Part of the fantasy of owning a BJD, aside from the articulation and pose-ability, is the ability to rewig and change the eye color. I've mastered rewigging with Goodreau's Mirror, a.k.a. "Cocoa." The doll's most recent eye changes have convinced me, however, that some things are better as is. See for yourself.
Cocoa with blue-gray eyes; these are scary but not as spooky as the next color.
Here's Cocoa with demonic-looking green eyes. These are the ones that convinced me and Cocoa that her beautiful, original brown eyes are the best color for her complexion and her overall appeal.
Cocoa's original brown eyes (shown above) will be left in her eye sockets indefinitely (unless a more appealing brown pair surfaces.)
What do you think?
dbg
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Don't Make My Brown Eyes Blue... or Green
I am a Black-doll enthusiast, doll historian, freelance writer, author of The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls; Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion; and The Doll Blogs: When Dolls Speak, I Listen.
Founder and curator of DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum at virtualblackdollmuseum.com Please visit and become a contributing patron. Black dolls are my passion, my drug of choice. They renew my spirit!
Founder and curator of DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum at virtualblackdollmuseum.com Please visit and become a contributing patron. Black dolls are my passion, my drug of choice. They renew my spirit!
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Keep the brown ones in!!
ReplyDeleteBonnie
yep... pretty scary
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'm so glad that Mirror came with the eyes she did. What I don't like about buying BJD dolls, unseen, is that they often come with "random" eyes and "random" wigs. I always ask "how random?".
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sculpt! Gooreau's Mirror is definitely one of my favorite vinyl girls. I'm not sure which eyes you are using, but have you considered getting a very light brown/auburn in glass?
ReplyDeleteAcrylic eyes can look flat, or one-dimensionally bright in some doll molds, and even on some skintones :)! Glass eyes reflect light a little better than most acrylics do, and have a lot of depth to them. My light tan boy has pale green eyes, and he can only wear glass ones since the acrylic version makes him look like a zombie...
Also, if you love black bjds, Korean companies excel at making them. Some Chinese ones do, too (mine is Chinese, but isn't very dark...) Korean brands like Unoa and Iplehouse are really good at producing bjds of color. In the US, there's also Jamieshow/Angelic Dreamz... they make some lovely stuff. Some day, I might have one of each :)
Hi Roxy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the glass eyes. The next time I am in eye-changing mode, I may order glass eyes for Cocoa.
Thanks for the additional information on BJD manufacturers. I've eyed the JAMIEshow line, but have not taken the plunge.
dbg
My view on Jamieshow: Lots of potential, but the BJD line needs double-jointed dolls before I take any plunge. Goodreau's dolls are single-jointed, but they are also far less expensive. Double jointed arms and knees can bend past 90 degrees, and are standard for most dolls over $250. This is a major pose-ability improvement.
ReplyDeleteMy tan bjd, Avram, is double-jointed, and cost under 250. Which brings me to an important point that I wished I would've known earlier. Jointed-ness is only as good as the ability to hold poses. Sueding, wiring, and restringing can improve hold, but generally, MSDs (like Mirror, and other dolls 40-50cm) have excellent internal balance and are lightweight enough to *hold* certain poses.
The bigger a bjd is, the more likely it is to fall over or otherwise be subject to gravity... it's a body mass issue. So bjds larger than 60cm usually have standing/posing issues unless they're from upscale brands marketed for pose-ability (like Fairyland.) Whichever doll you buy, check if it's double-jointed and if it can hold its arm out in front of its face, in front of its body, straight at its side, etc.
My tan bjd (Avram) is a light tan Resinsoul boy. When I ordered him, I didn't know that ResinSoul and Bobobie offered a special dark tan via e-mail request. Although I love his light tan skintone, I have to admit--- most people don't even realize he's tan ;).
My flickr gallery has pics of all my dolls (including bjds): http://www.flickr.com/photos/45503592@N06/
Thanks for the information about single versus double-jointed BJDs. The ability to hold a pose is very important.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed viewing your impressive BJD collection. Thanks for sharing the link.
dbg