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Character dolls and personal taste?

Jun 24, 2010

    1. I love character dolls, and I really want one X3 but a thought occurred to me as I looked at the doll I decided fit best: If it weren't for the character, I probably would not get this doll. It's not the most appealing doll to me (though I do like it), but it fits perfectly!!

      So to people who own character dolls, are planning on having them, or have had them in the past, do you bypass your personal favorites for characters?
      Or maybe your personal favorites are favorites BECAUSE they look like characters?

      Just things to ponder!! Thanks for any and all responses, opinions appreciated :)
       
    2. I can see what you mean with the difference between character vs personal taste.. Of course any dolls I will be getting and have got (minus the tiny) are probably going to be based off my own personal original characters. One can argue I guess that character and personal taste is one in the same for me - since I'm the one who created the character.

      I'd come across many sculpts though that could have fit Lesley that I liked and though I like the sculpt I got and fits him perfectly.. there's also something niggling at the back of my mind.. if it wasn't the fact that he fit Lesley I might have resold the doll since there's aspects I'm turned off of at times. In the back of my mind I think I'm still trying to think of to buy the other sculpt from the company to see if it would fit him better - and if not put it towards another character it should fit.. I think I might just to get that thought out of my mind..

      There have been so many I want (that may or may not wind up being owned in future) but since I was looking for a specific character when looking through all the companies I had bypassed them because they didn't fit him, even though they might have fit other characters or simply been an added on to collection to form a character himself.

      Of course.. I have to be attracted to the sculpt of choice.. If I hated the sculpt for Lesley and even if it fit I still wouldn't break down to force the fact that it fits the character and that I should live with it. For the amount we pay for the dolls, there has to be the factor that it may not be the favorite sculpt but you still have to like it enough that it doesn't turn you off.

      (I still say Lesley without a wig looks like an ex of mine.. it might be the reason I was originally disappointed when I opened him up. But that's stopped bothering me and it's other small things I both like and dislike somehow at the same time.)
       
    3. You know, I'd never really thought about it that way...but yeah! How very insightful of you to bring it up. All of my dolls are characters, and you're right...I've definitely chosen dolls that I otherwise wouldn't have chosen if I wasn't trying so hard to match characters to sculpts. But then, just imagine how boring it would be to have nothing but pretty faces all lined up in a row. And then a company would put out one even prettier, and you'd be like doh!:doh Seems to me that your bank account would be crying all the time!:...( I'm sure there are plenty of people who just collect whatever they like and that's fine for them. (And more power to them if they have the $ to back it up!) But for me, I like the idea of a completed collection at some point once I have all my characters. It seems to keep my collecting within bounds, and I think I'd get bored awfully fast with "too much pretty". For me, the character creates the bond that keeps me interested in the doll long term.
       
    4. I guess its sort of a half and half for me. There are a nubmer of dolls I see out there that I love purely for their looks, and decide I want one..but then would invent a character to go with it of course. Like the LTF Bisou I eventually want to buy. I had no child charcters, no reason for one...but when I fell in love with the sculpt the idea for a character popped up really quick!
      My Heliot was an 'omg pretty!' purchase, but now I couldn't imagine not having him.... but still I half recycled an old unused character I had and it fit him well....
      Buying dolls purely for their fitting to a character? It's what I planned to do origionally...but then if you don't love the doll... it's a hard decision to make I guess. With my Ha Yarn Cho I saw her on the Dollmore site immediately thought 'Tezza!!' and had to have her BECAUSE she fitmy character so well...otherwise, I likely wouldn't hve bought a Model doll girl. The legs are frustrating ><
      I think, like with Poetic soul said I wouldn't want a shelf lined with pretty after pretty after pretty. Because I know my personal tastes all lean towards one asthetic. So I am from now on trying to find sculpts for pre-existing characters. We'll see how well that goes.
       
    5. Well, I didn't pick out my first doll to be an existing character or anything, but I did choose her more because of her facial expression and proportions than the look of her features. I thought I'd be able to make a better character out of her. Some of the other ones had more beautiful features, but didn't look like they could become the kind of character I was interested in.
       
    6. Most of my dolls are kind of both. They embody parts of the character, can act as the character, and look similar if not exactly like the character, but somehow have their own personalities that shine through. I'm usually attracted to a doll visually first, then have an "OMG THAT'S SO AND SO" moment. At that point I pretty much have to get them. XD
       
    7. I know exactly what you mean! I can't count the number of times I've found a doll that would fit a certain character, only to realize that I didn't really love the mold. Liked the mold, yes, but not in the "OMG WANT!" sense. More in the "Done up exactly like my character, I could really grow to love this doll" sense. xD

      That is what makes character dolls so tricky for me to shell -- finding a mold that fits the character and that I also love. I don't think I would get a doll that fit a character unless I also really loved the sculpt itself.
       
    8. My only dolls that were characters before are Kevya -Barron, Donovan-Akando, Hands and Scythe, both Minifees. I would have ended up with an EID even if not for Don, but I probably would have gone with Luo, not Akando. Akando fits his face type better, as far as I can tell.
      I would have probably gotten an IH Barron even if it weren't for Kevya, as it was already a sculpt I liked. To get it to look like Kev, now, that took quite a lot of careful mods, but it's close enough now that I can feel the character in his face, if you know what I mean.
      The Minifees, now, I never intended to own minifees, (too anime looking in the faces for my normal tastes) but they're so cute since they look like cartooned versions of their characters rather than being a precise likeness. Someday I may replace them with more accurate likenesses, maybe in Chic line form or by at least getting them new heads.
       
    9. My dolls are both. My first doll was bought because I love his face sculpt, but he's actually inspired the base story for a comic I've been working on. Now all the dolls Im planning to get in the near future are going to be based of off my OC's, unless I come across a sculpt that I absolutely must have.
       
    10. For the most part, I like dolls because they look like my original characters. I would not have gotten into BJDs if I hadn't found dolls that fit my characters. I have never seen a doll and felt it fit a character but I really did not like it much. This may be because I can find something ugly and still really like it :sweat (in fact, some of my characters are not supposed to be pretty at all) It seems once I see a doll as one of my OCs, even if I hated it before, I suddenly like it. This recently happened with BBB Charisma. I really did not like Charisma when I first saw pictures of it, but once I saw one in person and realized it fit Arethusa so well, I started to really like her.
      I only have one doll I bought mainly because I liked the sculpt for the sculpt itself and not because of a character (Heliot, and he now has a character). While I LOVE the Husky sculpt, I only bought one because it fits Wolfgang (and his twin I have yet to bring home) perfectly.
      I have also found that I start to like sculpts fit to characters I RP mine with, or other sculpts fit to characters I find interesting. For example, I now adore the Fairyland Riff sculpt and the CP Moon sculpt. Both of these dolls represent characters of other people who have become important parts of some of my characters' stories through RP. While I found them both to be nice looking dolls before, I didn't care to seek them out in the gallery like I do now.
      For the most part, if I do not see one of my characters in a doll, I do not find the doll attractive or interesting, and when I see a one of my OCs in a doll, I find the doll very appealing in general. There are a few exceptions, but not many.
       
    11. @Jesslynne: Great response! It's great to hear you get what I mean ;D Haha and that bit about Lesley looking like your ex was kind of amusing. I'm glad to hear you haven't resold her and that she fits your character :)
      @PoeticSoul: Thank you!!!! Wow was that an interesting response, I understand exactly what you mean about your "boundries" and the "too much pretty" sentiment XD I'll be thinking about that a lot more now ;)
      @Koitten: Ahaa also great response!!! I know what you mean :3 I hope to have at least one doll in the future who is just "that pretty doll I just had to have", and the only doll I have at the moment had no character until I received him, now I've created a whole story based on him!!
      @nk-chan: That's really interesting, I never thought of looking at a doll's potential to become a character like that, it's a really intriguing idea!! Thanks for the response :)
      @Calli: That's so great!!! That's awesome that you find dolls that are just as visibly attractive to you as they fit the character :D
      @eri: D8 sorry!!!! I'm going to check it out after this response, I didn't search thoroughly enough... sorry!!
      @Dolly: Aw yay cool for sharing my sentiment!! :D yeah there's a big difference between characters and "OMG WANT" for me too XDDD
      @Rosslyn: Aw well I'm glad you've found dolls that fit, and for the minifees, I hope they find their place someday!! It sounds like you've got a wonderful troupe :)
      @Resin Doll: Well I hope you find all the right dolls! Good luck to you, and I can't wait to see your OC's in the future :)
      @Louiselle: First of all, hi to a person I've actually met!! :D and it was really nice to hear your response, I believe you're the first to say you definitely choose characters over looks with the rare exception. I think it's great you've found dolls that work so well with your ideas :)
       
    12. That kind of happened to me recently...I was watching an anime and realized that one of the characters reminded me of Dollzone's Brant. ^_^; A doll I'd liked but had never thought of owning, but now that I realize he'd have a character that I admire I'm seriously considering getting one...

      There's plenty of dolls I'm attracted to, like B&G or DODs or even some of the SOOM MDs, that are lovely but don't suit any characters I need to shell. Overall I'll pick a doll that resembles one of my cast of characters over one I like just because it's pretty any day.
       
    13. I don't buy dolls to have character dolls, but I think that if I did I would definitely pick a doll that appeals to me over one that really, really fits the character. I'd rather have a bit of my own interpretation in there!
       
    14. I have pre-existing characters, sometimes my own creations and sometimes not, that I try find dolls to match; like Damien Thorn from the Omen II film, I wouldn't buy even the prettiest msd until it was "right" for the character, luckily Souldoll Eldon Black actually looks like a minimee of him, so he was snapped up. Other times I just have to have the doll purely for their own looks, like IH Kamau or SOOM Beryl, then I choose a character for them.
       
    15. Mostly I buy dolls because of how they look. I like a certain aesthetic and am attracted to 'pretty' dolls. However, I saw an Angelregion Diana -Pride- and jokingly told my friend she looked like one of my characters. The more I looked at her the more I saw it too. I ended up getting one and Diana has really weird almost awkward features, but it fits my boy so well. I would never have gotten her otherwise I don't think, but I do love her look.

      I have a MNF Shiwoo too and changed the features I didn't really like. He was cheap and I wanted a head to practice modding. I liked some of his features, but really hated his nose.
       
    16. All my dolls are character dolls. I generally don't set out to find a doll for Character X. It's usually a case of browsing doll sites, enjoying the pretty and I'll see a doll and suck in a sharp breath when I realize who they are. I think it's a good thing that my buying habits run that way as it can be a long time before I see a doll that is what a character looks like in my mind's eye, thus not making my wallet cry all the time at the OMG!Want! of the pretty that's out there.
       
    17. I havent gotten my first doll yet, but when i do, i think i will think of a personality AFTER getting the doll..
       
    18. I got lucky, and my favorite sculpt was perfect for my favorite character. :) Now I have a bazillion little versions of him running around... :sweat
      Okay. Not a bazillion, but it sure seems like it!
       
    19. There are some sculpts that I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the character -- it's one of the reasons that I have as much variety in my doll family that I do. However, it's really exciting to be able to embody a character of mine in a doll -- that's where a lot of enjoyment comes from, and I find that it's a much more lasting enjoyment than only buying a doll because it has a pretty face. I have some dolls that I bought just because I thought they were pretty, and tried to come up with personalities for them when they got home -- what has ended up happening is some have been worked into my main storyline as bodies for some pre-existing characters, but I'm also considering selling a few others. Dolls based on my characters work far far better for me.

      Now I've also been lucky that some of my fave sculpts (CP Chiwoo, SD13 & SD Four Sisters, and several Ninodoll heads) did end up fitting some characters of mine.