Do you want an exact same doll as others?

I had that feeling with one doll before. I felt bad though because I thought I love the sculpt. I actually love how the girl made the character, look and how he was styled. I ended up selling that same head sculpt that i bought.

You have to identify if you really love the sculpt or the character. That way you will be able to decide if it's worth to invest in making a similar styled doll. You may have already been told, but copying is frowned upon in this community. But it's your doll, your happiness, so if it will make you happy to go and do something "similar" to that doll you fell in love with, go ahead.

Nobody has the right to tell you otherwise, but yourself. Don't care about the hate? Go for it!

 

Personally I would rather appretiate someone elses originality in a doll rather than recreate their whole doll. Isnt it kinda copying too, unless youre taking ALOT of inspiration from the person who owns the doll and of course ask them for permission.

 

It is true that there are many really awesome looking bjds out there that you just have to follow the owner and ahem... stalk for their photos. But I think for me, I would end it there and instead figuuring out how I could make something more amazing than that for my doll with my own creativity and aesthetic sense. I can even draw inspiration from those awesome bjds to customize my doll, but owning an exact one doesn't give a sense of belonging to me since someone else already own it. It just feels like I am chasing their shadow when I have my own, not to mention a copy cat.

 

This did happen to me. The Rafel from dollmore, I fell in love with her just the way she was on the site, so I bought the doll in suntan with the same outfit she had on, and I still absolutely adore her years later! Dollmore.net :: Everything for Doll & more

 

There is one doll in particular that I find is soooo beautiful. I' ve used her as inspiration for drawings a lot but sadly the owner doesn' t post a lot of photos of her anymore :/ Funnily enough, I actually don' t even like the sculpt itself that much.

 

absolutely no... i want my doll to be unique... that's why i start learning how to do the doll face up

 

No, I want my doll to be unique too..

 

I seem to be in the minority, but yes. I don't have characters for my dolls or storylines so I really just make them look pretty. There have been times when I have wanted someone else's doll, with the same faceup and wig, because it's just so gorgeous. I probably wouldn't copy that doll's look, because I know characters are very personal to a lot of people, but if it ever went up for sale, I'd buy in a heartbeat. Some people are so talented and creative and their dolls turn out stunning, and I wish to have those dolls sometimes!

 

I love a lot of people's dolls exactly as they are, their clothing, customization, faceup, etc.

For example, (this is going to be embarrassing now because I've lost touch with the artist), I used to follow Tanya Style's Reina (I think that's right for her Narae) and Yu (Narin) on Flickr. I loved everything about these dolls, their outfits, their faceups, their chemistry, but I'd never want to buy either of them: I liked them being owned by the artist and watching what she did with them.

Usually when a doll is so distinctive that I recognize it and love it, it also means that the artist has really put their heart into customizing the doll, and that's what I see and admire. Because the part of the doll that I like, their essence (customization, clothing, faceup, etc.), was developed by the artist, I have no desire to own that doll for myself.

I love the doll as their doll and not mine, as I, being my own person, would do something else with the sculpt, would add my personal touch, whether I wanted to (in the case of particular dolls I love this would be a bad thing) or not.

Even if I believed I could own the doll and yet preserve the artist's aesthetic (which is pretty hard because obviously I have a different brain than the artist and thus my clothing combinations and posing would be different), the doll would lose something, being mine, sort of like it's soul.

I'm not the sort of person to believe in the supernatural, but I do think that you can tell when something is loved dearly based on how its cared for and presented. That, for me, is the doll's soul. And obviously if I owned the doll, that care and love would be gone, which is a real shame.

And that doesn't even get into how proud I am of my dolls because of the work that I myself have put into them. I love my dolls, partly because of how they work for the character, and partly due to how much blood I've literally lost for them, how many bruises they've given me during restringing, and how many nights I've stayed up late doing faceups.

 

No. And i think it's impossible to make exact copy not having original one. Even if you want it for some reason.

 

Yes, actually! I never used to think this was possible, but there was an amazing mod someone did here on DOA that included sanding off the nose and mouth of the doll and it's AMAZING. A wonderful mix of creepy and cute, the kind of thing that would fit into my collection wonderfully. When I first saw him my first thought was that I really wanted him, so I could do my own faceup on him... lol

But mostly nah, the customization is the fun part. If I got something someone else already customized it would feel like a waste of an opportunity.

 

I have seen a few dolls from other owners that I have really liked but not once I have thought about having an exact copy. Just in one case, I have bought the same sculpt and make my character on it because it fitted perfectly.

Seeing others gorgeous dolls should be a source of inspiration and a way to discover things or sculpts we hadn't thought we were going to like.

 

I've had similar feelings where I really like the dolls outfit. But my dolls have strange proportions and sizes so replicating it is probably not going to happen.

I suppose the feeling is a bit like seeing something like the mona lisa or some other painting and wanting it for yourself. The originals are priceless and all copies will pale in comparison. It's just natural. Doesn't stop it from being fun to look at though.

 

Never. I want my dolls to be unique.

 

No. I like to look at other owners bjds, and lots of times those dolls are really amaze me, but I don't want to own the same doll.

 

Also the minority, here--yes, this has happened to me. I once came across owner photos of a sculpt I had never considered owning before, and I fell in love with the face his owner gave him. He looked exactly like a story character of mine (and one I'm particularly attached to). However, getting the same sculpt, myself, and trying to replicate that face definitely didn't feel honest The only reason this story has a clean, happy ending is because the owner decided to sell that doll, and I'm his new owner. I'm still reeling...

So, I know how tempting it is to see someone else's doll and basically want the same thing. Usually I just fawn over people's artistry, and pictures are enough. Only this one instance has ever left me with a hand coming out of my mouth... But I agree with what everyone is saying. Drawing inspiration from each other is great, but we really shouldn't be copying.

Is asking the owner directly OK? How would people feel if someone reached out to them--'Hey, I really admire your doll and would love to have one just like it. How would you feel if I went for a similar aesthetic?' Or is that rather brazen/rude?

 

I like to think my dolls are unique and i try to make them my own and i would feel bad copying a doll completely. Plus i don’t feel like i could be really attahed to a doll that was someone else’s design

 

Definitely, there are some sculpts I never would have looked at if I hadn't seen a really fantastic face-ups or stylization, and it makes me wish I could just buy that exact doll. That being said, as others have said, it would be kind of art theft-y to actually style a doll exactly the same as another person, so instead, I'd rather just try to dissect exactly why I like this doll, and incorporate similar elements into some of my dolls, but in a way that doesn't make it just look the same as the other doll.

 

Not really. I want my dolls just how I want/envisioned them to be. Although buying a full set doll is a different story, I would like it just how they advertised it, but not for character purposes.

 

No, not really. Sometimes I like other people’s dolls but not to the point I’d want a duplicate. Also, I like a lot of stuff I’d never personally buy but I still like to see what other people have done with them. I’m happy with my own dolls.