The BJD scene (not what you think)

Posted by David Pescovitz, October 28, 2008 10:48 AM |
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Elfdoll is a South Korean firm that sells resin-based ball-jointed dolls (BJD) with hyperreal features. THese "blank" dolls are popular among collectors who mod them in fantastic ways with hair, outfits, and swapped body parts. Elfdoll recently opened a showroom in Los Angeles that has become a hub of BJD hackers in Southern California. The Los Angeles Weekly's Liz Ohanesian explores the BJD scene through some incredibly strange photos. From the LA Weekly (photos by Jackie Canchola):
Ladaily Doll-1 “We think that we are not a doll company, we are artists,” says Elfdoll Foreign Trade Manager Yeounjoo Lim, best known to her customers and friends as Ms. Cholong...

Ms. Cholong’s job is part curator, part community organizer and part salesperson, bringing together BJD enthusiasts for events where purchasing the handmade objects is only part of the fun. At the showroom’s October 25 party, hobbyists arrived with arms filled with pieces from their own collections reconfigured to fit Halloween images of comic book heroes, steampunks, fairies, Japanese-styled Lolitas and goth boys in drag...

“Other companies, when they market the dolls, they actually create characters for them,” says Chris Holz of Melbourne, Australia, a collector who happened to arrive in Los Angeles just in time for this event. “The Elfdolls don’t have a background. They’ve got a name, but that’s tantamount to just identifying the doll. When people buy them, it’s whatever they want.”
Elfdoll: Don't Call It A Toy Company
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Discussion

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#1 posted by crankypage , October 28, 2008 11:04 AM

Anybody else thinking about the Perky Pat "layouts" in Dick's "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch?"

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#2 posted by grey not grey , October 28, 2008 11:34 AM

Yes, though I didn't realize Perky Pat bore an uncanny resemblance to Avril Lavigne.

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#3 posted by skyesidhe , October 28, 2008 12:05 PM

I think these are amazing! Have you seen enchanted doll? http://www.enchanteddoll.com/ She does really super custom work and it is the best BJD work I've seen..

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#4 posted by technogeek , October 28, 2008 12:12 PM

Hm. I wonder how these would work as animation puppets...

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#5 posted by jahknow , October 28, 2008 12:23 PM

That bottom pic looks a little like a DIY Onch doll!

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#6 posted by usonia , October 28, 2008 12:39 PM

Not quite wonderful.

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#7 posted by ivan256 , October 28, 2008 1:16 PM

I want to know what David thought we were thinking when we read that headline.

I was thinking "WTF is a BJD"?

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#8 posted by Sekino , October 28, 2008 1:31 PM

I tend to have an undying dilemma with dolls: I just can't tell if I find them creepy or awesome... I'm looking at these though and I can't help being totally floored by the details (so I guess 'awesome' ultimately wins). I wish there was a full body picture of the contest winner. The theme and costume look absolutely fabulous!

Also thank you SKYESIDHE for the link. Again, the dolls there were simply amazing. Lovely pieces of art even though I find them disturbing to some level.

Then again, I did have a phobia of dolls as a toddler. Maybe I'm just not 100% over it yet ;)

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#9 posted by noetma , October 28, 2008 1:52 PM

They really are amazing dolls. From the original Volks series, to companies like Elfdoll pushing the creative boundary for BJDs, they are all made with such an intense craftsmanship, I can't help but respect them.

Not going to lie, if I had the money to invest in one, I would. But I probably wouldn't fit in the 'community' of hardcore BJD collectors. Seeing how they are all either really nice, or batshit.

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#10 posted by technogeek , October 28, 2008 2:04 PM

#7: Some folks see B and D and automatically complete it with S and M. (I wouldn't have if the parenthetical hadn't been added.)

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#11 posted by Gary61 , October 28, 2008 3:21 PM

re: #7 Ivan ....
"I want to know what David thought we were thinking when we read that headline.

I was thinking "WTF is a BJD"?"

Myself? I was thinking:
'Bl*w-J*b Disasters'
(trying really hard not to smirk)

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#12 posted by VVelox , October 28, 2008 3:30 PM

Something about those just strike me as unnervingly creepy. It just sort of wake up the side of the brain that says lay down suppressing fire and break contact.

I think it is the uncanny valley stuff.

@#11 posted by Gary61

The unix side of me read that as daemon.

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#13 posted by VVelox , October 28, 2008 3:31 PM

I will say they are interesting, but still creepy.

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#14 posted by wolfiesma , October 28, 2008 4:50 PM

I love her outfit. The hair, goggles, jacket. Cmon' she is smokin hot.

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#15 posted by Maya Cecile , October 28, 2008 5:01 PM

As a BJD collector, I'm pleased to see my hobby getting press that doesn't write us all off as crazy, delusional housewives with nothing better to do than salivate over plastic men. I'm glad Elfdoll is getting attention! Their sculpts are lovely, despite not being my personal cup of tea.

#4 -- BJDs might work very well for animation, depending on what you're looking to do; it's important to note that some companies' bodies pose much better than others. You also have to take into account that BJDs are pretty gigantic (they can range anywhere in size from the smallest at around 30cm, to the largest at 80cm), and they are *heavy*. But if you have the time and patience, I'm sure you could come up with some very cool animations. :)

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#16 posted by Carl Rigney , October 28, 2008 9:11 PM

It's always nifty to see people enthusiastic about their art. For people who'd like more examples, searching for elfdoll on Flickr returns 5000+ pictures. And on the offchance anyone reading BB isn't already familiar with the Uncanny Valley, wikipedia comes to the rescue.

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#18 posted by Gryphon King , October 29, 2008 12:44 AM

Fun popular fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey, the lady behind the superhero podcast Secret World Chronicles covered at BoingBoing (www.secretworldchronicles.com), is also a major BJD fan. She does custom dolls for charity auctions, as well as ones based on her own characters such as:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/victoriavictrix/S1050179.jpg , http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/victoriavictrix/S1050180.jpg , http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/victoriavictrix/S1050020.jpg , and http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h232/victoriavictrix/S1050017.jpg . Her usual hookup is http://www.junkyspot.com if anyone is looking to get into BJDs.

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#19 posted by Pipenta , October 29, 2008 5:29 AM

The elfdolls and the enchanteddolls sit on either side of that uncanny valley for me.

I'm not a doll person, loathed then when I was a child. But the elfdolls are a compelling combination of animé and real, while the enchanted dolls have a creepy sexually-exploited victim/waif feel to them.

The elfdolls aren't very sexual. And the one on the company page that is shown in the nude, pin-up style is just a fail. Her boobs look like somebody used Krazy Glue on the cleavage, so the humor offsets the icky. They're more cartoony and look like, if they came to life and somebody put on hand on them, they'd pop the offender in the chops. I guess they look like they have more personality than just victim. They look like spunky cartoon characters and have a bit of charm.

But the enchanted dolls with their lost expressions, chapped reddened nipples, and anorexic bodies are vaguely disturbing. I don't covet dolls at all, but I wonder about the impulses that make some people (not all, not all) want to own THAT.

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