Fallen in love with someone else's doll

Awww that's so sweet to read. It happened to me on occasion too, and I definitely know how it is to fall in love with someone elses doll! I purchased a Dollstown girl after falling in love with someone elses Dollstown doll, but in my hands they just don't have the same spark as they did in theirs... some dolls turn my creativity on and apparently dollstown girls do not, however much I love them in the hands of others.

So I guess that if I do have to give you a piece of advice it's this: get a doll that triggers your creativity, who inspires you to bring out the best of their sculpt.

 

I've had similar experiences but perhaps not on par with yours. It's not uncommon for my doll purchases to heavily influenced by the many face-ups I've seen of the sculpt which bring out the possibilities of what I could do with it. Unfortunately I'm just the type of person for whom blank heads don't do anything; I needed to see them worked on to know their potential. I've often loved a way a doll was presented/made-up by a particular artist or owner and was motivated to buy it precisely because I loved seeing him/her like that. I don't find it awkward because most of the time that spark of recognition/love happened because they seemed perfect for a character/concept I was developing and it's a moment of having things click into place. My Switch Waseon came home this way and while he came with his own face-up and that was different from the one that made me love his sculpt, I took to him immediately. Even if that face-up was the previous owner's idea and not one I had in mind, the clothing, wig and accessories I chose for him certainly make him my own.

In short if you think it's perfect for you and you feel so strongly about the doll, I'd say go for it. If you worry about him not being an aesthetic you're used to, or too close to someone else's doll, try experimenting mentally with different looks until you find one you like.

 

Inanna was the first doll I saw in person and her attitude and overall esthetic and character were so overwhelmingly amazing to me I couldn't help but fall in love with her. She's been my inspiration for years now and the one that I stare at when I need to be inspired. A soony is my grail because of this girl alone.

 

For me there are two dolls which come in my mind when I think of this: Axl and E.L.M.O. from @PeppermintPocky
Love at first sight for both since years, and I even planned to get those sculpts too, but then I thought I would only love them if they look like hers, and would never want to copy someone's dolls. And even if I'd copy them, they would never be the originals which I love, they would be lifeless clones. So I decided to love them from afar and I'm happy whenever I see them

 

Yes. I have seen certain dolls or characters that I fell in love with but it seems to me that I don't end up bonding if I have the exact same sculpt because he feels like a copy and I don't always care for that. I tend to respect the uniqueness of character and style but I would feel better getting a similar sculpt, perhaps? And make the story your own as well, that he kind of leans more towards your inner reflection of what you like or feel in a storyline or something that sort of calls to you personally; however, I have seen a random sculpt that jumps out at me and you feel like you have to have it! But it's usually people I haven't talked to or known, the owners.

 

I know that feeling! There are a good handful of people I follow on IG who have dolls that I absolutely adore. It's not weird to me at all.

For the most part, I admire the dolls from afar. However, I know a few people who have bought certain sculpts that I own because they liked how I styled my dolls so much. One of the faceup artists that I commission actually bought an MYou Lorina after doing a faceup on mine! I think that's really flattering and sweet.

If you do buy a doll sculpt after being influenced by someone else's, I think you should try to make it your own, and not just a copy of someone else's doll. Of course, getting ideas and inspiration from people is totally cool, but remember that the doll you own is uniquely yours, and you should express yourself through it.

 

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think most of all have fallen in love with other collector’s doll. In my case, a long time ago (and after purchasing certain dolls to find out that I was in love with a specific doll, not the mold itself) I decided not to purchase a doll/mold that I have fallen in love to, if I don’t check first tons of pics from other doll owners, so as all the possible blank faces. And, of course, I wouldn’t copy a doll that I love because of two main reasons: it isn’t right and -in the hypothetical case I could throw my ethics away- I know I would only see “a copy” every time I would look at him/her.

So, I’m afraid that unless the doll I love goes to the marketplace (and I have the chance to go for it), it will always be a platonic love ❤️

 

oh I have a slightly different version of this story.
Yes! A long time ago (2008-09), on a social media site far, far away (deviantart) I totally stalked a now not-active DOA members dolls because I loved the stories she created with them. One in particular - A CP Breakaway who's name I literally can't remember now XD

Sadly she put him up for sale ages ago (in 2009), breaking my heart. Happily I'm the one who bought him. I still own him to this day! I gave him a totally different character and style though I kept his faceup and mods. I finally redid his faceup a year or so ago, working carefully around his mods, but all I did was an updated version of what he had had for years, so his look is maintained.

I don't remember his previous name because he's been my doll and character for so long, but I still remember the love I had for him when he wasn't mine, and where he came from makes him more special to me. Even if his previous owner has no idea. Which is ok because that makes me feel less stalkery.

So anyway moral of this story is, you can totally make that doll yours and not a carbon-copy of the original. Even if it actually is the original.

 

I've fallen in love with someone elses doll, too. But while I admire these dolls from afar and look forward to seeing more pictures of them, I have no intention to buy their sculpts and try to recreate them. To me it's enough to look at their pictures and daydream about seeing them in real life
It also helps that I'm currently very satisfied with my collection and once I'll get my last doll in the next few months (Ringdoll Rinku ) I don't think that I'll add any new members to my crew.
Mh... the internet is such a nice thing that happened to all of us, I love that I can follow the life of beautiful customized dolls from afar!

 

Yes!

@Kitazawa has this amazingly wonderful boy named Yukio that I threaten to kidnap everytime they bring him to a meet. XD I have loved everything about him from his sculpt to faceup to character since I first laid eyes on him! I have not bought the sculpt for myself, but if I ever do, the style and character would have to be so different that at first glance they might not even look like the same doll. I don’t want people copying my characters, and I think if I copied someone else’s, I’d feel so guilty that I wouldn’t even end up liking the doll at all. It would feel like a cheap knock off to me.

However, I think it’s ok to be inspired by someone else’s doll and give yours one or two similar (but not identical) traits, like a piercing or similar clothing style, maybe the same eyes in an otherwise different looking doll. I’ve definitely seen other dolls and thought that the wig was exactly what I was looking for for my own doll, or that she was wearing a dress I wanted for mine. I’ve even bought the same sculpts as other dolls I like, I’ve just made them completely different characters.

 

I actually feel worried about that happening to me. I always thought how bad would be to want fully someone's else doll because since they are custom you wont really ever be able to get the same.

I do have some dolls I adore, but from afar. I dont want to have them. In the platonic kind of love, we admire it from afar like the stars.

But buying a doll like the one you love would end up frustrating, no matter how much you try to copy it, it wont have the same feeling because the one you feel for has another mind and heart behind it.

 

Yes I too have fallen in love with a doll someone else has customized. It was really weird because it's a type of doll I generally dislike. But what the owner did with her kind of made me want one. But as others have said even if I did copy this other persons doll it wouldn't be the same.

And yes it's frowned on to copy!!! I also would find it so boring to copy someone's design and ideas. So if I did succumb to the urge to get one of these types of doll I would do my own thing with her.

 

I know a thing or two about this, so strap in for me being angry about how sensitive people on the internet are about "copying."

I often get stuck in basing my characters on someone else's, alternatively living people, because it's the easiest way for my brain to build someone. Things gradually shift as time goes on to the point where you can usually see inspiration - which I will gladly credit for, as actual professional writers often do* - but they're definitely their own person with a separate backstory and personality. Being a part of the furry community made me feel like trash for this because people are so sensitive about things they've convinced themselves they invented. Don't let online communities convince you human brains aren't a conglomerate of everything they consume. It is immature and unprofessional.

Everyone has inspiration somewhere. Ignoring this because you don't want to hurt someone is bs and I don't recommend it. If you're worried, don't present them publicly until they've become completely independent, have a distinguishable backstory, and are unrecognizable to someone other than yourself.

When talking about learning how to write and improve, Stephen King said that you should essentially attempt to "copy" styles you find because your own writing and experiences will never be identical to that person. As someone who was once told they're the best writer a bunch of professors with PhDs in English and Linguistics have ever seen partially based on my character development, I agree. I am not showing off by saying that, I'm stating credentials.

All I'm saying is, do what inspires you without worrying about what people will think. Sculpt twins often look nothing like each other as someone develops them. You will nearly always find your inspiration in other people's characters, and then apply your other life influences and enjoyments to that character.

* seriously, look it up. This has stigma in the "amateur" communities, but I have rarely seen a TV show or story where writers and creators won't freely discuss their influences. E.g. House is based on Sherlock Holmes, and then a million TV shows copycatted and sometimes improved upon him.

 

I too have fallen in love with Crispin! Loo .Luisa has quite a few handsome resin hunks! There are severel other dolls on Instagram that I would personally love to own but only if I could purchase those exact dolls. I would and have bought the sculpts and full dolls of the dolls I have lusted after but I would never copy their style. To me that is just wrong - these dolls were lovingly created to be certain characters and it would be like stealing someone's child!

 

I too, find myself falling in love with other peoples dolls lol Instagram is my favorite place to look at various dolls. Currently im obsessed with lilycat dolls. I currently do not own one but definitely HAVE to in the future lol

 

@staghaus that's super common in music, too. Anyone doubting that, take a look at Johann Sebastian Bach, his son Carl Philipp Emanuel and said son's godfather Georg Philipp Telemann. They literally wrote pieces with the exact same opening themes, or a couple bars from one of their pieces snuck into another. Two have the same harmonic twist halfway through. It's human, it's normal among artists, and it's nothing to get one's underwear in a twist about - if anything, be friggen flattered someone's that inspired by your creation. What could be more of a compliment to any artist?

That being said - yes, of course I've been super inspired by others' dolls, to the point of wanting "another him / her". And it always went its own way. Luckily for me I do my own faceups and I'm simply not pro enough to copy, even if I wanted to (which I don't, but that's not the point), so no danger there. For instance Lauren, my Iple Eva, was inspired by another Eva I saw ages ago. Then, once I had her home and did her faceup, my own OC took over more and more and in the end she didn't look anything like the one who convinced me I needed an Eva in my life. (I totally did need an Eva in my life, and still do, but she's completely my own OC now and doesn't look like the one who inspired her.)

So, to answer OP's question, I (sometimes) don't see past someone else's creation until I hold my own doll in my hands. I get them blank, and count on my own imagination to take over, and so far it always delivered. So in my experience, if you really feel like you need that sculpt in your life, chances are you do - not because you'd get a second Crispin, but because there's something you saw through him that you can express through that sculpt in particular. (If that makes any sense.)

 

All of this. I totally forgot to add music, but @Jany is right on about that. Look up aaaany interview and you'll find musicians absolutely gushing about people they were inspired by. I think that might be a better example than TV and authors. One modern example I can think of off the top of my head is Brendon Urie (AKA the last remaining member of Panic! At The Disco, but I digress) being absolutely obsessed with Billy Joel and Frank Sinatra.

To expand a bit, most artists love to talk about who inspired them because they want you to find and enjoy it as much as they do.

 

Since and @staghaus & @Jany are talking about inspirations, I want to give my 2 cents in this too.

There is a difference between being inspired by something and blunty copying it. But if you really want to "do your own Crispin" I think some things may be the point maker of how people will deal with this:

1. Ask the owner. Some people are more sensitive than others, you should try talking with the person to see to which level she would be ok with you doing it.

2. Give the credits. The biggest problem with copycats is that they act like they are the master mind behind the creation. You should always mention the person who inspired, because its a form of show gratitude.

3. Be true with yourself and other people. Your truly intentions matter a lot. There is a difference between truly apreciating something and wanting the attention that item brings. If you are doing something because of love, that will shown. Just be true with yourself and with whoever asks.

 

I think this is really common. I wouldn't even be surprised to hear that a lot of people got into ball-jointed dolls from seeing another persons doll and clicking with what they were doing with their doll, whether aesthetically or otherwise.

I think my very first "doll crush" ever was SB's Amakusa. Woo boy was I obsessed. I now own two of my own Amakusas but I can say they're nothing like SB's. More recently I actually fell in love with Pluto Dolls company images for their Ezekiel sculpt.