Dolls you have no idea what to do with?

Have any of you received a doll that you loved but had no idea what to do for a character/face-up/ect...

What would/do you do when you get a doll that you feel your "stuck" with in terms of how to make them look?


As I don't buy dolls to shell existing characters but rather because of "oh, pretty, must have" reasons, I've had that happen several times. I bought a LE Elfdoll Ruru because I admired her but when I got her I couldn't think of anything to do with her, and right now I got a Supia Rosy and I'm having the same problem again.

My way of dealing with this is putting them back in their boxes and don't think about it for some time and when I feel inspired I get them back out to give them a face-up. I don't stick to rules or something, I just do what feels natural and let it come to me. During the process of painting I get to know them better and start getting ideas for their names, backgrounds and such things. In the end it all comes together for me. The ED Ruru, Jinní, became a jinní (original, I know ^^°) and the Supia Rosy is slowly turning into a female version of a male character I had no intention of ever getting in doll form. But it works for me.

 

Who says you *have* to have a character?

It's perfectly okay to have a pretty doll who's JUST a pretty doll... I promise it is... The Dolly Police won't come after you for it. There are people out there with whole collections of dolls that don't even have names, after all. That's not BadWrongFun.

I'd say don't worry about it. Just play around with your new doll, enjoy having it and call that "good enough". Someday you may find yourself coming up with the perfect story for them out of the blue. Or you may not. Either way, you'll have fun and that's really the point.

 

I'm having this problem right now, actually. I've had a Pukifee Ante for three and a half years, and I just can't seem to settle on any kind of concept or theme or name for her! But she's entirely too adorable to sell, so I guess I'll keep working on it.

 

Ripley
Yeah, exactly... You should try just carrying them around as a child. It actually helps to evoke some feelings besides just that usual admiration. Just for a little while though, but it does... I only recently started to discover what people probably mean by playing with a doll. For now it seems like a huge part of the fun indeed.

 

There are so many beautiful dolls in this hobby that I would love to own but, would have no idea what I'd do with them. Most of the dolls I want all have back stories and a look that I have in mind for them then there are those dolls I see that I'm like, "They are so beautiful! I love to have him/her!" Then realize that I don't know how they'd look and not even have a name for them. Anyone else run into this problem? Do you just add the doll into your wishlist? Do you end up buying the doll anyways and just work with it as days go by? I'm just curious. Me personally, I can't bring myself to buy a doll without at least having a name and look in mind in fear that I'd end up having the doll just to have it when it could have been bought by someone else and a better home.

 

Most of my dolls didn't have a backstory when I got them and kept developing. When I bought my first BJD 7 years ago, I was fascinated by his beauty and versatility and didn't have anything special in mind what to do with him. Later, I chose my dolls after characters from a story I'd written, but some would develop differently. I buy the dolls whose looks inspire me, and I don't make a big plan for them in advance. Even in the process of painting a face-up I had in mind, I might come up with something different, and I enjoy that kind of surprise. I also love searching for names, and I don't mind if it takes a while. I'm pretty relaxed with my doll hobby. I just want to enjoy the beauty of the dolls, play with them, take photos. My dolls don't have to fit into a story from years ago.I love how stories just come up when I pose two dolls together or how an old story evolves.

I wonder, can you "do" more with dolls that already have a backstory?

 

I usually have a character (my own or one from a book, game, show, etc.) in mind for most of the sizes (like I think DC Hillary would make the best little Midna, and I plan to make one in the future), but for 1/12 and 1/8 sizes... I really love how cute they are but I think I would just end up with an army of little babies whose purpose is just to look really cute, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that, I just don't think I would be able to fit them with a character easily. That being said, I have several tinies in my "definitely going to get" wishlist haha.

 

I don't have characters or backstories to follow or worry about, so usually if I like a doll enough to want to bring it home I do. That's the type of collector I am. I'll have a look in mind after looking at the pictures and if it's feasible I go for it. The only time I go "What would I do with it?" is when I shouldn't be getting a doll in the first place or the look I want is more effort than I'm willing or able to pursue. Those dolls get wishlisted or simply admired.

 

dolls don't need good homes like animals do though - if you have a doll just because you like the look of it, that doll won't mind waiting around a year or so until you figure it out - there's no need to feel guilty about it. I've just bought some dolls I hadn't planned on, just because they were being discontinued by dollzone - so I have Una, sitting there looking lovely but in a wig obviously not right for her, and no proper clothes - just some bits I had lying around. I do sigh a bit when I see her and wish she looked more 'together' - but really I'm more happy to have her sitting there - she's a WIP and there's no time limit to how long it should take either

 

None of my dolls have backstories, I just have them because I love looking at them, taking pics and playing around with them and I think I do enough with them even though they don't backstories

 

now, none of my doll have backstories too.
I was used to do that at my begining in the hobby
sometimes I receive a doll and she stay nameless during weeks
sometimes I after a perfect idea of her look/name before ordering
I have no rules
But this is not stopping me to buy doll I want

 

I'm another person who doesn't buy dolls to shell characters. I see a doll I want and then make up a name and character. I figure that the more characters the better--they can lead to more stories, like little muses!

If someone does want to shell a mess of specific characters, I can see that buying other dolls might delay this, but it would depend on the person if they want to do that or not.

 

There are two dolls in my collection that I get so frustrated with but I absolutely refuse to sell.

The first is a Minifee Dark Elf Soo on the B-line body. I bought her secondhand because I loved her faceup and her burn scar mod. She was an impulse buy so I had no clothes or wigs or any kind of 'story' for her. But I have loved her since the minute I opened her up. I tried some clothes on her and she was wintery themed for a while, but it wasn't working for me anymore. I really hate the B-line body, but I just can't imagine myself ever selling her. She frustrates me to all hell (And is now looking like a boy), but I'm not going to give up on her.

The second is my SQ Lab SG Iris. She was also pretty impulse, but I had really wanted an SQ Lab and she was in stock with the dealer. She had a custom blue faceup, so I dressed her up as Miku. But since I preordered my DD Miku, she didn't have to be Miku anymore. I've since got her her own outfit (After a LONG time), but I am struggling with her faceup. I don't know what I want to do, so she's currently sitting bald on my dresser. -_- These two just stump me and I don't know what I'm going to do about them, but I am so stubborn and refuse to give up.

I still impulse buy (though less) so it didn't really teach me anything except to be more stubborn, lol.

 

My spare onlydoll RanXue head. S/he only inspires me occasionally and never when I have any money. No body, a barely consistent name, blank with no wig. *sigh*...

 

I've almost always bought/limited myself to just dolls who suited a character I had already. I will say that on a few occasions I either bought a doll on a whim because they were pretty or bought them thinking they had the potential to inspire a character. As for whatever reason I've always felt a doll needed a characterization/purpose in order to stay. I have also been in the situation where I acquired the perfect doll for the character but decided to part with simply because I was unenthusiastic about him. <^^;

In the end I think it really boils down to how enthusiastic and content you are over the doll. Character or no character, before or after purchase.

Oh! and don't ever feel ashamed of not having a name or character for your doll. I've met a few people at meets before who decided to just let their dolls be dolls ( and their dolls were lovely too!). Without limiting the dolls style to a character personality, they were able to do whatever they pleased with them! If people like myself ask if your doll has a name or character, it is because we name our own. I am by no means expecting the same of everyone else. XD It is my way of inquiring more about the owner's creativity applied to the doll they own.

 

This has definitely happened. I bought a Peroth head when it was rereleased, because I really like the sculpt but the character I wanted him to be is taken by another doll, and that doll fits better so my Peroth was without a character for a while. I tried putting him in 2 different characters so far, and he's still the 2nd character, but I'm not too sure that's what he's best suited for. :/ I don't really know what to do with him, unless I come up with some new character entirely but I don't really know how he'll fit in I'm still keeping him though, because I still like the sculpt, I just don't know what to do with him :/

 

I have several floating heads that were impulse buys, and I have no idea what to do with them. All of them would be major projects involving money and time I don't have to make them into what originally inspired me to buy them, and I barely spend time with my FULL dolls lately. I feel like I certainly don't have time for heads, and unfinished heads at that.

Usually I am able to resist stunning dolls that I KNOW wouldn't ever fit into my storyworld. So I feel lucky that way. Sometimes just looking at pictures (and enjoying them instead) is enough to keep me from buying a doll who won't fit in.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I have dolls that I want to own but currently have no use/purpose for. I just love their sculpts. I create my doll family half from the dolls I want; half from the characters the story requires so I'm not sure whether to listen to that inner voice that says "get them" or air on the side of caution that says:"don't buy a doll you don't need!" Here's a few things I think you can think of in determining what to do:

1) Are you keeping the doll just because it's a gift, or would you have likely bought it own your own?
2) Think outside the box! A mold can become many characters, so why not consider more than one?
3)Even if you don't need it, it's a perfect face up practice head if you plan to do your own face ups.
4)You could store it for later and save it for a rainy day, for instance if you need funds.
5)Who says you NEED to do something with it right away. You might find inspiration for it later.

Those are some of my thoughts, and I hope that was any help.

 

I have a couple I bought on impulse early on in the hobby, that I'm still not 100% sure what to do with, though I'm getting closer... and unfortunately, have started to think they need a third (limited and currently unavailable) doll in the mix to make them the set I think they're looking to be. For the most part, however, though I've seen and practically fallen for a number of other gorgeous dolls, if they don't fit into a solid set of plans, I've done a pretty good job of resisting them. Having a set of pre-existing characters to work with is a big help to me, making it more of a limit on who I will get and who I'll just admire from afar.

 

I have 2 dolls I don't know what to do with!

The first one is a DOC tender too from 2008...every character I choose for him it doesn't fit and I have changed his face up like 3 times...I'm never happy with him and it's been 5 years. I sold his body and decided to keep his head as a practice head because I like the head but no soul or life comes to it.

The second doll is new...he came last month and it is a IplehouseSID Claude. He was my grail doll but for some reason, I can't see life in this doll either (like I don't feel inspired to create something for him) I don't know his name, I need to give him a face up but I don't know what theme to choose *sighs* I might put him on sale soon.