headache.

 

I would rather have a doll that has a more aesthetically pleasing body over incredible possibility. If I had a choice over a doll that has beautifully sculpted hands and single joints compared to a doll with sausage fingers and double joints, I would pick the single jointed doll with no hesitation. For aesthetics, I don't always look for realistic proportions, I just look for something that matches the character well and obviously looks good (no sausage fingers!). I really just sew clothes for my dolls and make them normally stand/ sit in them, I rarely need them to do crazy poses that would require incredible possibility.

 

for me it's aesthetics... i don't really mind if the doll can't do complicated poses, as long as the shape is good. in fact, a lot of dolls with pretty faces don't make it into my wishlist, simply because i don't find the body attractive.

 

I really want both, like when they have double jointed joints escpecial in the knees. joints in foot and hands i dont care for.

 

Ah, an age old question every hobbyist has to endure.

For me, i think it's a little of both? I greatly enjoy dolls who look great when dressed but also i like ones that can pose well while looking great. One of my previous dolls was a fashion sized dollshe amanda and while she looked amazing in anything i put her in, she couldn't pose very much.
Now i say this after having put a resinsoul mei on the single joint body on layaway but i digress.

 

I love beautifully sculpted bodies, so I lean more towards aesthetics than anything else. I don't care if my dolls can't do super awesome poses, as long as they can sit, stand, and touch their faces without much fuss.

 

Aesthetic is more important for me.
I don't play with my dolls, I don't make pictures, I just want them to be nice.
For me, it's enought if they can stand or sit

 

I'm honestly divided. I love aestetics, but I also love mobility.
I've seen the new Bimong Narae40 body up close and can say that this body has great mobility and looks really nice.

 

I'd prefer to have both nice aesthetic and good poseability, though I am more forgiving if the doll isn't the best poser in the world if it looks pretty. Most of my dolls are fantasy dolls, and most fantasy clothing is cut to show some of the body so aesthetics are really important. My favorite body all around is the Soom Super Gem 2012 male body with the mobility joint. I find it aesthetically pleasing while still maintaining good mobility for what I need. For just poseability, I enjoy the Dollshe Pure Body, and going off of aesthetics only the Idealian 72M is one of my favorites.

 

It's a balancing act for me. I don't care if the body's the best posing thing in the world, can get into any human pose, can balance easily on one foot, whatever, if it's ugly? I won't be happy with it. And likewise, the body can be an absolute work of art to rival the old masters, picture perfect at every angle, just completely gorgeous, but is limited to "sit" or "stand," I'm still not going to be happy with it.

That's not to say there's not ways around those kinds of things. I have a boy whose body is kind of awful (the company switched bodies without warning for a "type 2" that is far less aesthetically appealing than a "type 1," and as the company was also in the process of shutting down there wasn't much I could do about that), but he generally wears longer clothing that covers the ugly jointing they gave him, and I can switch his hands out for something less sausage-fingery in the future. His posing is satisfactory enough that, at this time, I'm not motivated to buy him a new body just due to the level of annoyance I have with his current one.

I have another that's just perfect aesthetically for the character I bought it for, but it has some quirks that affect the poseability. But they're things that can be easily fixed with a little sueding (I just haven't bothered to do it yet, for various reasons).

And I have one headless body laying around (quite literally!) that looked just okay, posed for nothing, and didn't suit the character at all. I did a bunch of work on it, and ended up hybriding the head onto a more suitable body... but then I kept the original and I do plan to buy a new head for it in the future. Why? Because separate from the character it doesn't match, I realized it looks better than I originally thought, and all the work I put in made it a decent poser as well. And buying just a head is cheaper than getting a full doll, so if I can keep that body around to suit a new character, why wouldn't I?

 

I prefer aesthetic more!
I really like joints that art subtle and neat, I love it when the joints and lines can slightly be seen, they’re gorgeous!
But sometimes it’s really such a shame they can’t pose well and the pose for photos, angles, tend to be repetative because they can’t post much

 

Since I own mostly dolls with terrible mobility (can't even sit properly), I would say aesthetics, but I am not sure. Since not many dolls went through my hands I do not have the necessary knowleadge of what to look for to get the mobility. Either way, I do not mind visible joints at all.
I do not have any favourites.

 

Mobility for sure! I like to keep my dolls clothed anyway, so it doesn't matter to me if their joints (especially in the torso) look a bit wonky.

 

It’s not really a hard question since I have multiple dolls, so...some of each? I really like the look of single piece torso dolls but I appreciate the mobility of more joints. I tend to like my dolls to be able to touch their faces but I don’t mind single joint knees with a prettier leg line. Sometimes the slots and peanut joints look mis-shapen to me but when covered, I love the more natural poses. Just a good excuse to have several types of dolls, I think!

 

I’d have to say purely 50/50. Possibility is so important to me because I love to get creative with posing... but it’s all a waste if they look awkward when doing it

 

I think I'm somewhere in the middle. Of course I like nicely posing dolls but sometimes I choose a doll based solely on aesthetics. I'm very fond of Doll Chateau dolls and they are rather poor posers. I don't mind visible joints, I'm not that obsessed with natural look.

 

I like visible joints, if I didn’t, I would be collecting some other kind of doll, not BJDS. Feels like I have to mention that because after skimming some replies in this thread, it seems like joints being a focal point is seen as a drawback for some? I like the aesthetic of joints.

That aside, aesthetics are more important to me than posability, regardless of whether or not they’re more realistic or more stylized. If they can pose well, that’s a nice extra to me.

I have to like the overall shape of the body as well as the sculpting details. There’s a lot of doll bodies out there that I think are well executed, but for whatever reason, they don’t stand out to me. Then they have to have a doll aesthetic that grabs me as well.

 

I would rather have a pretty body with worse posing than a very meh-looking body with great posing. I feel like posing shortcomings can always be overcome with different stringing solutions, wiring and sueding but melon boobies and tube limbs are forever also a good sculptor can do both! And good aesthetics definitely also lend to good posing often enough - the way that lines and posture look are never only in the joint engineering. Since I also photograph my dolls a lot, I feel like there are many ways to enhance the lacking posing range with the camera also.

With poseability, I value stability much more than the number of joints - my single-jointed Volks MSD absolutely out preforms my Dollmore Judith body that has a heck ton of joints and questionable anatomy, and is much more fun to handle for me. I also don't mind my solid-torso Everpurple Iris because I can just plop her down to stand without much fiddling around - even though I do love putting my dolls into slouchy poses - and the body is also so beautifully sculpted that the way elements flow together lends to the limited posing still looking great as a whole. There are definitely some past dolls I've had that required moving every joint to appear nicely posed, but it's so much work that way that this can get annoying also.

Tl;dr - a well-posing doll doesn't need a huge amount of joints, just skilled engineering and sculpting for them to work together in harmony, and also aesthetic sculpting choices contribute to it a lot.

 

I find these "which is more important?" questions hard to answer, because it's not an either/or situation for me - it's both/and. I play with my dolls a lot so mobility is very important, and I prioritize this when looking for dolls/bodies to buy. But if I don't find the body aesthetically attractive I will not be buying it in the first place, doesn't matter how well-engineered it is. I have rejected reportedly well-posing bodies because I didn't like their physiques, and/or didn't like how their joints look when engaged. Eg. shrug shoulder joints and jointed necks do functionally extend the doll's range of posing, but I don't find those joints aesthetically attractive because they break up the lines of flow through the body. I'd rather make do with less posing range in neck and shoulder.

Both/and also applies when the doll body is home. I want to enjoy playing with and posing my dolls, they have to have enough mobility to fulfill this pleasure. I'm very confident in my ability to overcome mobility limits through maintenance (sueding and wiring go a long way) and learning how to handle them. If after all this effort the doll still falls short in mobility, aesthetics can make up the shortfall: I have to find them beautiful enough that I'll put up with their posing limits. But this doesn't always succeed. I buy BJDs to play with them and want to enjoy that playtime, and if I become consistently frustrated by the doll's posing limits, no amount of beauty will save it from getting sold or re-bodied with something that poses better and gives more enjoyment.

Ultimately it's a compromise between mobility and aesthetics for me, I try to find the sweet spot where both traits are optimized, and every doll in my crew has the sweet spot located in different places. I own a doll that is an outstanding poser but the sculpting somehow makes them always look stiff and awkward unless I introduce rhythm into their poses. But I like them a lot, and their awkwardness has become part of their character. On the flip side, I own single-jointed dolls that I won't rebody because I love their aesthetics too much, they always look natural and graceful no matter what pose they're in, and their range is extended after I sueded and wired them.

 

I need both too. A beautiful brick will sooner or later start to annoy you with its clumsiness. I always choose an aesthetic that matches the character, but is also poseable! A true artist must also be skilled in engineering to interest me. Only rarely is it otherwise...

 

I would say aesthetics is more important for me. The dolls that can pose best are beautiful, but I have a preference for how the knee/elbow joints are. If I'm going to splurge on a doll, I get very picky about that.

 

Definitely mobility. Ever since I got a doll with double-jointed elbows/knees I can never go back. Single-jointed elbows/knees might be my only dealbreaker. Otherwise though, I like how both a large number of joints and the bare minimum can look and have no preference.

 

Both.
I’m very artistic so a doll body needs to be pleasing to my eye, it has to look ‘right’ for the kind of doll in question whether realistic or stylised.

Posing wise I’m no expert, my overall doll experience despite being in this hobby for close to two decades, is pretty limited but I do get frustrated very quickly with awkward joints and dolls that cannot even sit. My opinion of posability is the same as my opinion of technology such as mobile phones, etc…….what use are all the fancy flashy extras if it cannot even perform the basic functions properly.

 

Hmmmm, as much as possible, I prefer the balance between aesthetics and mobility for the BJD body. I'm a sucker for dolls with a wide range of mobility but do not want it to look unnatural.

 

I'm definitely in the "a little of both" - by virtue of their joints these dolls already surpass their contemporary porcelain counterparts in terms of poses they can do. I use a stand or doll furniture so they don't need to be able to stand on their own. I do love though, when they can hold expressive poses like slouching or touching their own face but I also love when the joints are pretty - like detailed knee caps for example or doll bodies shaped like they were made by Hans Bellmer.

 

I'll probably go with aesthetic a little bit more than poseability. Poseability is a plus, but I'm ok with it being limited if I just like the look of the body. My dolls are always either on a doll stand or sitting, so I don't care too much if they have a ton of poseability.

 

If most of the body is going to be covered by clothing then I'd def prefer poseability over aesthetics. If more body is showing then I agree with the 50/50 choice for sure!

 

I've found that I care about aesthetics more than I thought. More than posing, I like a doll that is pleasant to handle. I'd rather have a doll who feels good to hold and poses naturally over one with lots of range who feels mechanical or I have to fight with. Almost no doll has single joints these days so I'm fine. I still dislike hidden peanuts, though, and a lot of dolls have those.

 

I believe my mobility standards are quite low, however I'm also fairly particular. I know what I like and what's important to me as far as function. I do not find doll joints unattractive except that I dislike jointed hands, so for me the appearance is more important than mobility there. However, practicality is important on that issue too. I just don't like having to fuss with fingers for every picture. So much opportunity for ruined pictures.
I like for my dolls to be able to hold some poses with the arms, move head enough to look up-ish and down-ish, right and left, stand on their own with relative ease (though occasionally overlook it), sit unassisted without leaning backwards, and hold gestures of the wrist, that's it really. I like how some of them have more things they can do well, like sit with legs crossed different ways or have mobility in the thigh to sit with knees up. If I could have one mobility feature on all my dolls that they don't currently have it would be the mobility thighs.
Because I think my standards are low as far as modern bjds go and I mostly use them as mannequins and then sit them plainly on a shelf without needing much posing I would say that the appearance is my priority over mobility/function. But it's important that there is a balance where I am happy enough with both together in every doll.

 

I think I care a little more about mobility over aesthetics as I have some bodies on dolls that I really wish could do a bit more, but proportion is very important to me as well.

Specifically, if a body is great, but it would look too broad in the shoulders or too built or slim for what I'm thinking of, I'd really have to think about what I'm willing to sacrifice in terms of the overall picture. I'm having this at the moment with a mature 1/4th I want to shell!

 

That applies to me as well. I think especially with a lot of the newer bodies where the legs are soooo long... The posing always looks fantastic and you just know how fun it would be to handle them. But too long legs, especially when the torso ends up really short bothers me a lot to the point where I will not buy.Or also really narrow shoulders. tried it both once and regretted it. But it might just be really picky about things

But it is also really frustrating when a beautiful doll can't even sit properly or stand without fainting. So I'd say there has to be a balance. If the body is overly tubular, disproportionate etc. it is not fun, but neither is a pretty "rock". At least that is how I feel about it.

 

When I first started the hobby, it was all about the aesthetics. The more time I have spent collecting dolls and taking pictures. I am voting for mobility!

I think it's because I just wanted pretty dolls at first, and how nice they look. I collect SD males mostly, and a few of them sure are pretty to look at, but when it comes to having them do stuff? Nope. I have a few with stiff necks that can't look around very well. I have one that can't sit without being disjointed. I used to think, 'Oh, it doesn't matter, he looks good.' It matters.

Recently I have gotten dolls more for mobility, and I love it! I can make them come alive in the pictures. They wear clothes all of the time anyway, what does it matter?

 

I'd say mobility, since you can customize your dolls six ways to Sunday and do whatever you like with their appearances. If they can't sit down without their legs kicking out, how am I supposed to take pictures of them

 

Aesthetics over mobility overall but I have some peculiarities I NEED in a body or I won't even consider it.

Mobility: Be able to stand and be stable without needing a stand. Be able to sit without needing support (to be fair I do have bodies that fail this but I put up with it because of looks lol). Ideally be able to hold up their hands/arms, and be able to do a mid-torso bend 'cause most of my characters are slouchy.

Aesthetics: Knee/elbow peanuts must be fully hidden within the limbs when outstretched. I hate the look of the little ridge of "arm" or "knee cap" on the peanut. Nice hands are a must. Nice feet would be good but I can deal with it being meh if the rest of the body looks good. I'm quite particular about the size of neck thickness and how it looks with the head, as well as shoulder width's proportion to the head size. The particular look of the body depends on the character but when I like a sculptor's work I tend to like their aesthetics across different bodies. Fave companies for bodies are: CP/Fairyland, Volks, Unoa, Switch, Iplehouse, Bluefairy.