Kindly indulge me while I think something over in writing. Thanks in advance.
I've been fussing over getting a Volks Dollfie Dream for a short while now, specifically this one: Yukino is very pretty. She really doesn't look like other dolls I have, that's for sure, as she's the anime style that I've never been super-crazy about (I've never really enjoyed anime since "Star Blazers," back when it was just "Japanese cartoons," which dates me, I think). I've been finding some photographs online, though, that make these dolls look really amazing, and at Marcon last month I was rather bombarded with the Japanese aesthetic and anime style and may have finally started to grok it.
So why add one more damn doll style to my general collection?
I've been selling off dolls to make this hobby more self-sustaining for my and my budget's sakes (and to pay taxes, which still plague all of humanity despite deadlines), as I'd gotten into the sloppy habit of buying whatever appealled at that moment. That's major fun, you bet, but when the box actually arrives and all I can think is "Oh, crap, why did I buy this?", it's seriously time to sit back and reconsider. I've reconsidered many dolls right out to the eBay/DoA Marketplace categories; some are stubborn slow sellers, some go within hours (the Tonners go fastest, to no one's surprise, as they're consistently lovely).
I've reconsidered myself into primarily having Volks and Fairyland bjds, Tonner vinyls, porcelain and resin Bleuettes and friends, Monster High, and Rapunzels. Note the primarily, as I just finished an Elfdoll Soah faceup and restringing, and am working on an Obitsu Gretel head for the 50 cm body to put into a local art show along with an outfit/costume I'm working on (last year I did a fairy theme, this year it's an angel. A secular angel. Work that out in your head whilst I continue). I have a few other exceptions, as well (don't even try to pry a Kim Lasher out of my hands, it ain't happenin'), but I've gotten a far better understanding of what I really want and what I really don't, and am sending out and buying based on a clearer focus.
I'm also starting to do a lot of faceups, such as that Obitsu Gretel, which I think again is a result of my focusing in more--I have a clear idea of what I like to see in a doll face, and finally have some of the skills to make those faces and expressions myself. I don't do look-alikes, much as I admire that skill like crazy (check out Shannon Craven's work, it's astoundingly good), because I want each doll to have her own personality come through (and I don't yet have the chops, I admit it). I don't plan what I'm doing to a doll for the most part, I just get out the paints and pencils and start, see what happens, then make changes and corrections (a LOT of corrections) until I think the doll is done. I'm not secure enough yet to sell a doll based on my faceup work, but I'm getting there. I've sold a couple with modified faceups that have gone over well--I prefer lighter lips, for example, and sold both a Delilah Noir and an Evangeline Ghastly based on changing that part of the faceup. That's a nice start.
So what's all this got to do with that Dollfie Dream Yukino? I think, at this point, that if I bloody well want it, then I bloody well want it, and might just buy the damn thing with doll proceeds, then change it as I see fit to get Charlie's Perfect Dollfie Dream Doll.
Then sell it if it pisses me off. ;D
I've been fussing over getting a Volks Dollfie Dream for a short while now, specifically this one: Yukino is very pretty. She really doesn't look like other dolls I have, that's for sure, as she's the anime style that I've never been super-crazy about (I've never really enjoyed anime since "Star Blazers," back when it was just "Japanese cartoons," which dates me, I think). I've been finding some photographs online, though, that make these dolls look really amazing, and at Marcon last month I was rather bombarded with the Japanese aesthetic and anime style and may have finally started to grok it.
So why add one more damn doll style to my general collection?
I've been selling off dolls to make this hobby more self-sustaining for my and my budget's sakes (and to pay taxes, which still plague all of humanity despite deadlines), as I'd gotten into the sloppy habit of buying whatever appealled at that moment. That's major fun, you bet, but when the box actually arrives and all I can think is "Oh, crap, why did I buy this?", it's seriously time to sit back and reconsider. I've reconsidered many dolls right out to the eBay/DoA Marketplace categories; some are stubborn slow sellers, some go within hours (the Tonners go fastest, to no one's surprise, as they're consistently lovely).
I've reconsidered myself into primarily having Volks and Fairyland bjds, Tonner vinyls, porcelain and resin Bleuettes and friends, Monster High, and Rapunzels. Note the primarily, as I just finished an Elfdoll Soah faceup and restringing, and am working on an Obitsu Gretel head for the 50 cm body to put into a local art show along with an outfit/costume I'm working on (last year I did a fairy theme, this year it's an angel. A secular angel. Work that out in your head whilst I continue). I have a few other exceptions, as well (don't even try to pry a Kim Lasher out of my hands, it ain't happenin'), but I've gotten a far better understanding of what I really want and what I really don't, and am sending out and buying based on a clearer focus.
I'm also starting to do a lot of faceups, such as that Obitsu Gretel, which I think again is a result of my focusing in more--I have a clear idea of what I like to see in a doll face, and finally have some of the skills to make those faces and expressions myself. I don't do look-alikes, much as I admire that skill like crazy (check out Shannon Craven's work, it's astoundingly good), because I want each doll to have her own personality come through (and I don't yet have the chops, I admit it). I don't plan what I'm doing to a doll for the most part, I just get out the paints and pencils and start, see what happens, then make changes and corrections (a LOT of corrections) until I think the doll is done. I'm not secure enough yet to sell a doll based on my faceup work, but I'm getting there. I've sold a couple with modified faceups that have gone over well--I prefer lighter lips, for example, and sold both a Delilah Noir and an Evangeline Ghastly based on changing that part of the faceup. That's a nice start.
So what's all this got to do with that Dollfie Dream Yukino? I think, at this point, that if I bloody well want it, then I bloody well want it, and might just buy the damn thing with doll proceeds, then change it as I see fit to get Charlie's Perfect Dollfie Dream Doll.
Then sell it if it pisses me off. ;D
Heck Ya - Buy the Dollie! Thus Saith The TiGGs.
ReplyDeleteTiGGs, you enabler, you! That's why we loves you so much. ;D
ReplyDeleteSo, did you order her?? I like your reasoning--and yeah, figuring out what you want and why makes a big difference. I'm slowly figuring that out for myself, but it's one reason I didn't hop on your resin EG, much as I always thought I'd want one. My two are fine, and I really don't want another one, nor do I want to get rid of one of the two I have to make room for her.
ReplyDeleteI'm really trying to STOP buying dolls, as I had that reaction to the last BJD I got: why did I buy this? Gah. I'm not yet ready to sell him yet, but I might. Now that I have time to think and focus, that is...
She should be here Wednesday. EEEEE!!
DeleteSell the latest boy and buy my resin EG? Actually, all her wigs are scattered, so I'm lowering the price to $275 as she's going to arrive wherever she goes naked, in a random box, with an altered faceup and only one wig. Those wigs aren't the best quality, in any case, but still. For most collector folks that isn't the point!
I have two EG vinyls I'm still trying to unload, too, just haven't gotten pics of them yet. She was a good experiment, but she's is really not my thang. I should have trusted my gut reaction on that one.