Character dolls and copying

I agree totally that no two are ever quite the same. I have several fullset dolls and I don't have any prob with someone else having that too. I also am one of the Tom Hiddleston MNM/Loki owners and I love seeing other peoples versions. As it was pointed out earlier all of our Loki's look quite different from each other due to face-ups, eyes, wigs and bodies varying. Most have green eyes as that is what Loki (the character) has so I don't see it as copying anyone else's doll. It is really fun talking to each other and seeing pictures of what we each do with them.
When it comes to OCs though I would find it a bit weird to try and copy another persons doll. Particularly if the name and character was copied too then that borders on stealing someones property. It's fine though to like the sculpt and get a similar wig or whatever to create your own character. If someone does that then it only shows they admire your doll.

 

Making a doll of an established game, movie, tv show, anime, etc character, I consider a type of fan art because there's the inherent admission that the character does not belong to you. You are creating this doll as an expression of love or appreciation for a given character. You claim no credit for coming up with it. I take the same stance with someone reproducing another person's OCs. All fandom characters are technically the OCs of their respective creators. For example, Naruto is the OC of Masashi Kishimoto.

Copying comes, I think, with the intent to pass off the reproduced work as your own. I wouldn't mind if a person copied my dolls or other artwork with the idea that they acknowledge that they didn't come up with the characters. However, if they attempt to take credit for their creation then I would be mad.

 

I designed a look for a doll (OT here) years ago and sent it to an artist who then used elements of my design in future face ups for others, which did upset me at first. But they were just little things, that I guess aren't that major a 'copy' in the scheme of things, so I eventually let it go. I guess the initial shock of her using these pieces was akin to betrayal (well maybe not that harsh but it felt it at the time), but I love her work so much that I couldn't stay upset.

I feel now that if someone wants to copy some elements from my OC's appearance I won't mind as much. In fact I think I'd probably be flattered by it as they like it as much as I do But if they try to pass the character off as theirs as well, then that's a different matter. I've worked long and hard to come up with each of my characters backgrounds and stories so taking that from them would most definitely upset me.

Versions of characters from movies, books, art etc, I see as fan art so I don't worry about that as copying in that sense. It is more likely to be a personal interpretation for the owner, so will usually show its own personality

 

Hm... I feel like, if I had a doll of an original character that meant a lot to me, and someone was so into the look that I'd given them that they wanted to do something very similar, then it wouldn't necessarily be 'copying'-- even if they went for a very similar faceup, very similar wardrobe pieces, similar wig, I mean... you can copy a look, but you couldn't 'take' my character from me. Still, I can imagine being irked if someone got popular with a doll whose look they had lifted completely from one I'd put work into designing, if I was sitting around not getting views.

It's all sort of hypothetical for me right now since I don't really do enough sharing, and haven't got a doll with a single strong look that I think anyone would want to copy.

I am flattered if someone asks me about a specific thing that they like enough to want to have or do for themselves, but again, I think having even some key similarities isn't the same as copying, and there are so many dolls who have similar styles without being copies of each other out there.


When you get to fan dolls, I definitely don't feel like I'd have the space to complain if someone had the same idea as I did after me, or even if they saw me do something and decided that I'd chosen the right sculpt/face/wig/whatever to 'correctly' embody a character, because those characters aren't mine and I do what I do out of love anyway. And with a character that I was just a fan of, I think I might be more inclined to view it as a funny thing that my doll had a 'twin' out there. I think a shared fannish love and similar vision would be a better basis for a possible friendship than for a feud!

... of course, so far, again, I don't think I've got any ideas worth copying? Even with my OT dolls taken into account, my fan dolls are weird/obscure choices... But there are certainly a couple of more mainstream characters I plan on doing, and if anything, I'd love to see more, whether or not another fan's vision lines up with my own-- with choosing a sculpt (and everything else) for a fan doll, I'd definitely see it as more of a flattering thing to inspire someone else to do the same. It would be like... 'hey, I see the same things you do in this character and in this sculpt, I think you had a great idea and I feel so strongly about it that I spent a lot of money to create the same thing for myself!', that's definitely a compliment.