Things you wish you knew

Hi all! I just won my very first dollfie dream head on y!a and i'm now going to start the process of getting her wig, body, clothes etc (she fortunately comes with eyes). I figured before I take the plunge, now would be a good time to ask for any newbie tips or things you wish you knew when you started. I do already know about staining so I will be getting her a body suit. Below is a picture of my new doll!

I would get a stand, and a protective cap for her head if it's going to be a dark wig. You'll want a comb too, but you can use a pet comb as long as it's never been used on a pet.

Definitely get a stand if you want to take pics of her standing.

I never picked up any because I thought I would just balance them or have them sitting for photos, but in the end, I just never took pictures of them because trying to balance them was more trouble than it was worth and sitting poses didn’t work for what I wanted to do.

Finally ordered some last week, but they’re made-to-order and will take awhile to arrive. At this rate it will have been a year since I got my first Dollfie and I still haven’t taken any pics of her because of this stand issue.

Also, you can use an unused toothbrush (or the Angel Hairbrush from Volks if you want to spend more money) to brush her hair.

8 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

I would get a stand, and a protective cap for her head if it's going to be a dark wig. You'll want a comb too, but you can use a pet comb as long as it's never been used on a pet.

 

23 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Definitely get a stand if you want to take pics of her standing.

I never picked up any because I thought I would just balance them or have them sitting for photos, but in the end, I just never took pictures of them because trying to balance them was more trouble than it was worth and sitting poses didn’t work for what I wanted to do.

Finally ordered some last week, but they’re made-to-order and will take awhile to arrive. At this rate it will have been a year since I got my first Dollfie and I still haven’t taken any pics of her because of this stand issue.

Also, you can use an unused toothbrush (or the Angel Hairbrush from Volks if you want to spend more money) to brush her hair.

Would a stand from taobao be okay? I like those bendy looking ones. I didn't realize they're hard to stand!

I'm doing a haul in 2 weeks from volks (haven't decide if I want to do usa or jp) but I'll toss the hair brush in when I order

19 minutes ago, ghostkiwi said:

Would a stand from taobao be okay?

Volks stands are more display stands than photography stands, so if it's photography you are looking to do I'd go with a stand that is concealable or which works in a way that makes it easy to edit out of the photo.

If you want a display stand, I'd grab a Volks saddle stand. It's heavy, sturdy, and the saddle makes it easy to pick her up whenever you want. 

3 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Volks stands are more display stands than photography stands, so if it's photography you are looking to do I'd go with a stand that is concealable or which works in a way that makes it easy to edit out of the photo.

If you want a display stand, I'd grab a Volks saddle stand. It's heavy, sturdy, and the saddle makes it easy to pick her up whenever you want. 

I'd like to take photos of her so I'll look for a concealable stand. I'm pretty sure one of the stores I use for resin dolls sells them too. Thank you!

25 minutes ago, ghostkiwi said:

Would a stand from taobao be okay? I like those bendy looking ones. I didn't realize they're hard to stand!

@chef_mai did a bunch of posts on different stands that might be useful to you.

Personally, I went with these ones (Asachanchi rapid stand and asabo) after seeing and using @Tierparkzone’s stands:

https://asatyan.cart.fc2.com/

You have to order them during the order period (every few months) and they take a few weeks to make, but they’re collapsible and discrete, making them easy to carry around and edit out of photos.

41 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

@chef_mai did a bunch of posts on different stands that might be useful to you.

Personally, I went with these ones (Asachanchi rapid stand and asabo) after seeing and using @Tierparkzone’s stands:

https://asatyan.cart.fc2.com/

You have to order them during the order period (every few months) and they take a few weeks to make, but they’re collapsible and discrete, making them easy to carry around and edit out of photos.

Ohh that sounds honestly ideal. I'll check both you suggestions out! I guess it's also time to learn how to Photoshop things out of photos

28 minutes ago, ghostkiwi said:

Ohh that sounds honestly ideal. I'll check both you suggestions out! I guess it's also time to learn how to Photoshop things out of photos

I think photoshop has more fancy tools for this kind of thing, but I have usually just used the clone stamp to copy the background over the stand and then blurred/smudged the edges in ClipStudioPaint (this works better if the background is already blurry).
 

However, an easier way to do it (especially with a very detailed background that is difficult to edit things out of) is to take two photos - one without the doll and one with it, put the doll photo on the layer above the non doll photo and just erase the stand. It will put a hole in the doll photo, but the non-doll photo background will show through and be seamless. This is what a lot of people were doing for photos of the Nier Automata DDs and their pods to make the pods ‘float’. However, this way does require using a tripod or something else to keep the camera steady because the two pics have to be identical except for the presence of the doll. 
 

edit: as for using volks stands I do like their metal stands for photos because the metal doesn’t stand out much as opposed to the fancy wood base ones. I also recommend the ‘invisible’ doll stand with the goose neck you can get on acbjd.
The Asachanchi one does look great though and I’m thinking of getting one. Sometimes different stands are useful for specific different photos.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Monty

3 hours ago, Monty said:

I think photoshop has more fancy tools for this kind of thing

Photoshop has Content Aware Fill.  Basically just lasso the section you want to fill, and then use Content Aware Fill to fill it. It's simple, but I'd watch a YouTube on it before using it.

This was before Content Aware Fill.

 

This was after:

 

The two photo trick Monty is suggesting is a tried and true method that works, and has been used by pros for decades.

5 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

@chef_mai did a bunch of posts on different stands that might be useful to you.

I'm still really happy with the Selens saddle-type stand that I initially got and use it every single day. If I were to do things over, I'd just get this stand alone.

I also have an waist-clamp style stand from Angel Philia that is more versatile, but the base is plastic, so it's not the heaviest duty. I got it because my main girl was originally going to wear shorts a lot, but she now wears skirts almost every day. The hobby has changed some of my clothing preferences that I had in mind for my girls, in good part because I wasn't familiar with girl clothing, so I went off what girls here wear, which is generally plain.

But I digress... the AP stand is highly adjustable and clamps much better than the Volks waist stand that's designed for MSD but is a really poor fit for slimmer waists.

I guess I'm a weirdo then, because I honestly hate stands and I'd be more reluctant to do a photoshoot that requires one. I do have some various stands but will generally only use them for my more fragile dolls or in the wind. For me in a public photo shoot it's easier to just pop from spot to spot with only the doll and camera and rely on balancing them into a pose. Keep in mind though that if you go to a public location with kids around (like an aquarium) you can't walk very far away because you have to be ready to pick the doll up out of the reach of not so supervised kids.

For something I would recommend to get, one of my frequently used items is a mini flat iron with adjustable temperature. If your wig is heat resistant but comes out of the box with a weird bendy spot in the bangs you can easily fix it with a flat iron. Generally it should be used with the wig not on the doll's head.

45 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

I guess I'm a weirdo then, because I honestly hate stands and I'd be more reluctant to do a photo shoot that requires one.

My issue there is one legged poses are problematic without support. Miki's pose above would be impossible without a stand, and it's a classic girl pose that highlights the curve of the hips and legs so I use it a lot. There are lots of ways to do dynamic poses with both feet flat, but stands open up possibilities.

Uzuki's pose for example. There is no way she could stand on one leg here, but the Volks saddle-stand would have been a pain to Photoshop out.

 

The Asachanshi Trident stand is a lot simpler to remove from photos, and you can either use it as a chair, slide the trident into the torso gap, or into a tight spot under their clothes. Photoshop did almost all the work of removing it from the Miki photos, but for Uzuki's I'd have had to paint the saddle out of the image, that would take a lot of work, and probably never really look right.

http://asatyantisupport.wiki.fc2.com/wiki/あそ棒ついん(とらいでんと)

 

That is one fat little MDD butt...

If you're going to take her outside then a carry case is really useful. Alternatively you can get a doll sleeping bag on AliExpress.

Other than that... be prepared to become very addicted to doll collecting. I now have 3 with 3 more on the way 😂.

42 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

My issue there is one legged poses are problematic without support. Miki's pose above would be impossible without a stand

"Hold mah' cola..." (since it doesent look like the foot is fully off the ground with the miki one...)

Unsupported, no photoshops.... and I hate those shoes for it.

I do have to admit, that I spent a fair bit of time back in the day banging my head trying to figure out how some folks did some poses, only to be dissapointed they were photoshopped, but it did bring about some results.

doing a tippy-toe with one foot requires some preloading into the legs, it takes time, but its possible... Where it really gets fun is when you shift the whole weight balance like this:

Panchira Spoiler:

Spoiler

emilia069

Again, no supports, no photoshops.

considering a DDP can do this unsupported:

mint037

 

yeah... I probably play with dolls a little too much I suppose... ahem... carry on.

 

 

5 minutes ago, finnleo said:

"Hold mah' cola..."

When I try that, mine always take a header off the table while I'm beelining for the shutter release. There is like a Murphy's law for dolls too: A falling doll will always fall in the direction most likely to cause them damage.

The issue I've found, especially with the f3, is the ankle can't be tightened enough to make a stable support. I can balance Miki like that, but a few seconds later the ankle collapses and she's taking a nose dive.

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

My issue there is one legged poses are problematic without support. Miki's pose above would be impossible without a stand, and it's a classic girl pose that highlights the curve of the hips and legs so I use it a lot. There are lots of ways to do dynamic poses with both feet flat, but stands open up possibilities.

I'm not disagreeing with you or anything,  as I think stands can be useful, but you tend to work in studio conditions. I tend to be working while on a family outing with my nieces and nephews in tow, or at an event with other people around that don't want to wait for me to set up for 10 minutes. As such I prefer to use the environment as support for more dynamic poses, like this:

 

18 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

When I try that, mine always take a header off the table while I'm beelining for the shutter release. There is like a Murphy's law for dolls too: A falling doll will always fall in the direction most likely to cause them damage.

Technically you can spot a misshap in my sets if the wig has been reshaped somehow... my tippy-toe poses tend to make the doll want to do a pirouette, to offset it slightly I usually have fairly bass rich music playing in the background so that shakes out the more unstable efforts.

20 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

The issue I've found, especially with the f3, is the ankle can't be tightened enough to make a stable support. I can balance Miki like that, but a few seconds later the ankle collapses and she's taking a nose dive

Ankles are pretty much everything... I cant recall my DDS f3 I got with saber seconds being too obnoxious about them. Megumins body is still an unknown because reasons.

Then again i usually do go full tilt with the ankle almost every time so it doesent quite have anywhere to go:

sabrina044

23 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

I tend to be working while on a family outing with my nieces and nephews in tow, or at an event with other people around that don't want to wait for me to set up for 10 minutes. As such I prefer to use the environment as support for more dynamic poses, like this:

Oh, I totally get that. I'm sure that setup would be a pain. I'm working in low enough light that the camera is always on a tripod too, so it's a different dynamic. 

 

15 minutes ago, finnleo said:

Then again i usually do go full tilt with the ankle almost every time so it doesent quite have anywhere to go:

And that's a great look from that angle. I tend to like the more casual look with the foot slightly raised, but the ankle joint just isn't tight enough. I have a few f3 where it's so loose even flat footed poses are a problem. It's one of the least effective screw adjustments too. 

6 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

If you're going to take her outside then a carry case is really useful. Alternatively you can get a doll sleeping bag on AliExpress.

Other than that... be prepared to become very addicted to doll collecting. I now have 3 with 3 more on the way 😂.

I have a carry bag she should work for (it's shaped like a coffin to match my coords). I have some resin dolls so luckily there is some overlap!

I really want to stick to one and spoil her (maybe two of if I manage to score a tan one) similar to what I do with my littlefee yosd. I have more fun spending money on outfits than another doll ahaha. I'm planning on getting the mochi body though and I read shoes are a challenge so we'll see how well getting clothes goes in practice.

2 hours ago, ghostkiwi said:

I really want to stick to one and spoil her (maybe two of if I manage to score a tan one) similar to what I do with my littlefee yosd.

Heh heh heh… That’s what we all told ourselves at first…

@BeyondTime how do you buy that dual telescoping stand? i've seen a chinese instagramer also using one.

1 minute ago, ragnamuffin said:

Heh heh heh… That’s what we all told ourselves at first…

Incidentally, that's also a good thing to know beforehand: They tend to multiply rather quickly... 😂

Apart from that, indeed, a comb and a stand should be enough to start out.

 

The Asachan-chi stands that @ragnamuffin mentioned earlier are indeed nice and versatile.
Apart from that I also like the Alice's Collections "Invisible Stands", but their acrylic base somewhat limits them to indoor use.

While you can indeed manage several poses for photography even without a stand, if you have your dolls on display at home (and you don't want them just sitting around all the time) then a stand is also very helpful. - Especially if you're living in a corner of the world that's prone to earthquakes.

17 minutes ago, bahboh said:

@BeyondTime how do you buy that dual telescoping stand? i've seen a chinese instagramer also using one.

That's the Asachan-chi Aso-Bo:

22 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Personally, I went with these ones (Asachanchi rapid stand and asabo) after seeing and using @Tierparkzone’s stands:

https://asatyan.cart.fc2.com/

Edit: The most recent order period just happened a few days ago, so the next order period should be in roughly two months. - Stay tuned on their blog.

@BeyondTime I wonder if we should pin the Asachan-chi order dates onto the forum Calender once they're announced.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Tierparkzone

2 minutes ago, Tierparkzone said:

Incidentally, that's also a good thing to know beforehand: They tend to multiply rather quickly... 😂

Apart from that, indeed, a comb and a stand should be enough to start out.

 

The Asachan-chi stands that @ragnamuffin mentioned earlier are indeed nice and versatile.
Apart from that I also like the Alice's Collections "Invisible Stands", but their acrylic base somewhat limits them to indoor use.

While you can indeed manage several poses for photography even without a stand, if you have your dolls on display at home (and you don't want them just sitting around all the time) then a stand is also very helpful. - Especially if you're living in a corner of the world that's prone to earthquakes.

I'm really gonna try! I ended up having this problem with resin dolls and now am trying to cull because it really does bug me LOL. That being said I thought my tinyfox was going to be it and then this girl happened!

 

I have decided to get the invisible stand from alice collections. Even if I don't end up using it much I think it would be nice to have that option for photos.