New Smartdoll boy

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...

I wouldn't say Eiji's a bad base, he's pretty good actually. When it comes down to it, you can send the head to a faceup artist who's good at customizing sculpts.

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.

 

Which head do you have arriving? There's quite a variety among DD heads (some DDs don't even look that great next to each other, imho, especially if you have the more "realistic" models like Rise and Alna next to one of the more "anime" heads like Escalayer and Millhiore). Depending on the head you have it may work. For example, Mirai didn't look too bad when posed with my Sakura S. and Erica F., but near my Saber or Rins... ooph, no.

 

Also, I've seen SmD dude + DD gal pairings before and they're definitely better than SmD gal + DD gal, in part because you do expect guys and girls to look different. Personally, I do feel Eiji is the best-sculpted of all the SmD heads, as he seems to not suffer as much from the "flat-face syndrome" the girls have.

 

I'd wait to have the two side-by-side before worrying about what to do.

The only problem I've ever had with the look of my Eiji is that his eyes made his mouth look too small, which looked a bit odd to me a lot of the time, but that's because they werent the right kind of eyes for him (they were Volks eyes intended for big-eyed girls). Since I gave him the blue Eiji eyes, I dont have this problem.

The angles on his face are kind of harsh but I always saw that as intentional. His cheeks are more round IRL than they look in photos I think.

 

True, I dont have a DD to compare him to yet, although I have seen them in person at meets and in the Volks store/doll events. Plus I can compare him to Rin in about 2 weeks. But I really think the 'flat face' issue is something only the girls have...and even then I always saw it as a stylistic choice. It's the arms of the girls that bother me a lot more than the faces, which is a shame because other than that I think the smart doll girl bodies are far more aesthetically pleasing than DD ones. I've been on the fence about getting Ebony for ages but I'm just waiting to see more head sculpts and the chance that Danny might eventually make something more like a DDdy with thicker limbs as it would be more suitable for the character I want to make anyway. I'm really interested to see what the licensed sculpts look like, especially the girls. We should be seeing a Miho prototype pretty soon if her release is still set for October.

 

bottom line is I love my Kaito to itty bitty pieces. Sometimes I wonder how he would look like with an alternate faceup but that's more to do with the fact that I have seen some absolutely AMAZING custom Eijis and not because I dislike his default faceup.

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.

 

Well, it's actually *really* easy to make changes like that, if you do them while it's all still digital. But, once again, the key is to pan and orbit your model as constantly as possible. If you don't do that, you *will* miss stuff like that that needs changes.

 

Perhaps the sculptors do orbit around the models, but Danny never bothers when checking them prior to production. Or perhaps he actually likes that look, and hires sculptors that produce it. Whatever the reason is, it's definitely more a problem of personnel than technique, and I'm firmly in the camp of not caring for it.

 

. . . that said, I do wonder what would happen with an additive mod to the cheeks on an SMD head. It'd probably have to be airbrushed back to uniformity again, but if it improved the head, then who cares?

Cauldroness, foo, Torino, thank you all for helping to alleviate my worries. and sorry again for my sort of offtopic panicking >__< the head arriving is a Lucy. She will probably be here in a matter of minutes (!!) so...we will see...I'll post comparisons in a new thread.

 

Poofiemus, thank you for sharing your knowledge in 3D sculpting--it's really informative to be able to get some insight into what the actual process and design decisions going on at SmD might be.

 

I wonder if feedback from the community will ever lead to a change in this...especially with what Cauldroness noted about early adopters selling off their collections.

Speaking as someone who has both smart dolls and dollfie dreams, I honestly like them both, for different reasons. To me they are both very anime, just perhaps different styles of anime. DD's remind me of the anime I grew up with, where the noses are defined and the face has a lot of curves. Smart dolls remind me of anime I've seen recently, where the nose is much smaller and there doesn't seem to be as much definition in the face. And based on the fact that Danny sold every doll he brought to anime expo before the con was even half over, I would say there are collectors who like the current aesthetic. As you said, perhaps they aren't on this forum so much. They are different designs, and I can see how you could be partial to one and not the other.

 

There are some character dolls I want to make that a smart doll just won't work, but I do love my SmD girls (and boy!). I'm excited to see what Danny does with the licensed characters he develops!

I wonder if feedback from the community will ever lead to a change in this...especially with what Cauldroness noted about early adopters selling off their collections.

 

I think Danny is definitely open to criticism but at the end of the day, he will never be able to please everyone. Some early adopters might be selling off their collection but that's the case with lots of doll collectors. There are plenty of dolls that I liked/loved in my early BJD-days that I have no interest in now.

 

I guess I must be in the minority here 'cause I really like Smart Doll sculpts. Mirai is favourite and I would love to add a second Smart Doll to my collection eventually. I'm just waiting to see what other girls Danny will create before making my decision.

Some early adopters might be selling off their collection but that's the case with lots of doll collectors. There are plenty of dolls that I liked/loved in my early BJD-days that I have no interest in now.

 

That makes sense. I guess without real statistical data it's not possible to make definitive conclusions on whether or not that rate is higher than average for doll collectors.

And indeed the closest to solid data we have is the sales rates at conventions, etc, which do indicate a large audience for this type of sculpt. It's useful to see input from those who like it here, so thank you--and also thank you, Nozomi02--for saying so, because it results in a better and more representative discussion, I think.

And indeed the closest to solid data we have is the sales rates at conventions, etc, which do indicate a large audience for this type of sculpt.

 

Except we have no idea what quantities he's bringing to the shows, so saying they "sold out" or even "sold out quickly" doesn't really indicate much if he's only bringing a small quantity in the first place.

 

And it likely is a relatively small quantity, as most exhibitors have to store all of their merchandise in their booth. (Shows do offer accessible storage, but it's usually extremely expensive and not actually that "accessible" as often only the decorator is allowed back in storage, so it's not like you can pop in to get what you need -- you have to pray the decorator finds the right item, brings it out undamaged, and delivers it to the right booth, and they often screw up at least 1 of those.)

 

So basically, he probably has no more Smart Dolls at each show than can fit in the various shelves/drawers of his booth. Having been in the exhibits business myself, my guess is no more than 50 dolls.

 

I'm not saying they're not popular, or that there's not a market for them. Just, like Volks, we have no idea the size of that actual market because numbers aren't being disclosed.

Good point--not having been to a convention in a good six years, I hadn't thought of that.

I think my conclusion at this point is that it's impossible to make any sort of data-based conclusion >__<

I think a more...dimensional sculpt would be really nice. Don't get me wrong I like Mirai and Chitose, and I'll likely get Eiji at some point. But some variety would be so nice. Hopefully we'll that with licensed dolls

I guess I must be in the minority here 'cause I really like Smart Doll sculpts. Mirai is favourite and I would love to add a second Smart Doll to my collection eventually. I'm just waiting to see what other girls Danny will create before making my decision.

I think you are only in the minority in this particular thread. In my opinion, just a matter of personal taste. There are obviously plenty of people who love the Smart Dolls just as they are -given how quickly they sell out. Many people RAVED about Chitose when she was first released.

I don't mind it that Smart Dolls look different from Dollfie Dreams, they SHOULD be different, otherwise Danny is just copying something that already exists.

So- I think that it all comes down to what you prefer. I love my Ebony. She is the first anime-styled doll that has appealed to me. All of my other dolls are realistic resins or Obitsu/Parabox vinyls.

Count me in as another SmD lover even though I haven't had the opportunity to get one yet. (I am waiting for the 1/6 versions of Mirai and Eiji)

 

By the size of his eyes, the new boy will be a mature character I can't wait to see who it is! I'm not a fan of Spike but if it is someone from the Gundam series I'M DEAD!

That spike sculpt is perfect for another character of mine! Looks like Aveline gets er husband pretty soon~

 

As for the whole smart doll vs. volks when it comes to aesthetics I like both actually. The reason why I didn't get a smartdoll for quite some time (and now have two) is that Mirai and all her same sculpt twins are kind of your generic moe anime girl look which I don't see as bad, but none of my characters fit in that well enough and I'm trying to only make OCs or get characters I like. If I got dolls just on the basis of cuteness... Well I'd end up with just about every doll in existence. lol.

 

I didn't get Eiji just because "omg first guy doll!" I got him because he genuinely looked like the character I planned him to be. I do need to get better eyes for him, the volks pair isn't bad but they are a bit too big. Come on danny, start selling guy eyes in red! Chitose was an impulse buy because she was just so adorable in person, and despite the flatness of her sculpt her look was still distinct to me. She ended up quickly fleshing out a vaguely planned character, which has lead to firm plans for at least one more! So it was a good idea despite being against my usual rules.

 

I like both, but for different reasons. Volks does have my favorite aesthetics overall but I still do like both quite a bit.

I agree, I don't think it has to be an "either or" situation, there's no reason to not have and like both, if you like them both.

I have big Obitus, which have a more realistic look, and I don't mind mixing my dolls up.

No rules, as far as I'm concerned. Do what you like!

I guess I must be in the minority here 'cause I really like Smart Doll sculpts. Mirai is favourite and I would love to add a second Smart Doll to my collection eventually. I'm just waiting to see what other girls Danny will create before making my decision.

 

I love their sculpts too! I have never yet seen a DD that called out to me, but Smart Doll Mirai was head over heels love at first sight. (Funnily enough after browsing them for months, I've decided I actually like Ebony more and will be getting her first. But it was a tough call!)

 

I think part of what makes this hobby so much fun is that it's so subjective. A beautiful doll to one person is not another person's cup of tea. And that's ok, it makes the hobby interesting. I wouldn't want to go on Flickr or forums and see everyone else's dolls all looking exactly like mine, there would be no variety or inspiration! What draws me to Smart Doll is her lovely human-looking body, her sweet cheerful face, and her big beautiful clear anime eyes. I also love that they're dressed like fashion models, not Lolita girls, which is rare. (Not that I dislike Lolita - 80% of my Pullips are Lolita...it's just fun to see a different style being sold xD)

I really hope we hear more about the new SmD boys soon. Personally I'd like to see more heads with "rounded out" features too, but I do admire the new direction Danny takes with male character dolls.

I asked him on twitter the other day how many of the (currently) 9 Smart Doll characters being worked on were boys and he said 3 of them are. I'm super, super excited to see the new boys, and 'm hoping one will have the more buff body Danny talked about when Eiji was being worked on. I need that body!

 

~Sister Kyoya

Wow, three? I wonder who the other two are. If he's making Spike from Cowboy Bebop, maybe he'll make Jet on the more buff body then? Mass producing facial hair could be a problem though maybe, haha.