Collecting BJD's - Inspiration from dolls for other hobbies?

Before BJDs, I used to sew a long while back. Stopped it for a very long time, and didn't think I'd ever get back to it. After entering the BJD hobby, I was able to go back and revisit what I know and add on skills like making small clothes for BJDs and so forth. I feel like BJDs relit a creative spark in me.

I found a lot more hobbies and ideas beyond BJD thanks to BJDs. Like those plastic model kits. I laugh a little when I think of a really cutesy cartoony-type BJD riding a really scuffed realistic motorcycle. Since both hobbies are scaled, it's nice to build things that are customizable. It also makes for fun setups.

 

I had the same experience - creativity wise I have pretty much stayed in illustration most of my life... now I am sculpting in 3D (and traditionally), sewing, taking pictures, learning to pose figures (and pose myself for photos by learning from the dolls, lol!), doing face ups.

It's been amazing and I cannot imaging ever going back to just doing drawings. It has in fact been months since I have wanted to paint since I have been having so much fun with my doll projects, which are never ending. I love my dolls and they will be with me for the rest of my life I am sure of it.

 

This is a fun topic to think about! I guess I’ve learned quite a bit from this hobby, adding to my knowledge from teaching Art in school, that has helped me enjoy my other hobbies.

Another hobby of mine is working on my car, modifying and fixing things on it, as well as car photography. I’ve used my knowledge of adhesives and painting techniques that I’ve gained from BJDs to my car hobby. Cleaning techniques, too, have carried over. It’s surprising how many similar materials you encounter between dolls and cars nowadays. It has made that hobby way more fun, and little tricks I’ve gained from car stuff has helped out my BJD hobby, too.

 

Ohh Leather crafting! that sounds fun. So many things to try it's unending!

 

I knew how to crochet/knit/sew before, but falling back into bjd gave me a good way to really explore that. Especially for knitting and crocheting... I lack the patience needed for human sized projects, but it's been really fun to try out things in a smaller size. If it works it's great, but if I mess up, I haven't invested too much time/material into it. It is really freeing, and it has made me enjoy those hobbies in a way I kind of couldn't before!

 

I think I've used a sewing machine like once before in my life. But those socks have to fit, dangit! ...and now I'm looking at the waistline of those shorts and wondering if they could be elasticized...

I've also been teaching myself blender for other reasons and haven't really explored the sculpting tools yet. I don't have a 3d printer, but, you know... Things happen.

 

I actually starting drawing again after I began my collection! I had been involved in the hobby for around 5 years but after I brought my first doll home it really sparked my creative focus. Sometimes all I want to do in my free time is hang out with my dolls and draw them haha.

One of my favorite things that I started to do after getting involved in the hobby is making mood boards! I started making them for my dolls to capture various ideas that I want their complete set to look like. Here's an example for my most recent doll Virgil, a Withdoll Jiho (who's currently on his way home)! I started doing this for non-bjd things, especially like planning my next apartment's decor. I feel like the hobby as a whole makes me a lot better at budgeting and organizing things in general haha.

 

Owning BJDs has both enhanced some of my existing hobbies, and helped me find new ones.

Since I was a little kid, I enjoyed sewing doll clothes, photographing my dolls and toys, creating characters and stories for them, and even painted dolls (although my techniques and type of doll were very different from doing faceups on BJDs.) I do all of these things for my BJDs, more so than I ever did with other dolls.

Roleplay was sort of a new hobby for me. As a kid, I played dolls with my sister daily, but I had never done online RP other than having my character maybe be a penpal or "online chat" with someone else's, but now I play in depth stories in real time with my dolls' characters, and it has become my main focus in the hobby.

Wig and eye making were new things I tried out in this hobby. I wouldn't call them hobbies on their own as I've really only tested the waters, but not made either into a regular thing. I would like to do both a bit more, though.

 

My photography has changed wildly in the years that I have been in this hobby! I have learned a bit of sewing and wig making. Not sure exactly how the sewing and wig making will transfer into my normal life, BUT I did get asked to take photos for my friends wedding!

 

My doll sewing and People Sewing are a positive feedback loop. “Oh, I made an 1867 skirt trimmed with soutache for [OT doll]? I should have one for myself, too!”

My latest girl is going to have an 1840s ball gown, so that will doubtless inspire me to step up my game re: that era.

 

BJDs made me learn to properly start sewing more than just rough stitching. Now that I am rather physicallly disabled, dolls mean I can do historic costuming stuff without having to handle yards of fabric and climb around draping things. They are also responsible in part for me learning to make some basic shoes.

 

I'd like to make my own clothes someday but its a big task! Making smaller BJD clothes is a great way to practice the techniques and figure out style

 

I learned how to sew entirely to clothe my dolls, and it's become a big new passion for me. I'm so happy it turned out that way.
I was a painter first and foremost and my doll hobby has affected my fine art in the end as well. I notice I use some different techniques on my portraits I developed from faceups and I also feel a lot of passion for painting from my dolls/their characters as loose reference. It's brought me back into a more free and imaginative creative headspace.

 

My dolls inform a fair amount of my other hobbies!

Sewing has probably seen the biggest impact - I don't do it much, but I do almost exclusively doll things when I do. (The only exception is face masks.) I've relearned it at least two times now, and it only seems to stick for them. However, I seem to acquire much more fabric than I have sewing plans, and it's not like doll sewing takes up a huge amount of fabric...

Knitting is still pretty split between human and doll things. While I've picked up some full skeins with the intent of using them wholly for doll projects, most of the time I get yarn and make a human thing, then use the leftovers for doll stuff. Compared to my fabric stash, I've whipped through my yarn stash this year.

They're also pretty much the only spot I do any painting. I wouldn't say it was a hobby before, though I'd dabbled in it. But yeah, doing faceups, trying to repaint this dollhouse I have... They're all my painting now.

 

It has kind of been the opposite for me. I’ve always been a total create-a-holic, and spent a lifetime making things, doing artwork, decorating everything that wasn’t nailed down (and some that were!) What collecting bjds did for me was give me a home for all my various hobbies to exist in one place, which is something I’d been looking for all my life. Fine art, check…fashion design and sewing, check…interior design, check…crafting and building, check…writing and character building, check…in depth research and exploration, check! Over the many years I’ve been in this hobby, I’ve never had to look outside my dolls for creative fulfillment. It’s all right here, ready for me to delve into whenever the inspiration strikes. And it has the added benefit of being in a reduced size so my creative endeavors don’t overwhelm my house!

 

I’ve gotten back into sculpting! I had done it previously in art classes but got burned out because my teachers heavily pressured me to only do sculptures instead of paintings/drawings. They thought 2D art was too old fashioned to do well in competitions or art school admissions.

Sculpting little accessories/jewelry for my dolls at my own pace has been much more fun lol

 

I crochet with thread so much more now that I'm taking my dolls out more. I stopped crocheting with thread for a while because I got sucked into knitting and crocheting for the gift giving season.
Bigger yarns, hooks, and needles make my hands ache (needles/hooks over 4mm) so it's so nice to get back into crocheting and knitting with thread. I became a lot more creative with how I use and combine different threads and colors too so it's been really fun.

 

I haven't really expanded into physical hobbies like sewing as I already did cosplay. For a little while, I tried making doll clothes, but they were frustrating for me on such a small scale. Instead, I got much more into writing and world building. I love making characters, something that I've really enjoyed in the doll hobby, and creating a story and world for them has been great.