Doll personalities and Character Development Curiosity!

I'm very new to the BJD hobby (I just recently ordered my first head). The doll I'm planning to make is based on a character I've been writing and developing for years. Since I'm so attached to her, I feel it's justifiable spending such a large sum of money on making her into a doll. Most of the dolls I'm planning to make are based on my own original characters that I have written into stories and used in roleplays, but if I found a sculpt I liked that didn't match any of my existing characters, I'd certainly be willing to craft a whole new character around a doll!

 

Though I can appreciate this quirk of bjd fandom culture, I've found it's not for me. My dolls don't have really have a story.

Entirely aside from dolls, I do have original characters and a story that I'm working on - but in fact I'm against ever putting them into doll form. I know a lot of others find it inspiring to have a doll represent a character, but for me, I feel like it'd only serve as a lose-lose on both sides of the equation: it'd stifle changes I want to make to the story/character if I have to consider how those changes would change the doll, and it'd compromise my aesthetic tastes in dolls if I had to conform to predetermined character designs. Also, I want my collection to consist of my favorite dolls, not the dolls that look the most like my characters, so I'd rather not have a story complicating my buying choices.

That said, lately I've been thinking about giving the dolls a "light" story - something that I won't get too attached to and could revise or discard on a whim depending on which dolls I want to add to the collection. Perhaps the story is just that they are dolls, ha.

 

You sound perfectly normal to me.

I'm the same, the dolls just seem to "speak" to me. Once they arrive, it's just like when you meet someone new, the more you get to know them the more you find out about them. You find out their likes and dislikes, their personality, what they're like first thing in the morning, etc.

Just to clarify, I walk an ancient path, and among other things I am an animist, which means that I believe that all things have their own life energy, that they are alive in their own way, even supposedly inanimate things like rocks, dolls, the wind, etc. So I don't consider "hearing" a doll, and/or picking up vibes from one, to be crazy.

 

I find that the dolls seem to have their own opinions on small things. For example, my girl has a very sweet sweet face, and mild styling: light greyish eyes, medium red/auburn hair, simple face sculpt. But when I dress her in red, the effect is startling! She actually looks different. Her sweet face seem haughty, I can't seem to take a picture where it looks like she's smiling, the color of her eyes seems harsher... So I say she "doesn't like" to wear red. I know it's an optical illusion, but it's things like this that help me discover who they are, what they're "telling" me.
(this is how I explain it to non-collectors, so they don't think I'm crazy...)

As for name, there are definitely names that do or don't stick, they don't seem to fit the doll. I actually do the same thing with people :} ("she doesn't look like an Ashley...") With my first doll, I started trying to pick a name as soon as I ordered her. I knew I wanted a Japanese name, but I just couldn't settle on any of the ones I looked up for meaning, or liked the sound of... then one day, a name came across my path, and I thought "that's such a sweet name", and then I couldn't shake it from my brain, so it stuck

The character for my first doll came after I got her and she was lonely, so I came up with a reason for her to have others in her life. Since then, most of the other dolls have a character before I buy, but after I fall in love with the sculpt I can curb my impulse buying if I have to think up a loose character for them before I can purchase them

 

I've always been in awe of other people's characters (whether in the media or other people's OCs), but character creation does not come easily to me at all. I'm a perfectionist to the core and I keep thinking that my own characters aren't as cool as other people's.

The only original character I've created who still holds sentimental value to me was the imaginary friend I had as a teenager. I'm thinking about shelling them with my latest doll, but I need to wait until I actually get the doll and piece together their style. Could wind up with a completely different character than what I've been expecting. Who knows? I'll keep an open mind.

 

Yes I think I'm the same. I hadn't considered a backstory or a personality before she arrived but after living with her for a little while and dressing her the personality is developing nicely. Part of it is based on the clothing she wears, all black with a huge pair of studded punky boots. She's kicked me with them a couple of times and she just looks like she's got 'attitude'. I'm sure that the more time I spend with her even more of her personality will reveal itself.

 

I bought my most recent doll because I really fell in love with the sculpt and as I kept thinking about him, I ended up accidentally creating a character for him. That's when I decided I would save up to buy him. I loved the sculpt and ended up being inspired to create a really cool character, too! Day by day, I would slowly shape his personality and give him more depth. Eventually I decided on a name. It took a while, but it was more fun than my first doll who was modeled after a pre-existing OC

 

I'm a writer and artist too, so I already made characters. I've always found that they just tell me their name and personalities over time, so I never had to think about it much. However even in the doll hobby I have seen many that just get "told" by their doll what they are like, but many others decided themselves, picking the name, deciding the personality consciously, while others simply keep them on display and never name them or anything. I don't think it matters how, or even if they do have a personality at all, it's great as long as we all enjoy them in our own way!

 

Hmmmm... for my first doll, their back story took about a year to make. I was really unsure if the basic plot I had for them was the "one". As for their names, for Quinlan, I was just browsing and for some weird reason, the name Quinlan just POPPED! right out to me and it stuck every since with Ciaran/Keiron, it was harder. I had to dig around and I had a couple of other names for him, but then Ciaran stuck. Maybe it's because of what his name means, that his name stayed. His backstory has something to do with his name ^^ his "last name" (not really the one he was born with but *cough*) is Devlin, which means unlucky.
I find it's easier to write more about the character when I have the character or have found their sculpt. I get WAAAAAAYYY more ideas when I have them on layaway too maybe because I'm more motivated to write about them, or maybe I'm so excited, my thoughts just become more imaginative? Haha, not sure. But thats the gist of it all!

 

I am pretty new to the hobby as well. I only own two dolls at the moment, but for each of them I fell in love with the sculpt(s) before even considering what the character was going to be like. As of the moment my two guys don't have complex or set-in-stone back stories, but I find that I think of more and more the longer I own them. As for names, I came up with a list of names I really like and chose one that fit the best

 

I wouldn't pick out a doll unless I could instantly see what kind of person they might be, otherwise I feel like I'd just have a lot of trouble connecting with them. When I see a doll I like their personality tends to just jump out, but that's a lot easier when you've been making deviantart OCs for years lol. I'm not really a writer, I just really enjoy making characters and filling out character sheets :3

 

I have ideas of their stories floating in my head, but I don't need to have them out on paper or a perfectly developed story for each one. I buy dolls almost completely based on sculpt alone. Most of my dolls' stories are in constant development, but I do have their personalities solidified. I do write, but most of it is fanfic up until I joined the hobby, so my dolls give me the opportunity to write about something completely new and create my own characters.

 

i think it really depends on the person ^-^ we all enjoy this hobby for different reasons. I know some people who are into the collecting side of things and are more interested in things like full sets one off's and limited dolls. Then there are those who are in if for crafting a sewing such as making furniture or set, sewing clothes or wigs. Then those who love the dolls as models for photography.
and of course as your already mentioned using the dolls as characters for whom to write or role play with.
\again the reasons are as uniquie and varied as the poeple who own these dolls ^-^

personally for me its all of the above ^^
originally i only got into the hobby so i could use my dolls as reference for drawing and because making them clothes sounded like fun ^^
however once i got my doll chateau lance i really started getting into their back stories and personalities i've even started work on novelizing his ^-^
for me it just took the right doll starting that spark to get me on the track to doing the same for all my other dolls ^-^

 

I currently have 4 dolls.

My first 3, I bought generally because I liked the sculpt. My character ideas for them were very loose when I first purchased them - I generally gave a bit more thought to their characters and what their names would be based on their sculpt, in the months while I was waiting for them to come home. I could feel rather forced into finding characters for them due to the necessity to find some clothes that would suit them. While these 3 dolls have names, and general personalities, they don't have much of a back story or anything.

My 4th doll was a different story. A few years back, I wrote an outline for story that I wanted to write, but never actually wrote it. I came across this story outline recently, and fell in love with two of the side characters in it. From there, I developed their characters and their stories in my mind, and it all became rather extensive. I wanted to do something with these now very thought out characters, and decided to shell them into dolls. I have one of them home, but I am still searching for the perfect sculpt for the second. I have a definite greater attachment to these two characters than I do to my first three dolls.

 

I have dolls who developed names, characters and personalities. I also own some dolls purely because of how pretty or unique they are. People I've met often have other reasons, such as shelling their existing characters, or sewing awesome outfits, or figuring out the perfect wig-eyes-faceup-costume for that doll. And those are just a few of the reasons why someone might enjoy this hobby.

Ultimately, enjoy your dolls in whatever way makes you happy.

 

When it come to naming dolls, I stick with the company names, if I like the name, or I might modify the name a little bit.
Sometimes the doll just screams a name at me and then I go with that name instead, or if I don't like the company name I pick a name that feels as if it suits the doll and the character.

My larger dolls SD+ have a very elaborate story that I use for the photo comic/drama that I do. Their backstories, personality traits, hobbies, favourite fashion accessories, are all very important to me as well as how they interact with each other. I buy the siblings, boyfriends/girlfriends, and even parents and other relatives if the story calls for them. Sometimes my smaller dolls act as little siblings or even children, but their lif isn't as fleshed out as they are minor characters.

 

First off, I should preface this by saying that stories come to me as easily as breathing…it’s just the way my brain works. I was gifted (cursed?) with an overactive imagination from childhood. My goal with this hobby was two-fold: first, to document the experiences of my life in a fun, non-threatening, fairytale like way by creating characters to represent them (like a visual life-journal, only in doll form.) And secondly, to explore a life-long love of fashion styles to express these characters.

So from the very beginning you can see that my collection was designed to be entirely character-driven and diverse. I began with the idea that I would write all their stories down, but eventually I discovered that my imagination worked best if I simply approached it like a child would…by seeing the stories play out in my head, remaining fluid within their interactions with one another, watching them grow and develop over time in a fascinating way. And this freedom has kept me happy and engaged with this hobby ever since.

 

I’m like the OP in this thread, I don’t really get into a lot of characterization besides names and style with any dolls. My collection has a loosely based theme but not a detailed story. When I “played house” as a child it was setting things up and assigning roles but never really got to acting any stories out. I love the bjd hobby though because there is a niche for every type collector.

 

I'm new to the hobby and only have 1 doll, who is a manga/anime character. I love her character and I want to be careful about staying true to who she is. I don't intend to ever change her faceup or take off her elf ears, for example. I do want to get different wigs for her, but unless it's the same color, I would specify that it's a wig as opposed to her real hair she just styled differently (if that makes sense).

I was thinking if I really enjoy her and get another doll, I wouldn't want it to be a character, that way I can create its own back story and personality myself. Reading everyone else's experiences doing so is really inspiring and it sounds so fun!

 

This hobby is great because you can do whatever you want in more than one sense. There's people who don't have characters at all, that they do not name their dolls and such and use them as another way to display their art skills.

In my case, as a writer and a lover of stories above all, I always work character-based with my dolls, and there's several approaches that have worked for me so far when establishing a dolly character:

1. Selecting an already established character (or not so established, think for example a video-game skin) from a piece of media and making it into a doll. You can choose to respect all or part of that character's traits and/or physical characteristics or not. This gives you a fairly safe base to work with even if you choose to tweak the character a bit. It can also feel like it's locking your imagination a bit, but I don't think that's true, I'm imagining gender-bent versions, or kid-versions, etc.
   
2. Creating an original character and then finding a doll for it. This route can be a headache, for finding the perfect sculpt to reflect whatever character you have in mind can be tricky. For developing an original character in its own, I don't think there's a blueprint to follow along even though there are a lot of questions' lists and such that can help you. Also looking into zodiac signs or the 16-personalities theory can help you get a base idea for a personality and other traits and even clothing styles that you can usually associate with the character. Building a background story can come first in some cases, depending on what story you're trying to tell with your dolls, but that's only if that's what you want. Naming it's another thing altogether, but I recommend looking at names' lists depending on the nationality / age / fantasy world your character comes from.
   
3. Creating an original character for a doll or face-sculpt you have liked / bought. This follows along the same idea as for the original character building but you have a base to start with (age, gender, softness / harshness of the face sculpt, etc.) that can lead you in a certain direction. Trying on different clothing / wigs / eyes can be great when you have no clue where you're going with the doll. When you've found a style you like, you can try the steps I mentioned for creating an original character.

My current doll crew has a mix of those 3 approaches and in any case I'm always thinking about them and creating new stories for them even if I don't translate them into photo-stories but that's only because for me stories come first, dolls come second.

Sorry for the longest paragraphs ever, but I could talk about stories and character development all day xD