I was just wondering how large should my doll be... (sorry if this thread already exists or if it is too boring) In so many bjd forums there is always a thread about doll sizes. Some prefer MSD, others prefer 70cm or bigger, others prefer no taller than 30cm. But those threads are for people who collect dolls, what about people who sculpt them? What's you favorite size to work with? Do you try your doll to fit in with some common size, so one could find clothes easily or they would fit in your doll family? Do you choose a large size so you can make a very detailed anatomy or maybe a small one to save on materials? Share your thoughts!
I like 1/3, exactly 1/3. I find that it strikes the right balance between being small enough to be maneuverable and large enough that sculpting detail doesn't require squinting and breath-holding. Sculpting at 1/3 (and not 70) means I can compare my measurements more easily with anatomy books. Not all 1/3 are created equal though! If I were trying to sculpt my way lots of 60cm dolls would be sculpted at around 55ish.
I think I like sculpting in the 40-50cm range. I tried to sculpt a tiny for a quick project, but I just couldn't stand it. I don't know how people string such small dolls, and the parts would be quite fragile. Definitely wouldn't be able do make peanut joints or anything complex. Because of that I didn't finish that doll I like to make my dolls in somewhat standardized sizes, though I haven't managed to make a doll as large as 60cm (I tried but he came out smaller). For the dolls I buy, I like 40, 50, 60cm dolls. I like how 40cm dolls are easy to handle and hold, but many of the doll sculpts I love are about 60cm (and I like the presence they have).
I'm a 1/3 girl, through and through, and the more realistic body proportions the better - even though I can see the allure of art bodies. 1/3 is easier to sculpt as well - but there's also the fact that producing such a big doll is expensive. For my first casting project, I made a 27 cm girl, because I guessed that I'd probably make some mistakes and a small doll would be less dramatic if mistakes turned up. That was probably a good idea - silicone (what I'm using for the moulds) is really expensive, so mistakes are costly indeed and you need quite a lot to cast. So yeah...my favourite size is 1/3, but first casting project was a 27 cm. ^.^
I dont know why, but I always like sculpting tiny itty bitty dolls that are nearly micro dolls. It would probably be easier on a larger scale, but idk if I could do a larger scale because I'm always drawn to the tiny and micro size (11cm and down).
I like tiny dolls - in the 9-27cm range ) I like things that can fit in your hand. I find them easier to manipulate and they just appeal to me more. There are so many beautiful msd sculpts - I've owned a mini fee and a doll chateau Bella - but unfortunately, I just found them too large. Also, even though yosds fit in this range, I don't find their childish proportions that appealing. But, each to their own! I love the diversity of the hobby and even if I have my preferences, I still enjoy looking at photos of all kinds of dolls.
I like the larger dolls 60-70 cm. To me they look like sculpture and they feel more "real" somehow, like yukamina said they "have presence". So that's the size I opted for when I started on my first doll. Looking back at it, I probably should have tried sculpting a tiny first. As I don't actually own a bjd, nor have seen one in the" flesh/resin", I don't have a model to see how everything works. So it would have been more practical in terms of materials and time just to see how all the joints work and figure out all the practical bits. I made lots of mistakes. But I don't regret it, as I wouldn't have been satisfied with a small doll. I'm spending more time and money on it, but I'm getting it perfect (for me :-) ) And as for materials, I'm using Ladoll and Premier, so they are reconstitutionable and reusable to a certain extent. Actually I think anatomy would be easier for me on a small doll, I'm used to working with miniature things and I find it easier to see overall picture of what's going on with proportions. Choose what appeals to you personally, than you'll feel passionate about it and it will be a success.
Shortly after discovering ball-jointed dolls, I went to a local meet-up and was able to see a range of doll sizes from very small, through mid-sized, all the way up to the large 60-70 cm resin beauties, and I very quickly decided that I liked the large resin girls the best. As others have mentioned, they seem to have presence that the other sizes do not have. The most amazing resin doll that I have had a chance to hold was a Dollmore Lusion Dahlia 80cm. Recently, Dollmore has come out with an even larger Trinity doll that is 105cm tall, and I think that is just about the right size for a multimedia figurative sculpture which can be displayed in MY home. If I lived in a smaller place, then I might think twice about it, but I live in a house that is just the right size for a larger doll. A Dollmore Trinity is on my wishlist, along with a Dollmore Lusion Dahlia 80cm. Hey, it's a wish list... I can put anything I want on it, right? Based on my experiences seeing a full range of sizes of resin BJDs, when I decided to make my own BJD, I realized that if I was going to spend the time to make one, then I wanted a large girl. So I am making a 70cm girl. After total shrinkage of all the materials was calculated, my original 70cm oil-clay figure should end up at about 63cm, cast in doll composition slip. The original oil-clay figure had 0% shrinkage. That figure was translated into carving wax, which has a shrinkage rate of about 3%. The doll composition slip has a shrinkage rate of about 6%. So the total shrinkage rate for all the materials is about 9%. 70cm minus 6.3cm ends up at 63.7cm, just about perfect for my first BJD. I enjoy working on doll parts that I can hold on to, and that are easy to work on, as others have said, without having to squint too much, or do too much breath holding. I think she is going to be exactly what I want in a ball-jointed doll: a multimedia figurative sculpture to live in my home and make my home a more wonderful place to be in, as well as a mannequin for draping and designing clothes, and also be a photographer's model, and maybe an artist's model to pose for drawings as well. I try to do a little bit of work on my doll every day. As a result, she is coming along, slowly but surely. EDITED TO ADD: I am currently on version 3 of my first BJD, and with this version I freed myself from the idea that clothes, shoes, or wigs made for other BJDs have to fit my doll, or that the clothes, shoes, and wigs that I make for my doll, have to fit other dolls. My BJD has no body type, height, arm length, leg length, shoe size, head circumference, or any other constraints on her design. I am making her exactly like I want her to be, and she does not have to conform to any existing BJD or ABJD size formats, such as SuperDolfie, or anything else. When I decided to do this, it was trully liberating. (^_^)
To collect, I lean towards the SD13 size and the Pukipuki size. To make, I prefer 60 cm now, because I've got a body ready that size, but any new doll will probably be 1/4: my oven prefers that size. Unless, of course, 1/4 doesn't sell as well as 1/3... I definitely have enough commercial interest to be motivated by it .
Thank you for answering! silk, A commercial interest is a good motivation but I always thought that 1/4 sizes sold just the same as 1/3 because so many people find the larger dolls too large :P Do you think the 1/3 sell better than the other sizes? kwmelvin, well Dahlia and Trinity definitely have presence! They are very beautiful but I've only seen them in photos I liked what you've said about freeing yourself from the other doll sizes (for wigs, clothes and so on). It is very liberating indeed, one stops trying to fit the doll into a certain type but can truly follow the inspiration. That's my permanent battle: I try to make a doll that can share the foot size and the height with other dolls, so it's easier to find shoes and she can fit in better with other dolls her size, but it makes everything so difficult and boring. It's much more fun to let the imagination fly but then I start worrying about people not wanting to buy her because there are no clothes for her. (that is if I want to sell her :P) nia2010, well I'm glad that anatomy on a small doll can be easy for some people, it gives me courage to at least try I also used Ladoll but now I'm using some cheap ceramic clay that I found in a shop nearby and I like it as well. I've tried to make a 42cm tall doll but for some reason she grew to be 46cm tall. And she was also supposed to be a bit of a fat doll, and so I'm leaving her be for now because she turned to be so large that it would be too expensive for me to make silicon molds and then cast her. I would need so much material! Totally impossible for now. That a reason for a smaller doll and if making a tall one then make her veeery thin. But the large ones do look more like a sculpture rather than just a toy! I can just imagine them staying in a gallery and not being completely lost due to their size. aneemal, oh, the dolls that do fit in your hand a very cute, well maybe the word is not cute but endearing. (sorry, I cannot think of a right word now :/) I like them as well, but sometimes I feel that they should have more weight or something. I've made a 19cm doll once, she posed well but also was just a bit too tiny... ( I also enjoy looking at photos of different dolls even if it's not something I'd like to own or to sculpt myself, it just won't be my style, I guess) leopardessmoon, I don't think I have ever seen a doll 5cm tall! clarinetplayer, when I make a sketch for a future doll I tend to draw it smaller than I want the doll to be. Then I have enlarge the drawing to see that I still like the same doll on a larger scale! I've tried a few times making really small dolls, but my fingers get soooo tired and it's very hard to get the tiny details right, like the fingers or the nose are just too complicated for me. Daiin, the costs are expensive. I thought about casting a doll in silicon as the first layer and then have plaster (gesso) as the next layer. So the plaster holds the silicon in the right place and you don't need so much of it. I'm horrible at explaining it but I think I seen tutorial about this sort of casting. ( but maybe it doesn't work well with pressure pots and such?) Oh, and I try to think of realistic proportions but always end up with some weird proportions! (I just enjoy weird thing more :P) Yukamina, I think I prefer 40 something rate too. 60cm is already too large for me, I've never even seen them in real life! but I agree they have more presence than the smaller ones. penguu, you mean that a lot of 60cm dolls don't exactly follow the anatomy books proportions? For example lots of the doll have super long legs or their heads are a bit too large... I think I'd like to make a doll around 40cm but that's a bit out of my budget so I'd make a smaller on while saving for the other... I'm sculpting it on my computer so actually the size of the details is not a problem , but it will be when printing . Those are my random thoughts after reading all your opinions. Please, keep on posting, it's all very interesting to read!
Well yes, lots of 60cm dolls, if you judge by their apparent age and proportions, should be shorter than 60cm! But for the sake of being able to find clothes it might be better to just go with the prevailing size/proportions. Doesn't matter if you're making your own clothes or just learning your way, though.
I guess it depends how you look at it. If you are looking at it from a commercial point of view, than yes, sticking with existing stereotypes and proportions is a necessity. If you are approaching it from an artistic point of view, than breaking away from the norm is good. Unique is the best in this case. I have seen my share of seriously hideous (only in my opinion) dolls enjoy great success, because they were different. To each their own. A quote from Dr Seuss: The Lorax said, "Sir! You are crazy with greed. There is no one on earth who would buy that fool Thneed!" But the very next minute I proved he was wrong. For, just at that minute, a chap came along, and he thought the Thneed I had knitted was great. He happily bought it for three ninety-eight I laughed at the Lorax, "You poor stupid guy! You never can tell what some people will buy." Or if you are making a doll for yourself than do whatever the heck you want. Embrace the freedom it allows you. Don't let customization scenarios limit you, there are always options. Originally I thought I might buy a doll, but having had a look around I haven't found anything that fitted my vision exactly. Either the size was wrong, or the joints weren't good enough, or the body type was not to my taste. So I decided to make something that would fulfill my fantasy, and if in the end others like it and want to have it too, great. But that's not my personal end goal. It's not a $100 bill to appeal to everyone and to fit everyone's criteria. I just concentrate on making my doll the best I can in my mind's eye. And as I said before I'm a great believer that if you are genuinely passionate about it and true to yourself others will recognise that. As for proportions, I think all size categories include a more stylised dolly look and a more realistic human look, it depends what you are going for. My personal preference is the middle ground in this matter, but leaning slightly towards a realistic look.
Thanks everyone for your input! I still have my doubts about everything :P but reading all your comments definitely has inspired me to continue with my doll project! nia2010, thank you for the poem! I'll have to read the book now.
I'm all about the big dolls! I have owned 1/6 size and 1/4 size dolls, but sold them all because it wasn't my size. I only go for 60-70cm dolls, maybe taller if I found one that would interest me. But I wouldn't collect Lusion Dahlia size, that's my limit - way too huge for me because of the proportions. But in the future of my sculpting career, I think I might sculpt a little smaller doll as my first whole doll. Just to get the hang of it, so I won't waste so much material if everything went wrong with a bigger doll. But for now I'm sticking to sculpting heads and then move from there to whole dolls. All my heads will be SD sized.
1/6th or smaller in my case. The first time i saw a BJD i actually thought they were all barbie sized then i saw a box opening and saw just how big some of them are.
Completely agree. Mature is definitely my favorite, but I do have some childlike dolls. However, when I sculpt my own they will be mature. When I first started in the hobby I favored the larger (SD) size. But as I evolved in the hobby and I learned more I now lean toward tinies. I "downsized" my collection... literally!!! I sold most of my large and medium sized dolls for tinies. My favorite company since the beginning was Fairyland. If I'm going to pay small fortunes for dolls that articulate - they'd better well hold a pose! However, lately, my favorite company is DreamHigh Studio and is the only company I know that makes a double-jointed body in 7cm!!!! That's impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
