Well, I decided to put her up for sale. Who knows, maybe someday I'll buy a Sharmin again, and she'll fit in better with my dollie family.
I'm a person for whom questions of bonding can quickly turn to questions of angst if I am not careful. It's great to be reminded that this is really about fun, happiness, enjoyment. Not worrying about what people think, what dollies "think," etc. Silly _joodles! Thanks, Hitasura. (You got any more of those anti-Angst shirts around, btw? I could use a few of those...) :grin:
I am saving to purchase my dolls( TOO & BEE-A)in a few months but have still been looking at all these lovely dolls as well. But I read allot about not bonding well and i am going to sell. Which kinda makes me nervous what exactly is bonding and what does it mean to you and what type of experince is it?
Hey, I know this is random, but I've been wondering just what it is about BJDs that makes it possible to form a really deep bond with them. I mean, if one looks at it scientifically, they're really just inanimate objects made to represent the human form - but everyone here knows that they are soooo much more than that. So I've been putting myself in an outsider's shoes and trying to figure out just...what it is that makes BJDs so much more than dolls. Obviously they're incredably beautiful, but is it the joint system? Or having so many things you can buy for them? Or their versatility? Maybe even their size? (those of you with different sized dolls - does that affect how you relate to them?) I don't know - the lure is so obvious. I was just kind of being self-analytical, I suppose, and trying to figure out what makes it so...easy to become so emotionally intertwined with a person who's made out of resin!
I'n my case it's their beauty. and the fact that every doll is unique. They are hand-painted, you can mix and match wigs and eye-colour to create a character that you really like and feel like you really know to the core and love. I think it's about character making cause for me, a pen and paper-roleplayer and character designer for comic books I feel a similiar thing when I create a character for those types of things.. when you get to know a character from the base and actualy can touch it in for of an insanley beautiful doll I think it gets a piece of your sould. Just like a kids favourite teddy or blanket.. thats my theory..
I think it's just their ability to look so freakin' alive! I look into the eyes of my dolls, I find it very difficult to remember that they are just inanimate objects. Even friends of mine, dry lawyer-types with absolutely no interest in dolls, say it's creepy how they seem to be looking back at you, each with his or her distinct personality.
The familiarity you have as time goes on ...you kind of...grow with them...or rather; they kind of grow on you.. That and the memories that get pulled up that make you feel that they're with you during any event or occasion... So yea.. if you dropped him in the car and couldn't find him... a year later you might remember it and laugh it off with them as though they were a companion that you build founding memories with...yep
Their eyes. I look at Griffyn, and he looks back at me ^_^ Dolls with their eyes positioned wrongly can look disturbing or even 'dead', but if they're placed right, and they appear to be meeting your eyes, then the whole illusion comes to life. Suddenly they're people, instead of just things. Also, I think there's a circular thing happening - the sorts of people who buy dolls are often bright and imaginative, so they create vivid personalities for their dolls, which in turn helps them 'bond' with them. Cyph
The faces. A doll is an inanimate object, sure, but their faces carry so much expression and "soul". The eyes of a doll give it life and if they're positioned right, they seem to looking back at you and talking to you. Also, you give them personalities and such and that truly makes them come alive. (The buying stuff part for them would be so much more applicable if a single purchase didn't burn a hole in my pocket ops: )
Wow - all these answers - joy!! I think people have definitely got a point about the eyes (and how they're positioned - makes a BIG difference). I've never seen a BJD in the resin before (I have only pictures at this point to feed my obsession... - but I've got the money, and I'm just trying to track down the head I'm after!) but even in photographs, they can really look straight at you. And Cyphermage, I think what you said about the nature of the people who invest in BJDs is also really valid. I'm a comic artist and writer as well as dollmaker, so for me, dolls are a lot like characters taking on corporeal form - and you can't help but bond with someone who lives inside your head. Seems like creative people are just naturally going to find the personality hidden in (what first appears to be) a doll!
I think in particular BJDs tend to appeal to people with loads of creativity and imagination, so that they can use them as "vessals" for projections of bits of their personality in a creative manner. I think that's why so many dolls are characters with lots of backstory, and lives of their own... ^^
I was very surprised when I held my first BJD - I lifted her up and our eyes met, and it was as if she took a breath and saw me! It was a powerful moment, and I've been bonded to them ever since. As a fashion doll collector, I can tell you that my other dolls (who I still love, LOL!) look wooden and stiff and well, like dolls by comparison. The level of lifelikeness in BJDs is extraordinary, and even those who don't know anything about them can be moved by just looking at their faces, and in their eyes. I've seen people who you'd never expect to do this, cradling a BJD and cooing at her(or him). It's really something, how expressive and alive they are.
I think it's the face. I have an occidental porcelain doll at home (my mother's) and it looks like a dead fish O___O I have troubles with realistic dolls, too... I find them pretty disturbing. But ABJDs look friendly enough, and are beautiful.
