Are your dolls characters?

One of the dolls that I plan on getting (Iplehouse's Shane) caught my eye because he looked like a character from one of my stories, and another doll I also hope to get one day (Iplehouse's Eric) actually inspired a character.

 

My dolls are all characters, and in fact the main appeal of the doll hobby for me is being able to visually represent the characters I have in my mind.

Before I buy a doll, I have a name and character picked out. Once I actually have the doll, though, character traits evolve and get added. (For example, my new doll character is very protective of my Tiny, which I wasn't planning - I didn't expect the two sizes to interact much, it just kind of happened naturally.) Developing the character appeals to the writer in me.

 

My first doll Noah doesnt have a character embodiment when i first bought him. It was during the time I had him that I slowly begun to develop his character and backstory. he has gone through a lot of change until i finally decide what i want him to be.

For my second doll Linder, he was an old character that I used to have a few years ago when I was roleplaying. I still have 3 more original characters that I want to shell (malcolm, marcus and oliver)

 

Yup, all of them ! I have three BJDs, including one pet doll, and two Hujoos, and they all have very defined characters. That's what I love the most about them, I need my dolls to have characters in order to enjoy them I believe^^

 

Yes and no.

Some of them have very defined personalities and detailed storylines and deep interpersonal relationships with other dolls...and some of them are just dolls. Because I buy based on the sculpt itself rather than a preconceived idea, it's always a surprise for me! Some dolls arrive home and I've mentally got a fully developed little novella starring them before the day is out, and others come through the door and are quietly beautiful. I let myself love the doll for what it is and I am very happy with my collection that way.

The one thing I've tried that makes me enjoy the hobby less is buying dolls to fill a role. I did this a lot in the past, when I had very strict parameters and only wanted "character dolls." The problem is, I like a lot of different styles and sculpts, and I'd find myself shoehorning a new character into a narrative that really didn't make much sense. Or I'd buy a doll meant to be one thing and it wouldn't fit and I'd be faced with reworking the character or reworking the doll. Headaches all around! So I've found what works best for me is simply buying what I like and taking it from there.

 

Since my creativity is in the sewing, I got my first doll as a dress mannequin. But she immediately claimed a name I'd had in my head for decades with no character in mind. Since then, I have discovered that the dolls open up my creative mind as finishing them & naming them brings the idea of their specific character to mind. Once there were more than a couple of dolls in the house, the choice of next doll is often influenced by how they fit into the doll groups. Like others have said, I have some dolls who are just simply their own lone lovely selves. Most of the others fit into one of two main groups that have evolved. Some that I chose because they would fit a roll have arrived & changed rolls! And now a days whether a doll seems a part of "the family" is a consideration when I see a new doll that I like, although I have to really love them to get past the "NO MORE ROOM" issue. XP
Naming & imagining who the dolls are is as far as I've gone. The rest of their stories are waiting for someone else to tell. Me, I want to make their clothes! ;0 At this point it is kind of nice having a few vague less specific characters who can & will try out different styles & possibilities as the dolls with strongest characters are locked in place in my head. That first doll, she now has a much bigger specific role with a new name based on a favorite character from a book. It gets a little confusing in my head as she goes by both names because she'll always be that first girl I fell in love with but now a days she's absolutely Amelia Peabody.

 

My BJDs usually reporesent characters. However, my imagination lets me morph the given doll into a different character type according to the outfit she/he is dressed in. I don't go purist on my dolls. They can be whatever calls out to me in a given moment. PS My vinyls rarely represented characters. My persoanl belief is that the BJDs (with all the interchanging you can do with eyes, wigs, etc.) stimulate the collector's imagination. I never thoight I would own a BJD because of the high price point, but they are addictive. I now have 7. One reason is that they are so expressive and really lend themselves to being any character.

 

I am not a writer so my doll does not have a distinct character, but she is definitely taking on a personality of her own. I look at her and try to get a sense of who and what she wants to be. I develop her background story based on my understanding of her character.

 

I don't do the background story thing but I do give them each visual styles. It makes it easier for me to pick clothes out, otherwise I'd buy everything. Two of my five are almost complex enough to be characters. Almost [emoji14]

 

For me the doll comes before the character/story. So now they are all characters with their own backstories and personalities but I have to get to know the dolls before I can come up with their character. I haven't had any luck trying to shell any of my D&D characters (very specific face) but wouldn't mind doing that someday too. The dolls and their personalities inspire me

 

I made a charater and wanted a her in doll form, but it was super hard! while in the search I came across a doll and fell in love, but she didn't fit the charater so I looked at her and wondered about her story, what she told me and came up with a story for her! it's alot easier to get a story from a doll you love, then having a story and try to get the doll to fit it, especially if your not sure what your looking for

 

My first BJD was my way of shelling out a character that had existed from my book 6 years before. Full backstory, minute appearance details etc.
To me, the hunt to find a doll that properly fits the character is thrilling.Who would have guessed that one of my most beloved characters ended up in an only $150 Resinsoul doll, and I couldn't find anything else that fit better?

 

I am an author and one of the house rules of getting more dolls is that they must be an existing character (otherwise I'd be drowning in dolls). Even so, I now own 29 dolls and have plans to purchase 3 more. I have no idea how that happened either. The one small blessing is that not all of my story characters demand resin shells. I currently have 3 groupings of characters from 3 different worlds that my dolls belong to and none of those worlds intersect in written format although I will do photostories of the different characters interacting just for the giggles.

 

Generally all the dolls that draw me in to buy them are ones that I look at them and see I character I can draw out of them (with the exception of fox dolls cause I LOVE FOXES). Tho there was was a doll I got from Soom Lody, who I bought with the intention of modding the donkey body to be a kirin, came also with a full human body so I literally had a complete blank human doll and the complete kirin-taur doll. I left the doll in the body bag and then when I got my part of the split I did which was an outfit I remembered I had that body. Suddenly when I thought to throw the clothes on her, she came to life for me so yea....

Not exactly a writer, but I am the creative type and love coming up with new characters~

 

I always wanted to bring my D&D Drow Warlock to life, and until I found BJD's I didn't know how to do that. Kimaeril was always my favorite out of all the characters I played and I have created so much of a personality and story for him.

 

My only doll at the moment is based off a character of mine. Any other dolls I plan/want will be based off my characters or the next one I'm thinking of saving for, my friends so my doll can get his companion.

I like having my character in a tangible, 3-D form. To have him go from a concept to my drawings and stories to a doll I can hold and dress and admire..it's really amazing ^^

 

Most, but not all, of my bjds are my characters. I have one doll, Planetdoll Riz (Pip), who I know nothing about, and another, Ancient Tales Rachel, who is only based on a painting. However, all my other dolls are characters.

 

I follow a similar process with my own, though for some that I have seen and liked, I would gladly buy first and imagine the character (potentially a new or different one) afterwards. You really get to know the potential character the longer you've had the doll, or so it is in my case.

 

I absolutely can't make a doll out of a novel character. In fact, they can't exist as anything but novel-based characters (and maybe sometimes art) to me, otherwise I start losing interest. That being said, though, each of my dolls has a character, backstory and some form of plot, occasionally with other people's. I could never not have a human-shaped object near me and not give it a character. I might some day write something of Otakar's or my grail doll Vissarion's, but I don't really know. My future doll Hideyasu was meant to be a novel or short story character, but he just didn't work anywhere so eventually I gave up and just decided to make him a doll.

 

Mine aren't characters, or at least I don't think of them that way. They have names, personalities, and distinct looks, but I don't really come up with stories for them. I don't know why, it's just not how my collecting works.