Ball-Jointed Dolls
Ball-Jointed Dolls, or BJDs for short, are dolls made of resin, with spheric joints put together with strings that go through their whole bodies and allowing good poseability and naturally. They were originated in Japan by the company Volks, later expanding to Korea, China and even the United States. The first Ball-Jointed Doll of the kind known today was a present from the Volks founder to his wife, and is today a hobby present in the whole world.
These dolls are highly customizable, from their eyes, wigs, face-ups, clothing, skin tones and can even be modified by sanding or adding to the sculpture. The sizes range from 80cm to 11cm, in a huge variety of faces, bodies, sizes and even ethnicities and mythological creatures or animals. While Volks is still the largest company on the market by keeping most of the japanese BJD fans as well as many others around the world, many Korean stores have grown to be just as widely known in the community, with more accessible prices and easier ordering systems.
BJDs are often used as photographic models for amateur and professional photographers and collectors, being very attractive to anyone who wants to have a unique doll or incarnate a character from a story in a palpable object. Many owners develop emotional bonds with their dolls, turning them into more than mere collection objects.
They are very fragile and require more care than a normal doll, and are definitely not children's toys - BJD collectors take them rather seriously as works of art not just because of their higher price, but also because of all the work a collector puts into his/her own dolls.
BJDs can be easily acquired online, but it's always better to do research about them before jumping in and buying one out of impulse - one wouldn't want to damage an expensive item such as BJD from lack of attention, and there are many precautions such as never leaving them in the sun, - because it may cause the resin to yellow - never exposing them to oil or being very careful with their face-ups, which is practically a painting job, and very fragile.
These dolls are highly customizable, from their eyes, wigs, face-ups, clothing, skin tones and can even be modified by sanding or adding to the sculpture. The sizes range from 80cm to 11cm, in a huge variety of faces, bodies, sizes and even ethnicities and mythological creatures or animals. While Volks is still the largest company on the market by keeping most of the japanese BJD fans as well as many others around the world, many Korean stores have grown to be just as widely known in the community, with more accessible prices and easier ordering systems.
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| Lishka, my Volks SDGr Alice |
BJDs are often used as photographic models for amateur and professional photographers and collectors, being very attractive to anyone who wants to have a unique doll or incarnate a character from a story in a palpable object. Many owners develop emotional bonds with their dolls, turning them into more than mere collection objects.
They are very fragile and require more care than a normal doll, and are definitely not children's toys - BJD collectors take them rather seriously as works of art not just because of their higher price, but also because of all the work a collector puts into his/her own dolls.
BJDs can be easily acquired online, but it's always better to do research about them before jumping in and buying one out of impulse - one wouldn't want to damage an expensive item such as BJD from lack of attention, and there are many precautions such as never leaving them in the sun, - because it may cause the resin to yellow - never exposing them to oil or being very careful with their face-ups, which is practically a painting job, and very fragile.
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