Does anyone else *not* have characters or personalities for their doll(s)?

I only have one doll at the moment.. But I knew before i got her I wanted to give her a name.. And a personality. A back story I wasn't so sure of.. But once the name came and the personality.. So did a whole other story. Lol. Now I want to get dolls that would represent the characters of my story that just magically come to mind with one doll. Lol. XDD

 

My first bjd will be coming sometime in a few months but I dont have a name or personality for her. I think maybe before she arrives i will have things picked out or it might come when she gets here. either way i think id atlease like her to have a name! lol

 

I'm pretty new to the hobby and I must confess, I still find it sort of strange to give personalities to your dolls. Ok, let me clarify: to give so much background info and personality to a doll, since I do have some pretty basic profiles for my fashion dolls. It must be that I'm usually a very uninspired person, but the thing is, before signing up for an account in DoA it wouldn't have occurred to me to create a whole background and story for my doll. I admit I haven't gone beyond choosing a name and picturing the general looking I want for my doll, but just because I needed to decided what clothes I'd be buying for it.

I was thinking of it and realized I didn't even name my Barbies back when I was a child But my teddy bears did have a name, mind you. So it might be that I used to be my dollies just as... toys, something to play with and put aside when you're done. Now that I'm an adult and got interested on BJDs, I think I understand the care and effort people put on this hobby: choosing a BJD isn't as simple as stepping into a store and grab a doll in its box (but truth be told, I'm sort of missing the times when things were easier like that). There are lots of things to take into consideration when choosing a BJD, so no wonder people refer to their dolls as "companions".

I'm getting OT now. Well, getting back to the topic, I'd say I'm waiting for my first BJD to arrive to finally decide on a definite name/personality for it. Oh yes, even if I wrote earlier it was sort of strange for me (because I haven't done so before!), I'm creating at least a profile for my doll. So he doesn't feel like he's the object I used to think he'd be (owing that thought to my childhood "experiences" with dolls, I mean). I already have a very general outlining of his personality based on the clothing I'm getting for him, though.

 

when i first came here, i thought i was really strange to have such in depth personalities for a doll.
i just thought it was enough to invent a personality to let them have their own sense of style and unique appearance.
Perhaps i was too into the dolls as eyecandy than dolls as a canvas for inner self expression.
im not a writer but i hope dolls can allow me to express myself better, since i really do love them so much

 

I'm with you! I tend to think that my girls are part of me. They are different parts of my own personality. It's interesting to see myself staring back at me sometimes.

Please let me thank you for starting this thread, because I thought I was the only one.

 

My dolls doesn't have predefined personalities before they come (I've been a doll collector all my life and with some other types of dolls it's the same). With bjds it feels like they're being "born" or rather awakened when I unbox them. Then the personality slowly starts to evolve. Especially one doll "prefer" things that I didn't except before I got her. The same doll with other owners seems so different. (I'm not reeeaaallly insane.... ). So I expected her to be somewhat the same. But no. Even my friends react strongly to her, compare pictures of her and same type dolls. It's really strange.

I don't do role playing so I don't have any predefined characters to find dolls for. They have no background story.

 

Name is a thing I had to give her. Just because it's easier talking about her reffering to her as Mariette instead of "that doll of mine, you know, the ball joint one I got from Korea for over 300 bucks!".

However, I believe that giving her some sort of personality would be based on her final looks. If my face-up will turn out more innocent, I'll be treating her as an innocent one. If it turns out to be more nasty, I will treat her like an angry princess. No 40pages-long essays on her backgrounds, relatives, whatsoever.

 

I'm actually rather surprised by the responses here, it's REALLY cool to see everyone's different viewpoint on personalities/characters/backstories.
With dolls of any kind, I usually let them arrive with no personality in mind, and just let them "tell" me what they're like. All my dolls have different, distinct personalities, and I have varying degrees of knowledge about each of their backstories. As for names, I usually just pick something from a movie, tv, book, ect. that I like, and if it suits them, that's that.

 

For my first doll, he kinda has a background story? Because when I was saving up for him I was really excited so I thought one up. Though I've never really thought about it ever since o3o;;; My second doll doesn't have a backstory though since he was supposed to replace my first doll... My impulse buy >3<

but I think fun adding something interesting to your dolls :3

 

Sadly no. Wolf was the first to choose her name right after I got her eyes in. Corvas didnt tell me her name till about a week ago I have had them since January of this year. Both havent told me about themselves but Im still hoping.

 

Its the same with me, he has a name and style but not really a character yet. Maybe because he is kinda new, or I'm just not into that.

 

Well, i never thought you've to give your doll a personality, background or even a new name, I've collected dolls, but I've never given them a name, i guess is a different kind of relation with a BJD. Here i learn and read about the characters and stories ppl give to their dolls and find that interesting.
So, with me happened that i figured the story i wanted to create, the characters that will be part of it and started looking for sculpts or dolls that fit into it. I had a long list of dolls that i love to buy, but as soon as i made of the story i had to discriminate and as beautiful as they are, no all fit in to the world i had imagine.
Make sense???

 

The first doll I bought had no name or backstory planned. I thought of a name for her at the last minute and had a vague idea of her personality. Really, I wouldn't say that just because you haven't thought of any definite characteristics for your dolls, that they don't have a personality. I think these little resin people are able to manifest their own little personalities regardless of the owner's designs, though they may be extremely subtle (after all the doll can't speak or move).

Surprisingly, I think I was attached to that little characterless girl most, even though she is no longer mine.

I like my dolls to be more just a "doll" than a completely fleshed out character, because I find them to be more comforting that way.

 

I have mine since 1 month now, and he doesn't have personnlity or background. I don't miss that.

 

90% of my dolls have no personality nor background story

Only a handful have some very very vague background story

I do not bother with it. I really do not need much to bond with a doll

 

I see dolls as more of an extension of myself than an outlet for creating original characters, so they will all have the same personality as me. It's kind of comforting, in a way.

 

I had a character picked out for my first doll, but after having him and calling him by that name for a month or so, I realized that it wasn't him. Even though this is my first doll, I can tell that it'll be sorta hard for me to give a doll a personality ahead of time, unless it's really thought through. I feel my current boy is developing his own personality as I bond with him. He still doesn't have a name, but the more time that goes by, the more I lean towards Akio being good for him. For now, he's just my adorable boy that keeps me company.

 

i picked my doll based on a pre-thought out personality, i like to refer to his personality and interests when i buy him clothing. it just makes things easier for me knowing what he likes and making decisions around that.

that and i have a strange love of naming things, my laptop even has a name. ^.^;

 

I write novels and fan fiction as a hobby, and I also sculpt original dolls, so it seemed only natural that my first BJD would have a name and a backstory and everything. That has not been the case, though. I tried to give her a name, but it isn't sticking. I think her face-up might be the problem, so maybe I'll bond with her a little more after I get the nerve to re-do her face-up.

On the other hand, it might be because she's alone. I have learned that in my writing, I gravitate to the relationships between characters, so maybe what she needs is a family. I have plans to buy some more dolls in different sizes and make them a family. They will have names and backstories, which I've already written, but we'll see if those stick when I actually get the dolls.

I also kind of see them as actors. I want to design and sew clothes for them, so I want them to be versatile and do lots of different styles. I have found I'm more drawn to the dolls with very neutral or enigmatic expressions, or ones that look different from different angles. I feel a developing interest in photo stories, even though I'm a terrible photographer...

But then I guess this wouldn't be any fun if I didn't have to learn something...

 

I have a nice big imaginary world populated with characters... but have never felt the urge to model a doll after any of them. Two of my dolls have names, one doesn't yet. None of them have personalities or back-stories, though they do have a style of dress.

I started trying to put a dressing personality on my un-named doll, but it didn't stick. She was to be dressed as a pirate wench, but her face was so sweet... she only looks right in innocent lace and regal satins.

I guess that means a need a new doll, right? Y'know, to be the naughty pirate I want to sew for?