Doll faceups & trust

[Dreamy Doll]

Since I was encouraged to make a new topic, I did~!

I have read the already posted opinions loud and clear, I don't need them repeated ad nauseam~ But you're welcome to give new info~! (and since this is not a thread just for me, you're also welcome to post your stated opinions once, however, do not direct them at me, but at the general audience~!)

So here, talk about trusting someone enough to send a doll to them for a faceup~!

Also, hopefully answers to these questions:

1) Does Volks do faceups on dolls that are NOT manufactured OR sold by Volks?
Answer: "Simple answer! No. hehe" -Thank you Kirahfaye ^^

2) do other companies offer faceups for dolls NOT manufactured or sold by them?
Answer: "I know of ONE... a new company that is just starting production, Sweet Dolls" -Thank you Yanagi-sen ^^
Answer: Yes -- http://www.vier4d.com/ -Thank you Sillypeach ^^

3) Are there unreliable companies that offer faceups/unreliable bjd companies in general?
Answer: "there are some unreliable bjd companies our there, for sure. ———most if not all companies offer face-ups as an option." (collecting answers/list of companies to avoid and why)

4) Have you ever had any bad experiences with faceups?
Answers: Read the thread~!


Tutorial: How to choose a faceup artist -Thank you happyknot ^^

To the faceup artists (and their happy customers): This thread is NOT to put you down, or show any of you in a bad light~! This thread is just here to discuss the problems (and solutions, what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's, who-to-sends and who-not-to-sends, and so on~) and to learn new information~ Nothing is carved in stone about anything~ The purpose of this thread is to help out those who are unsure about sending a beloved doll to a faceup (for example, after reading horror stories of things gone wrong, or just because it's a huge leap of faith). The purpose of this thread is also not to advance the business of (any) facecup artist(s)~

Keeping the above in mind... Let's post~! And let's have fun~! Even if we disagree, let's not bicker~ There's always new stuff to learn, no one knows everything ^^

[Kirahfaye]

1) Simple answer! No. hehe

2) Again - no.

3) Not sure I understand the question precisely, but there are some unreliable bjd companies our there, for sure. To my knowledge (limited though it is) most if not all companies offer face-ups as an option.

4) My only bad experience was with my first doll. Then again, the whole experience with her was not the best from the get-go. She (a BBB paper-white Mei) arrived from the dealer company with a poor face-up - I believe she was a display model and was handled by customers who didn't know any better. I had become acquainted with a college age girl on DOA who offered face-up services for a good price so I sent the doll's head to her. What was to be a 2 week dollieh spa session became a 3 month anxiety issue. Without getting into details, her family ended up having severe financial problems and she had to return home. She had no computer and no transportation of her own so I heard from her about every couple of weeks, promising to return my doll head to me. Finally after about 3 months she did. And the face-up was meh, on top of it all.

Still that didn't cause me to stop trusting people with my doll face-ups. Like I said in the other thread, I've had Ban Sidhe (DOA) do a couple of my doll heads as well as ArrowChild. I'd love to have Kiki do one for me, but she has such a long waiting list - and I'm too impatient! LOL! And there are several dozen high-end face-up artists who's work is highly prized by those of greater financial means than myself.

I also have a doll with a factory face-up - though I really don't like that term. The "factory" artists are skilled artisans in their own right and my Limhwa To-You Sara's tiny face certainly required someone used to such delicate work.

I hope that helped some!

[Yanagi-sen]

1) Does Volks do faceups on dolls that are NOT manufactured OR sold by Volks?

No. Why would they? It is in their best interest to have people buy THEIR dolls.

2) do other companies offer faceups for dolls NOT manufactured or sold by them?

I know of ONE... a new company that is just starting production, Sweet Dolls. Although it's really the fact that the company face up artist accepts commissions. Here are a couple shots of a custom NOT DEFAULT face up:





3) Are there unreliable companies that do faceups?

Considering nearly all companies only do their own dolls... this is a moot point. Are there unreliable companies? Sometimes. You get people doing knockoffs, you have production issues, you have just poor management, but you get that in ANY industry. Are there companies that do poor face ups? Yes, or at least BORING ones. Custom all the way for me!

4) Have you ever had any bad experiences with faceups?

No. I mean, Riou (BBB Espree boy) arrived with the standard blah gray BBB face up... but that was quickly remedied by a trip to visit my favorite face up artist, Kiki-chan78. Heck, Nagi and Momiji went to her FIRST, straight from Junkyspot and Luts to get their custom face ups before even coming to me. So they were pretty right out of the packaging when they arrived. Personally, I would only ever send to Kiki. Not that other artists aren't good (and actually I do my own 1/6 and tinies) but I love her work and she is really good at giving me what I'm asking for. ^_________^

[Dreamy Doll]

Thank you Yanagi-sen~! Especially for the information on Sweet Dolls, I'll add it as an answer~! The pics you posted are really cool, and show a really cool faceup~! I'm impressed! ^-^

[Kirahfaye]

Slight segway .... if you haven't done so already, take a look that the face-up threads in the Sell Your Skills sub-forum. The face-up artists post photos of previously commissioned dolls. When you get a face-up from the manufacturer, you get a standard one - and everyone else who gets that doll gets a very similar one (none of them can be exactly alike). Now I have a friend who is very knowledgeable about ABJDs and always gets the company face-up because that is the look she wants. (Then again she mostly buys from one company.) Commissioning a face-up artist is similar to finding a hair stylist. Each one has their own particular style although most will work to make your doll look as close as they can to what your vision is.

Again, back on track!

[Dreamy Doll]

Thank you, you made good points there :3 i personally think I'll order the company faceup, because i really like them~ But I did ask the artist if he would do custom faceups that are not "in stock"~ He hasn't answered yet, but I'm hopeful~!

Tho they have a good selection of faceups that I really really like~! ^^; so... i'm not at a loss either way ^^

[happyknot]

Hello Dreamy Doll! I hope my in-put is useful to some degree.

Choosing a face-up artist is in some ways like other online transactions; it involves doing your research about the person offering the service. It involves trust and a degree of risk.

Things To Look Out For: Damage during transit due to improper packaging ~ broken doll head or scratched face-up. This can be prevented by using a box double the size of the head, lots of bubble wrap and a protective face mask or tissue. Sometimes artists provide plastic face masks for an extra fee.

Lost during transit ~ can be prevented with tracking or sign on arrival but not always. This is always a risk when you put anything in the mail. It makes me nervous.

Theft due to artist being a fraud ~ can be prevented by making sure they have excellent feedback for all transactions including general sales, from many people and are generally well liked wherever they post (example:check Ebay and Etsy feedback, blogs, galleries where comments are allowed)

Poor quality work due the use of improper materials or methods ~ can be prevented by carefully studying their gallery pictures and customer images as well as feedback. Your best bet is to make sure they also have some macro shots (close-up) pictures, particularly of eyelashes. Look out for shiny faces, clumpy blush and chunky or gummy lashes which indicates a poor sealer or improper use of sealer and low quality chalk pastels and paints. Some artists will photoshop their pictures so try to see customer images of the artist's work too.

~*~
Just to reiterate, do Rearch the artist as thoroughly as you can. This means they must have excellent feedback for their face-ups and if available other online business transactions like Etsy or Ebay. Look for praise and positive public relations in their blogs, facebook, twitter, public galleries, Tumblr - essentially wherever else they link to that is available for public viewing and commenting. If people have been unhappy with the artist you will find that in the comments so it's a good bet to check those things. Look for customer images of the artist's face-ups to see what they really look like because the artist may have photoshop or are particularly good with lighting to make their work look better than it is.

~*~

When you choose an artist, pick them because you like their style. Don't expect an artist to re-create another style you saw somewhere else. Example: you can't expect Ravendolls to do eyelashes like SDInk. (I recommend both of these artist btw)

Do not expect the outcome to exactly match your desire - artists aren't machines or psychic. Discuss before hand what their revision policies are. Some artists charge extra if they have to re-do something on the face-up.

Wait times vary - popular artists have massive waiting lists. You can end up waiting a long time to get a chance at their services and you can end up waiting 3 months for them to be finished. Do check their lists and posted waiting times. If they don't have that you should message them.

If there is anything about their service you are unsure about always ask them first.

I will post again if I think of anything else!

[Dreamy Doll]

7+ months? People build apartment buildings and houses in that time, or less~! How can anyone accept that? I would never accept that kind of behaviour~! o.o Thanks for sharing, Sillypeach~!

[Alopecia No Hime]

7+ months? People build apartment buildings and houses in that time, or less~! How can anyone accept that? I would never accept that kind of behaviour~! o.o Thanks for sharing, Sillypeach~!

Alright I gotta say this...Dude chill out. Between customs, shipping, ect plus various heads and personal stuff including possibly having other business offers like custom outfits or body blushing it's understandable and perfectly acceptable a wait as long as the wait was worth it. Just because you wouldn't accept it doesn't mean no one else would.

I had a terrible and I mean terrible experience with trying to commission someone for a wig and custom eyes. I never got them in my possession either. (which she didn't listen to anything I said. I wanted long enough to be in a ponytail, she took inspiration from an anime and copied the hair style and made it too small....Even after I gave her exact measurements and didn't even tell me anything or try to contact me after she got busy with her own life. When I finally got back to her, her excuse was: "I thought you had moved on and I had given up hope." Like it was MY fault every attempt at contacting her was ignored or brushed off.) As far as the artists mentioned they have excellent feedback and it's personally my hope to one day have a head painted by them at least by either Arrowchild or Kiki-chan. Kiki's face up's are beautiful, they always captivate me. Even when doing 1/6th scale the details are amazing. (Just look at pics of her Chibi Derp.) If one decides to get a custom face up I'd choose based on your instincts first. If you don't feel right don't do it.

If you wanna know more about my incident look in the feedback section. Feedback is extremely important. We have a term in that section that goes: "Been screwed? WARN THE REST OF US!" Don't pick someone who's screwed someone over.

[Dreamy Doll]

I've checked out the Feedback section, it's very helpful~! ^^;

edit: after reading 1.5 pages through, i say it's... not AS helpful as i thought - i mean, there's no way to find the negative feedback or warnings, they're all just by name :s do you really have to check each out individually or...?

But really, no~ If you do art FOR FREE, take all your time. If you do it FOR MONEY = AS A BUSINESS - don't give me excuses, I'm not interested. Sorry to say this so harshly, but it's true~! (This is not directed at you or anyone specifically, this is directed at any commercial artist in general) if some sculptors can manage a statue out of eight tons of marble in 7 months or less, I really don't see how a few inches of paints and lacquers and other stuff can take 7 months~ I'm sorry, I just don't~ And I also don't understand why the artist can't say: "Hey, don't send it yet, i won't be able to start working on it as soon as it arrives, wait a few weeks, i'll let you know when to send it", etc~

Again, if you can't say to your boss at an office "oh hey, i have personal stuff, but i'll get this paperwork done by maybe next month, instead of tomorrow", then why can a professional artist say that~?

As someone who's not an artist of any sort, I just don't get it~