Things you DONT look for in dolls?

I think I feel the same regarding eye shape. Rather have open eyes than any "dreaming" or "sleeping" eye shapes. (But I am more into anime dolls in general so maybe that's why.)

Also those laughing dolls, the ones with the big grins, freak me out. I do like seeing them with other people, but for me... no.

Also sizes matter to me. When a size is too different from the basic "tons of clothing options" sizes I just do not want it at all. And sizes as in head-body ratios. Those super small boy heads on the buff 70+ bodies are a big nope for me. (again anime doll collector so my dolls' anatomic ratios are weird anyway xD)

 

I'm the exact same way. I've tried dolls of various sizes and shapes but I can't deal with the necessity to get custom fitting clothes.

 

I strongly dislike bobble-headed or light-bulb heads, even if I otherwise like the facial features. Nothing makes me feel more icked than looking at a doll with a gorgeous faceup but this giant bulbous head overshadowing it. I know it can be a trick of the camera, but a lot of sculpts seem to be going in this direction (literally all the new minifees have this weird bubblehead effect in photos, and some of the older Impldoll sculpts).

 

My Nope-List

- closed or part closed eyes
- frowning sculpts
- "miserable" sculpts (I prefer actual smiles or at least neutral mouths that can be painted ot look more cheerful)
- huge eyes (with a few exceptions)
- anime/manga style sculpts with next to no onse and/or chin
- young/childlike face sculpts on mature/curvy/buxom bodies (just No!)
- child dolls that look like they're wearing makeup (eyeliner, massive/thick eyelashes, lipstick, eye shaddow etc)

By the same token there are the things that really draw me to dolls as well, such as smiley sculpts and open-mohted scupts (preferaly with teeth).

Teddy

 

I don't have a lot of problems with head sculpts, I usually overlook the ones with same-face syndrome and baby-ish looks but have no strong emotions towards them. The ones showing extreme emotions like grinning/laughing dolls (AoD, please,) are an absolute "nope" from me though. Just... no. There's also something odd about eyes that almost reach the ears with their outer corner.

Body-wise, I don't like elongated proportions done wrong or unknowingly. It looks awesome when right and so weird when not, especially if the torso is long and the limbs are not stylized similarly. Kid-like bodies with boobs are also not something I prefer.

 

I tend to be the opposite of whatever is currently popular as I don't really like slim 1/4 scale in general. I actually love big heads and childish sculpts. But some other things that don't draw my attention include; super muscular males (especially those with the "dorito" shape), most realistic adult sculpts, open mouths with tongue, small heads, and most sleeping sculpts (unless it is the sleeping version to an open eye head I also have).

 

Realism.

I prefer "old school", more stylized dolls, so anything that's too realistic... either in terms of the sculpt itself or even "textured" face-ups... tends to put me off.

I'm also not a big fan of dolls with opened mouths, especially not when there's also a tongue involved. They honestly give me the heebies.

 

We're opposites in that respect. Very few of my dolls are adults, most of them aren't even older teens. The majority are preteen or very early teens

Teddy

 

A sad smile or a too defined mouth expression (open mouth showing the tongue for example), that will definitely make me look away from a doll, it doesn't matter how many other boxes they check in my list of preferences. I have found that a subtle smile can often morph into so many other things when photographed correctly, so that's what I prefer.

 

I'm pretty new to the hobby and I've noticed my tastes seem to be the opposite of the majority I think if I had discovered the hobby years ago, it likely wouldn't have appealed to me much at all compared to now because of the lack of options and the rigid system of doll age being determined by scale only. The dolls I prefer are essentially a higher quality 'action figure'. I prefer realistic proportions and idealized features, like miniature adult people, so smaller heads and eye socket sizing closer to that of real people. I only collect 'fashion sized' dolls which I feel are the best for me given the 1/4 scale which allows for accessibility to standardized clothing while also fitting my proportion requirements. Also space However fashion BJDs still seem pretty scarce on the market so my options are quite limited because I wish to have a uniform collection of a specific size/scale. Finding head sculpts with uniform head sizes is a challenge! Even the size difference between 13.5cm and 15cm circumference is enough to be noticeable. The upside though is that my wallet is pretty safe most of the time!

If sizing wasn't a factor though, the main things I'd prefer not in my doll collection are exaggerated open-mouth and sexualized faces. Similarly for male dolls, sometimes too much ab is too much Also for bodies, I tend to favour ones that have clean joint lines that are 'hidden' like the torso break under the breast area instead of at the ribs or waist, even if it sacrifices posing ability.

I guess I'm just super super picky

 

What I don´t like is tongue sticking out of the mouth, anime/manga faces, disproportioned bodies, small eyes/closed eyes, childlike dolls and large dolls.
I prefer dollies that look like tiny supermodels.

 

Fashion proportion small head to height,
Overbroad shoulders in general,
overly mature and masculine in face or body but additionally a big no on bodybuilder physique,
I don't know how to explain it exactly... but there is this common "face" (which is a combination of features from exaggerated makeup and I guess plastic surgeries) that feels like it's taken over Chinese beauty culture for young women and also the doll hobby and it's a huge big no for me.
Anime dolls with flat profiles,
Dolls over 65cm (too awkward and heavy for me these days),
Anime dolls who are extremely baby (sometimes they are cute but I don't really want one),
Extremely symmetrical faces,
Anything that even remotely reminds me of Disney face,
Smirking faces especially but any expression face that to me triggers awful person red flag,
Sad I can handle but I don't like mean looking dolls,
Realism or not I prefer eyes that are a bit larger rather than smaller,
Definitely dislike far apart eyes and overall I don't look for faces with narrow or long jaw.

I feel like I am strongly against everything current, which is fine because I don't want more dolls, it's just kind of weird and funny. It's not actually true, I do still see some things I like just not as much lately.

 

I've found that while I like the look of square-jawed boys in photos, when it comes to holding them myself I just don't connect with them. So I generally avoid more realistic boys when looking to buy. I also tend to, opposite of some and like others, prefer smaller, more realistic eye proportions. It's an odd combination of realistic and doll-like, haha. I also tend to avoid sharper nose ridges, sad sculpts, and open mouths.

 

Any face like this
I like my dolls to be happy, if they are not smiling, any expressiveness that can be interpreted as happy, like a surprised to see you or admiring gaze or maniacally evil is acceptable. But no frowns or blank influencer stare, it is a dealbreaker.
I loooooove sweet dream/sleeping/romantic eyes, but sadly they are almost always frowning!! Must be happy sleepies.
I like to get the company make when possible, and if the doll's not wearing some kind of eyeshadow I will pass. Doll babies still need make up in my book.
And I have a rule not to get dolls that look "too haunted", not a personal preference, I love the creepies, but that one is a compromise for hubby

And none of this to say I dislike them in other's dolls, just that I won't add them to my own collection. I can usually find something to love about every doll I see.

 

@Novalyna I like the dreaming faces too! I agree about no frowny sleeps though

 

I'm not fond of sculpts where the mouth is a bit open with some teeth showing through. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't like those types of sculpts at all. Also any sculpt with the tongue sticking out or any vampire type sculpts with the fangs exposed. Non human dolls, like my AIleen doll dragons are okay and are even really cute with all their teeth sticking out..just not on humans.

Not a fan of child like or baby type dolls.

Pin headed dolls (puny head on beefcake body) aren't my thing either.

Any mopey expression type dolls aren't my cup of tea. I want my dolls to have a nice closed mouth smile or at least neutral looking.

Like what other people said, nothing wrong the the sculpts one may dislike..that's why there are so many different types of sculpts, just to appeal to a wider range of tastes.

 

My two dealbreakers are:

- Open mouth/parted lips/visible teeth, if the face is realistic (anime open mouths are fine). The moment I see this I click away from the sculpt. Due to some childhood experiences I have a very strong knee-jerk visceral reaction against open mouths and visible teeth, so all the dolls in my collection need to have closed lips.

- Man boobs - another 'the moment I see it I click away' feature. I collect only 1/3 dolls and there's currently a trend of companies producing titty male bodies. I'm not a fan. Please give me males with flat chests!

Of course I have other head and body features that I do and don't prefer, but since the question is about "absolutely not" features these are my two. I don't care how beautiful the rest of the doll is - if it has an open mouth or has man boobs, I'm out.

 

I don’t like bodies with waist joints, even if you don’t mind the look they don’t contribute much to mobility in my experience.

not a huge fan of how double elbow/knee joints look either but they make posing so easy that they’re worth it

 

I think most of it is not something I think consciously, to be honest. But I have noticed some things that make me go from to on a sculpt real fast.

• Heads that are too small. Not proportionally, necessarily, but I just have trouble finding wigs I like under 6 inches.
• Realistic and semi-realistic faces that are too "pretty"/symmetrical/idealistic. I just need something to latch onto, and I find I have a certain level of face blindness if a face is too "perfect"
  
• Tiny top lip, big lower lip
  
• Too much detail/emphasis around the Philtrum/cupid's bow
• Cleft chin (I hate to list this since it's such an underrepresented trait, but I know it would ruin a sculpt for me)
• That specific thing (mostly in baby/toddler sculpts) where only the 2 bottom teeth are visible
• Teeth that are too small/uniform

I have some dolls that are exceptions, but usually these are enough to put me off a sculpt entirely.

 

I don't mind facial features so much, as I don't mind modifying things to death if I have to. I prefer realistic proportions for my mature male dolls, and that goes mostly for body proportions.

I am not a fan of apples on a stick, narrow necks too slim for the jaw-line, etc.. I am also not a fan of tiny torsos and mile long legs, which is basically all BJD bodies ever! I stopped wanting more of these dolls for thosr reasons alone, more than a decade ago. I prefer realistic body proportions in general, I don't mind facial features. However, I also prefer smaller sized dolls -- as an action figure collector before I even knew of these, I kind of feel like I am fine with BJD not being it for me, even if 1:6 head sculpts lack in variety of styles.

I am not new to BJD, I just stopped purchasing a long time ago. I got a mature tiny last year, mostly out of FOMO, although I do love the doll, the proportions are not my ideal. Particularly the giant head, narrow shoulders and child-bearing hipss. He's a male doll, so I would have preferred more ideal young, slim male proportions, but oh well.. DX

 

Two years ago, I would have said the same. I did not like those sculpts at all! But then I started roleplaying a character who was always laughing about something and had a big cheesy smile, and I literally could not see him being any other sculpt out there. I shelled him in their Mu Yanzi sculpt and have zero regrets! Though I can still totally see how that sculpt turns off a lot of people. (If you find that sculpt unsettling normally, you should see it when it has the teeth out, it's much worse. )


I tend to do this a lot, though. I'll think I hate something, but then it turns out to be perfect for one of my roleplay characters. I've kind of decided to stop saying I'll "never" want certain things because I often end up proving myself wrong. The weird thing is that I don't really care about all of my dolls being beautiful. Sometimes, I choose them because they're not attractive. My characters are just a bunch of average people, and I like the variety of some being more attractive than others.

The things I think I can safely say I do not like at all are in the bodies more than heads. I do not like exaggerated pear shapes. If it looks natural, it's fine, but I mean where the hips are twice as wide as the shoulders and the ankle is thicker than the neck. Not my thing at all. And also bodies where the only torso joint is at the hip/low stomach. Those bodies never pose the way I want them too and feel stiff and awkward to me, it breaks up what should be a pretty stomach/hip area, and underwear always gets caught in that joint. Also not a fan of 3 part bodies, because of that same joint, but at least they can slouch.

 

Hmm, let's see...

Features that are a big nope—moving on for me:
•puffy, rounded cheeks—especially child-like faces that look like they're either pouting or have the mumps.
•BIG EYES. Throughout my childhood and into my early adulthood I had a phobia of being stared at, and big-eyed, closer to the anime-style aesthetic (from most minifees to the Volks MSDs/vinyls, etc) just make me shudder.
•generally...child-like features in general. Not the biggest fan of kids, but also just don't particularly like the rounded, pudgy faces, hands, feet, etc. when it concerns bjds.
•playing off the eyes thing—bjds with very round eyes, especially the child-like ones with more unconventional features.
•anything smaller than MSD: even MSD is kind of pushing it for me. I got into bjds because they had a sense of realism to them that most other dolls just don't have, and a majority of bjds MSD and smaller just give off more of an action figure vibe—and that's a turn-off for me.
•anime-style heads in general. The uncanny valley, lack of details thing about them honestly kind of creeps my out—especially when they don't have a faceup. It's like they have a bad case of melted face syndrome.
•"O", tormented expression faces (a lot of Angelphilia sculpts seem to fall into this category in particular). They just make me shudder and think that somebody's...ummm—abusing them. It makes me uncomfortable.

Otherwise, I'm kind of the opposite of a lot of people in loving smaller eyes, muscular boys, and more mature features.

 

I find it absolutely fascinating how many different reactions there are in this thread. It proves that diversity is truly the spice of life when it comes to this hobby, which I consider to be a very healthy thing.

For me, it’s too much realism. I’m happily creating a fantasy world here, and I don’t want any of that pesky real-world creeping in. So smaller heads and broader shoulders are just a no for me. I’m more a fan of that old school vibe.

 

I wonder if the "common face" @AlisonVonderland mentioned also comes from 3D sculpting being the starting point for a lot of those heads? Surely there must be companies that just adjust the same base for different sculpts, one can only got that far with the same skeleton.

Also forgot to add in my initial comment - muscle boys. I just can't see the appeal, especially in the muscle mountains with small heads with tender and delicate features - your face changes when your neck changes, come on, you can't have both!

 

I totally agree, this is probably one of my biggest dislikes when bjd shopping. Even my Mnf Celine looked a little bobble-headed on the mnf body, which is why I plan to replace it with a Soulkid body. But aside from the bobble-headed thing, there's also the alien-head thing. Mnf Shushu is a good example of that (no hate, I love Shushu anyway haha). I definitely shy away from dolls that have either of these traits.

Another thing is mobility joint. If a body doesn't have a well-functioning mobility joint, it's almost always an absolute no for me. The ability to sit on their legs is another. So many bodies, especially with the hidden joints, can't sit on their legs. I need to be able to put my dolls on display in more compact poses.

I also agree with not liking the fangs/tongues so much. For very certain dolls it can be a nice touch, but I especially don't like it in the realistic sculpts. Teeth, I love, but not tongues.

 

I've been enjoying reading everyone's responses here, and probably all my biggest turn-offs have been mentioned already, but I'll list them anyway.

• I second the childlike faces on adult bodies, and also the childlike faces with heavy makeup (don't think I need to say why lol)
• Totally dislike the man boobs and "muscle mountains with small heads." I'm one of those people who's not into the body builder shape and thinks it looks unnatural and unappealing.
  
• I also feel the "too pretty" or "too perfect" thing. Faces like this aren't very memorable to me. They need to have some uniqueness or they just don't make much of an impression on me.
  
• One of you mentioned the apples on a stick neck to head proportion and I wholeheartedly agree!! I'm searching high and low right now for a body with a thick enough neck that my incoming head will not look like a bobble-head, haha.
• Over-the-top pear shapes bother me too. I love pear shapes, but when it's beyond all possibility of real human body proportions, it's a no. Especially with a neck that's smaller than the ankle, lol.
• I second the tormented expressions. I love moody dolls, but whether it looks like they're being abused or in total despair, I don't want any of my dolls looking tormented.
  
• On a similar note, I'm someone who's not a fan of super scary dolls. I'm okay with some creepy dolls, but the ones that look really mutilated or wicked disturb me. But then, I'm also not a fan of horror films, so it makes sense.
• Girl bodies with Barbie proportions. I always avoid bodies with big boobs, tiny waist, and that stiff, spindly limbs look.

Wow that seems like a lot. But honestly, I'm open to a pretty wide range of styles in dolls, realistic or stylized. I've ended up owning several dolls I didn't love at first sight because they grew on me and I came to like them.

I've mostly listed aesthetic turn-offs here, but I'm also pretty picky about posing. In the end, I'll probably always pick better posing over aesthetics. But of course, my favorite dolls are the ones with a pretty/natural looking shape and nice posing.

 

I tend to like all dolls. But, in my own collection, I avoid realism. I like my dolls to look pretty/cute, but not like actual people.

I do love seeing the realistic dolls though. I saw some Iplehouse in person and thought they were fantastic.

 

While I wholly recognize the power of a good face up, the actual odds of me getting around to commissioning or doing a face up myself are extremely low, reserved only for special circumstances
It is far too much effort and faith, for a sculpt that I am not even remotely excited for from the start. Why make a doll smile though her pain and boredom, when I can get one who is actually having a good time?

 

There's another thread of turn offs somewhere, which I have a large list of small things, but for specifically things I'm not looking for, I'm not looking for posability. There's a particular company I really like and when you find out their newest body can sit unassisted, it's cause for celebration!

 

Totally agreed, I could care less about hands to face, knees to chest, butt to ankles... If my doll can't stand, she can sit, and if she can't sit either, I'll buy her a stand!

 

@Novalyna and if she can't stand assisted or sit, I'll just make her a bed!!

 

Since I got some responses about "common face" and 3d sculpting has been around longer than I've been annoyed by it I feel like elaborating if anyone cares .

Spoiler: My feelings

It really is for me the same feeling I have about some popular companies dolls right now and a kind of tiktok girl, it's the facial balance itself is for me just too "over perfected" -- when all features are too much the same size and hyper symmetrical in addition to "empty" expressions the effect is created for me.

There are different companies I already didn't love for too much symmetry but slightly more unbalanced proportions made it better at least. 3d rendered faces are the most likely to be too symmetrical and empty for me, but I think it's because this is something you can acheive with 3D, perfect symmetry, and since symmetry is pleasing it's been a natural exploration of the boundary. However there are also artists 3d rendering their sculpts who do make faces I find interesting and full of personality/ humanity. So I meant what I said, it's definitely not just, a dislike of the method of creation entirely. It's just aesthetics I do and don't like.

I think threads like this are always super fun because everyone has their own interests and it's never to say "it's universally good or bad" just what we all get excited about.

 

If a doll's only got one head/face plate, I don't care for crying/tormented expressions. Like, I don't mind a sadboi pout, but full on crying doesn't appeal to me. (Now, if it's an Ob11 type doll where the faceplates can change, I don't mind having a cry face for occasional photos, but they'll usually be wearing a different face.) Also starting to get a little annoyed at how many blindbox dolls just have as their face expression as it strikes me as odd when a whole line of them has that expression. It kind of feels like a vapid stereotype somehow if they're all doing it?

I don't really get the appeal of like 99% of the dolls that have their tongues sticking out. I don't hate them; I just don't get it. I kinda wish I understood since some of them look like fun sculpts; the tongue just doesn't appeal to me.

I do love some smile sculpts (especially smirks; I'm a sucker for a good smirk), but some don't quite hit right. Particularly with semi-real sculpts. Hyper realistic teeth add to the issue, which is wild since I love a lot of sculpts that have stylized teeth and will absolutely require little fangys on a couple YoSD sized characters I have planned.

I tend to prefer stylized sculpts, and this preference gets stronger the younger a character is (adults can be full-on realistic; some of my 1/6 action figures are more realistic inclined). So like, all my YoSD plans have to be anime or anthropomorphic. My more mature dolls can have more realistic sculpts but my art style leans anime so they're getting stylized faceups, regardless. Hyper-realistic young children dolls are a little unsettling to me.

I generally prefer body proportions to be somewhat grounded (with wiggle room for anime/toony head sizing). I don't like ragdoll chonky hands/feet 99% of the time. Unless the character is a ragdoll, ragdoll shaping is almost always a dealbreaker for me. And like, while I certainly appreciate dolls that have thicc hips/thighs (kinda want a Ye Maozi after I cross some higher priority stuff off my list), when they start getting into X-TREEM PEAR territory where the mid-thighs are thicker than their ribcages and their chests are totally flat, I don't like it. I especially dislike this trend when it comes to younger characters/dolls.

 

Plus it still might not work - I have one (off Topic) doll that I sent away to be repainted by a really good artist and even they coudln't make her expression look anything more than sullen. Better to stick to sculpts that are at least neutral enough to faceup some cheer into their epression, or preferably already sculpted with a happy face.

Teddy

 

I guess I’m different from the majority in this thread, I only have childlike dolls, I grew up not trusting adults so I’m not drawn to mature dolls.

I also don’t look for fantasy bjd, pukifee elf ears is the extent of that.

I have a few odd size bjd but I typically don’t look for that because I like to find clothes and shoes easily.

 

this thread is interesting as an angelphilia/open mouth/teeth showing mold fan lol i do think there's something to be said about over exaggerated (x-rated?) expressions, the flexibility is pretty limited there.

for me, i love when a doll artist has a distinctive style, so what's on trend sometimes looks very repetitive to me. i've learned over time to avoid dolls with bad posing, and it's slowly made me want to collect less resin dolls. i just can't deal with restringing anymore! u_u;;;

 

I haven't thought about this much myself before, but reading others' comments has definitely made me put some thought into it!

I tend to avoid dolls with more joints than I think are necessary. Waist joints and neck joints tend to annoy me more than anything. Most of the dolls I've handled with those have been super kicky and fickle with posing, and they're not very aesthetically pleasing to me. I know that can be mitigated with restringing and sueding, but sometimes the doll just doesn't feel worth the effort.

I also can't handle dolls that have individually defined teeth. My Luts Sweety Bliss head is fine because his teeth are all smoothed out like in a cartoon. But having each and every individual tooth sculpted in detail creeps too far into the uncanny valley for me.

I also avoid dolls that have sad or grumpy looks on their faces. My dolls are here to make me happy, and I want them to be happy too! Thankfully some droopier mouth sculpts can be painted into a smile, or at least a neutral expression.

 

I can see that I'm in the minority when it comes to sleeping dolls... which I like more than the open-eyed ones lol

I read the whole thread before posting here and I love the versatility

Honestly, when it comes to dolls, there are two areas of aspects I'm not fond of: sculpting and styling.

As for the sculpting, I avoid dolls that are super skinny, super-long-legged, super muscled (both manly and girly-face-on-Arnold-Schwarzenegger body), overly-large breasted, overly voluptuous and tall (I only collect SDs, but they must be within the 55-62cm range). Also, all the super-unrealistic, small-nosed, huge eyed dolls. I used to have some e.g. Volks Myu/Sakura, but her nose was flat and her face animesque. I liked that. However, I don't like protruding AND thin, tiny noses.

As for styling, anything that's too weird, gloomy, demonic. I love goth, post-mortem like portraits that give the uncanny valley vibe, but I just don't like tacky halloween stuff on dolls. Also, I don't like long-haired boys (which I own myself), but I mean when they're super realistic eg. like the Venitu boys, but that's because of a personal bias: IRL all such men were usually super self-centred, so unless a doll boy is strictly feminine/effeminate/crossdressing, etc, I don't like the metalhead/headbanger-like look (as much as I appreciate all the effort that went into its realism). I don't like overly 'misty' or "airbrushed" makeup. I like more defined, sharp features, freckles, etc. When I have the feeling that everything is just pastel powder, e.g. no lines on the eyebrows, etc, I just avoid it. Besides, I don't like the old-fashioned lolita shoes... and I don't mean the platforms.

I honestly like "boring" dolls lol xD The sleepier, the more average-built, the more generic, the better xD

 

It is cool how a lot of us have different needs when it comes to our dolls. A friend of mine always tests if her dolls can stand on one leg! And yes. all 60+ dolls in her collection can do so You two would probably have fun tuning up your dolls together.
Personally my acceptance of posing flaws is more of a laziness than anything It takes a lot more patience to have more criterias, I think, so let me just applaud you right back, nay, let me give you a "standing" ovation

My eyes were first opened to the other side of this when my friend on the forum said open mouth dolls look like they're about to sneeze I can't unsee it, but I'm still team open mouth/teef.
I can see potential in the x-rated faces! I've seen them posed like the are singing, yawning, enjoying a snack, making a silly face for the camera So cute! But I don't collect dolls with o-face, because I don't want x-rated comments about my dolls, and I know some of my family members would totally tease me about it

I also agree about the style, when you look at them you wouldn't mistake them for any other maker. I think there's something special about that
That reminded me of something else I DON'T look for in a doll! I don't look for my dolls to match each other in any way. I don't need them to look like they live in the same universe, or to be of the same scale, or even share clothes.
And, maybe something I probably should look for but don't, is clothing availability I am trying to push myself to learn to sew and craft more, so if the shape is exaggerated too much to dress easily I really don't care! But since I don't look either way, sometimes I get dolls that are very easy to dress too

And something that's somewhat recently changed, I used to not consider dolls with fantasy feet. But when I realized you don't have to buy doll shoes for dolls with fantasy feet, I've become totally against buying dolls with animal features and human feet! When you can have paw or claw feet and never have to buy shoes for them ever, it seems like such a waste to give them human feet???

 

I’m cracking up. I specifically bought my first head because of his open mouth and optional mouth pieces, especially the tongue, and it seems like this is a common “heck no” for a lot of people. My next doll I’m waiting on also has eyes that aren’t completely open, which seems to be another thing most people aren’t on board with.

I personally find myself put off by the anime style dolls. Not that I don’t like them for other people. I still like seeing them, they’re just not something I would ever want in my collection. The too boyish faces on big hunky sculpts is also something I don’t quite understand. Though, as a newbie, I haven’t seen too many “mature” or truly “manly” faces. It seems they are a newer development. Though I may be wrong, I’m so new I don’t even own a complete doll yet.

I really love how this hobby even gives us all the chance to have such different aesthetics and preferences and still share a love for the dolls.

 

Personally, I don't like dolls that look too young, which can being a 1/4 size collector a little challenging at times! MNF + Souldoll are where it's at for me.

I stay away from creepy or disturbing sculpts. I also stay away from overly exaggerated bustlines.

I don't even really look for too much when it comes to posing - can she stand? can she sit? then we're good to go!

 

.

 

I don't care much for sleeping sculpts, I would only consider one if it had an open-eye variant that I either own or like enough to buy. I prefer most pictures of my dolls to be awake; and while I would kinda like to have some sleeping pics I would not want to mod a head for them. But few companies do sleeping variants of their sculpts.
I do not like round faces that have no chin. Many of the smaller "babyish" looking dolls have really round faces, practically a sphere, and I don't find it particularly appealing, it's even worse if their cheeks are really pronounced, they look a like a chipmunk.
Bizarre or horror sculpts are a solid no. Some are kinda interesting looking, but I would never care to own one.
Teeth... I don't always mind open mouth, but I don't like the idea of always seeing a doll's full row of teeth.
Eyes too large for the doll's face. This takes out most anime style sculpts and some big-eyed yosd. I prefer eye size to lean to realistic rather than exaggerated.
As I prefer male dolls I mostly ignore female dolls unless the sculpt is on the androgynous side. Most female bodies don't appeal to me and the ones I do like are small chested.

 

Something I hadn't thought about during my first post that your response brought to mind, re: vinyl.

When I got into doll collecting, I started out with Pullip—many of whom were either on the vinyl type 2 body, or got hybrided with Obitsu soft-bust bodies. Honestly, I had my share of issues dealing with vinyl and the fragileness that comes with their internal skeletons, and I don't miss the woes of having them break and need to either be repaired or replaced. Often times it always seemed to be in the most inconvenient areas where it breaks too—like in a hard to reach spot in the back, or at the base of the legs. Plus, I'm not a big fan of how fragile and easily stainable vinyl tends to be. Vinyl's honestly on my "What I don't search for in a doll", with the minor exception of a Granado Vindoll, or other muscle vinyl boy, just for the sake of having a luscious squishy boy.

I'd probably treat them like they're delicate flowers if I ever do get my hands on one of those boys

 

Haha I loved reading your post @shelbert
I'm the exact opposite. I mainly collect msd and am repelled from sculpts that look too manga/anime like or have baby faces. I tend more towards mature faces which often have smaller eyes lol. But open mouth seems to much of a hassle for me aswell, so I stay away from that.

 

This thread is a very insteresting read, I saw listed some things that I thought was just me being overly picky, so I'm glad to see I'm not alone. In fact I was quite surprised even to see that generally a lot of people don't like the mouth slightly open with some teeth, I see so many sculpts like that that I assumed it was something the majority of people like. I don't personally hate it but I don't like it either, it's fine if the teeth are barely showing but it's a no-no if it's very obvious or can't be concealed, it feels very single expression doll in that case to me. Other things I avoid in my dolls are:

• Child faces in adult bodies or mature minis.
• Fixed expressions without versatility. I have nothing against sculpts with tongue out for example, as long as that's not the only expression they can do, if the tongue is a separate part or you get multiple faceplates then it's great but if it is the only expression they have then no. Same with sleeping faces and sad pouty ones. I had a sleeping faceplate for a doll once, I used it like 3 times in the many years I had the doll, it was a waste. I've had sad pouty dolls over the years and I found out they just make me sad so no. I don't include in this category smiling/smirking or angry/grumpy faces because for some reason I do like those a lot...
• Over perfected, hyper symmetrical dolls lacking of personality and soul.
  
• Lower joint in the neck. I find it very unappealing, as well as some lower hip joints that I find quite useless. I do like the waist joint though, I think it's the most natural place to have a torso joint in terms of realistic posability even if aesthetically the best would be a body torso without joints.
  
• Overly muscly bodies, six pack and also unrealistically/cartoonish big boobs and hips with tiny torso and shoulders.
  
• Horror dolls. I don't like horror films, video games or books so it makes sense.
• Bodies that are thin and overly sculpted and they end up looking like they haven't eaten in weeks, what I think it's more common to find among fashion doll sizes that I've seen so far.
  
• Big eyes, tiny nose and mouth, pointy chin. Makes the doll look like a classic alien, what is funny because my first doll was quite like that, and it's one of the main reasons I sold her too. One of those things you don't think about much when you get the doll and as time passes you notice it and then you can't unsee it

 

I don't have a ton of things I absolutely can't do, but I can't handle the sculpts with big, open-mouthed, creepy grins or AP dolls in general. The proportions, the "O" face...that's my biggest NOPE.

I also am not a fan of anime-style dolls - I enjoy seeing them, but they just don't vibe with my collection.

 

My Dolly No-go list:

-pierced ears (I hate it on me so why would I pay for a doll that has this)
-large bust (difficulty with clothes/just not my aesthetic)
-mature sculpts (I like seeing them in other people's collections but not something I'd personally like to own)
-face-ups that has too much of a "make-up" look (this is hard to describe and I don't think I'm getting it across super well but like when the sculpt is made to look totally different through the face-up)
-3-piece torsos (they don't look nice and the while theoretically the posing range it greater they're just too much hassle for me, solid torso all the way)

 

Generally:

- Child looking dolls. I don't really have any child characters, and a lot of them just are... eh.
- Six packs or extremely shredded bodies. Especially when the head itself is small.
- A lack of nose bridge, I like strong noses.
- While I do have a couple of dolls I like that do have open mouths, I tend to dislike them more on average.

 

Just glancing at the title of this thread, I understood it as "things you're not actively looking for". And my immediate thought was: posing. I know for a lot of people, having a posable doll is important. I have a friend who values posability as much as looks. I'm completely the other way. I'd rather have a doll that looks beautiful and elegant but with limited posing. I just want a doll that looks nice. I don't need it to be capable of doing dolly yoga.

 

It's interesting to read through the variety of things people have aversions to.
Things I avoid are:

-Extreme Bobble heads. I just find that look really off-putting. My only exception is the child/imp-like Fairyland Real Puki and Puki Puki dolls
-Anime-style sculpts. They just look too...basic? Plain? for my taste.
-More realistic sculpts. I have a couple of Granado mature tinies, but I prefer semi-stylized fantasy dolls.
-Extreme expressions. I like my dolls to be neutral to cheerful. A bit smirky or wistful is fine, but not more than that.

 

I don't like the "floating" kneecaps or elbows on some double jointed doll bodies. They put me off for some reason.

Also, I am not a fan of hyper-realistic head sculpts or faceups. I definitely lean toward the anime side.

Super-buff male doll bodies. I prefer my guys to be lean.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Generally I don't look for:
-1/4 or smaller dolls
-Realistic proportions
-overly happy expressions.
-Girl dolls (for the most part)
-Single joints on the leg (I need my kneeling poses )

I'm a fan of gloomy men honestly. I really love exaggerated proportions on my male dolls. In either direction, so small and dainty they could easily be mistaken for a girl, or the dolls that are almost entirely muscles. As for girl dolls, I've always preferred male dolls so I generally don't look for them. The few that I want to buy....end up being modded into boys one way or another lol. I adore pictures of them though.
I'm also pretty particular about head sizes, I like them to be in the general ball park of my other dolls. But my ocs have such varied heights I don't get too concerned about it
I actually do really love open mouths too, like the slight lips parted...I think its really cute

 

I like other people's collections of realistic dolls. But it's not for me. I don't look for dolls with more realistic proportions. I like my bobble heads I won't deny that the faceups with textured skin and intricate bushing are beautiful, but again not for me. I guess I prefer a more cartoony look!

Lol I realized my love of stylized proportions goes way back to childhood. I loved my Bratz more than Barbie (Though I collected her too!)