bjd motivation?

I find giving a doll a wash (not the face of course) and taking photos both work for reconnection. It's tactile.

 

I role ply their characters, but when even that seems boring, I'll try looking hard at the doll, and remembering why I loved them in the first place. Sometimes if I haven't handled one for awhile, just having them in my hands, touching them, changing their clothes, taking pictures helps. Sometimes adding to their character sheet in my binder helps. Sometimes, they need a new look, so maybe a new wig style, new eyes or a new outfit. If everything else fails, it may actually be time to let that one go.

 

To motivate myself I usually sew something new for my dolls and try out some new looks, maybe test out new wigs or buy a little something for them.

A big motivator is getting a new doll. That gets me into making new things and taking more pictures.

 

I think it's normal for the bjd interest level to ebb and flow. I think it's normal for all interests in life, even if you're deeply passionate about them. You get busy, or stressed, or simply distracted by other things. You go through different experiences and it's normal to be in varying mental states of focus and distraction. I think it's even healthy to take a break from something you love. When you get back to it, it's new again and sometimes you see it in a different way. I have quite a few hobbies in which that happens. I like taking a break and rediscovering something, like jewelry making or sculpting. It reinvigorates me.

With bjd, I find simply browsing other dolls, or watching Youtube bjd videos, makes me want to go back to mine. I love all mine and I am really attached to them. I was choosy about them (as I think most people are) and feel they reflect different parts of me, so seeing other dolls, or seeing someone enjoying their own, makes me appreciate mine again. Of course, I've only been in the hobby for about a year. I'm sure there will come a time when I'm less interested, but I'll go back to them when the time is right. I think the important thing is to not force it. If you force it, then it becomes negative.

 

When I'm uninspired by my dolls, I normally try an outfit, eyes, or wig change as others here have stated. Sometimes I'll even re-do their faceups because it motivates me to improve. Drawing my dolls helps as well because I'm able to imagine any outfit on them that I want. Which I later use as a reference when shopping for new items.

 

Taking pictures always brings that spark back, or redressing one of them I haven't played with in a while.

 

Watching videos by my favorite bjd Youtubers often helps me get inspired again. As does browsing Etsy for new doll stuff. But most importantly, like Lisam925 says, I avoid forcing it if my interest is low. I'm hopefully going to be in this hobby for a long time, so I can afford to take it slow.

 

Of course.

My dolls are for when I have time to play with them. The rest of the time they just sit there.

Teddy

 

I find that buying/making them a new outfit makes me want to play with them again ^^
I also think that taking photos or browsing this forum helps with the motivation :P

 

I do not force myself. It is okay when they just sit around.

 

This.
Personally, one of the things I really like about my dolls is that I *don't* have to do anything with them if I don't feel like it.

Unlike kids or pets or a garden, it's perfectly okay just to step back and leave them sitting there unattended for a little while... or even a long while... while you attend to other things. They won't get lonely. They don't spoil. At worst, when you pick them back up again you may have to deal with some dust.

 

I think it is natural to have some lulls in the time you spend in your hobbies. Since I like to do a lot of things, I tend to bounce around from hobby to hobby with what free time I have. While I might spend several weekends devoted to needle felting, crochet, or painting, sometimes I spend several weekends re-dressing, re-organizing, or photographing my dolls. They don't seem to mind waiting for me to come around. I was really disinterested in interacting with them for possibly a couple years, but I still liked looking at them and seeing them there. Now that I've been back into them again in recent months, it was like time hadn't passed and I just resumed re-dressing them, trying my hand at sewing for them again, or whatever strikes me at the moment.

 

Usually browsing through Instagram or Flickr motivates me to take more picture and play with my dolls as I always get inspired by all the beautiful pictures on there. Sometimes looking at the photos I took in the past help me regain motivation as they remind me of all the times I have gone through with my dolls

 

My biggest pleasure w/my dolls is to just LOOK at them, sitting in their little environments. I do enjoy changing their clothes, setting up new displays for them, taking photos, making outfits etc, but the biggest kick I get is to walk into my (ok, THEIR) living room & just check them out - or to take out the photo books I've done of them & leaf thru the pages. I didn't get them to 'play' with them - I did that when I was a child & had Barbies. I got them to DO things with & to inhabit my apartment - to embody my characters. So very restful to just watch them

 

I actually struggle with motivation in all areas of my life, but it's a bit different than a loss of creativity. Personally, I've found that rather than focus on that thing I'm supposed to be doing, that I just do something. I can't always photograph my dolls or such, so sometimes I just change their clothes or sit them near me. Then the rest takes its course.

 

Sometimes all it takes to re-inspire me is changing their clothes or browsing through doll stuff online. Sometimes it takes more work, though. Like others have said, I'm really glad it's a hobby where ebb and flow is perfectly acceptable. It's really exciting to pick up a doll I haven't felt connected to for a while and realize all over again what I loved about it. Just playing around with posing two of them together helps inspire me sometimes too--something about the interaction between the dolls. But plain old physical contact is probably the strongest and simplest way for me to reconnect, personally. Even if I'm not being creative, just vegging with a doll next to me can get me inspired (or leave me content with where I am with them).

 

If I feel uninspired, I like to change there outfits or even buy them new wigs, its amazing how a wig changes there looks, like a new character

 

I just take a break and focus a bit on my other hobbies, like video games, drawing, and so on. Then after a week or so, I usually get the urge to do things with my dolls again, like take photos of them or change up their look! For me, it's just best to not force myself to bring that spark back, otherwise I get even more burnt out and things end up not turning out nearly as well. That just ends up making me want to do even less with them for a longer period of time, so I find it's good to take a step back during those times. I know my love for them won't ever disappear, so I don't despair over it. ^_^