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

Copying doesn't have to be on purpose... I just ordered a new doll two weeks ago and I already have her character planned out and how I want her to look but just today I found someone else with the same sculpt who has already gotten their doll almost exactly how I wants mine thankfully, their doll is a boy

 

I have an acquaintance (friend of a relative) Who got a doll (different sculpt) but dressed him like mine and gave him the same name (common name)and I was kicking around making my next character Native American and then she said her next doll was going to be Native American. I got a little annoyed at first but then I really think it was just a coincidence since I really don't know this person well!

 

If it was a blatant copy of a doll I had, I'd be kind of confused, but there are a lot of people and dolls in the hobby. There's bound to be lookalikes and similar tastes no matter how unique a doll may seem, so I'm not too concerned about it.

 

I have never found it to be flattering but that is mostly because it does not show any kind of creative effort on their part. It is one thing to be inspired and another to just be a downright copycat.

Exactly !^^

For me.. I do keep a lot of my photos on private these days.. even to share on DOA is something that I do think carefully about. I have shared a few in the forums... and as expected.. copycat alert.
So, I use my knowledge that I cannot change or control others... and remain selective with whom I share with. It's funny because the longer that they go without seeing my photos, they stick with older styles and variations that I had previously posted because that is all that has been available to them. As for names etc, I keep all of that on private also.
All of my dolls have their very own characters of which have been thought of with time and effort. I have styled them according to the visions I originally had of them upon ordering so it is really special when bringing those visions to life If anything... I feel sad for those individuals whom do not cultivate that kind of inspiration from within.

mmmhmm.. this also, I have to agree with. Sometimes,, copycats aren't ready to admit what they have done/doing, and thus regard it as a 'coincidence'... but it is only a matter of time until they get found out.
Within this hobby, you're bound to come across somebody who will intentionally attempt it and you won't be the only one whom they would have done this to either.
There's no point really in getting mad about it though... Having awareness that this does occur on a regular bases would better benefit you than to be incredibly naive about these things and expect that they will comply with respecting your work.

I have a couple of adopted dolls whom's 'look' I have kept because it were part of the reasons for why I loved them so (and their characters for which I imagined them to have) ! Other than which.. yes, I very much agree with you ! Especially the first part of what you said. I don't know how a person can KEEP on doing it. It very much comes down to one's ego and actually reveals a lot about their own human-character.

 

Some sculpts just look stupidly good with a certain style on them.

Plus really, there is only so many color combos that look awesome. People need to cry less, love what they have and get over themselves

 

... Thing is.... No offense meant here. But this hobby has a loooot of similar dolls.
You know... Plenty of punky/goth dolls, plenty of aristocratic gay vampires...
No matter how much we love our dolls, most of us can admit that there are certain stereotypes in the BJD hobby that go around. So, a lot of "copies" are going to happen... It's all coincidental.

The same sculpt wearing the same fashion style isn't really copying anything, it just happens, and can't be helped. Especially with more popular doll companies and popular clothing.

I've seen another RS Mai around with a similar wig as my Flo has. Not the same wig, as I made mine... But the same fabric. Cause a lot of us get wig fabric from the same places. So lots of dolls have a similar look...

I have no issue with that. You're gonna have a tough time finding true originality ANYWHERE in the world.
As long as someone isn't ripping off a doll bio, or EXACTLY copying their appearance, there's no real issue.

And it's been said here before... Some sculpts aaare very suited to certain looks.

 

I don't think it would bother me mainly because it'd be pretty easy to get the eyes/wig/sculpt as my Riven but the name?

Probably would bug me a little. I've felt like something's been copied off me in the betta hobby when my fish Kaida died a week later someone named their new fish Kaida...After giving me condolences for my boy's passing.

Did I feel ripped off? Yes but I didn't say it...I put his name in my signature as rememberence it was bound to get copied.

With my doll? With how many Light tan RS Mei's out there I won't be surprised if a few are elemental elves with different wigs for seasons floating around because hey....Great minds think alike right?

I'm almost positive though no one has Sanya as a name for their doll yet but if they do....Who cares? Long as they don't go harassing me about it then I don't give a dang...

 

I think that it might be difficult to determine with any certainty whether the fact that someone else's doll resembles one's own is intentional or unintentional. Although very numerous, the ways one can customize a doll are, in reality, finite. The popularity of certain styles waxes and wanes over time. A very popular style or theme will result in more dolls being customized in similar ways at any particular time. No one owns the rights to a particular style, to the best of my knowledge...

 

It doesn't bother me as much as it makes me feel bad for them, not having ideas of their own. In some cases is flattering, but for the most part, lack of imagination.

 

Sometimes its flattering and sometimes its just outright copying. If their doll has the same clothes, wig, style,etc....don't care. However, I put a lot of thought into the face-ups I commission and if I saw copying of that I would be upset. You can be inspired by it but you better have your own unique point of view to make it your own and not mine.
Having said that, I think that gets thrown out the window when dealing with minimees and such due the nature of it being a real person so they're bound to be very alike.

 

I have absolutely no problem with that. If someone liked a style on one of my dolls so well that they want the same doll in the same style, well that would be pretty nice I think. If they bought the exact same dress and eyes and wig for that doll that would be a little weird but still ok as long as the doll and all her stuff are no OOAK commissions.

If I put a lot of money and thought in commissions for the eyesm wig, clothes and face-up for my doll and someone would copy all of that I would be pretty upset...

 

I don't really care. They're my dolls anyway. It's not like I have anything to lose when someone copies the looks of my dolls.

 

i am not sure if it would bother me or not, but i think if the entire thing was copied names and all, that would really get to me lol

 

I would feel happy if someone liked my doll so much to have a similar doll (I'm sure that there cannot be an exact copy of a doll's look, just a similar, even if the faceup comes from the company). But it would bother me if they also use the same name and character profile for the similar doll on purpose.

 

I would only be annoyed if I was designing and selling doll outfits and someone copied my styles to sell as well. Otherwise, I'd be glad to inspire!

 

I try to be original and unique with my characters, so I want my dolls to be that too. That said, it's difficult to be one hundred percent unique one hundred percent of the time. A stereotype is a stereotype because it's well known and oft seen, so in some cases it works. (I'm not saying all stereotypes are correct or desirable, I'm just saying a lot of them are founded on commonalities.) So if I see someone else doing something like what I've already done I won't be offended or really even think twice about it. It probably wouldn't occur to me that they're copying me.

In the same vein, I wouldn't think I was copying someone else's doll if I used a similar faceup style or clothing style on my own doll. A lot of the time I will get my inspiration for faceups from runway models, theatrical makeup, or other faceups. I don't try to copy someone else's thing, but I will get ideas from things I see that I like. Same with fashion. I am a historic costume re-creationist by hobby and by trade so when I make a costume for myself or my doll it is most often inspired by or modeled after historical styles, but still it's just my own interpretation of it.

And, too, it is very difficult to put your mark on a particular style or "look." No one owns a particular style or technique, that is just the nature of fashion. Designers are unable to patent their designs for this exact reason. It is very hard to say, except in rare cases, "I created that look, everyone else who does it is copping my style." And even then, just because you started it does not mean you lay claim to the whole thing. Fashion is an art form and art, as a creative endeavor, is meant to grow and progress as time passes; without different people interpreting a style in their own way that is impossible and the art becomes stagnant and boring.

So, no, I wouldn't be bothered if someone copied my doll's style or look because they are going to make their own interpretation of the style anyway. Honestly, I think I would be flattered that my doll inspired them so much.

 

I agree with Alequinne.

If you're just talking about company/store bought clothing, wigs, shoes and accessories or default face ups then the likelihood of you running into other dolls that look like yours is pretty high, especially with the larger boys and girls where options become fewer and less affordable. The people who dont sew, dont make their own wigs or do their own face ups are kind of stuck picking from the things they can find to purchase online. The doll community is an outspoken community (lol), we buy a shirt that sucks or pants with funky seams we let everyone know (which i personally appreciate), and when a company gets a bad rep for selling inferior quality items no one buys from them.....leaving fewer options where the non crafters can shop for their dolls. Im sure alot of cases where people may feel someone has "copied" their style is really just a situation of the other doll owner liking a particular look that you happen to share or the purchased what was available to them at the time.

My other thought is even if you lined up 20 dolls all with the same outside appearance once the owner attaches at character/personality to that doll....its now a completely different something from yours, so why let it bug you? Now if someone copied your ORIGINAL artwork (like a tattoo or something) or a clothing design, then that would be completely different.

 

It would only bother me if their doll looked better! Like if they had the same sculpt, face-up, outfit, eyes, wigs, but their doll was newer or their photographs were decent (unlike mine). I don't care otherwise. I keep a lot of my dolls in their default fullsets, so it doesn't bother me if my doll isn't unique. As for the copying itself, I'd probably be more surprised than annoyed, since I'm not very good at styling mine. I've never copied a doll exactly, but I do get inspired by what other people have done with their dolls, and I don't see anything wrong with this.

 

I think a lot of the copying complaints are mere coincidence. I got a rather rare girl sculpt and made it a boy. Within the week of my finishing it and posting the first photos, there was another one. Same sculpt turned boy, same wig colour and style, even the same style of clothing, nearly everything but the eye colour was similar. I didn't get angry or upset or feel like I'd been copied. I laughed! Sure I'd posted things about my progress and plans, but not once did I feel I'd been copied. It was a coincidence. A big one, but I have never even spoken to that person and I just don't care to waste energy getting my feathers ruffled for no reason.

I even got a message once from another member asking my permission to use the name I'd given one of my dolls. I was confused. Even if it was the same mold I didn't copywrite the name and why would I get upset? We would have differences because we would take different paths and buy different things.

The only time I would see a problem is if someone were to copy everything someone else did with their doll. Then its really more creepy. Why are they doing it? Is it a popular doll and they think they'll get popular having a doll like that one or do they like the concept so much they want one of their own? What they do with the copy doll is what I'd need to see to determine how I really feel about it. If they are passing it off as the original then its an issue. If they are just paying homage, whatever. As long as they point back to the original.

 

I custom faceup, custom wig and custom sew for all my dolls. If someone wants to copy me, I invite them to try. I may secretly be laughing at them.