Doll Names : Orginality vs Characters

Sometimes the name just comes. You see the personality and can tell if it's right or not. I do research for most of mine - the 4-5 core characters all have a subtle connection in their names (Riddick Munin, Blake "Crow" Corbin, Isabella Finn Hugin, Kale Varis Pryderi, Samuel Corvinus), and the pirates all have some sort of pirate reference in their names (Samuel again, Morgan "Fitch" Fichaud, Ruth Brennan, Jack Vane) except Kestrel who was conscripted and was a surfer and who's real name is Cory Sewell. Some of them I just looked and said, "OK, Simon works I guess." He still needs a last name.

My doll's names seem to veer between odd and rare, odd and common, and really plain. Names are just names. If someone came up with a character that was very similar, with a look that was very similar AND with the same name and same sculpt, I might (after checking out their other posts and seeing if they maybe had their doll first, and if they'd posted on any of my gallery threads showing they'd seen my doll) maybe consider PMing them and GENTLY asking what was up and seeing if they realized what was happening, to see if something could be worked out. It would have to be super-obvious SERIOUS blatant copying for it to come to that, though. The same sculpt with the same name wouldn't be enough for me to say anything, even with similar clothing.

I personally would not use the same name as a well-known doll for the same sculpt or for a doll with a similar look or character, if I could at all help it. However, common names like Jack, Isabella, Elijah, Emma, Samuel, Rose, etc. are fair game regardless, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Why do you enjoy original dolls?

I've got too many of my own characters to choose from to bother with someone else's character, honestly. It also gives me a chance to explore more about the character's traits than worry about meeting up to a set standard established by someone else.

Do you find it distressing or upsetting when people emulate your original doll or copy his/her name without asking? Or do you feel names are just names and are up for grabs.

All the planned names except for one are pretty common, so I don't really care. For that one name, I'll know immediately if someone is aping it because it's spelled in a deliberate manner and all google searches related to the name are directly contributed by myself on other forums. Honestly, it's more laughable than anything to me that someone would need to take ideas for something as personal as a BJD from somebody else.

 

EDIT:

My girl is an original, but has a fan-fiction back story. If nothing has a back story then I become very anal about it and will want to make one. I made Jaszi's back story based off of a video on Youtube. If you guys get a chance look for Dark Woods Circus by Vocaloid. That's a big portion of Jasz'is story (because I love Vocaloid). Other parts of her past are from my mind and past memories of another life; like the part about collecting random trinkets and [possibly the part about] working in a factory. Another part is also fanbased and is from Tinkerbelle but it also clashes in harmony with parts from my story I've been writing since 2005.

As for names.... I'm a HUGE Abney Park fan. My first Abney Park I've ever listened to was called "Sleep Isabella". Another one was an AMV of The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello sung by Abney Park. I liked the name Jasper Morello and the first AP song I've ever listened to so I put the two together and got 'Jasperella'.

For her middle name 'Lena', the very first time I went on the LUTS website and saw the KDF Litchi I thought she looked SOOOOO much like Lena Katina from t.A.T.u (one of my other favorite bands). She was so cuuute! I HAD to have her. But as a fangirl of Lena and Yulia (mostly Lena but Yulia is hilarious!!!!!) I had to give t.A.T.u some recgonition... so I gave Jaszi the middle name of the spunky redhead Lena (Jaszi is also supposed to be a redhead but the blonde looks so cute on her!!! XD).

And for the last name... a while back I'd written some short stories of my first "dream" doll (BF Kyle) named Tama. Tama was a crossdressing transy ^^; but a kitsune nontheless. Tama's clan was the river clan. I'm gonna switch Tama to Jasperella's old name (Jasperella is a name her human gives her because she swore of her past and memories so she can't remember her name). Her old name is Towhee (also spelled as 'Tohi')- like the bird. But yes, since Tama/Towhee/Jaszi's clan is the river clan, I thought it would only be fair if her last name be River. I'll have to resubmit those stories when I get a chance The other only change is that Towhee/Jasperella is supposed to be a Kumiho (Korean fox spirit) but belongs to the kitsune house (Apparently she's also part Japanese somewhere...). Come to think of it... Tama was a blonde! XDXDXD

If I get another doll, I think it will be more of "Ooo! Lemme see what this mold looks like with this faceup!" or it might be the main character from my story.... or my past life "body". Either way - the doll MUST have a back story or else my anxiousness will go boom. :P

(Also... Since Jasperella was supposed to be a redhead... I was almost going to base her off of a girl in a dream I had [who also looked like Lena XD]. The dream was pretty weird... but strangely it made me smile at the location of the girl's house and the things in her house ^-^ The girl's name was Sawyer.

And Jaszi's "voice" is high pitched like a fox [I made her a fanmade Vocaloid character ^-^].)

 

Don't worry about it. In almost all my dolls' cases, they arrived first before I bothered giving them a name or developed a character.

Rico was originally ordered as a boy doll and I bought boy clothes for him ahead of his arrival. Halfway through layaway, I decided I wanted a girl instead. Denver Doll Emporium let me change my order to a girl doll. When she arrived home, I gave her the boy's name and put her in the boy clothes instead. Rico, over time, became an angry tough girl, not above getting her hands dirty.

Vera's name was chosen simply because I like the sound and it's simple. I also prefer simple names with my dolls. Simple nicknames at least. Their full names are a little more elaborate and came later. Verena Ryall, Regina Moretti, etc.

My Soom boy didn't have a name at all initially, but I used to have a coworker named Xavier (pronounced "Havier" in the proper Spanish way), nicknamed "Xavi" for short. It was a name I liked and I stuck it on my Soom boy. He's grown into that name now and I recently gave him the full name of Xavier Ruiz de Montoya. A lot of people seem to want to mispronounce his name with the English "Ecks-savier" rather than the proper "Havier," which is the only issue.

Scipio started as a ambigiously-gendered character with a name to reflect that ambiguity. But the more I thought of the doll and his character, the more my brain automatically assigned "he" to him. He's not yet arrived home but he's been tagged with a new name already. He wanted an obviously male name, and I remember liking the name Scipio from a book by Harry Turtledove, nicknamed "Kip" for short (it's also the name of an ancient Roman general).

My planned dolls that don't even have bodies yet have pretty common names as well, although subject to change as always. For example, I really want to get a dark tan Resin Soul tiny boy and name him Sanjay. I just like the name, and the idea of having a little Indian boy doll amuses me to no end. Unidoll Ark, the big boy I have planned after Scipio, is named Thomas.

None of my dolls' names are particularly original or rare, and that doesn't bother me any. There's quite a few Veras and Xaviers (English or Spanish) floating around the DoA boards, although I haven't seen another Rico, much less Scipio.

I don't think you have anything to stress over. Just let your doll come home and go from there. And if the name doesn't seem to fit, you can always change it.

 

I can't find my post xD Oh well. I'm kinda stubborn though... I still want to find a good name for my KDF before she arrives D:

 

a name is a name and eny one can have ore copy it. i mean its just a name after all i know im always a litle surprised to met some one whit my name and fell i have somthing in comon with this some one. it's not like i'd be mad if some one copyd names that i had done, i'd be kind of flaterd some one liked the name i came up with.

 

To owners of these dolls: Why do you enjoy character based dolls? Have you also had a character based doll that ended up turning into an original?

I enjoy my character based dolls because I absolutely love the characters they're based on. I used to collect anime figures... and they are nice but you can't DO anything with them. So my character dolls have the character's look and name but of necessity their situations and dialogue become increasingly apart from the "canon" of the manga. Poor Zelgadis doesn't really do anything except sit around and look cool. That's fine too. That was my reason for getting into dolls in the first place.



To owners of these dolls: Why do you enjoy original dolls?

Since I have some of these too... Why do I enjoy them? Because they are something I did! And this is a few-and-far-between thing. I have a terrible time naming the dolls and I don't write, so it's not my primary goal. I've never had the experience of someone copying my dolls, but I'd be really startled to have that happen anyway. I don't care, mine are mine and they'll always be at my desk and not someone else's, yes? If someone were to copy Boris, for example, it would by necessity be a different flavor of Boris. No harm, no foul.

 

All of my babies are originally from my D&D campaigns, so they've got some very unusual names, such as Valanthe Toulights, and Irae Dy'runhill. Of course, those are 'usual' names in Faeurn, so would I be ticked if someone took them? Not at all. My kids are my own, and that's that. Now, say, if someone took a Narae, dyed her grey, and put the exact same Lolth tattoo on her back as my Irae, along with the name? I might be suspicious, but I've still got them right here with me, so there you are *shrug*

 

Well, both of my girls in my possession are not character dolls. But I have a few I plan to get a few months from now that are character dolls.

I have a hard time naming dolls and bonding with dolls that aren't character dolls. My B&G Freya I bought because I adore the sculpt, but I'm having the hardest time coming up with a name and personality for her. I can't speak for the character dolls I only have planned, but I have some OT dolls that are character dolls, and I find it's alot easier with them. I've been a fan theorist for forever and enjoy having a sort of 'base' character to work with. Putting them into uncanonical situations and figuring out how they would react, even just having a name already there for me to use so I don't have to think of one.

My non-character dolls always end up having vaguely defined personalities and being not that much fun. I prefer character dolls.

In "character dolls" I include dolls based on original characters. I consider them in the same league because they're also characters with defined names, personalities, a canon, etc. I know I differ from most people with this. I don't RP so my original characters aren't RP characters, so they aren't as flexible in things like backstory and appearance as I'm guessing an RP character is.

 

Well.if it is about names,I like to name my dolls after a favourite book characters(from Tolkien or Jordan-like you can se my doll-girls names are) but they are realy doferent from the the original...

Exeption is Dan,my Heliot,i named him Daniel -just becouse he is very cute and handsjme boy....MY BOY...my very own character

 

I prefer original characters to preset characters. I find BJDs a great way to explore your creativity and make characters in our mind real: that probably one of the things i find more attractive about them. Personally I'm more interested in other peoples dolls when they are original characters: i like to see what people make out of them to match their imagination.

 

Most of my dolls are based on characters of mine who started in some cases over a decade ago as roleplaying characters and who have since progressed into being characters in my original fiction.

Except... for Rio. Rio was a doll first and -then- became a character, and I'm definitely less attached to her than I am to the others. But I still do love her, so clearly it works both ways for me!

And I don't think I'd be too upset if someone copied Ivy or Torrent or Rio, but if someone copied Sylvyrr I would be -furious-. I mean, sure, tons of people have tan skin/blue eyes/white hair dolls, and I don't mean that... I mean if anyone ever made a doll who looked and acted -exactly- like him, and especially if someone made a doll who had his name... Sylvyrr's not exactly a common name. :P So I'd be pretty ticked.

But anyway. I'm rambling. XD

 

I prefer original characters of my own, but I have no problem with character based dolls. I've had several of my dolls inspired by my love for a character/singer etc. and they've morphed into their own characters. The same with names- I've seen dolls named after characters, been inspired by them, and ultimately they are the owners own creation. People get inspired by various things, art, songs, so why not characters and their names? Just have fun with it. If you do love character dolls, it's just a way to show how much you love a character. People have fun in different ways, and are creative in different ways. I always enjoy seeing how someone interprets a character in doll form.

As for me, character inspiration is just a stepping stone to my own ideas. I see it the same as I would be inspired by a legend or what not that I form into something unique and new, story wise and doll wise.

 

I don't think I would like having a Doll based on a famous character. I, like many others here, don't even like to draw fanart, just because making up characters is so much more fun. You get to express yourself.

I mean maybe making dollies cosplay would be a lot of fun, buy they'd never stay like that.

I think I picked pretty original names for my dolls, I've never heard of a doll called Reios. Mina maybe, but not Reios. I mean I wouldn't be upset if there was another doll named Reios, unless someone asked me "I have a doll without a name, what did you name yours?" and then the next day I see they've named their doll Reios. lol.

It happens. Nothing I can do about it.

 

Names are interchangeable, I think. I mean, everyone gets a name inspiration from something. I like to get them from books. One of my dolls has a completely original name, but I've seen people who have dolls who have the same name as he does, except spelled differently.

 

I can't say I am much of a character doll myself, I mean there are already made figures so why spend the extra money to get a Bjd version? My dolls are all 100% characters that I made up for the dolls and specific molds. I just found my first doll that resembles a character I have had from a storyline for a long time. I have to say she is the only one I'd be really pissed about if one copied hehe

 

All of my crew are original characters. For the most part, my characters have names that anybody of their background could have, so I'm sure there's the possibility of duplication there. I know I don't have the only Raven on the board, but I'm not sure if anybody else got the name from the same mythology I did (West Coast First Nations). Skeena and Van are named after places, and Eis was named from a fanclub membership number before I decided to make him into Fabian ^^;. Those last three I bought not for specific characters, but they either took over existing ones or made ones up on me! Yeah, the dolls really are in charge.

Someone copying an entire doll would irritate me, but names are bound to repeat one way or another. My only real concern there is that someone might think I'm the one doing the copying when I'm using my own characters to make dolls . . . but that's more paranoia than a real issue, I expect .

 

I love originals because they can be anything I want them to be. As for character dolls, I don't have any at home but there are a couple in progress or planning.

In my opinion, people with character dolls are free to have them completely like the character, or similar but with the owner's own little quirks mixed in.

I will model one of my dolls soley after some one else's character (or another person) because I love the character's look and personality. I would make the doll that way because of how much I like the character, so I shouldn't have any urge to change it.

As for one of the MNM's I'm planning, I really like the model's look, but I don't know his personality that well. So that doll will probably look like him but not act like him. :P
I think that you can do whatever you want with your character dolls, so if you want to change them then change them. In response to, "do they cease to be that character?" I probably won't give the MNM mentioned above the same name as the person he's being modeled after. I guess he'll probably be too diferent from the real person to get the same name, IMO. But that's just my personal preference.

If the name is super original then I would feel bad taking it. xD Otherwise I don't mind. Agh, the worst thing though is if you want to name a doll something, and then find out that someone else in your area has the same doll with the same name. Dx

Sorry, I'm long-winded too. ^^;

 

I like original doll...because i usually want it after seeing the doll with company face-up...and i feel like I can dress her up not restricted to anime style. She can be ordinary girl, can be a cute maid, can be a cute and intelligent student, etc, etc, etc....

I like anime characters but I don't really want to make it into the doll (except it accidentally happened...haha...like my ae slim jiao. I put her a wig that actually not for her...it turned out, she looked like an anime character (only the face, though): Nagi Sanzenin of Hayate the combat butler...but still, in the end, I dress her up like what i like...not continuing making her a Nagi)...

I'm still thinking to make an anime character doll sometimes BUT not using BJD but use 1/6 blank fashion doll like obitsu...

I don't mind though to see some excellent 'work' on bjd, creating a specific character. I saw a face-up artist's works...she 'made' Jonny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Marilyn Monroe...
it's each preference and of course, as long as the owner has fun with it, then why not? (^.<)

 

Pyoo Nabi, my first doll...I looked into Korean dictionary...and Nabi means butterfly...Pyoo...mmm...I was seeing a Korean series and the main character name like Pyoo...i don't know whether it's the right spell or not...but I like it...so, yes, Pyoo Nabi...and I plan to use Pyoo as the family name to mark the 'series' of MSD asleep eidolon (head) (^.^)''''...

now, that i'll be purchasing basic I by Iple, hmmm...I must search another new name (@.@)...Korean names are unique...i like it...sometimes, it (sorry) sounds pretty weird when saying in my own language...haha...but I like it...it's unique...