1. It has come to the attention of forum staff that Dollshe Craft has ceased communications with dealers and customers, has failed to provide promised refunds for the excessive waits, and now has wait times surpassing 5 years in some cases. Forum staff are also concerned as there are claims being put forth that Dollshe plans to close down their doll making company. Due to the instability of the company, the lack of communication, the lack of promised refunds, and the wait times now surpassing 5 years, we strongly urge members to research the current state of this company very carefully and thoroughly before deciding to place an order. For more information please see the Dollshe waiting room. Do not assume this cannot happen to you or that your order will be different.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Dollshe Craft and all dolls created by Dollshe, including any dolls created under his new or future companies, including Club Coco BJD are now banned from Den of Angels. Dollshe and the sculptor may not advertise his products on this forum. Sales may not be discussed, no news threads may be posted regarding new releases. This ban does not impact any dolls by Dollshe ordered by November 8, 2023. Any dolls ordered after November 8, 2023, regardless of the date the sculpt was released, are banned from this forum as are any dolls released under his new or future companies including but not limited to Club Coco BJD. This ban does not apply to other company dolls cast by Dollshe as part of a casting agreement between him and the actual sculpt or company and those dolls may still be discussed on the forum. Please come to Ask the Moderators if you have any questions.
    Dismiss Notice

Fallen in love with someone else's doll

Sep 24, 2018

    1. Oh yeah, happens to me too! I thought about getting a Dc Lance for a looong time, and after seeing the faceup elfgutz did on him I realized I really needed one. Super smitten with Crispin too btw! I would never copy a character though but seeing what other people do with a sculpt really inspires me to create my own character with that sculpt!
       
      • x 1
    2. I've gotten really lucky for the most part in falling in love with other people's dolls. Pretty much every doll of someone else's that I've loved has gone up for sale at some point or another! For some, I've gotten lucky and been able to buy them (one changed hands multiple times before ending up with me!), some I've realized I don't love as much as I thought when money's on the table, and some I'm still stalking just in case :sweat

      To summarize, it's really subjective even when you can buy the doll in question! For me, if it helps, when I fall in love with another person's doll I usually can figure out if it is the sculpt or just that doll by looking up oodles of other examples of what people have done with the sculpt. If I find bunches of faces I love, then I know it's the sculpt. If not, well then I end up finding and following the work of another awesome person in the community. :D

      I will admit that I usually really end up changing the character, but I agree with @april -- even if one doll is your inspiration, you will probably end up with something very different by the end. Either way, you sound like you are really analyzing your feelings well. Good luck!:thumbup
       
      • x 2
    3. For me, the experience I've gained of myself throughout the years in the hobby, is that there's a clear line where I love someone's styling of a sculpt, from loving a sculpt. I've gotten so many sculpts that I love, dearly, only to realize that the only reason I love it is because I've seen someone's styling of that sculpt. Having it blank and styling it the way I want it, doesn't make me love the sculpt less, but it has made me realize that sometimes it's just someone else's idea with a sculpt I love more than the sculpt itself. I mostly realize this when I've tried different styles on my sculpt and realized that it's not for me x)

      At the same time, it has happened that I've fallen in love with a sculpt through someone else's styling, and ended up making that sculpt my most dearest one, through my own style. So it can really go both ways. I'm just being more aware these days when I love the styling more than the sculpt xD
       
      • x 1
    4. I just wanted to say that this is an awesome thread and it's great to see people appreciating each other's dolls!
       
    5. I've definitely fallen in love with another collector's dolls before. Usually I try to pin down exactly what I like about the doll, such as the styling, certain details of the faceup, the sculpt, the wig, etc, and write them down. Then I try to make something new inspired by those aspects so that I don't straight up copy someone else's design, because that is really disheartening for the other collector. It's normal to be inspired by the work of others, but it's much more satisfying to create something new of your own from that inspiration! :)

      Sometimes I fall in love with a doll that is a size or style I'll never buy, so I just appreciate them as is and look forward to their owner posting new photos. There's way too many gorgeous dolls in the hobby to be able to have one of everything you like.

      However, there was an instance where I fell in love with someone else's doll at a convention: a Lillycat Newt. I followed that collector on instragram and searched for my own Newt for months. About 6 months later, I saw she posted her Newt for sale, and I messaged her immediately to purchase it. Now that Newt is mine, and every day I look at her I feel so happy and lucky that I not only own a Lillycat Newt, but that she is also the exact same Newt I originally fell in love with. She's my grail :D This definitely isn't a common occurance though haha
       
      • x 1
    6. Does anybody know if the owner of a Lumedoll Saiph hybrid named Newt has an account on here? Because he's one of the cutest dolls I've ever seen and I have SUCH a crush on him. He's was an inspiration for the doll I'm planning to get soon. Totally different sculpt and body, but hey, cute elf boys are where its at.
       
      • x 1
    7. Maybe this one? Lumedoll by Dollist!
       
    8. To be honest this is not at all uncommon, and in my personal opinion it is probably better to love the doll from afar. I am so beyond infatuated with @Graven dolls! Their stories, the faceups, the outfits, her incredible photo skills.....it all leaves me breathless. As much as I would adore buying the same sculpts as her, I could never. They are expressly owned by @Graven in my mind, and I could not ever do the same sculpts justice. It would only disappoint me to buy them, as it just would not be the same! So I just follow her Instagram and drool from a distance Haha.
       
      • x 1
    9. Definitely. My first bjd was purchased from a friend who bought her during a pre-order, but never got around to doing much with her. Since my opinion was requested during the pre-order process, I felt really invested in the doll from Day 1. When my friend received her at last, she almost immediately offered her to me, realizing how much I loved the sculpt. This was basically a best case scenario, as well as a huge surprise, since I never even vocalized my desire for the doll to my friend. (I'd never tell someone that I wanted their doll, unless the person was actively trying to sell said doll.)

      However, I think that I generally am happier to just live vicariously through other collectors on Instagram and here. One of the folks I follow on IG has a huge, gorgeous collection of dolls that she photographs beautifully. Several of her dolls really appeal to me, but I tend to think that most of the appeal is in the inspired way that she depicts her dolls rather than the dolls themselves.
       
      • x 1
    10. Completely! What got me into the hobby was falling in love with a beautiful boy. I love looking at pictures of him and am completely inspired. Unfortunately his make isn’t available anymore, but if he were, I most definitely would attempt to make him my own. There are elements in his face-up that I’m drawn to and would most likely implement, but I have a completely different aesthetic and style that I can envision him in, including skin tone. And like a lot of people have already said, no copy is ever the same, and you are obviously not interested in making a copy! I do think you could purchase that model and make him yours, and if it’s expression you’re drawn to, that’s a small element in the complexity of creation in unique dolls. You can do it!
       
    11. Tadaa! It took me quite some time to find this thread again, but I had to!
      I still remember wehn I first stumbled across a picture of Helene Holz's Venitu named Kitson Davies, a Zombie-Version with a rather dark background-story. (she has the That Venitu- blog That Venitu)
      I had fallen for her doll immediately! I never had though about getting myself a Venitu but after seeing this doll, I just knew it! I wish there were more photos of him (for I have started at every single one that exists on her blog for what feels like an eternity XD).
      Just thinking about him makes me smile... I am currently waiting for my own Venitu head to arrive and I plan on giving him a style that will be heavily inspired by Kitson's (not a copy of course!)
      why does he have to be that beautiful? :o:love:love
       
    12. Comet by elfgutz and kei by faery boi on instagram i just adore, i try to incorporate elements of both styles in my dolls~!
       
    13. Yes. The first time I saw a BJD (many many years ago on deviantart, before I even know what a BJD was) I fell in love with him, He was just a Migi Ryu, no particular outstanding aesthetics, but the photography was stunning and I ended up following the account. She had backstories and amazing dolls and I loved many of them... she was the reason I ended up with a Ryu myself, a Peroth and a Nanuri 07... all because I fell in love with her boys. None of my dolls were a direct copy but definitely heavily influenced.

      I also fell in love with an Yder repainted by Illness Illusion as L from Deathnote and ended up managing to buy him some years later... I still have him and still love him lots.
       
      • x 1
    14. This has happened to me twice! The really odd thing is that I don't have any desire to own a similar doll to the ones I've fallen in love with - but I still stalk their instagram and fawn over them and everything.

      Seems like it's pretty normal in this hobby. :lol:
       
    15. I am a long-time fangirl of a certain SOOM Sard here on the forum (MadamMauMau’s Lilu)...but it did not stop me from getting my own brand new Sard when they finally (finally-finally) re-released another Cream White MD version of him on the updated body! I never thought they would after all the time had passed so of course I was thrilled and bought him instantly! But I don't have any urge to copy the one I first saw and loved, he is altogether himself! And luckily, I really liked the new company face-up (which is already very different) so my guy’s blushing and fur will be literally like the cool-toned blue-ish dark of night to Lilu’s warmer, creamy bright day! My Sard has his own amazing journey to go on but all this time, I've been highly inspired by the first one I saw, so I'm still a huge fan. :abow:
       
      • x 1
    16. I have been continually blown away by a specific doll (coughcoughHarucoughcough) who would normally never be my type. Soom has never really interested me, but now I fall in love with every Dia sculpt I see.
       
    17. My talented daughter in law, who is Redmaiko here on DOA is so talented. She not only does her dolls face ups and body blushing she does all the hunting for clothes, shoes, and so on. She creates awesome characters and I do wish I could buy a couple of them. But I am happy to admire them in person.
       
    18. I got to know the sculpt for my main male character thanks to seeing someone's customization of that sculpt here in this forum!
      He looked gorgeous and I remember I thought if it was a guy irl I would have hitted on him very hard (xD)
      So I fell in love with the sculpt and decided I had to own it and make my version of a hot guy myself.
       
    19. I rarely fall in love with someone else's dolls, usually I just like them not wishing to make them mine. I prefer my dolls to have face ups painted according to my personal taste and look the way I want them to. But recently I've fallen in love with other people's doll so strongly I couldn't imagine buying the same sculpt as that doll had the prettiest face up for me that couldn't be replaced by any other. I just watched the photos of this doll and admired him (it's a boy). Some time later I accidentally saw the sales post, the owners of this boy decided to sell his head and I was lucky enough to write just in time and buy it! They let me leave the face up and recommended the body that would suit the head perfectly. The body is about to arrive soon and I'm so happy it turned out this way:)
       
Tags: