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Do you have a plan for your doll before buying?

Feb 24, 2017

    1. Yes and no, sometimes if I have a character in mind I will find the doll I'm looking for and buy it. Other times if I see a sculpt or complete doll I like I'll buy it,then figure out what to do with it later. Sometimes they sit around for awhile but they always get integrated into my projects.
       
    2. i often have a loose plan, but have found that i never really know what my doll is going to be like until i have finished the faceup and found the "right" eyes and wigs. some of them come out similar to how i thought they would, but all too often they turn out to be completely different. which never bothers me because i'm happy with whoever they want to be. i don't preplan stories, just make them up about the ones who are already here, and what they want to do
       
    3. My dolls are planned from the top down before they even reach my house. I honestly think planning my dolls is one of my favourite parts of the hobby; I compare measurements, find potential shoes, look for outfit ideas online and then search for the fabric which could be used in making them, find eyes and eye reviews on said eyes, search for wigs of wig-making tutorials, browse faceup artists' Flickr pages avidly... Then comes the best part. :evilplot: I make a freaking powerpoint with all the information/inspiration photos I found throughout my research and classify everything into categories, write down potential names, and most importantly, note the order date, ship date, and arrival date of my dolls. By the time it gets to me, I already have a clear concept of where I'm going with the sculpt. After planning comes the "less fun" part, a.k.a saving up for the faceup and props, then actually making the stuff I need for my dolls such as wigs and outfits. Surprisingly, my dolls don't have a personality or story prepared for them, and most of the time never get either of those even after I've had them for a while é_è Poor little bunch!
       
    4. I don't know how detailed my plans would be in a vacuum. I know which dolls I want next (and in the order I wish to purchase them) and I know who they're shelling. Beyond that, I don't plan for additional accessories or stuff to accompany them. They're shelling something so specific that just knowing what each doll means and represents is like a plan.
       
    5. Always. i create a character at first and work on it for my story and after, I'm looking for a doll to incarnate him or her. Sometimes, it happen I fall on a sculpt I find beautiful, so I keep it in mind for create a character.
       
    6. If I want a doll I come up with a general idea of what I want before making that decision. Many times, I'm fine with keeping the doll in default outfit/wig/clothes, but I like choosing different eyes or doing a custom faceup. I'm not shelling characters, so if the doll really resonates with me I'll make it fit in my collection ;)
       
    7. I try to have a plan before I buy but lately I've been looking at a couple of dolls and I'm just so drawn to their appearance I haven't thought of character ideas. Haha
       
    8. I don't have any bjds, but I have a HUUUGE plan right now. No joke lol. I already have a wishlist full of bjd clothes on different dolls shops and stuff like ebay, wish, amazon, aliexpress, taobao, etsy and other stuff like that. I'm also trying to figure out a character plan.
       
    9. Yes, having at least some sort of plan for a doll is one of the rules to even get on my wish list. And by the time I get around to buying them I have a basic idea of how they'll look, and have chosen a color pallet for their clothing.
      Usually all that's left to establish once they arrive is picking a name from the list of potential names that I've gathered and the exact details of their style. (in terms of clothing)
       
    10. Not always, sometimes depending on the character I want I go looking for something that fits.. buuuut... sometime's I see a monthly doll that's just too perfect to pass up. Then the ideas come after, that's just as exciting. Discovering who this doll is.
       
    11. I usually fall in love with a sculpt and then decide what kinds of wigs and things I will want for her. Sometimes I know what I would like a face up artist to do with the head and sometimes I just trust in their style so completely that I don't have a big plan at all. I can spend years finding clothing for a doll. I am so picky about that... And then the doll can surprise me with a look I never imagined initially, being what actually works best for them.
       
    12. Totally just did the opposite of what I usually do. Doll paid for before having a clue of what she would be. Hahaha She's got a plan now, two days later, but still figuring her out completely heh
       
    13. I don't have a "detailed" plan for my dolls, but i do have a storyline and a character that i want them all to follow. SO I guess I do have a plan for them, but its never static, it changes at will. For example, i might have really wanted to get one doll for a specific character, and just ended up getting a different one. Or I get a doll i just wanted out of the blue, but i definitely know how to stick them in the storyline. I have one impulse doll that i managed to do that with. But i think its good to have an idea what you want to do with your doll before you get them. otherwise they will just be sitting there...
      That kinda happened with my new girl. She has no face, and i just managed to figure out how i want her to look and what i need her be. She's been blank for like 4-5 months now i think.:doh
       
    14. I have ideas, characters. I have elaborate ideas for character dolls that unfortunately fit no story of mine. Hence why ideas like Resinsoul Mei/Fei psychic twins have not happened yet, despite me adoring those sculpts to the moon and back. But a fraternal twin brother to my boy MSD? Definitely. A tiny set of twins? Has happened. If I don't have a rough idea of who they'll be, they just stay on the wishlist.

      (The Mei is on my wishlist for years. Was originally meant to shell my character Vala which became my RS Bei)
       
    15. I shop for dolls based mostly on aesthetic appearance (display appeal), not for story or headcanon reasons. My first doll was purchased due to the intersection of affordable price and liking his appearance, and I'm only now thinking of a backstory for him now that he's here. I do have multiple heads on the way that are specifically for television character dolls, however.
       
    16. I have no problem making up stories on the fly, so usually I wait until they arrive before making a full story for them. I want to see their face, know their character, before I decide on a life story. However I already have a story for a doll I am only looking at right now but want so bad. Mei from Resinsoul. She is a daughter of the sun and moon, and has one silver, one gold eye. Her name will be Twilight. Theres more but I'm still working on it so...I wont share for now.
       
    17. My first doll was such an impulsive buy, I had absolutely nothing planned for her and still didn't until I sent her out for a faceup with a vague idea of what I wanted her to look like. Once she had a face though, I began to get a real feel for her; learned her name, her style and her whole story. After her, any doll I see that I plan to get (at some point lol) I try to make some kind of background for, trying to fit into this story I've created. Sometimes I plan them as shells for OCs, that I sort of build around their sculpts; I see their face and create a character to fit my story around them. It's a lot of fun and really helps me worldbuild, as well as gets me excited to save up for the dolls.
       
    18. All my current and (hopefully) future dolls are planned, I write novels and all my characters are from my stories more or less.

      In the past I have impulse buying a lot of dolls and never had characters for them. And I have always ending up selling them. So now I will try and just buy dolls I have character for ^^
       
    19. Pretty much, I'll see a doll I like, and get it (funds willing), and not need a plan. I am highly tactile, I need something in my hands before I can truly figure out how I want it.
       
    20. My first two I got a plan, but it's not always...I'm currently without BJDS, waiting for a doll to arrive. That one (its my 4) I bought without a plan because I loved the sculpt, and then created my plan (what I think will suit her and I would love to see)...

      but that made me want a guy for her, with an specific plan...and now I'm looking for a doll that will work for it