Does a lower Budget Force Creativity?

The attractiveness of a bjd to me started with the idea of making clothes for them. I also have a small budget and can't afford to buy clothes from different companies for my dolls but I think that even if i could i would still make my dolls their own clothes. It's part of the charm.

I've also started learning to do my own faceups. Mostly because i wanted to be able to bring my dolls closer to the look i wanted for them, rather then a cost issue.

 

I'm also drawn to dolls by the idea of being able to make clothes for them! That's part of what made me decide that I could stretch to buy a couple of dolls--I could make the clothes for them that I wanted and that would fit the image I had for them. (Wigs and shoes are another matter--gotta fork out for those!)

 

If it hasn't been noted already, just because a doll is of a lower price, it doesn't mean that this doll was all that that person could afford.

I can see people with tight budgets buying higher priced dolls, and having to do more work themselves. If I were to buy a $700 doll, I'd be out some serious cash. As a remedy for that, I would try to do what I could to cut costs. Heck, that's what I did with Emma, my $270+ DM Kid Flocke. I told myself I was going to save a lot of money, and she'd still have decent outfits... well, three or four pairs of badly-sewn pants later, she was in the dress I bought until my birthday (around 6 months).

Just now, I'm a) getting around to sewing again, and b) sewing stuff that fits. And there's still a lot of luck in that. Sewing on a machine is a lot more complex than I was led out to believe.

I'm a big fan of arts and crafts, and things that I can build and create. I'd consider it an accomplishment to have good quality doll clothes that I made. I'd consider it an accomplishment to have good-quality regular-sized clothes that I made.

Lastly, a good reason for why I try to sew certain things is because shipping for ready-made items are very high. You can't go in for just a par of eyes, because it's hard to justify spending $30 when they only cost around $10. You end up needing to spend more than you may be willing to feel good about tossing in that extra cash. I might order something for Emma when I eventually get around to buying my incoming big guy a wig and an outfit because I'm already spending a relatively good sum.

 

I think a lot of people would be surprised at how often limits, whether it be money or ones own skills, can lead to some of the most creative ideas. I see it often in art classes. Professor will give project guide lines and the art students will come up with some of the most creative ways to bend those rules while still adhering to them with stunning results. And yet, when given free rein to do a project however they please, the art just falls flat. Some of the most creative ideas can come from having limits.

Limitations do force us to exercise our brains and think of new and sometimes strange ways to get around them, but still get the desired result, such as when sewing your own doll clothes. But the real question is, are you willing to take the time required to make something yourself. And I think that is really where the line is drawn. Creativity has very little to do with having lots of money or having little money, and a lot to do with a person's own patience. Anyone can make anything if they want to put in the time, either to make something, learn to make something or redo that something until you get it right (because practice makes perfect). And if you don't have the patience, no matter your funding, you aren't going to make things for your dolls yourself.

Those who have low funding and make stuff themselves for their dolls, are doing so because they can and/or want to. Often to save money. If they couldn't or didn't want to, they would simply save up their money to buy the item they wanted already made.

 

I don't think it's based on the price of the doll, specifically. I think it depends on how the creative person works their budget. If you are a photographer, you put money into that, naturally. If you sew or craft, you focus on that, lots of money or little money. A photographer might not actually have a bigger budget, especially if he or she has spent it all on high quality equipment! And a sewing person might drop 3,000 USD on a sewing machine that does embroidery as well as normal sewing and then not have money for a year or two.
I do think a small, less flexible budget encourages creativity and adds to the fun. Less money for the expensive fabric might lead someone to learn embroidery or fabric painting, because a paint set might in the long run be less expensive than six months worth of fabric. Of course that depends on where you are and what you find available. I can't speak for other country's prices.
Less money for creativity might also re-enforce a determination to make the best of what a person can do, improving their art to counter the lower cost of the materials they are using.

 

If you talking about handmade-able, probably because, when you have less budget to spend on, then, I think it actually motivates you to think of another creative way to create things with limited resources but photography, I'm not so sure about it for I'm just prefer compact camera over DSLR cameras n__6

 

i first discovered bjd's when looking for an artist's dummy for another project i was doing. i didn't really see the value of them until i started making clothes and using them as fit models too. i buy things i can't make (yet) like shoes and wigs or things that woud take me more time than it is worth right now (like detailed jeans) and do the rest myself. if i had a larger budget i would probably just buy more nude, blank dolls or supplies for what i make, not change to buying more for them.

so to answer the original question low budget can force you to be more creative in reaching a specific goal for your dolls, but it won't necessarily - you might just end up with less stuff. and if you are inclined to creativity anyway having a larger budget may just affect the materials you have in which to be creative

 

I can only speak for myself and yes it triggers my creativity more. I don't feel forced though. It's more a challenge for me, to see what I can make and save up for another doll instead of spending it on clothes for them. It's a matter of choice.

 

I used to have a lower budget with dolls, but I'm more on the high budget as of late [Summer = full time job + people always calling out = overtime pay for me!] But even as a lower budget AND higher budget, I always liked making things for my dolls, doing their face ups myself, modding them myself, etc. I think it's mainly because...well, to be 100% honest...

I'm completely picky. And I know if I make something it'll come out exactly as I want it, and if it doesn't, I don't have to be disappointed in the product that I paid for, and I can start over again without feeling too dismayed that I wasted money or something.

On a more personal level, I really don't deal with disappointment well. So if something came in that was completely not what I wanted, I'd probably be really upset for a while. But if I make it myself, at least I can take a deep breath and be like "well, try, try again."

I think this question also depends on the individual; I don't think all low-budget/high-budget people will have the same answer, [Obviously, hence the term 'debate']

Do I think, when I was more on a low budget, that it FORCED creativity? Absolutely not. It was really about prioritizing. What do I want more? Do I want a new outfit, do I want a new doll?

Did it encourage me? I guess. But I was always the type of person who wanted to do all of these things myself. I guess having a lower budget gave me an excuse to ACTUALLY do it, rather than sit around THINKING about doing and watching videos on youtube like "ooooo, I wonder if I can do that!" lol ^.^;

I hope that answered your question on my end.

 

I don't sew, I've never sewn, and I have no intention of learning. *gasp*
This doesn't mean I'm less creative, or have an unlimited budget, it just means I have no interest in sewing clothes. Not for my dolls and not for me. I have a million other projects that take up all my time, sewing would just be one more thing eating that time up meaning I wouldn't be able to focus on the stuff I really care about. What I like doing with them is faceups, tattoos, modding, styling, photos...pretty much everything but sewing. So I buy clothes, or wheedle my roommate (who does sew) into making some for my dolls.

If I had less money to spend I still wouldn't learn to sew, my dolls would have less clothing XD and I would have less dolls!

I'll tell you what does impede on my creativity....space. Or the lack thereof. I don't have the room to do half the things I'd love to do, including making sets for my dolls, more elaborate photoshoots, and painting canvases instead of watercolors in my sketchbook. I'd love to try to make my own doll, but I can't even think about it because I have no room for a project like that.

 

I don't really think so. I don't think it's so much the budget as it is the mindset of the person going into the hobby.

Me, personally... I consider myself fairly artistic (I guess). I draw, paint, I have several years of experience in pattern drafting, outfit design and sewing (for fun and for cosplay, as well as miniature clothing). I've even done a bit of casting. But I don't make anything for my dolls, simply because after shelling out hundreds of dollars for a blank doll, my own skills are just not good enough. I'd rather spend good money on very high-end product (eyes, clothes, wigs, face-ups) and put my doll together to look like visual candy, than I would to try an exercise my own "artistic talents", because it simply won't measure up to the pros, who don't only have the right equipment and materials, but also the experience, time and talent.

And I don't have a big budget either. I'm a currently unemployed university student that can only usually afford a maximum of one doll a year, and that's usually from gift money or from selling other dolls (or doing commissioned illustrations). When I want to take better photos, I borrow my mother's DSLR. But I'd rather have one GOOD doll, than I would two covered with my own mediocre scribbles, self-made eyes and average-level garments (and I could probably easily squeeze in another doll with all of the money I spend on completing all of my dolls). I'd much rather buy all of my doll's stuff, and spend my "creative energies" on coming up with the character concept and doing character illustrations, because I get more enjoyment out of it that way.

That being said, I do like to fancy myself a clothing designer occasionally, so I think that one day, I will buy myself a doll that I will make clothing for. Maybe I'll even get a head to give face-ups a try. However I wouldn't be doing it NECESSARILY because of a restricted budget, but because that was one of the reasons I bought the doll in the first place. So I can make it clothes. Intent, not budgeting.

 

First of all, I think your question is quite contradictory. As I see it, taking pictures and creating beautiful set-ups is proof that the owner is doing a lot with her doll.

As for the question itself; I agree with those who say that it depends on the person. I have no doll budget right now (haven't had one for the last two years), but I don't do my own face-ups and I don't knit or sew because I don't like doing that. The materials are quite costly too and together with the fact that I'm not particularly good at creating clothes or a beautifully coloured face... I'd rather commission someone who enjoys this work and is talented. I know from experience that I won't have a proud feeling when looking at my own work.. I only see the flaws.

I do however make my own dolls and I have a few furniture designs in my head. So any lack of creativity I have in 2d artforms is made up by my love for 3d art.

I don't think it's the budget that 'forces' us to be creative, it's our own motivation and interest.

 

I don't think a lower budget necessarily forces creativity. People tend to save for the things they want if they want it badly enough. At present, I'm trying to spend more time and effort on my house rather than on BJDs so I'm directing my funds there. I actually have less time to do things with BJDs because I'm spending all my time (and extra cash) on repainting the house. So my decreased budget is due to increased attention somewhere else.

 

I believe it has to do a lot more with creativity, than with budget, as some people have already mentioned.
When I first got into the hobby I wanted to make all sorts of things for the dolls I had then, I even tried making
my own clothes , when I had never sewn before or had interest in it prior to this hobby. I also tried making
my own wigs, jewelry and shoes at one point (although the latter didn’t go very well). Now that I am much older,
I don’t feel as motivated to sew much, it is a bit frustrating and I never take full-shots of my dolls anyway (because I suck).
Obviously people who have infinite funds can afford to have much more of everything, than those of us who have a limited budgets,
but how creative people are with their dolls/photo-shoots has to do with how imaginative the person is, not how much
money s/he has.



- Enzyme

 

Also not to be overlooked as an option: using creative means to come up with funds to purchase desired items. Creativity isn't always just a matter of making things directly for one's dolls. It could mean finding some new project with earning potential or making item for sale that allows you to make a purchase you would not otherwise been able to make, or get you closer to that goal.

 

While I profoundly agree with surreality and have little to add without reiterating her post, I would like to offer a personal take. I consider myself a creative person in terms of ideas, and I enjoy making things myself, but I'm really strapped for time. I cannot make everything from scratch and have limited time allowance even for alterations and picture-taking. That is only going to get worse as I go back to full-time work (even though my doll budget may, possibly, come up at that point). But to me, finding the right items to buy that fit the character, advance the story and/or go well together with the items I already have is already a creative outlet. Some people are only in this for photography, without even any time-based excuses, and that is also a form of art.

 

As others have said here, lower amounts of money and having to be creative are not necessarily going to go hand in hand. Sometimes they do combine, as they do when I look at pretty dresses and really wish I could make them for my doll, or want to go out to eat something fancy but have three bucks and a kitchen full of ingredients.

The doll hobby launched me back into sewing, and I've done my own face ups with the exception of two faceups that my very talented friend ravyn42 did for me. Did I start out getting the awesome clothes and beautiful faceups that some doll companies produce? Nope! XD But I have at the same time gained an interest in pattern making, new sewing techniques, and most importantly appreciation for the time it takes to sew on that small of a scale. Because, Really? Lolita on a puki scale is scary and must be done by hand. I know I won't complain about how much a high quality doll outfit costs again after trying to produce them.

But to get back around to the point, In some ways it does force you to be creative. Maybe not with creating things exclusively, but finding materials, the funds to get dolls or materials or other things, etc. But I know a few people who have low budgets who can't do a lot of these creative things to save their lives.

 

I'm the opposite - if I were to buy a $700 doll, I would want top-of-the-line clothing, a professional face-up and patent leather shoes for it...
It would seriously inhibit my creativity, as I don't really want to ruin such an expensive doll with my own clumsy attempts to customise it.

Rather than saying a low budget forces creativity, I would say a high budget inhibits it, as it is so tempting to want 'the best of the best of the best' for your doll, and if you can afford it, why not... ??

 

Well, I think it depends on the person. With the cheaper doll , people seem to be more confident to mod,and the result of having the extra confidence can be amazing.Some people have the feeling that cheaper dolls (like a bobobie) can`t look as good as a more expensive doll.That really isn`t a rule.I have seen many cheaper dolls topping iff more expensive ones , all due to the creativitiness and talent of the owner. But I don `t feel that it forces any one to be more creative.I think it encourages them