Does your doll "smoke"? Why?

This is really kind of antagonistic. I understand that it may be the opinion of the OP but wow! I personally do not like cigarettes and someone smoking nearby can set off asthma attacks for me but I still feel that coming out and starting your thread by basically saying "I want to know why your doll does something, that thing is terribly wrong and horrible and anyone who's dolls do it is clearly trying to encourage terrible things. But please tell me why your dolls do it. Do you do it too? I am curious." Is very abrasive.

No my dolls do not smoke. Grigoriy grew up in a culture that made smoking something for rebels and trendy people but he never developed a taste for them, believing that the smell was too strong. None of my other dolls really had any reason to take it up and have other various vices instead.

 

Interesting to read the comments here.
Whatever your opinion on smoking is, I don't see why it's hard to understand why some people would want their doll to smoke? Would you ask an author why their book characters smoke? Like others have said before, it can add a touch of realism to their doll especially if they're going for a rebellious delinquent sort of character. Yes, it's a bad habit but people have bad habits and photographing dolls who smoke isn't necessarily promoting it. I've never touched a cigarette in my life but I'm not opposed to the idea of having one of my dolls smoke.

 

One of my characters is a smoker, I really like taking potos when he has the cigarrete in his hands, so handsome *-*

 

I think Chaz has it right. Being flawed or having vices is a part of character development. It doesn't mean that the author smokes or thinks that it's cool. It's simply a part of a larger story.

I'm going to note that I do not smoke nor do my friends and family (or dolls). I can't stand the smell. It gives me a headache. But some of my favorite characters in books/movies do smoke. So I can see why someone using their dolls to tell a story would have a smoking doll.

 

People smoke. If you want your characters to be realistic, & have a lot of them, some will smoke. I've got a couple bad boys so of course they will smoke. Then of course you have to remember it's not always tobacco.....
One really fantastic photo shoot here on DoA was a poker game. Now, really, can you imagine it being believable w/o cigarettes? LOL
Plus if doing a retro noir photo shoot it's pretty much de rigueur...

 

Well, this seems like a contentious topic. I’m totally gonna add my two cents anyway.

I’m a non-smoker, I have one planned smoker doll, and it’s all about the character. No, it’s not about making her look cool or badass. She’s addicted and there are reasons for that.

It’s true that the health risks are well documented, but people still smoke and that’s a fact, so of course people are going to reflect that in their works. As stories go, nowadays it can prove to be a very revealing aspect of a character. Maybe they were weak against social pressures, they’re an addictive personality, or they have a latent death wish. If they’re an older character or a character from an earlier time period, maybe it’s what they grew up surrounded by - if all their role models smoked, isn’t it natural for them to want to emulate? Remember that once upon a time, smoking was endorsed by health experts too. Or if they’re a character who yoyos between trying and failing to quit, that can say just as much about them. And, just to play devils advocate, you have to admit that there is something edgy about inhaling danger like that, whether you agree that smoking is a disgusting thing or not.

It’s all about context, of course, but next time you see a photoshoot with a smoker doll, look a little beyond the aesthetic.

(Although I will happily say that at least I will never have to smell my doll’s props. Heh.)

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Read the last page comments after I wrote this. I'm going to add that I pretty much agree with the people above me.

 

Wow, just...wow. What an amazingly hostile way to ask your rhetorical questions, Arkady. It brings me a certain sense of morbid glee when people come off sounding batshit crazy. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. So, thank you.

None of my dolls smoke; it actually never occurred to me to have a smoking character. It's like a non-issue. My ma used to smoke and I hated smelling like smoke when she'd drop me off at school. But I never considered my lovely Old Dear filthy, disgusting, nor anti-social. It was an addiction for her and she tried to stop, but couldn't. I don't consider people or the characters they create who have a problem they can't control ANY of the adjectives that you've seemingly hate-slung out into a tolerant & conscientious community.

But hey, you sure did get a response, didn't you. I wonder if our answers have satisfied your "curiosity"?

 

At first when I saw the question, I thought it was about...if you light your dolls on fire. My mind is an odd place... But anyway, I'll admit, I didn't look through all the answers or pages, but I'll still answer.

Does your doll smoke?
I have a doll that smokes. Well, his character smokes.
If so, why?
In the world he lives and where he's from, smoking is a common thing and almost everyone does it, he grew up with it and picked it up as a habit from other people.

Does your doll smoke because you do?
I don't smoke, so nope.

Or because you simply think it makes your doll look bad-ass and cool?
Nope!

 

Yes I have characters (thus dolls) that smoke. Simply because my characters are not all me, I do not make them to be perfect people. Smoking is a bad habit, and a lot of people do it. So some of my characters also do it, among other bad or quirky traits they have. Like people have said before, it's a part of a good and deep OC personality to have various flaws. Of course, you don't have to pick smoking to be one of them but they should not be all squeaky clean and perfect. I love the flaws about my OCs.

 

Because my dolls are representations and embodiment of characters, I know one smoked but quit after... a very long complicated situation in which her body was rapidly aged about two years over the course of hours. And the character that did smoke did it because she was entering high school and wanted to be a rebel (not because it was cool). While I do not like cigarettes and the ilk, I think every one (and this includes a doll's character) has their flaws. I've known some really wonderful heavy smokers. Once addicted, like any substance, it's hard to quit (and for those in real life who have struggled with this, I applaud you for the effort). I think in terms of character development, an addiction can add more depth to a character. Usually he/she is aware this is not a good habit but the have their own reasons for doing it. I wouldn't judge a character or person for a bad habit. You could make the same argument for dolls pictured with alcohol.

Anyway, I think it depends on the setting and context too. See Gandalf smoke a pipe to me is different or seeing Cruella with her staff cigarette is different than a cigarette add glamorizing it. But that's just a personal opinion. I think if someone finds it offensive, it's probably best to avoid it.

 

Until recently I would have said no. None of my dolls smoke and I don't really want them to. Except I fairly recently fell in love with a character I wanted to make a doll of and she smokes pretty heavily so my doll smokes (or will do once she has her body, currently she's only a head) as it's part of her character. It's oddly enough a flaw of hers that makes me love her more. She has many issues and one of them is smoking. It's not a good part of her and it's one I wouldn't normally like (despite being an ex-smoker myself) but it's part of her original character. And I find, as the person above me said, her smoking and addiction gives her some depth and I can't really explain why, but I love that about her. *end transmission* lol

 

I find cigarette smoke and being near people smoking really unpleasant. I had cancer as a child, and why anyone would risk themselves or others around them getting it is beyond me. Two of my dolls are supposed to be bad-asses, but none of them smoke. I also have doll who's a doctor who'd throw a fit if anyone smoked. Though he's my character too so that might not be saying much.
However, I've seen at least one photo story with a doll/character who smoked and it worked.

 

I don't smoke and I never have, but honestly I see no problem with people creating characters/dolls who smoke. Lots of people smoke in real life and, although I'm not a fan of smoking, I would never question their right to that choice (unhealthy as I think it is).

A few of my characters smoke, and one of them has a resin avatar, so yes I have a doll who smokes.

 

Same with me. I don't smoke, so I can't imagine my dolls smoking. Everyone has a right to do what they want with their dolls, and if it's right for the character, then go for it.


Probably the same goes for portraying a doll as drinking. I can totally see a doll with a glass of wine. One of my dolls would probably be the type to have cocktails now and then.

 

I don't smoke and never have, as well, and at current I don't have any dolls that smoke, nor do I have plans for any who smoke. I wouldn't completely rule it out in the future, though, as I do think it's a reasonable "character flaw" to use in development, or a visual shorthand to offer more information about a character and their personality and attitudes. But for now, none of the characters I'm shelling have ever felt like the type of character who would smoke. But never say never, it's hard to say if future characters will have other ideas!

 

My friend and I were having a conversation today about the characters and styles of our dolls. We realized that our dolls, even though they have their own characters and personalities, are really little extensions of ourselves.
I would probably never have a doll who is super glamorous with fancy clothes, or a doll who has a shallow and self-absorbed personality. My dolls all dress casual and have easy going personalities. So they are extensions of how I am, even though they are not actually portraying me.
So it goes along that I would not have a doll holding a cigarette, simply because I don't smoke and so it feels unnatural to imagine one of my dolls that way.

 

Mine does not and none of my dolls will "smoke" lol.

Nothing against those who have their dolls do that, but I just have an intense cigarette phobia (my mom smokes and I hate it). So even though I know the bjd cigarettes are just props, the idea of it still bugs me.

As I said, I don't mind if other people have their dolls smoke.

 

my answers are the same as these. 2 out of 3 of my adult dolls smoke because it would be weird for them not to smoke because of their setting.

 

One smokes because the character is a neurotic dude who, uh, smokes. I don't smoke because I don't like it. That's about the extent of it. I think I would get bored pretty fast if I felt like everything my characters did had to be something I personally approve of.

 

My current doll does not smoke but I would not rule it out as a habit another one of my doll characters would not partake in.