Copy Cats! - does it bother you if someone tries to copy your doll's style/looks?

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, or so the old chestnut goes. Frankly, folks, there are no new things on earth. Art is all about presenting something old in an interesting way -- note that I didn't say a "new" way.

We can put things together in interesting ways, and assume that others haven't done so, but we can never have a cast iron guarantee that nobody else has ever done what we have. It's probably not worth worrying about, anyway.

 

I think I'd be a little upset but flattered at the same time. I wouldn't be upset if they at least said they liked the look my dolls had and wanted something similar, but if they outright claimed it was theirs then I'd be mad. My dolls don't have a unique look though so it wouldn't be hard to copy them!

 

Well, it would depend. My friend Katie steals my molds all the time, but I love her so I don't mind. But if some random person took my dolls' names and style and backstory(not that they have a very deep one) I would be a little sad. Really, what's the fun in that? But in the end their dolls wouldn't be my dolls, and all that matters to me.

 

Steals your molds? Ha! You have stolen my molds and the look of my Sims too, incidentally!

You've even gone so far as to steal the exact same wig style and hair color for your girl twin!

But, in seriousness, I wouldn't mind if I saw the same basic style as my dolls. It's not as if having a dark eyed dark haired doll is going to be terribly unique! If they copied the doll exactly I'd know something was up.. because all of her outfits are going to be made by me and it would become a little obvious.

 

i'd be flattered i wouldnt be mad at all. claim it as they wish. People in school stole each others styles all the time. Everyone on this planet has a twin. Copy my dolls face and clothes. Its just a doll. Other people have action figures as a hobby i couldnt get mad if my neighbor bought the same action figure. i'd say wow im glad you liked it soo much that you spent your money to get the same thing as me. just remember that your doll has his/her own you unique personality and just because someone else copied your dolls look they are not the same doll much the same way that a person who dresses like you is not you. Be flattered by it. Be amused...wouldnt it be kinda funny to see someone who looks just like you in the store oneday lol.

besides i cant claim anything. I could dress my girl up with morbidollz faceups and put her in the punk plaid skirt black shirts and chains and claim its my style and find out days later someone already thought of it. I dont think anything is original. I cant say HEY she stole my dolls look cuz someone in the UK or some other country might have a doll with that look already. We cant be sure if an idea is really ours lots of people think alike. I know about 12 people who came up with the idea i claimed to be mine....it was a shocking alarm clock...try and hit the snooze button and get shocked....google it theres about 200 hits on it already LOL.

 

That doesn't count! But about the clothes, yes that would be obvious since Katie is making my girl's clothes too...and copying Katie is bad. Unless you are me.

 

Well, I would be more than pissed for sure. I'm an artist myself so I've been copyed before ¬¬
The most horrible thing to happen to an artist is to see his/her own creation under another person's skin. A creation is a piece of a artist soul. So it hurts maddly to see your soul within another person.
And the worst kind of copycat is the one that don't understand the concept of creation, meaning, he/she just haven't the felling of doing anything bad. Altought I don't believe in "Meeee? Copying yoooou? Don't be silly! You're ugly and I'm a genious" and goes on ¬¬...
Hate copycats, they all should die alone.

Yeah, but when happens right before your eyes, literally in front of you: I have a doll with a scar on the cheek (just an example) and I bring her to a doll meeting. There I meet many people and one person that just received his/her doll. The doll is a cutie and I compliment him/her for that, and he/she loves my doll too. In the next meeting his/her doll has a scar on the cheek too ¬¬. I know, that is not a super creative feature, but, come on! The guy/girl sees my doll with the scar and do a scar on the same place right after he/she meet me???
Believe me, here in Brazil we have a very few number of doll owners and this happened with a friend and another doll owner that copycat my friends doll. I don't think it wasn't on purpose, in fact I don't believe when this person say that... Ridiculous ¬¬


oh, I don't want to start a fight here, just showing my oppinion on the subject ^_^' don't mean to offend anyone on this thread =*

 

Yes, it is bad.. and honestly why would anyone want to? :P Except Girlie as she was saying above.. she might want to.. but that's because she's evil on the inside.

But I have noticed that people who are somewhat alike will tend to pick out the same styles of eyes/hair/etc. I suppose that it is because even though there is a lot out there.. there is still a limit as to just what you can choose for your particular doll.

I can see how upsetting it would be to some though! They put so much work into modding their doll.. whether it is a certain set of tattoos, piercings, scarrings, etc, and then find out that someone has leeched their ideas without going through any kind of creative process of their own.

The only way I could see that being ok is if the second person just became inspired by what they saw on another doll and was influenced to make a doll with maybe some of the characteristics or similar feel.. and then created their own unique personality and look for their personal doll. Artists have been doing that as long as there have been artists! It's in our nature to mimic in order to learn to a certain extent.

Lol, I'm not even sure what I mean to say..!

 

we cant necessarily say she got it from your doll either. Lots of things in asia find beauty in scars. Anime for example. Rurouni kenshin has a cross shaped scar on his left cheek. Yamcha from DBZ also coincidentally has a cross scar on his left cheek. Chichiri from fushigi yuugi has a scar over his eye. Sango from inuyasha has a huge scar on her back. Martial arts movies a lot of the protagonist has a scar of some sort on the body. Most of the time also these scars are symbols. Symbols of crisis or sins commited in the past. Some asians vew scars as symbolic reminders of bad events because scars never fade away. So a doll having a scar on the cheek could be part of the story of the doll. Whether it was deliberilately taken from you or inspired from you may not be the case. That could have came from anywhere. Its too common in ball joint dolls anyway. there is a thread of dolls with scars here LOL.

 

I am careful about names, and faceup in the same mold. I try to find an uncommon name and I ask the owner if I was to use any part of their doll's faceup as an example for a faceup. I also asked once about a photo setting I wanted to duplicate in a different size as an homage to the larger one (still haven't finished that!). I would expect people to ask first before exactly duplicating any of these. But I only have one doll with a custom faceup and she is only slightly unique. I would probably feel much more protective of her faceup if it was strikingly unique, done by an artist other than manufacturer's, etc.

Re wigs, eyes, and store/seamstress clothing I have few inhibitions about copying. I frequently ask people what eyes or wig or clothing piece their doll is wearing. If I buy them it is because it looks so good on their doll and I hope it will make mine as lovely.

Carolyn

 

Meh. Wouldn't bother me at all.
As has been said about imitation and flattery and all.

 

I wouldn't get angry, persay, just a little irritated, but that's only if I was certain that the doll was a direct copy of one of mine. Since I don't post about my boys, I don't think I have to worry about that XD;

One of my friends and I had no clue of the other's plans and our sleeping El heads ended up being modded similarly, and had a pretty much identical color scheme, identical wigs, and close to the same wardrobe... In that case, I was more amused than anything :] We ended up dressing them identically and carrying them around together at Oni-con '05 just for fun :3

 

Wouldnt bother me a bit, imatation and flattery and all that. Its the person who does nothing but copy looks whos gonna have a problem when they cant or wont use their own creativity and it atrophies.

 

I disagree about imitation = flattery. These days it's more like imitation = laziness. I spent alot of time coming up with my dolls' looks and story and all that. I go waaaay out of my way to make sure that they are unique. I guess to most people the point is to have a pretty doll and if some one else's looks similar, so what? That's not the case for me. I got into this because it WASN'T like going to the store and buying the same action figure everyone else has. Isn't that why these dolls are made the way they are?

What's Volks' motto? "We seek creativity"? I could have sworn that was it, not "We seek copycats and people to lazy to think up something of their own". Bleh.

 

hmm, but if imatation isnt flattery then why do we say we were "inspired" by something. Getting inspired isnt lazyness, not to say the point you made isnt right on the mark for some people. I get inspired by Amano's art and imatate him in hopes of upping my own understanding of the style.
And lots of people get the clothes that come with the doll, which is another artists creation. (just as an aside, no real formulated point to that bit)

 

http://www.wooster.edu/history/gshaya/imag/munch_scream.gif
http://www.kimball.k12.sd.us/FIRE/home alone.jpg

copy or inspiration? I dont think Edvard Munch would be to upset that they used his classical scream and used it for their character in a movie.

As far as lazyness goes, lots of people send their dolls to face up artists and dont do it themselves so you can call them lazy for not putting time into practicing face ups.

Creativity wise. Not everyone is creative but still enjoy the dolls. What this doll hobby is depends on the person. Whether they showcase their dolls or keep them on the shelf is up to them. Some people value these dolls as much as their other stuffed animals so would it hurt them to have a face up similar to someone else. They arent making money. They just sit their doll on the shelf and people barely see it.

 

Hmm, I don't know if it would bother me ^^;? Personally, the girl I have planned is so personal and special to me... I couldn't really understand it if anyone copied her, because I don't think that anyone could get the same feeling about a doll they copied off of me that I can. I don't even know why anyone would want to.... I think it would kind of depend on the case... . I would kind of mine if someone took her name though. It took me a while to think of it and I haven't seen it anywhere else ^^;.

One thing that does worry me though... I was considering a certain mold for my new girl.. and while looking for owner pics of that mold... I found someone who did the same thing I planned to do with the eyes x_X;... and I don't want to be thought of a copier as I've had this character for years before I had ever seen a bjd!

 

of course i hope it doesnt appear as if i am ranting or anything ^^;;; i just try to be pure hearted and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. My parents say i shouldnt be soo easy going but what can i say thats just me

 

I hate when I copy/inspirate my doll or the picts I take of her so I also hate when other people does the same with my doll or the future dolls I want to have, saddly the 1st thing I want to do when that 2 things happen is to change my doll and the things I have thought for my future dolls, I don't change it at all, I only try to improve it xD

 

I haven't met to many people with my doll. Though, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't mind if someone copied his look! n.n I think it would be honerable. Now It would get wierd if someone named him the name I gave him. XDDD