Do you have 'rules' for what or how you collect?

Sort of, I want my women between 59 and 65 cm and my men between 65 and 50 cm. They need to all look nice together, and I want them all to have roughly similar head/body size ratio so no one looks out of scale.

My another rule is linked to blending in, too: only semi-realistic sculpts are welcome, I would feel it difficult to fit in vampires or other fantasy dolls, let alone dolls that portray dragons etc. in my story. I had a vampire once, but I realized pretty quick he was not for me and sold him. It would be entirely possible for me to have an own story for vampires or dragon-taming elves one day, but currently I like putting all my effort in this one story that I have.

Also, for me the doll needs to look good even naked. (Hey, my title here is not for nothing.) I have my crew clothed most of the time, but still I do get disturbed if they have bulky joints or disproportionate bodies. Also unnaturally big breasts and Hulk muscles are not that realistic looking to me. Heck, I even once sold a doll because she had the ordinary gaps in the thighs where the elastic goes, and I just could not get over them because they were too wide in my opinion.

No sharing bodies here, either. I feel it messes with forming the bond between me and the doll, and makes it hard to give the doll any identity at all.

I have more restrictions than rules, and I would not call them rules as such. For example, I would not pay to have a company faceup, but if a doll comes with one second hand, I won't refuse if it doesn't bump the price up. I'll just wipe it.

 

I'm currently undergoing a "do over" with my collection. Previously the rules I had set up always centered on the fact my dolls had to be based on my story's characters, problem is I was shelling characters that were not fully fleshed out and minor characters that I didn't need as a doll in the first place.

I'm pretty excited about re-shelling a few dolls and going the more aesthetic route, try to get a doll and all their accompanying accessories and clothes based on what I like visually without any connection to a story. We'll see how that goes!

 

I have one rule, female dolls only. As much as I like male dolls, I don't like styling or dressing them. I have sold all but one of my boys and don't plan on buying any in the future.

 

The only rule for me is if I'm active in the hobby then I have to moderate or completely cut out another interest. I love to make expensive and fancy dinners at home but I've had to cut that down. (With quarantine, I've realized just how much I spend on groceries)
And Absolutely no more buying 100$ eyeshadow palettes ....

 

I have a general rule that all of my dolls should be in scale with one another, and I don't want to introduce any new clothing sizes. Especially difficult clothing sizes because I already have one of those (my handsome SID Dean). Everyone else has to stick to what I have: SD13/60cm girls and boys or SD17/65cm boys.

I did make an exception for Soom Ondiin, but she's actually in scale with the other 1/12 dolls I collect!

 

I only have dolls who have a charachter and are part of my stories. So naturally they all have different bodies and heads and skintones that suits their charachter. Brothers have similar type of body shapes but different bodies and similar facial features but different sculpts. Even my twins have different bodies and heads. Only exception is my art only dolls. They don't need a charachter. For now I only have one but if I ever get the chance to get the other doll I specifically want only for taking pics of, I'll get him.

 

Yeah, I have a bunch of rules I like to follow when I'm windows shopping and seeing new dolls that I could add to my wishlist:
- No impulse-buying (I kinda broke this one once).
- No bigger than MSD and no smaller than 20cm.
- No 2 dolls with the same face sculpt.
- No more than 1 doll from the same company. (I already broke this one xD)
But I know I could break any of them for the apropriate set of reasons if the doll was worth it.

 

I try not to have multiple dolls on the same body, but variants are allowed (like twigling a bust/long torso/long thigh and c bust/short torso/short thigh look like totally different bodies). Some exceptions have been made, but usually I try to keep it in different universes, or mod one. Exception for the Shrike, because they're supposed to look almost identical in uniform, so it's fine for them to share a body type. This is leading to me wanting to reshell either Aura or Zilvriia (or both). They can't both be f60 moe bodied girls.

I also typically try to avoid styles that clash really hard (like a dd with a Granado man would be a no-go). This rule is loose because I'm working in a fantasy universe in both universes I work in, so it doesn't bother me if they look a little different.

I also try not to have two dolls using the same head sculpt. I've been okayish at that one. Azerin and Venestus are both twigling gamine heads (though one is white and one is blue) but I'm letting that slide cause they're in different universes (also becasue faceups will make them look different). I have...three ingenue heads and two bodies--and two heads on the way, becasue I'm weak. 2 of the heads will be Shrike and her alternate head. 1 will be a character I don't know yet, but she was a great deal and her faceup is gorgeous. the fourth will be Acyra, and the fifth, again, I have no idea. I just love her, and she's gone at least until Reese reworks her, but possibly just forever. So if I can find her... But any head that isn't ingenue will only get repeats if a character has a second head for another expression.

The dolls in each universe have to be in scale to each other. My dnd scale universe has a scale of 10.17cm to 1 ft. It's very specific becasue Acyra is 7ft tall and 75 cm and I want everyone to scale with her. my 4 worlds dolls are less precise, but mostly follow that same rule. As long as Aura is short, Ness is roughly Shrike's height, and Shrike is tall, it's fine. I have no idea how much more of that verse I'm shelling, or what height Dacrya is supposed to be yet. This is where the only rule I don't break is. Nothing shorter than small Sds (Vidania comes in at ~52.5 with the mods I'm doing). Unless I have any dwarves, or children, everyone has to be taller than that.

No dolls without characters. That's...Idealistic of me. I have currently just so many dolls on my profile that don't yet have characters. That extra twigling girl is probably one of the shrike, unless her body goes to Baelfire, and her head goes to someone else? I have bodies she'd look good on.

Think before you bring home male dolls. I just don't bond with them. I'm a female doll collector, and I can't seem to have the same stories with male dolls. My notable exception is possibly Dialeptos from 4 worlds, and Avourell Pardalis form dnd. Possibly.

 

@aestellica

Well, long story short, white skin can really upgrade every color and every little shade. As you can see, my very first doll has a intricate face up (Imgur) and you can also see my photographic skills are also under zero lol

I really think that face up would look kinda meh on natural skin and that white skin really did a huge work (you can't see it in my pictures, but there are a lot of orange tones). Same with reds: red colors become incredible on white skin.

 

This is a great topic! I love how we all have our own approach to collecting. I’ve been in the hobby for over ten years but I’ve never really had any firm rules for myself. I have been feeling a bit unsatisfied with the hobby though, mainly because my perfectionist side has at times kept me from fully enjoying it. In order to change that I recently came up with the following rules:

1. Every doll gets to stay. I won’t enjoy my dolls if I see them as a potential source of cash for other purchases. I may rehome a doll by gifting it to a friend, but only if I’ve truly outgrown it.
   
   
2. Every doll gets to play and have fun. No box babies or pristine fullsets. If I can’t style my doll, photograph it or even touch it without fear of damaging it, what’s the point of owning it? If it gets a few scratches and stains, or takes a tumble once in a while, so be it.
   
   
3. Every doll gets to be enjoyed in and of itself. I don’t need to come up with a purpose for it, or ascribe meaning to it. I got it because I fell in love with it – no justification beyond that is necessary. Second-guessing my choice, nitpicking about details or worrying about whether a doll is ”right” for me will ruin the fun.
   

 

The main rule I have is think about it for at least a day and sleep on it at least once before buying a doll, usually a lot longer than this. That way I'm sure I want the doll before I buy it, because I can't buy them often I usually know what I want well in advance of buying them now anyway and have them planned.

My last 12 dolls I also had a rule that they all had to be a different resin colour (all from the same company) and all had to have elf/fantasy ears. Now I've got all their standard colours I'm considering my next move as they still have several sculpts I like and they do transparent resin and custom colours.

 

The only rule I set was to make all clothes for my doll by myself.
I'm still a single doll owner and bought him as a full set with pants, shirt and coat, so he didn't have to be completely naked in the beginning. But besides that I never bought a piece of clothing again and made everything by myself so far. Probably not saving anything this way but at least I'm forced to learn how to sew things whenever I want to have a new outfit for him.

 

So far, I only have three rules: No two of the same head mold, buy only if I have the money on hand and no doll under 20cm (too much of a sewing challenge.) Everything else is a guideline.

1) Child and adolescent girl dolls
2) MSDs and Tinies
3) No impulse buys
And my newer addendum: Molds with clear PoC features.

 

Rule #1...No character, no doll. All dolls must shell characters...period! One of the things I love most about this hobby is creating my own characters, and the intricate way that process develops through my own form of story-telling. So no dolls purchased as “just another pretty face” for me...no, not ever!

Rule #2...Full dolls only. No floating heads if I can at all help it, and I prefer a head to have a matching body from the same company whenever possible. I have broken this rule a few times from necessity in creating a unique character, of course, but I really prefer not to.

Rule #3...Celebrate diversity and eclecticism in my collection. My doll world is set in an urban neighborhood (with a hidden fantasy realm just beyond the hedgerow) in order to encourage unique sculpts and characters. So while I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase multiple dolls I like from a favorite company, I likewise don’t hesitate to branch out to different companies if I see something I like.

Rule #4...Adhere strongly to my own personal aesthetic...the more stylized, traditional old-school faces like Luts and Volks, and the more stylized innovative things like Dollzone and Doll Chateau, as well as the strong character faces of some of the Fairyland tinies. I learned early on that sculpts that are too realistic just aren’t for me, no matter how beautiful they are or how much I admire them. I’m creating a fairytale world here and I want my collection to reflect that.

 

I do have some rules I like to stick with.

1. A doll must be a love in the long term. I have a tendency to fall head over heels and gush over a doll then lose interest immediately. Some people like to have an ever-changing collection, great for them, but it doesn't leave me happy.

2. Second-hand/In-stock dealer purchases only. In this hobby we really try to hammer home that patience is everything, but I just cannot handle the wait times. I can take a month or two max, anything else I always end up regretting it and my plans change.

Any other rule I've given myself I ended up breaking. "Only dolls with a certain level of articulation!" Broken for some cute dragons. "No hybrids!" A doll I have coming in will need a new body at some point for aesthetic reasons. "Okay, you didn't like any doll you've gotten over the years except one so you're a one doll collector now!" Hehe nope

 

I have a lot, many of which I don't even think about until I get asked.

-All must be 53-63cm for my teen crew, 60-72cm for adult crew. (Only Amir, 46cm, breaks this rule because he was my first doll before I realized I prefer 1/3 scale).

-Only humans. Maybe pets. No fantasy dolls, no fantasy colors.

-No more than 19 dolls max, though preferably stay at or below 13. I had to make this rule because 38 dolls was far too overwhelming for me.

-Everybody has to be a full doll, with faceup, wig, eyes and at least three outfits. I try to have this all done within a month of the doll getting home. If I'm not motivated enough to get that done within a month, I'm probably not bonding with the doll enough to keep it.

-All dolls must have fully fleshed out original characters. No fan dolls, no mini-me dolls, no pretty dolls without names.

-No dolls over $700. Been there, done that, had severe buyer's remorse.

-On the other hand, no buying cheap dolls just because they're cheap. If I don't actually like the doll, I will end up regretting it. $200 is not a good deal when you don't like the doll. Same rule for clothes and accessories. I'll never be satisfied with poor quality, out of scale clothing that doesn't fit or hang right. Better to shell out for good stuff.

-Attempt to keep the boy/girl ratio even. Ideally, this would be 6 boys, 6 girls and Sixx (my Dollshe Amanda hybrid), though currently I'm at 7 boys, 5 girls and Sixx.

-No pre-orders from companies with wait times over 6 months. Preferably under 4 months.

-No hybrids unless absolutely necessary, like the artist only makes heads or the head is perfect but not available on a body in the right size/gender/shape.

I probably have more rules, but these are the main ones I keep for myself. Of course, if this hobby has taught me anything, it's to never say never! There was a time when I said I'd NEVER own girl dolls, and now I prefer my girls over my boys! So these rules are subject to change at any time.