Character VS Doll

I've definitely felt that before, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I think it's okay to remember that these are objects. They do need to be treated gently, to be cleaned regularly, that can break and honestly, even replaced.

It doesn't mean we love the character less, but it also means that if we break a finger, a toe, a leg piece...we don't lose the character, just their shell.

Remembering this really keeps us tied to reality, and for me, allows me to enjoy my dolls as much as possible. If I don't dress them up, mess up the faceup, if I don't live with them...then I've wasted good times trying to be too careful.

 

I think it's pretty normal? Because sometimes I look at my dolls and go "you take up so much space, I should sell some of you/put some of you away" but there isn't anywhere safe to put them away. The attic is too hot - even with it's fan - and the basement is too damp even with all we've done to make it not damp. And when I think of some of them not being there because I sold them, I get a little sad or annoyed.

Sometimes I stare at them and go "are you really a good fit for soandso?" and I always decided "yes, you are soandso."

So I think your reaction is pretty normal!

 

Tbh that's why I prefer to conceptualize my dolls as constructs, androids, automata, or just... living dolls. It ensures that it never quite breaks the "magic" for me, because my doll simply is what he is, and he can't be more than that -- but in that, he can become something more *because* of that limitation, if that makes sense.

It's kind of like when you talk to Siri. We know Siri is an automated response system, a proto-AI. If we try to treat Siri as human, she'll remind us that she's not. But if we treat her like what she is - an automated response system that tries its best to behave as human in order to connect with us - then the magic is still there.

Am I coherent?

In any case, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with making human/living characters for dolls. Just that this is a personal sticking point for me.

 

I think the first time I realized I had felt that distinction between character and doll was after my second doll got damaged. He fell and chipped his nose and I was distraught! Held him, crying, begging for forgiveness, I really felt like I had caused him pain. But I think that was a turning point for me where after I calmed down from my initial emotional response, I just kind of accepted it, that if I love my dolls and play with them and enjoy them, they won't be pristine forever. So when my first doll got scratched shortly after, I just kind of shrugged it off.

Now, I feel like I have found a good balance between doll and character. I'm very attached to both, but the character more than the doll. If something happened to the doll, the character would live on. While I very much enjoy handling or cuddling my dolls, I don't think of them as little people.

 

Perhaps your doll has simply fallen out of your favor? It happens to us all at some point or another. Tastes change and/or evolve over time—something you or I found aesthetically pleasing ten years ago might no longer be the case.

But also, I feel like you've become too wrapped up in a spiral of over-care, an easy trap to fall into, especially for newer hobbyists. Wear and tear is inevitable. Elastic breaks down, joints wear out, resin can chip or crack, faceups can only take so many scratches before you break through the sealant, and blushing rubs off over time regardless of precaution. The thing is: all of this can be fixed, and with relative ease. BJDs are incredibly resilient in an heirloom kind of way, and that is, at least to me, a big part of what makes them so very special over other forms of functional art.

 

Nope, can't say it's happened to me.

Once a doll has their character (it may take a while to get to that point) then they're pretty much set in stone and I think of them as that character forever more. Even if I change their wig and clothing for a specific photo or whatever. When I dressed twelve of my usually-Victorian girls in medieval gowns as The Twelve Dancing Princesses from the classic fairlytale, for example, they were the Victorian girls in costume, rather than each becoming the princess she was dressed as. As a historical reenactor and costumer, I suppose I'm just used to changes of look with the clothing (and makeup, acessories etc.) while still being the same person no matter which costume or role is being played while dressed that way.

Teddy

 

I’m like Teddy in that once their character is fully set, no amount of dressing or fussing or damage will change it for me…and I feel very fortunate in that. In fact, I’ve often used an existing doll as a stand-in model for one that’s on-order to get a jumpstart sewing for the new one. But…I did have something similar happen with a doll arrival once. Now this doll had a perfectly beautiful elven face, a perfect body, and a lovely deep gray skin tone and everything should have been absolutely perfect for my character. But the minute I opened her packaging, I got this cold “it’s just a doll and not my character” feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was instantaneous! I soon realized that while physically perfect, she looked TOO realistic which just killed it for me. I’ve spent years collecting to build the perfect fantasy realm to escape into…a fun refuge from the ordinary pressures of real life. And I just couldn’t let any of that pesky realism sneak into it! So I sold her pretty much immediately, and learned that those lovely realistic faces I enjoy looking at in this hobby just aren’t for me at all. I need a more stylized look to suit my need for fantasy. I think that while your case is certainly different, you might have just experienced a bit of that pesky realism creeping in at that moment from all the clothes-changes and posing, and it startled you into reality and away from your character for a bit. Thank goodness, it soon went away and your imagination for your character was able to regain its footing.