Creating an OC?

Creating a character is as creative as you want it to be! The important part is having fun! I have some original characters that I draw and write about all the time, I have some that I just have a vibe for and a sense of their style for the doll and nothing else!
When I’m creating character maps, I sometimes like to create characters that are coworkers, family, or friends. Sometimes I just have the doll first and I figure out the rest later.
I think going with the flow and having fun is entirely where to start. Let your imagination run wild and throw ideas at the wall. I will say not all ideas stick, and that’s okay! Even published authors retcon things all the time.

Remember creativity is a muscle, the more you work it, the easier it’ll be to use! If you have any specific questions about my creative process I’m happy to tell you my experience!

 

It doesn't have to all be doen at once.

Nearly all of mine are OCs some of them came oretty much fully formed but most of them came slowly as "I got to know" the doll. Some of them di dn't even let me know their name for months, some ot=f them didn't fill out theur backgrou nd u ntil they started interacting with other dolls in the "family" The more clothes I get together for them, the more their signature styles and colour pr eferences emerge, and more backgroun d about them gets filled in

For example, most of my SD sized dolls are the children and teens of a large Victorian family of siblins, half-siblings and cousins. Nesta was the "fashionista" of the family, aleays mor einterested in fashion and pretty dresses than the rest, but she didn't come into her own as the snarky older-syswter type character until Hannah, the tomboy joined the family and gave Nesta someone to direct her distain at. At this point another of the dolls, Cressida also came into her own and rather than just being "Nesta's Best Friend" she slid quietly into the role of the peacemaker between Nesta and Hannah.

Another example - Meri, the skinniest of the SD kids, didn't have much character background until I realized that her head and body (she's a hybrid) had discoloured in different ways. I got rid of the yellowing and greening but it left her head a much paler colour than her body and the only way I could get them to match was to dye both of them a tan shade, and send the head off for a new face-up. So, Meri became the sickly child who had to go away to a sanatorium in the mountains for a rest-cure with plenty of fresh air and sunlight, which is why she came back so tanned compared to the rest of the family.

Teddy

 

I think dolls have a personality of their own from many factors, even when they're blank they're not a blank canvas, so it's better to have an archetype and let it dvelop rather than force things. I've got two dolls who need styling, they're twins and I want some contrast in their personality (one girly, one tomboyish). I've made sketches and plans but I'm aware that things may not go as intended so I keep my ideas a bit loose.
I wanted to style another doll a bit like a vampire, I was thinking black gothic dresses and that kind of stuff, and I had taken ideas for her personality from an existing character of mine who's an actual vampire, but when she came home I immedately saw that she wouldn't work at all for that and she developed into something else entirely. I think getting a doll's own character to come out is really fun.

 

I'm much like Teddy on this.
I don't do any formal process, no character sheets, no mind maps, no mood boards. I just "get to know" the doll as I go along.

I sit with it and just jet it "tell" me who it is. Sitting with an object that looks so much like a human, it's almost impossible not to start thinking about who they are.
Often I have a general idea, like a main personality trait or two, or a relation to another character, even before I buy the doll. Once I have the doll I let it evolve from there.
If I'm stuck I go into cinderella mode and just try everything I've got to see what sticks. If possible I meet up with other doll owners and talk them into allowing me to try through their stash of wigs and eyes as well. Nothing beats seeing in real life how different a doll can look with different wigs and eyes.
Once I have a vague idea of who they are, that's all I need. It's a place to start and it always snowballs from there. Sometimes it goes slow, sometimes it comes all at once, but it always comes eventually. I don't force it, I just allow it the time it takes to develop.

With all that said, it doesn't always go the way I planned.
Many years ago I ordered an JID Boris with the idea of making him an easygoing, outdoorsy, surfer dude -kind of guy. It wasn't a bad plan, it was vague enough that I had plenty of wiggle room...
And then the boy arrived. I took a photo to share and the moment I got it up on the screen, I realized he was nothing of what I had planned. He is vain as a peacock, listens mostly to black metal, dreams of owning a motorcycle but will never be able to afford the license. And an entire backstory turned up within days.

And sometimes it's another doll that triggers the development.
I have a maskcat joy that I bought mostly because I wanted an on topic doll the same size as some of my off topic ones. She is super pretty and I love her a lot, but she never got much of a personality of her own. She just existed as a mannequin and model. She did get a name, but nothing else for the longest time.
Fast forward to a few months ago when I got two more dolls her size and as they are slowly developing, my Joy is being pulled into their back story and is now firmly a part of their world. I will still use her as a mannequin when needed, but now her own character is developing as well.

If I had to give one advice it would be: Don't over think it.

 

For BJDs specifically (because I develop characters in other media - RP, writing, art - in different ways)... I create the OC from the doll, the doll sculpt is the start and end of my inspiration. It begins when I fall in love with the doll photos, I also start thinking of how the doll is going to fit into my story world. (I have an existing story setting for my doll collection, it's their own story world/lore and it doesn't overlap with my other characters/worlds in RP and writing.) I do a little bit of character planning before the doll comes home - I usually daydream, write and draw my vision of the character, sometimes make a moodboard. I plan enough beforehand to buy wig and some clothes for their arrival, so when the doll arrives I can dress them up and start to see the OC.

The bulk of my OC development happens when the doll is home and dressed up. My favourite part of the hobby is posing my dolls and taking photos, because this is the main way I "discover" the character and continue to flesh out the OC, not to mention the relationships this doll character has with the other doll characters. I have a similar view to @\lutke: I think the doll sculpt has its own personality already: it's in their face, their body physique, and (most importantly) the way their body poses, the strengths and limits of the joint engineering. So character development is like a collaboration between me and the doll as I dress them, pose them and take pics, and every time I play with the doll I discover a little more about the OC. I love this sort of emergent, generative creativity.

If you find it difficult to create an OC from scratch, I think a "collaborative" approach can help when your doll arrives! Try different clothes and colour schemes on the doll to see what clicks with them, pose their bodies to find out what personality their "body language" suggests, put them in different backdrops/settings to see what mood fits them. When you have more dolls, you can pose them together to see if they get along or not, even if they're related.

I also agree with what others have said: have fun with it, go at your own pace! There's no need to create an OC for your doll, but if you want to explore this process, definitely come in with a sense of discovery, curiosity and fun. Try different ways of character dev, go as deep (or not) as you want to. I'm sure you'll find something that jives with you and your dolls ^^

 

The others have already given you some good advice.

Personally, we can say I go by chance when creating my characters. I wait to see what the doll inspires me to do, and at the same time I try to do a project/character on it that's close to my heart. I have no shortage of projects, I must say. I assemble the custo and the doll character piece by piece, like puzzle pieces coming together.
Sometimes the result is very far from the initial idea, haha. Which doesn't bother me as long as I like it.
Also, I'm more interested in the visual rendering of the doll than in the depth of its character. I've always been terrible at writing stories, so that explains it.
In the end, there are plenty of ways to go about creating an original character. You just need to let you the time to discover your own way to do it.

 

I began this hobby initially with the thought of having only a single doll, one that could be anything and everything, with a vast wardrobe of many styles. And like most people, that lasted about 5 minutes. Before I knew it, that one doll had developed a strong definitive personality and was demanding companions to interact with, all with their own fashion styles and personalities. What happened to me was I’d somehow reverted to thinking of bjds much in the same way I’d thought of dolls as a child, with an imagination that seemed endless. I’d be daydreaming for a few innocent moments at some point during my busy day and there they’d be…roaming through my thoughts, telling me their story and demanding a physical form in resin. Any attempts to just tell these stories through art or writing turned out to be far too limiting for them…they wanted instead to live exclusively within the fluidity of my imagination, with resin forms and full wardrobes, free to interact with whatever other characters they came in touch with. After nearly 20 years of collecting wonderful resin bjd forms for these OCs, I still love each and every bjd I have. What an amazing journey it’s been!

 

I don't really create OCs - but I do see my dolls develop characteristics, looks or "preferences" over time. I think playing/interacting with your doll(s) is also a totally valid way of creating a character or telling stories, especially when things like writing or making DnD character sheets feel too intimidating. The most fun way is always the best way in a hobby imo.

 

Not much experience here, I only have 2 dolls and 1 floating head.

First I fell in love with Iplehouse Eric but wanted him on a Granado 70Adagio body. Hellbent on that. The character story in my head was that of a ballet dancer turned photo model (because that’s what I would be using the doll for) and travelling along with the photographer (i.e. me, and travelling is what my husband and I currently do a lot). Couldn’t get Eric separately, had to buy a whole doll from Iplehouse. Went the customise my doll path, chose HID woman body + Scarlet head (Eric didn’t go with that body and HID W at 65 cm is not too small next to 70cm). Scarlet, Eric, close enough for me. Both have that smile I fell for. So now it’s a hybrid Granado+Iplehouse. I would say this guy turned out pretty much how I visualised him: happy go lucky, loyal, appreciation of art, baroque era prince somewhat confused about this modern world. Actually based him on a dear friend. I don’t even know his name yet, he needs his own name, not friend’ s name.

Used the extra body for the guy’s lady friend. First thought was she could be somewhat like the singer Barbra Streisand, especially in that song Hello, Dolly. Why not, him - dancer, her - singer. Looked at different heads, Dollclans Vezeto looked good, strong features, no nonsense, at the same time both tender and potentially cruel. Male sculpt, but again who cares. Started the face up, didn’t follow too close with Barbra’ s colour scheme, got everything a shade darker, just a tad bit. And suddenly a different face emerged. Even if she dresses modern casual (because that’s the easiest to sew fast) she is the soul of an ancient Latvian goddess Mary of the Snakes (Čūsku Māra) who is the link between this world and the other one. Didn’t expect her but recognised and I’m happy she came to me.

And the last one, the head is a Pygmalion Ha, white, a total opposite to Vezeto, maybe more in vibe with Scarlet. I like him very much, have some ideas, will see how he turns out. I don’t even know what body I want for him.

And as a dot on an “i” I want a dragon. But not one of those slender flying snake types, an old and wise, with a bit of beer belly, padded feet, slender fingers. Haven’t seen anything even remotely like that. Now thinking the same soul could live in a body of a cat. So maybe I get a cat for them, black, posable.

 

Everyone's been giving good advice.

"I can 100% see this person doing...". What is his or her story? And, now that I'm bringing that up, they don't all need a story. Some just move you and you develop feelings for a piece of art.

I don't have a story for my favorite. I guess that makes him flexible. I think I might have a name for him now; it only took a year to find one.
I have another one that is a movie star.
I have a girl that was originally supposed to be a drab dressed traveler, but after seeing her with a warm pair of eyes and some cute pants, she's now more like a fashionista.
I have a girl that feels like a failure at this point. She doesn't feel like her promo photos, or the character I created while I was waiting for her. She wants to be something really dark, but I don't know what to give to her.

And, some characters come together faster than others. You can ask something as random as "Does this character mind their posture, when seated?" and that will trigger things. Some questions are about what they think vs what they do.

Spoiler: Talking about a sculpt I don't even own yet

With one character (that I have not bought yet), I wondered if he's very willing to please a certain person or people. But, he also feels a bit supernatural. So, his eyes might be a funny color. It eventually developed into that he IS studious and very talented. He's lonely and tries to drink in life while with others. (edit because it might be more helpful if this was more direct.) He has spent his life locked up, trying to learn things. So, then you think about "sense of humor", how he laughs (DOES he laugh?), and how strong his social skills are when relating to others. And, you come up with some poses to reflect that. Is he to himself? Does he hang off of other people? Does he watch others intensely or is he pre-occupied with his own plans?

I wished I owned him, so I could pose him, now.

 

I usually start with whatever styling idea or inspiration I had when I first saw them and decided I had to buy them, that would just be a whim I guess.
I also like to use my doll's birthdays sometimes figure out a personality for the doll. I consider my doll's birthdays the day that I received them using their zodiac signs just to give me some ideas
and I'm also one who tries to incorporate experiences with my dolls into their backstories. Like my doll whose posing was totally unstable, I decided she has a chronic illness, and when I helped her with sueding and wiring, I imagined it's like her medical treatments (I hope this doesn'st offend anyone I have chronic pain so imagining her this way made me feel closer with her) There's also my doll who arrived very floppy and liked to flip her wig off, of course I fixed this for her too, but I now picture her as being dramatic And another, whose faceup didn't look quite as I expected from the artist, I wanted to look haughty but instead she looked pouty, so I decided she uses her cute pouts to get away with being a total brat
Sometimes, if it's not something I totally made up I will look to their name for ideas too. You never know, exactly where an idea will blossom.
None of these really means anything besides how I decide to imagine and style them but it's fun anyway. Also, you can always change it if it's not working for one reason or another, it's not as if you'll hurt their feelings

 

I have 13 BJDs and this is the breakdown:

6 of them have no character. May have had a character attempted at some point but nothing stuck. None of them are likely to get a character at this point and don't match well with any other doll. They are merely dolls and honestly I don't play with them much.

3 dolls had characters before they existed as dolls. 2 were created when I was in 7th grade and hadn't discovered dolls yet. The two original boys were very vague originally, but in the last few years ended up much better developed and growing supporting characters around them. I would do anything for one of these boys! Even buy him a second doll shell... The last of the three was created as a supporting character with his particular sculpt in mind and I was lucky enough to obtain his doll form last year. I didn't think that would happen for at least a few more years.

4 had characters created for the doll. I took a concept for each of them and expanded on it. Cheby's is "how many unattractive traits can I give a very attractive man?" I decided Rio was an angel when I ordered him as a teen, so I'm still going off that idea. Hina was never meant to have a character but after posing her with another doll, my mind came up with a scenario in which this could happen. I was honestly considering putting her on a big baby body but that will never happen now. Grassy has a vaguely defined character. He's a child though and I have little interest in thinking up children, so not much effort will be put into him.

The funnest part of dolls to me is having characters, posing them together, and thinking up scenarios and relationships. I really think the key is to have multiple that fit together well. The doll clothes I make are being produced to fit the character. If that isn't there, the doll doesn't get much made for it.

This influences my buying now too. Since I don't enjoy writing children, ALL mini and tiny sized dolls are out. I don't want them no matter how cute they are. I will just ignore them. I highly value them looking at least decent together so future sculpts can no longer have a huge scale or stylization difference either. I have a developed character for another doll I'd like to buy someday and 2 more vague characters, but this has stopped me from wanting every doll.

 

That makes sense.

I literally have no more space for dolls and despite rehoming seix of the list of nine I made who I didn't do anyt hing with, I'm still acquiring dolls (although, I am managing to restrict myself to only buying on rare occasions).

The same thing happened to me, My planned super-slick fashionista/secret-agent turned out to be a laid-back hippy, I knew it from the moment i opened the box. It's one of the things that put me off trying to decide on a character before having the doll in hand.

Teddy

 

Congrats on your doll! I hope you enjoy her very much ^w^
BJDs are specialists in turning around any idea you had for their character. This has happened me multiple times already even though I only buy dolls with a character in mind that's mostly defined. At least twice I have had a character planned and then the doll comes home and you try that wig, eyes and outfit you had bought for them and... puff, it doesn't look right in any way and you need to scrap your whole plan and come up with something new. In the end, I think it's better to be flexible and not to obsess about characters too much, even if you have a lot of experience creating them for other media.
Nowadays, if I find a doll I'm interested in and considering to buy, I prefer to only plan a little in advance (name and general aesthetics...) and then spend my time discovering the rest when the doll finally arrives home by interacting with it (posing, photographing, etc).

 

One of my OCs was initially born from simply putting together things I liked (a specific pair of eyes, a wig colour, a particular head, etc.) She emerged from that and is now, funnily enough, a d&d character but she started purely as a collection of BJD things I saw, liked, and wanted an excuse to buy! She’s also what brought me back into the hobby after a 13 year absence. I saw a couple of photos I had taken of her way back and decided I really wanted to recreate that look. The original version never got fleshed out as a character, that’s only come about with the second version.
But anyways, that would be my advice: buy the stuff you like but don’t have any pre-existing doll to get it for. You might just find yourself ending up with a beloved OC.

 

Characters come to me slowly as I customize hair and clothing. I can feel which fabrics she likes or doesn’t like and get a sense for her style and personality.