Does anyone else get customizing anxiety?

For sure. That was a huge worry when I started in the hobby. Now I don't really care to be honest. If I devalue them then I devalue them. Enjoying them and making them into what I like is worth it. I used to want all full set Fairyland dolls. To keep their value and keep them 'complete'. I no longer have any complete fullsets. I've mixed and matched their outfits. I've started doing their faceups. I mod elf ears. I just bought an airbrush and started painting all their accessories. Next I'll do body blushing (already done hands) and I would love to try an eye mod one day. The fear was insane at the beginning. Now I don't have much, except fear of stringing and eye modding lol!

 

Maybe try it out on a cheaper doll first. Get a cheap damaged body secondhand so you aren't losing too much money, then just use it for any practice you want. My first mod was on a ResinSoul Lu's eye opening, and I was so scared of messing up, then the knife slipped and I actually did mess up---but I was able to fix it and I loved her SO much more after doing it! I've done several since then and I think it does get a little easier each time, but a new type of mod always makes me nervous again.

If you're much too worried about messing up, maybe send the doll to an artist with more practice? I recently sent my girl out for a bust mod and have no regrets! She's perfect and I didn't have to worry about messing her up myself.

 

Customizing anxiety? Oh, God, all the time. Mind you, I've pretty much settled on Chaeri's look, but it took me seven years to find the perfect head/body/makeup combination for her. I shudder to think how much I'd stress over a more expensive doll. And yes, as a matter of fact, I still have all her old/original parts tucked away in boxes, just in case...though by now her resale value is pretty much not.

 

Oh, almost ridiculously so. @_@ Anything that isn't completely reversible makes me really nervous. I usually find non-permanent ways to achieve the effect I want if at all possible. Either that, or I use parts that are already damaged so I don't feel so bad lmao

I got a doll today that also has pretty pitiful joint posability, and I'm considering just sculpting new joints like you mentioned. And mine wasn't even an expensive doll...

 

Yup. I got a doll I wanted to mod, but it was so limited that took me two years to work up the courage to do it. And I did mess up a little, but it was not as bad as I worried. And people like seeing her, so that makes me feel glad I finally did it.

What really gave me the courage was seeing someone else with a limited doll they were afraid to mod push through and do it with great results. It helped put me more at ease.

 

Oh, and @FragRaptor? Something I forgot to mention earlier...BJDs are made to be customized. That's kind of the whole point, or at least it was. Not everyone has the mad skillz to do a full faceup, body blushing, make wigs and clothes and shoes and such...but even a minor modification, no matter how small, whether it's changing the eyes or adding different lashes or painting the nails...that's the touch that makes your doll uniquely yours.

As to the question if the fear goes away...not entirely, but it gets manageable. Have you seen that diaper commercial that shows the parents going looney tunes over their first baby's first bath, and then later show the mom just shoving their second baby into the shower with Daddy? Yeah, kind of like that.

 

You are not alone with it! I got my doll in last year december and I still can't start mod him. I've got everything for the modding, but I really don't want to destroy him in any way. He is my second doll, and the only doll I have yet. He is not limited, but he wasn't cheap. So I jut wait till I have enough nerve to mod him. Other costumizations like face up, wig etc still in progress for the same reason. the only thing I made for him is sewing, and a pair of costume acrylic eyes. It doesn't matter if you do modification and costumization later. Have fun with your resin friend and do it when you are ready to do it! My first face up happened a half Year after I had my first doll and I was totally satisfied with it!

 

I bought a sleeping doll head that had a beautiful faceup. I've had her for years, but the sleeping eyes started to bother me at some point and her faceup while beautiful, wasn't exactly what I wanted. So, I decided I'd get her modded to be dreaming. Couldn't do it. I would put the tools I needed in the cart get ready for checkout and then chicken out at the last second. I've done that a dozen times over the years. And now I have the boy who is supposed to be paired with her, but her head is so big in comparison that she looks like she could eat him! So, I'm opting to reshell her instead to a smaller head. If his head been a bit bigger, I probably would have gone through with the mod. It would have been slow, or I might have sent her head out to get it done.

 

Oh absolutely ... I'm still to afraid to do big mods, and even small things like drilling piercings caused me a solid fortnight of second guessing. However, I ended up realising that unless the mods were done, I'd never feel like his character was truly completed ...

 

Right now I am anxious about customize. It is not my first doll, and I am not even going to mod her myself. I have bought a head from Light Limner stock yesterday and I plan to modify her face hard. I can't redesign her face by photo editors before modifying, so I am anxious about the result.

 

I don't do major stuff like that to be honest. I only have one...two full Soom (forgot my Teenie Gem) because of that, because I just really dislike their bodies. I rather do a hybrid if possible than modify an existing body like crazy
Partly because I don't like doing heavy modifications (too exhausting), partly because I also am just not looking forward to fiddling around with an expensive doll. I rather spare myself the stress and possible botchering and buy a better body right from the start.

If there's no better body option, I usually just deal with it (like with Iplehouse) or refrain from buying.

Sanding eyes open, removing excess resin between fingers and such is fine. Changing faces to a certain degree as well. But I'd never do heavy body modifications, especially not when it comes to jointing.

 

When I bought my doll second hand, she had waaaay bigger boobs than I wanted for her. I worried and considered for months whether I should pick up a hacksaw and chop them off and then try to sort out the damage!! I know it's only by starting a project you can learn how well you'll be able to 'fix it' !
With every outfit I tried on her I was never happy with the look. I'd try and make clothes that would minimise the effect, but the results were never great.
Anyhow, a year later I decided to book her in for a breast reduction with someone else! I packaged up the torso and sent it away.... For the whole time I was worrying about what could happen and how I may have destroyed the doll!!
When the part came back and I reintroduced all the body parts... She looked fantastic!!! Best decision I ever made... Wish I'd done it sooner lol

 

I have only done a small amount of modification to my dolls. I get really bad anxiety about the whole customization process so typically when I go to buy a doll I tend to look for one second hand because if the doll is not perfect already, I do not feel as bad modifying it because I have much less anxiety about messing up an already imperfect doll . When I first started in the hobby I jumped strait into modification thinking I could handle it being a creative and crafty person and I almost completely ruined my first three dolls and ended up selling them to a friend who basically fixed them and modified them herself into her own tastes. Because I jumped in too soon before understanding the mediums and materials fully I did not do a very good job which in turn gave me bad anxiety about customizing dolls. I can handle customization much better now but it still gives me anxiety to this day so unless it is something small, I tend to have someone else do my modifications on my dolls just to avoid the stress.

 

I have been thinking about this exact same topic of anxiety, but related to the hobby in general. To be honest as much as I love the community and the hobby and, of course, the dolls, I have a lot of anxiety episodes related to the dolls, either about getting the styling for mine, sewing for them, dealing with knowing about new dolls that I might want and eventually with the anxiety of knowing I want a new doll and then how to come up with the money for it.
I think this is all part of the hobby and something that is easily worked out with learning how to be patient. However depending on how people are it may for sure become somewhat of a problem.To me it is, sometimes, because I like to get things done fast and effectively, and really in the hobby, with waiting times and also waiting for the artists I work with for faceups and clothes... But for sure in the end it all pays off. I love the community and I love my dolls so much =)

 

I didn't modify or even paint the first three dolls I own, because I got them with custom face ups from their companies. I did heavy modifications to the fourth doll I purchased, and he was the most expensive doll I own so far, so I was a bit hesitant but I think I was less so than I am now. He wasn't a very popular doll, so he was discontinued and that is why I worry now. I didn't worry too much then, It was a gradual change over time, and only did mods to his facial structure and none to his body (other than seam removal). I've done a lot of facial modifications to a lot of my floating heads, but I mostly feel worried or anxiety when I know I can never replace them (due to them being discontinued or not readily available).

 

My first mod was an inner eyewell sanding to help some eyes fit better. The second was a light chin sanding. Then I learned how to use a dremel and did a series of headcap/head size reductions. With each of these there was a period beforehand where I thought it over and over, seeing dollar signs going in the negative every time I looked at the piece. Ultimately I just had to decide the gamble was worth as much as I could lose on it in a sale.

My most recent mod was the scariest by far, though, and I thought about it for about nine months before pulling the trigger. Years ago I had purchased an 80cm IOS body only to decide I wanted all my dolls in the same scale. I put it up for sale. Well, it never sold, mostly because I never adjusted the price, because truthfully I really liked the body and just wished the legs were a bit shorter...

I then found myself in need of a body with similar resin colour and neck/shoulder dimensions and finally decided I couldn’t get a better body for the price it was likely to actually sell at, and therefore those legs had to go. I went mad with the dremel and took segments out of the thighs and calves and he’s now a much more manageable ~74cm, he’s one-of-a-kind and looks like he belongs with my crew. I couldn’t be happier, but boy was it scary making those first few cuts.

 

Yea I did what @CloakedSchemer suggests. I bought a rather cheap doll from Doll love as my first BJD so I wasn't too afraid about ruining her. I almost immediately restrunged her, sueded her and now even body blushed her and even though it's far from perfect I am happy with it and not afraid about the doll anymore at all.

 

I used to be fearless and mod any bjd I wanted in any way, but over the last couple years, I’ve become more concerned with the cost of the dolls (and their stuff) and won’t be doing modifications. I haven’t done any face ups on them either. I don’t have the motivation to change the dolls into what I envision anymore. I’m tired of the wigs not being as advertised, clothing not fitting or being of good quality, shoes (don’t get me started on sizes), or making my own stuff because it doesn’t exist. Been there, done that, and it didn’t always work out and I ended up selling those dolls. I have a very limited income so that dictates my hobbies. BJDs are so expensive!