character development before or after doll arrival?!

hi! i normally tend to have a simple idea of what i'd like for the character, like their name, appearance, and maybe their general behavior. i actually try to stop myself past that point, as when the actual doll comes in they can help me decide the more specific details, but also so that when the doll arrives, my preconceived notion of them won't be too specific and not fitting to them, and maybe leave me feeling unfulfilled or that maybe I had bought the wrong doll. i only have two dolls but they all have their personality settled after a couple of months : o)

 

I'm actually struggling with that a bit right now, as I'm waiting on most of my dolls for quite a while. Some are easier than others, for example the fullset that I've already seen owner photos of I can be more sure will work for the concept I want them to, but another doll I still need to plan how to make a wig for and comission eyes for, so I have no idea how she'll end up looking compared to my concept design. Not to mention another is only a head for now. I do absolutely agree that not getting too specific with characters before getting the doll is the way to go to avoid any potential disappointment.

 

For a long time, I kept trying to design my doll characters before they arrived, all the planning is very exciting and fun to me, and I enjoy looking for accessories in advance.

But multiple times when my dolls arrived, they just struck me so differently in person than they had before, and a lot of planning and accessory purchases just didn't feel right for them.

Now I try to wait and be patient. While it is nice to have a few extra clothes and wigs so they are at least displayable upon arrival, the dolls will have no problem waiting for me to work on them once they're here

 

Ive never shelled a character, so to speak, because I dont have predetermined stories. I buy my dolls based on how much I like their looks, and then develop the character once I have them on hand. A good part of my crew doesnt even have a character, only a name (some not even that) and a visual style. The ones that inspire me more get more 'content', while the ones that dont are fine just standing there and looking pretty.

While I understand for some ppl shelling their existing characters into dolls is what its all about, thats not the only way to enjoy the hobby. Some ppl realize design ideas via dolls. Others use them as modells for their photography. Some just collect pretty dolls.

 

I fully agree with Rillja. You may have to try out both ways and find out what works for you. I'm a writer first and foremost, so I do something closer to shelling a character than buying a doll because they're pretty. But just because that's how I am doesn't mean that's how it'll be for you. If you want to go all-out and get a bunch of things, go for it. If those things don't work out, save them for another doll. They may work on them, and then you also know that you can't buy accessories first next time.

 

I also am more of a "writer". The stories are basically already written, but once the doll comes home, I do sometimes add a few quirks the doll made me think about.

For example, my main character is a sad, melancholic witch, but after the arrival of the doll, the character became more contemplative and serene. For another, the character was a brooding, plotting boy, and after the arrival of the doll, he still was, but became a mad scientist too (somehow XD).

 

I think @Rillja made a good point! You don't have to shell your own characters or other person's characters if it doesn't feel right. You can collect them for inspiration, to just look at, or to shell characters. It's really up to you! I know I bought some of my first dolls based off of looks alone and then who I wanted them to be came when they arrived. My first big doll - Elf Dia from Soom - was a toss up between Legolas/Elrond/Manwe from JRRTolkien's works. In the end, he ended up being Manwe because that suited him best. Other dolls I have don't quite have character names yet - I call them by their mold names because I rather liked their mold names but am not sure who I want them to be in Middle Earth haha.

So I would say, don't worry! They'll tell you if they want to be someone in particular. You'll know what you'll want to do with them once they arrive home.

 

That's exactly the way I go about it. I didn't plan for my first doll at all, no preexisting backstory or design. I just had a vague feeling what kind of character he could be based on the company and some owner pictures. Some characteristics I've seen in him before I got him hold true to what he actually is right now, but he also brought some very unexpected traits with him as well!
I really like to develop a doll's character through interaction and observation, I just like to see them grow into the character they (probably?) want to be.

I'm currently waiting for my second doll and don't have any specific plans for him either. Based on his looks I think he might be a bit sly and quite extroverted but if it turns out he wants to become something totally different when I get the actual doll, I probably won't mind at all!

I feel like every object has a life of their own, so it's just too hard for me to turn my dolls into a pre-made character, but I'm still amazed and very impressed when others think up whole stories in advance and manage to turn a doll exactly into the character they want it to be!

 

i'm finding that i tend to develop them after, because honestly if i start with an idea and they get here, and then i try something else out on them, it tends to just shift and change!

 

It's a little bit of both for me. I don't tend to get a sculpt to shell a character unless I go "Oh that's them." For that reason, I basically wait until I find a sculpt that speaks to the character. The sculpt definitely influences how I view the character though, often time the sculpt speaks to me in a different way than the idea of a character. Usually once I've picked a sculpt, I know more about little details about the character. The doll version helps me understand a side of a character that I wouldn't normally think about. Harsh or distant characters can become softer, Happy go lucky characters can reveal something more about themselves. It really helps me flesh out and deepen my understanding of how to write the character

The most fun for me though is figuring out their style of dress. A lot of my characters have base outfits that I draw them in ~80% of the time but rarely do I want to put my dolls in the characters usual base outfit. I love switching out and around outfits, like sometimes all my dolls are wearing sleep/comfy wear, sometimes they're all dressed up for a night out, etc, etc. So that all allows me to get a sense of what style the character has as well. Each doll tends to have a different style, like my volks rinon tends to wear a lot of hyper feminine outfits, my fairyland ingrid is a bit of a tomboy, and my fairyland luha loves comfy clothes and long socks. It's all really fun!

 

I'm not a big character creator, so usually just opportunistically choose a doll I like the look of and the personality/backstory unfolds after having them for a while. Like their temperament is informed by how they move and pose, and how the expression on the face turns out. When I've tried to choose a name or style in advance, the doll has defied my expectations and I end up changing it anyways.

 

USUALLY before, but... i just impulse bought a doll on mandarake and am writing a character for him now, so... ^__^;;

 

I've tried many times over the years to write characters for dolls before their arrival, but inevitably, they show up and tell me that they're someone completely different. That actually used to be a huge issue in my "doll bonding," since I never felt like the doll was right for the character until I let my preconceived notions of what they should/would be go. Now I don't even try anymore, I just wait for them to come home and go on the journey of character discovery with them.

 

I like to have an in depth character written first, who has been roleplayed for at least a month, preferably longer. If I don’t bond to a character, there’s no point in shelling them no matter how pretty the doll is. I have occasionally had the doll first but this only happens if the doll is a surprise—a gift, a prize, an event doll, a trade offer. And in that case, I let them ‘tell me’ who they are.

 

I rescue those little gals where I can. And sometimes they tell me their stories over time, or my imagination is on overload.

 

I have a sturdy base idea of what I want my dolls usually before I purchase, then...that sturdy idea turns tipsy and rolls all around. It all comes up to how I see the doll in real life!

 

A little of both. Sometimes I play a character for years and decide to shell him or sometimes I really like a specific sculpt, even if I haven't role played him before. It might be easier to get a grasp of your character if you decided some details first, but sometimes you know you just have to have a specific face.

 

I used to think I would like only ever get dolls I already had clear plans for, but that’s gone differently twice now. The first time I had bought a custom DD head to be an existing OC, but my impression of it in person was very different to seeing the auction photos and it ended up not working for that OC at all. I was going to sell the head, but I procrastinated on it for a year and then decided to just try out a new look for the head picking a wig I thought would compliment the faceup, and then his entire character kind of fell into place and now I couldn’t imagine ever selling him.

I also got SD10 Cecile with basically zero plan for him, solely because I thought he was pretty, and I actually felt guilty about it at the time because I didn’t want to fall into buying dolls ‘for the hell of it’. While I was waiting for him to ship I got inspired by a game character I saw on twitter with a white bob cut and fancy clothes, and thought that aesthetic could be something I could try so ordered a wig like it (but I went for silver-white over plain white as I didn’t want him to look too similar). After I put that wig and a new outfit on him, it was like he suddenly turned into a different doll entirely, and what was an impulse purchase ended up inspiring my current favourite ‘main’ OC and story which I’ve been having a lot of fun solidifying further and further with comics etc. I haven’t been struck with inspiration for original content in over a year, so that was really special to me.

As for other dolls that I’ve gotten for characters that I had already made prior, having a tangible version of them in the ‘real world’ has helped with figuring out additional things about them and acted as further inspiration.

 

Definitely a little of both for me-- and the degree depends on the doll. Like, Vince changed a lot after he arrived, and kind of became himself the more I handled him, Marigold I came up with a character for before she reached me, but it was based on how much I loved her sculpt and my desire to have a character that she could be, and then Jack was my D&D character, so shelling him hasn't changed him at all, I was just lucky enough to find the perfect face for him.

My new girl, I know a lot about what I want her character and story to be, because I want to use her in writing Jack's story independent of the actual campaign I was playing him in, but I don't have everything about her nailed down and there are things about her that I think I'm going to 'discover' once I get them together and start photo-taking and storytelling with them.