Characters for your dolls VS. dolls for your characters

I've done both. Joy, Jill, Maxillius and Zelinder were character's who I designed before choosing a doll. Then again Vincente, Zesil and Calxia I came up with after choosing the doll I wanted.
And then there is Niteria who I first designed but altered her appearance a lot after finding a head and a body for her. :3 Yup. She tuned from a tall and skinny person to a short but muscular one. From a sweet and girly face to.. Well, Juri -07.

I cant say one way is better than the another. Why?
Because I'm pretty much happy with both ways. Actually Vincente and Maxillius are my personal favourite characters and they both were created in, oh, so different ways. :3

 

I'm a character for dolls person. Although sometimes I have a basic outline of the character of a doll before I get them. For example, I see a sculpt and think "She looks sweet, I bet she'd like gardening and pink poofy dresses.", then that becomes a part of her character before I even get the doll.

I don't think doing it one way or the other is better, people are different and do different things. I know some people who's dolls don't have names or characters at all. That doesn't mean they enjoy them any less. There are only different ways of doing things, one is not better than the other.

 

I usually have characters first (yeah, "usually" with my one doll). I just make characters for fun, resulting in hundreds and hundreds of characters hanging out in my head. So if I see a doll I like, it's pretty certain that I end up saying, "she looks like how I imagined whoever." So I get dolls (save up for dolls) for my characters, just because of the sheer numbers involved.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?

Since I do a TON of writing, I thought at first that I would collect to have a doll represent each of my main characters. But the more I looked through the many different dolls available, the more I realized it would never work for me: the characters in my head are so distinct that I could never find a doll that really looked like them, or had the same feel. It might be because I have slight prosopagnosia, but I don't think of my characters in terms of their faces, but more just as a personality and invisible existence, so giving them such a defined look was just too hard.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?

I think people should just do it however they want, and neither way is better than the other. I think if I was going to have a doll be a character, it would be easier to get the doll first and then write about him/her after the character was developed, but that's just me—everyone's different!

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?

Nope, no switchies!

Any other thoughts on the matter?

Just that people shouldn't feel pressured either way—at first, I was searching like I just had to find the perfect doll for my character, but in the end I'm glad I just got a doll I liked rather that one that suited my notions of what he should be. So just go with what feels right, I guess

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?
Dolls for characters. For the most part I buy the doll to shell a pre-existing character. In a few cases I got the doll and then a character for a pre-existing story came along.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?
No, only for the hobbyist . In my case, it's preferable to have the character ready for the doll. It limits my voracious appetite for BJDs . . . somewhat.


Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?
A couple of sculpts I just had to have, and another I hadn't planned on keeping, and in two of those cases they came up with characters of their own. The other was reshelled as a pre-existing character I hadn't particularly been planning to shell.

Any other thoughts on the matter?
Never say never. I have a habit of saying I wouldn't do something/wouldn't like something, and then later change my mind. That's why I've done both of the scenarios listed.

 

I do both. I have a LOT of dolls that are bought, and planned, to be specific characters. But I also have a lot of dolls bought, and planned, that I create characters to suit the dolls. In the end, I like doing things this way, because those 'I WANT!' dolls that get their own characters fill out the universes of the planned dolls. Both are a lot of fun to do, too. I enjoy searching for the perfect eyes, wigs, fabric, and things for dolls that are meant to become a character. I also enjoy playing with the dolls that get their own characters as I work on them, or as I look at photos while planning to buy them.

 

I make dolls for my characters. In fact that's one of the reasons I got into this hobby in the first place because I wanted to do that for my characters. I think this may change in the future though because I don't have many characters I want to make dolls for, but I have a lot of dolls I like and want to get. So maybe after my first or second doll for my characters I will buy a doll and create a character from scratch for the doll.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?
I'm a dolls for characters person.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?
Not for the hobby but definitely for me. If I purchase a doll without a character attached the doll does not last. I cannot bond and eventually it has to go. If the doll does not work for the character I had in mind it eventually has to go. These dolls are expensive and I have limited space. I am also bothered by clutter. The only reason the dolls escape my "spring cleaning" purges is because I am attached to the characters they embody. I love them so much I want to be near them. This is just what works for me. I cannot judge what works best for others.


Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?
I originally bought a doll just because she was pretty. I thought for some reason I would want a cute female doll to dress up. I have no idea why I would have thought I would want that. I am not the least bit feminine nor have I ever been one to collect or dress up dolls, not even as a child. I never bonded with my first doll. When I saw pictures of DZ Yuu I realized he was perfect for a character of mine and it occurred to me how wonderful it would be to have a representation of my characters to interact with. I cannot draw at all. To interact with my characters I write them or do other writing prompts with them but shelling them in dolls has been a new outlet for me. I have on occasion bought other impulse dolls but have had similar bonding issues with them. Now I only buy dolls that fit characters.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?

I swing both ways. But back on topic (XD), I've both gotten dolls to embody characters I already had and made up characters for the dolls themselves. Megumi has an "original" personality, as does Belle Fontaine (although I later made an RPG character based on Belle). Ashe, Miya and Chae-ri are all pre-existing characters of mine who I incorporated into dolls. Thing is, the dolls of my characters "know" they're dolls. I don't see them as the characters themselves, but as representations of the characters who are aware that they are mere objects. At least, that's my interpretation. I know dolls have no consciousness, stop looking at me like that. I'm just trying to explain how I view this.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?

Not at all. I think whatever works for you, or for anyone else, is the way to go.

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?

Nope, I go back and forth, depending on the doll, the character, and how I feel at the time. I did the same thing with my Barbies when I was a kid. I made up characters for some of the dolls, but my blonde TNT Barbie was Samantha from Bewitched (for example) and P.J. was always P.J. because I loved her for herself.

Any other thoughts on the matter?

When a doll catches my attention, I usually start trying to decide who she will be. I almost never keep the doll's original character or name; I almost always come up with a new interpretation because I like my dolls to be unique. That's why I'm such a rabid repainter/customizer.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?

When I first started looking at dolls, I began thinking of ideas for characters in my mind. I thought of two, and they are the two dolls that I am waiting on at the moment. Half of their characters, their relationship and story I have in my head, the other half (including their names) I am waiting to discover when I get them.

Although I write a lot, my dolls aren't characters that I write about or intend to write about. They are characters that I created for my dolls, not for my writing.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?

Do what you want!

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?

There are lots of dolls I like, but I can't see myself getting more than the two I am getting because I don't have characters, half-formed or not, for them. In fact, almost all the dolls I like are 'rejects' from the search to find the two perfect dolls for my characters. Only two don't fit into this, and I am afraid of getting them only to find that a character won't come when I get her. I don't think I could keep a doll I couldn't bond with, and knowing their character is part of that bond. I don't want to get a doll just because she is pretty.So maybe I will switch later on, but at now I am a bit leery of the idea.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?
I kind of felt odd, buying a doll that I liked without a character or anything for him. Something about him just captured me years and years ago, and every time I"ve gone browsing doll sites it's always come back to him in the end. So character or not I had to have him. He's starting to develop a character now that I've had him for a week and a half, but it's still very undeveloped. However, having someone to play his character off is helping develop it.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?

I don't think it makes a difference one way or the other, in the end.

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?

So far, no. I might shell a couple characters in the future.

Any other thoughts on the matter?

I'm not opposed to the idea of shelling my characters, so saying I'd never do it is silly. I"m still hoping to one day get my perfect grown up Peter Pan. ^_^

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?
I do a bit of both, I'm a bit of a comicker, so some of those characters are coming alive in my dolls, but it's HARD, oh SO hard, especially when you get a doll that just simply REFUSES to be who you bought them for.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?
To be honest, it's easier to pick a doll you like, and then after playing with them for a while, you'll find out who they want to be. Some will never tell you... :C

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?
Well, I wanted some dolls, and I had some stories... they didn't conform, (good dollies), so now I have these adorable, yet annoying dolls that just won't let me change them drastically.

Any other thoughts on the matter?
For me, I carefully pick the dolls, and if they aren't 100% them... then it doesn't feel right, like, the wrong eyes, wrong wig, wrong clothes... I don't like to take them to show the world. :C

And getting a DOLL to BE your character... is VERY hard....

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?
I've not even given my dolls characters nor names. So far they are happy making eye candy "only".

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?
Nope


Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?
Dolls have only mostly been pretty statuettes for me...

Any other thoughts on the matter?
Life is too hectic. Maybe when it calms down some I can get more into having a char for dolls. So far though, having them around to look at and hold is enough to make me very happy, all three can make me smile like nobody's business!

 

I've done both, in a way. My Obitsus were my first dolls and I got them to sort of ease in to the hobby and get a feel for whether or not it was something I would stick with. Their characters developed after I had them home, and my BBB tiny, Wenn, didn't even have a name for several months.

My big resin boys are dolls-for-characters that I have from pre-existing story lines. Because they are characters that I've known for a long time, I suppose I'm more attatched to them than to my older dolls, which makes me feel a little bad at times. In retrospect, the characters for my characters-for-dolls have their personality origins in characters-who-will-be-dolls, so... yeah... Rylin and Merrown are basically the same character, except that Merrown is far older as an entity.

Nice thing about this hobby is that it can go both ways, or none at all!

 

I'm a characters for dolls kinda person. Originally I'd intended to get dolls based off of existing OCs, however once I'd started browsing sculpts and clothes and finally settled on two, I'd found that those dolls now had their own character in my mind that didnt fit in with any OCs. Personally, I find I prefer keeping characters in the medium they were "invented" in. My written characters stay in script only, and my drawn characters stay in art only. So I suppose it makes sense that my doll characters would also exist in doll form only.

Though, I do intend to make/commission certain OC outfits, but it'd be more like my doll cosplaying then them *being* that character.

 

Well I only have Zhile right now and he fell into the category of being a doll for a character in my book. I don't think one is better than the other, it just depends on the person's preference.

 

Which type are you? a Characters for dolls, or a dolls for characters?

Characters for dolls. I don't exactly have a backstory, but each doll I buy suggests a character to me and then I attempt to work them into some sort of relationship with the rest of my dolls. Most of my dolls seem to want their own story, unconnected to the others.

Do you think one way is better or more suited for the hobby?

No, of course not. I don't think one has to have a story or characters at all. I have several friends who just collect the dolls because they're beautiful and interesting and don't even bother to make up names for them.

Have you always done one, or did something make you switch along the way? Why switch?

I had a vague idea of making up a story and buying dolls to fit in, but decided that this doesn't work for me because I had to keep enlarging the story to fit the dolls I want. Now I just think of them as a group of friends, some related, some not. Some have adventures if an idea pops into my mind and the rest just sit around and look interested.


Any other thoughts on the matter?

I seem to be incapable of having a well-organized interesting story with various plot-lines, but I admire people who can.

 

Ima character for dolls girl. I love bjds for their beauty, and i give them a story if it works out. But that's not the reason i get them.