Character dolls and personal taste?

Ah, I know what you mean! I got annoyed with myself recently because I was constantly trying to find "the perfect sculpt" for my characters and realising that, if you showed me the doll, I didn't really love it all that much. D:
When I got my first doll, he didn't have a character so I chose him purely for looks and nothing else.
My second doll, however, I chose because, although she's gorgeous, looked a lot like how I imagined my girl to be. I just saw her and went, "Ah, it's Jasper!" xD I was just lucky that she was a really pretty sculpt too.
I don't think I would ever pick a sculpt I deemed "ugly" just to fit a character though... But I have paid attention to different dolls that I may not have done because they look a certain way. I like that though, it keeps everyone looking that bit different from one another. C:

 

Personally, I buy dolls because I love the sculpt and the way they look visually. I wouldn't NOT buy a certain doll because it doesn't "fit a character." I usually make a character AFTER the doll has arrived. I think it works out better this way because I have a lesser chance of wanting to sell the doll after getting it, for me at least. I prefer to make up a character by the way a doll looks. Like if it's a more of a sad looking doll, I would want it to have a more of a dark background, next to a very happy looking one.

 

The first three dolls I got all came with a personality and character all their own, however two more of the ones i'm looking to get are actually creations for D&D characters, roleplay characters and such. The first girl I want to get will be based on a steampunk futuristic character I made so i'm very excited!

 

It's sort of both for me xD The majority of the time I'll fall for a doll and realize how -perfect- it is for a favorite character of mine. I love when that happens cause then I can mentally justify buying it for myself lol.

On the flip side though, I'll be looking for a doll to fit a character. Find the perfect one, tilt my head, and question if I really love this mold. No, but I could someday...

 

I got most of my collection to date before I actually started my first character doll and now I am working on my second one. In both instances I think my attraction to the sculpt was both because it resembled the character and because I just thought it was beautiful (or in the second case, cute). My other dolls are not part of my original fictional storyline, though they acquired pretty well-developed characters after I got them.

Here's another question I'd like to throw out-have you ever gotten/settled for a doll for one of your characters that was almost perfect for it in many respects except one or two and found yourself re-thinking the character's appearance because you like the doll so much? I had been looking for a doll for my character Tanith for a long time and eventually found her in Soom Galena. Problem is, fictional Tanith is sort of golden tan and Galena is WS. Also, fictional Tanith has a very dainty, tiny nose (she's not human). I originally thought Cuprit would have been better. But after I face-upped Galena, I realized that I loved her soft eyes and beautiful ears and lips and could live with the rather large nose even though it wasn't Tanith as I'd originally envisaged her. In fact, now when I think of Tanith, I see my doll's face rather than my original conception of her.

 

I was at first trying really hard to find a doll to fit the character I had in mind. However, I saw a doll and instantly fell in love. I realised I started forming a character and create a story based on him instead and knew he was the one.
That was how he came to be my very first doll

 

I'm trying to aim for both when planning out a character doll (it will be my 3rd doll when and if I'm motivated to purchase it). I need to like the sculpt and I have found some potential sculpts that I grew to like a lot. Especially the face that will be fitting for my first character doll.

 

In fact "character dolls versus personal taste" is the basis of all the BJD I own, my ten One Piece manga and anime series (Large size BJD) characters and my two own creation (Medium size BJD) ones. Fortunately, I love both things in all of them, but I am afraid some of the sculpts I have would not be here at home if I had not decided since a nearly first beginning they would be the resin crew they are. To be honest, I fall into BJD because of the characters I love I see in them and that is the main reason which makes me love molds to the point of purchasing them.