Poll question: What do you look for in a doll?

1. A big enough head. Volks melonheads rule my roost, so pinheads (apart from my three outliers) are a no-go. Given current trends, this saves me a lot of money and crosses potential dolls off my wishlist!
2. Stability. Poseability is nice, but if I can't stand up a doll within a minute on a flat surface, the body is no good for me
3. The head sculpt has to give me an idea of a character. I've learned the hard way that I can't force a character onto a doll and they often ignore meticulous character plans I make for them

 

I like boys that are feminine or androgynous and have dark alternative heavy makeup! I'm just such a sucker for visual-kei style boys!

 

I have all sizes and many colours. Some are fantasy, some aren't. Some are cute and smiley, others are brooding, or even angry-looking.

I really could't say why a particular doll appeals to me.

 

Technically, I should have chosen two: Posing and other.
Sculpting, sculpting, sculpting. I can forgive so much if the sculpting is beautiful.
BUT - if there's beautiful sculpting AND posing capabilities, that is the clear winner.
Which is why I think most of my dolls are going to end up being X company head, Impldoll body. I am enthralled with Impldoll sculpting and posing.

 

It is uniqueness all the way for me! From the very beginning I based my collection in a fairytale setting where diversity was key (imagine something like a Tim Burton’s “Alice” world.) This has left me free to collect everything and anything my heart desires as long as it suits my very character-driven crew. Once I’d devised a character, the hunt was on and nothing was out of bounds.

 

Cost is definitely a big factor in what draws me to a doll, but I also love animal aspects and uniqueness!

 

Interesting face + poseability. I own dolls that don't pose well and that is such a pain! But as I also like beautiful bodies, sometimes the balance is hard to find.

 

I'm in the middle of aethetics and poseability, as well as the cost of the sculpt. For the others factor, I want the doll mold to fit the characters I create.

 

You know when you want to squeeze your cat's face between your hands? That's my directive.

 

Poseability and other for me.

I don’t have any hard and fast rules regarding resin colour, company, uniqueness, etc……I just like what I like and my tastes are constantly changing and evolving.

 

Definitely body shape and face sculpt. I like chunkier bodies and a beautiful face.

 

I like to go by looks and practicality mostly. If I see a sculpt I like, I’m more drawn towards them. I also love to see the uniquely shaped bodies and sculpts because it adds so much variety to my collection! I’ve also been more drawn towards them dolls that would compliment my other dolls. I try to keep their sizes close enough to the standard so they’re easier to dress though.

 

Mine is a mix of company preference and other or uniqueness.

Company preference is kind of a weird one for me because part of me doesn’t care about brand so much (I’m definitely not a one brand loyalist) but the other part is definitely drawn towards the style a company might have. That is one of the most significant things that leads me to acquire one of their dolls. If I like most of the dolls a company has, it is very unlikely that I will dislike or not bond with a doll when I see it in person for the first time. The brands where I only like/love 1-2 sculpts but am lukewarm towards or not a fan of the rest? That’s much riskier. I’ve gone to a lot of meetups and have sometimes had pleasant surprises when seeing dolls from companies I was ambivalent towards, but more often what’s happened is that I lose interest in the sculpts I liked or thought I loved before. When it comes to companies I like, it’s the opposite. There have been some sculpts I was uninterested in before that I will like way more in person.

The “Other” or possibly unique factor is that when I want to get a doll, I usually have at least a vague idea of character or vibe in mind that I would like to feel whenever I spend time with this particular doll. I am somewhat hesitant to say “unique” since I don’t think that most of my dolls are objectively “unique” in the sense most think of when they hear the word. However, every doll I’ve chosen gives me a unique feeling. Sometimes these have been rare sculpts, sometimes they’ve been very common or popular.

 

I tend to choose dolls who stroke a sense of nostalgia and/or need a bit of sprucing up. I usually do a few mockups before committing to buying, I guess I just need to see some kind of a potential in them to fit with my faceup style and the clothes I can make them. The price also tends to be an important factor - I won't get a doll just because it's cheap but I'll probably leave a doll I like unbought if it's over my rather low budget.

 

Definitely the sculpt for sure. For me that’s the deal breaker. If I don’t like the sculpt it’s all over. In second importance is pose ability and easy body shape. Easy body shape I never really had to worry about till recently when I bought an angel philia with huge hips and a tiny bust. It’s been hell finding clothes lol.

 

Nothing there about faces. The face has to be something I can't resist. This is why Dust of Dolls is so appealing to me.

 

I meant to choose fantasy instead of animal, so sorry I skewed the poll lol. My other choice was "uniqueness". I love dolls that are very unusual, either in shape or concept. I have five 'taurs of various animals, dolls with unusual proportions, and dolls with unusual features.

I've found I have a tendency toward dolls with teeth, dolls with softly pointed ears or animal ears, and also dolls with wide, downturned eyes. I try to avoid getting any dolls that look too much like one I already have, but my friends have noticed I have a "type", and I can't really deny it. For bodies, I gravitate toward weird proportions and/or detailed sculpting. Poseability is important to me, but it's also hard to tell before buying sometimes, so I'll settle if it's pretty enough, so long as it's not unmanageable.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I look for dolls that immediately inspire me. If I can't think of something I want to do with the doll, be it style, character, crafting, etc., then I probably won't buy it.

 

Dolls end up on my wishlist (and in my collection) based almost entirely on vibes.

Like many others, I'm driven primarily by the head sculpting. The face has to appeal to me enough that it invites me to create a character on its canvas. In practice, this means that owner photos are often the make-or-break factor, since it allows me to see the same sculpt under many different styling choices, though I can also be tempted into this process by company photos alone. I'm not opposed to hybridizing dolls, so as long as I'm not buying in a tan/fantasy color, bodies typically aren't as important to me. I'm generally okay with nonhuman features, such as elf ears and fangs, but tend to stay away from dolls with fantasy lower halves even though I generally like them!

 

If I like a doll and I can afford it at the time, I just purchase it. I tend to have brand loyalty (partially health reasons, another accessibility, other consistent quality) so I typically only buy from a company I know and trust (going on nearly 20 years now). But I also tend to lean towards a certain aesthetic (which the company I buy from tends to produce).