New Smartdoll boy

Danny posted two photos on Twitter from the prototype printing of a new boy.

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread and discuss him.

 

 

Wasn't there talk of Danny making a doll of Spike from Cowboy Bebop? I think that second head definitely looks like him.

I must say its been ages since I watched it but the idea of the second being Spike I think is pretty close! cant wait to see more!

Looks like a nice sculpt, looking forward to seeing him. Though aren't we meant to be getting a reveal of a new Smart Doll boy along with the release of his licensed girl?

I'm not sure how I feel about the cheeks (I like more definition in the cheekbones of dude dolls), but DAT NOSE. That is going to be a GLORIOUS schnoz.

 

And it is a match for Spike's nose, looking at the crook near the tip: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/cowboybebop/images/b/bd/Spike_Symbol.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130731193539

I'm not sure how I feel about the cheeks (I like more definition in the cheekbones of dude dolls), but DAT NOSE. That is going to be a GLORIOUS schnoz.

 

And it is a match for Spike's nose, looking at the crook near the tip: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/cowboybebop/images/b/bd/Spike_Symbol.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130731193539

 

The nose was the first thing I noticed too! Looking forward to seeing more of this doll.

Comparing the eye shapes between the two photos, they might be two different heads entirely.

Are both of those heads going to be new guys? I really like the eye shape of the first one... hopefully the rest of it will be nice too. ^^

Comparing the eye shapes between the two photos, they might be two different heads entirely.

 

I'm pretty sure they are. The tweets accompanying the pictures definitely makes it seems like Danny is working on two different male dolls, which I'm super excited for. I hope they have a different body sculpt than Eiji, it would be a shame if they were just different heads with the same body.

Comparing the eye shapes between the two photos, they might be two different heads entirely.

 

I'm pretty sure they are. The tweets accompanying the pictures definitely makes it seems like Danny is working on two different male dolls, which I'm super excited for. I hope they have a different body sculpt than Eiji, it would be a shame if they were just different heads with the same body.

 

Or at least Spike, on the Macho body--he's pretty broad-shouldered in most of the art.

Danny also said three of the licenses from Sunrise he was applying for got accepted, and Cowboy Bebop is a Sunrise property, so maybe that's why he's now able to show the prototype heads. I also think head #2 is Spike, but now I'm super curious about #1...

 

Sunrise also owns Gundam, fwiw. And Accel World and Love Live!, but those two, if Danny gets them, will be girls.

 

(edited to make my sentences make sense )

Danny also said three of the licenses from Sunrise he was applying for got accepted, and Cowboy Bebop is a Sunrise property, so maybe that's why he's now able to show the prototype heads. I also think head #2 is Spike, but now I'm super curious about #1...

 

Sunrise also owns Gundam, fwiw. And Accel World and Love Live!, but those two, if Danny gets them, will be girls.

 

(edited to make my sentences make sense )

 

Yes please for kuroyukihime!

Danny also said three of the licenses from Sunrise he was applying for got accepted, and Cowboy Bebop is a Sunrise property, so maybe that's why he's now able to show the prototype heads. I also think head #2 is Spike, but now I'm super curious about #1...

 

Sunrise also owns Gundam, fwiw. And Accel World and Love Live!, but those two, if Danny gets them, will be girls.

 

(edited to make my sentences make sense )

 

Yes please for kuroyukihime!

 

this would be awesome!

 

Code Geass is sunrise, too, right? That would be awesome.

Danny also said three of the licenses from Sunrise he was applying for got accepted, and Cowboy Bebop is a Sunrise property, so maybe that's why he's now able to show the prototype heads. I also think head #2 is Spike, but now I'm super curious about #1...

 

Sunrise also owns Gundam, fwiw. And Accel World and Love Live!, but those two, if Danny gets them, will be girls.

 

(edited to make my sentences make sense )

 

Yes please for kuroyukihime!

 

this would be awesome!

 

Code Geass is sunrise, too, right? That would be awesome.

 

Ah, I would love Code Geass dolls. I'm secretly hoping for Inuyasha, but I kind of doubt it would happen...

Sunrise.. Hah, Gintama was also animated by them, but the chances of a smart doll Gintoki aren't so good. I know that one of my friends would be ecstatic if it did happen. xD

 

Gundam is probably their most iconic series though, and it definitely has worldwide appeal..

I didn't think Spike would still be relevant enough to make a character from. They style and feel of anime that is popular now has changed sooo much.

But I immediately thought of Spike when I saw that nose! I would be beyond happy to have Spike!!

I'm a little afraid though I have loved Spike a looooong time now and the SMD heads are just too flat.

Get a sculptor bro!

If he did get licenses from sunrise it has to be Spike though no one else has that nose!

 

@poofiemus

Spike is broad shouldered, but he's pretty lanky if the new body is supposed to be buff it won't really fit. He's very cut but not big. He's Bruce Lee inspired.

Of course we haven't seen the body so who knows

I'm a little afraid though I have loved Spike a looooong time now and the SMD heads are just too flat.

Get a sculptor bro!

 

To be fair, the flatness is done on purpose (as opposed to being an artefact of 3D modeling) because it's the aesthetic Danny prefers.

 

I think Eiji (who I have) is less flat-faced than the girls, though, for what it's worth, so possibly this will be consistent through the other boys?

Spike Spiegel is always relevant. Always.

Spike Spiegel is always relevant. Always.

Well he is to me haha

 

Ya I get it Danny is trying to make him like a big figure which wouldn't have as much shape to it, I do understand, but I don't like it. On this scale it doesn't look right. I have Eiji too, and it bugs me. If they were more azone-ish in style I don't think it would bother me as much, but adding that dimension with the eyes it doesn't add up with the over all flatness.

 

That said Volks does fall short re-creating characters sometimes because they have added that 3-D look to a 2-D character, so it looks a bit off.

It's tough to do but I'm glad they do

I think the issue with Eiji is he looks 3D modelled. You can see a lot of planar surfaces on his face, rather than subtle curves. If you sculpt something, you can shave and build up detail to make small things smoother and natural. It would really help if he 3D printed and then gave the thing to a sculptor to putty & carve to taste.

 

For example, with Miku I love how smooth and continuous the curves are on her face,

 

Miku's eyes and Rin's WDS eyes by bodolza, on Flickr

 

OTOH with Eiji, you have flat patches joined by curves, which makes everything more angular. I realize he's a guy and wouldn't be as round as Miku, but the flat surfaces, like below his cheekbones, should be more natural,

 

Tan Eiji by bodolza, on Flickr

 

Chitose has a similar problem, there's a fairly flat triangle from her two cheekbones and her chin,

 

Chitose (2) by bodolza, on Flickr

 

If he just handed the printed moulds to a talented sculptor to work out the details and smooth things over, they would feel more natural than they are. I have a feeling he likes to have a 3D model he can print at any time though to produce a mould, that's gotta be handy.

If he just handed the printed moulds to a talented sculptor to work out the details and smooth things over, they would feel more natural than they are. I have a feeling he likes to have a 3D model he can print at any time though to produce a mould, that's gotta be handy.

 

Or just a skilled 3D sculptor. 3D sculpting in itself isn't the problem. At this point I have too many issues with the Smart Doll sculpts to buy one. I do admire the company, though. I'm interested how these new dolls will look.

 

I wonder if Volks DDs are 3D sculpted, or maybe scanned and 3D printed? Weren't the old Saber and Sirius sculpt smaller than the newer releases? I wonder what processes they use.

I think the issue with Eiji is he looks 3D modelled. You can see a lot of planar surfaces on his face, rather than subtle curves.

 

As someone who's done both 3D modeling and sculpting, I can say it IS possible to get a lot of curvature in a 3D model. It's definitely a bit of a b***, but it's assuredly possible. Especially in Zbrush, which is the program Danny's modelers mostly use--it's specifically designed to feel more like sculpting than most other programs (Max, Maya, Blender) do.

 

What the Smart Doll heads look like isn't just 3D models, it's that they look like beginner 3D models, where they really only look good from one angle because the noob artist forgot to keep orbiting the model. Not orbiting/rotating your view often enough is a VERY beginner mistake, so I look at these heads and think, "Oh, not bad for a first semester student--wait, what do you mean this was done by a professional? What??"

 

And what makes it more baffling is that the modeling on the bodies is EXCELLENT--the artist(s) Danny has CLEARLY know what they're doing, so it's increasingly clear that the bizarre pug aesthetic of the heads is some kind of directorial choice he's made. But why, I just can't fathom.

All just anecdotal evidence, of course... but I wonder how his personal aesthetic will impact the company in the long run.

 

Personally, I have one Smart Doll and I've come to the realization that she just has to go. She looks terrible next to my DDs. For a while, I was hoping a repaint would fix things... but now I'm admitting to myself that no amount of paint is every going to fix what I really hate, which is her mold for all the reasons all the other posters in this thread have identified. I have zero plans to purchase another SmD (especially after seeing everything I disliked in Mirai made even more prominent in Chitose).

 

I've also hear from a couple other Smart Doll owners that they have no plans on buying additional SmDs because of problems with bonding/dislike of the heads, and I've seen some of the "early adopters" sell off their SmD collections entirely.

 

On the other hand, Volks is seriously lagging on the boys and these new licenses may breathe a ton of life into SmD, especially among collectors who want that specific character.

As someone who's done both 3D modeling and sculpting, I can say it IS possible to get a lot of curvature in a 3D model.

Yeah, it's definitely possible, but the problem is you're making a physical object, and the turnaround time is too large between "make the chin a little more soft," printing it, and going "WTF is up with that chin?" At least when compared to taking some sandpaper and altering it a bit. I actually wonder if he's decided to be more conservative to reduce turnaround times. Mirai ended up looking really natural (if flat), but he spent months iterating her design.

 

And what makes it more baffling is that the modeling on the bodies is EXCELLENT

The torso's really good but I've felt that the limbs, especially the girls' arms, are very pipe-like. Like comparing these two,

 

Hi Rin! by bodolza, on Flickr

 

Ivory by bodolza, on Flickr

 

Actually that doesn't show the shoulder much,

 

Ebony (2) by bodolza, on Flickr

 

My desk by bodolza, on Flickr

 

They're not bad, but they do have less curve. Although what bugs me more is how thin they are.

Personally, I have one Smart Doll and I've come to the realization that she just has to go. She looks terrible next to my DDs.

 

My first DD head is arriving in the next few days and this is actually what I'm really worried about now, after reading what everyone has posted: that my SmD Eiji will just look obviously wrong compared to her.

Probably like many Smart Doll owners, I'd never seen a 1/3 vinyl doll in person before, and I fully admit to knowing nothing about sculpting or 3D modelling. So the amateurishness or lack of soft lines on Eiji was never really obvious to me. But realizing that this is so, I'm now starting to become frustrated with myself, I guess, for investing so much in customizing my Eiji into one of my favorite characters and then realizing I just started with a bad base...

at the same time though, the character is in his late 20s or early 30s and would just not work on a DDSB, and as far as hybrids, while I have seen it done well, I have personal hangups (i.e. I can appreciate others doing it but don't want to myself do it) about using a head intended for a female character for a male one.

The worst part is that he and my DD were always planned as a pair, as my OTP, so it's not like I could just consider them as parts of separate collections

so now I just don't know what to do

 

um but anyway I will try stop complaining and say something more on topic--as for why Danny chooses this aesthetic, it may be also a strategy to carve out a market niche. I remember reading someone's post in the Azone 50cm thread that speculated that painted-eye dolls were the niche Azone had carved for itself in the 1/3 vinyl market. And I think you could similarly say that vmf50 et al.'s niche is erotic styles. So maybe this is Smart Doll's way of differentiating themselves from competitors.

 

It certainly seems to be, well, differentiating them. Possibly not in the way they intended.

 

But I can't say for sure if there is indeed a large population who prefers the flatter faces to DD-like sculpts, since if there is they may not be here on a DD forum

 

Edited because the post interface ate my text x__x