Do you have a plan for your doll before buying?

My first two dolls didn't have plans. Or at least, what plans I had were very loose and undefined. I found this approach didn't work for me. Both were somewhat neglected and I had a hard time bonding with them. I just couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do with them.

Now, I do try to have a vision for my dolls. I usually go looking for sculpts that fit what I'm looking for. Or, if a sculpt speaks to me, I mull over it for a while before considering a purchase.

I like to have an idea of who/what I want them to be so I can prepare a bit before they arrive.

 

I had absolutely no plans for my dolls before I bought them, but the closer that it gets to me having them in my own two hands (I've paid for them, waiting for them to ship off and arrive!) the more I find myself getting an idea of what I want them to look like.

Surprisingly enough, the additional doll head I got as part of Doll Leaves' spring event seems to be the one I'm more set on an idea for than the doll I actually paid for!

 

I have a very vague plan for my 1st doll... wig, clothing style, etc. I think I'm waiting for her to speak to me when she arrives.

 

Yes and no.

All of my dolls are based around some sort of vague concept that I liked the idea of, but the one doll I did try planning I ended up not liking at all, so I've gone back to just buying things because I like them without any regard to what I'm actually going to do with them, because in the end, I'm going to do the same thing with all of them: Dress them up and take pictures of them.

 

So far no plan has ever worked out, so I prefer to get a feeling once the doll arrives xD I plan very vaguely, and decide on whether or not I like the main appearance

 

I don't seek out dolls to fit specific characters or roles or anything like that so I rarely have a set plan for them, I just buy dolls because I like how they look. I might have a vague idea of what I want for them, but I try to stay pretty open minded about it. I usually shop around for wigs/eyes/clothes before the doll arrives but I often don't end up ordering stuff for them til after they've arrived. I guess seeing them in person just makes it easier for me to decide what to do with them ;p

 

I usually have an idea of a character when I purchase a doll. I did purchase a fullset doll on a whim though, love her to bits now! Of my current collection, I can say that I stuck to my plans for all of them, except for one. I got a doll chateau katherine to be Chip, the sphinx. After a bit of a misshap with an incorrect body and being sent a new one, she is now noodles the super bendy alien cat

 

Nope - if I decided before I bought, the doll would only refuse to cooperate with it when they arrived.

Tried it once and instead of a high-fahion secret-agent type I ended up with a laid-back hippy.

Tedy

 

I mostly go along these lines too. When I see a sculpt I think I'm in love with, I do a lot of research for images of the head blank and looking through the doll profiles here on DOA and other sites. Then if I think I can fit that doll into a roll in my vague multi-verse, or I can create a roll for them, then I add them to my wishlist The whole character isn't fleshed out yet, but I have a general idea of who they're going to be "interacting" with and what world they're a part of. I really like to let the default random eyes tell me about the person the doll is- I'm a one wig, one eyes kind of collector I do usually have an idea of how I want their face up and wig to be, but I don't always try to determine their clothing style other than to pick a genre- modern or steampunk or fantasy... I find that dolls are very picky about what colors they do and don't like to wear, so I let them tell me that when they get home I don't have a big family yet - only 3- but I don't think I'd be upset if the doll turned out to be different from what I imagine, because they simply have a seat assigned to them- not all the details. Of course it takes me a long time to save up for each doll, so my half-plans change a bit for all the dolls further down the list

 

My plan was the reason I finally invested in BJD's; I took finding a sculpt (K from Ringdoll) who looks EXACTLY like one of my OC's in the face as my sign that I should buy. Can't wait until he arrives and I get to customize him.

 

Always; I owe that much to the characters they're chosen to represent. Don't have the money for impulse buys in this hobby, anyway.

Granted, that doesn't mean everything I pick for the new girl works out how I imagined, but it at least gets me on the right track, you know?

 

I always like to plan ahead before buying. Potential wigs, clothes, character, etc. Not only is it fun to do, but it also gives me a vision of what I want the doll to be. The only bad thing is if it doesn't turn out how I envisioned I may be a little disappointed.

 

I personally always have a fictive character planned when i buy a doll

 

For me the plan is buying the doll. Everything else comes in second.

 

I fall in love with a sculpt or the combo of sculpt/faceup, and then develop the doll's story after I have it in hand. And for about half of my dolls, there's no story or background at all - I just swap out eyes, wigs, outfits and accessories as the whim hits me, and that's who that doll is for the duration.

But if anything is going to belong to that doll, it doesn't happen until the doll is home with me.

 

I have 6 full dolls now (and two more on the way) and I spent 1 to 3 months for searching for reviews and pictures (esp. owner's pictures) of each of them. I need to make sure they suit my characters and they look the same as the official pictures show. The most important thing is, I don't like the idea of selling them when I find out they are not what I thought just because I didn't do enough research.

 

Not really. I just have a certain theme in my head like e.g. I want this doll to have a gothic touch or just some place where the character that the doll represents lives. Sometimes I also look at some doll clothes and in my head I create a similar outfit that represents the character of the doll. But most of the time I just look for a doll that I like and then when it arrives at my home I just have her lying around for a bit and after a time I get and idea for what to do with her.

 

A bit of both. I have characters I want to shell, for which I plan in advance and then look for a suitable doll. I also bought dolls because I fell in love with the sculpt, but it's always a slow process for me to grow to like a sculpt, so they weren't bough on a whim.
In the time it takes for the doll to be made and shipped to me I try and figure out a vague plan so it's not naked and blank when I get it. So far my plans mostly worked, I had to adapt some things to what the doll "told me" once I had it, but usually they weren't very drastic changes.

 

Typically, I do. I'm usually shelling characters so I have a specific idea for what eyes, wig, etc. that I like. Usually just saving for the doll is a pretty big hurdle so all of those typically come later.

 

Part of the appeal of this hobby, for me, is the opportunity to shell story characters, so I've always had characters in mind while looking at dolls. That can either take hours of browsing and research, or sometimes a doll will just hit me with, 'Oh my gosh! S/He looks just like so-and-so!' And my wishlist grows. . .
But, amidst all the browsing, I do come across dolls that I just find beautiful, even though they don't remind me of any of my characters. I wishlist them for a little while, but they end up falling out of my interest eventually. When I have absolutely no idea who the doll might be, the infinite possibilities kinda make me freeze. I could turn the doll into any kind of person, so I have no idea where to start, and look at what other creative people have done with their doll, and what if I don't like the direction I've taken, and I've spent a bunch of money on clothes and accessories that don't suit the doll anymore--it's a little overwhelming
I've decided, as beautiful as the dolls are, if I don't have a plan for them before I buy, I will just stare at their pictures and drool and that's it.