BALL-JOINTED DOLLS

Image courtesy of www.dreamofdoll.com

A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. In contemporary usage when referring to modern dolls, and particularly when using the acronyms BJD or ABJD, it usually refers to modern Asian ball-jointed dolls. These are cast in polyurethane synthetic resin, a hard, dense plastic, and the parts strung together with a thick elastic. They are predominantly produced in Japan, South Korea and China. The BJD style has been described as both realistic and influenced by anime. They commonly range in size from about 60 centimetres (24 in) for the larger dolls, 40 cm (16 in) for the mini dolls, and all the way down to 10 cm (4 in) or so for the tiniest of the tiny BJDs. BJDs are primarily intended for adult collectors and customizers. They are made to be easy to customize, by painting, changing the eyes and wig, and so forth.

The modern BJD market began with Volks line of Super Dolfie in 1999. Super Dollfie and Dollfie are registered trademarks but are sometimes erroneously used as generic blanket terms to refer to all Asian BJDs regardless of manufacturer.

Modern Asian BJDs

Modern Asian BJDs are intended for adult collectors and customizers and range in price from US$100 to over US$1000. Their body elements are cast in polyurethane resin and held together by thick elastic cords, making them fully articulated and highly poseable. BJDs tend to follow a distinctly Asian view in their aesthetics, but the designs are diverse and range from highly anime-inspired to hyper-realistic. Most are anatomically correct and have proportionally large heads, big eyes and comparatively large feet, contrasted with fashion dolls like Barbie, and are capable of standing on their own, without a stand or other support.

Customization 

BJDs are readily customizable. Wigs and eyes are easy to remove and replace, as well as heads, hands, and feet. A doll may even be a hybrid of parts from different companies. Some BJD owners or customizers even re-shape existing parts by sanding them or applying epoxy putty to them.

The resin material is easier to paint than the softer and more slick vinyl often used for other types of dolls. BJD face paint is referred to as a faceup, to note that it's not just make-up, but all the facial features that are painted and customized, including eyebrows, lips and blushing to enhance features. Faceups and body blushing are done with watercolor pencils, acrylic paint — applied with a regular brush or an airbrush — or soft pastels, and coated with a sprayed-on layer of clear matte sealant for protection. BJD faceups, even from large companies, are always painted by hand, and it takes considerable skill to do detailed, professional faceups.

This information was retrieved Wikipedia