Getting to know your new doll?

Hi,

With my first no problem, but with the second, since 10 months I never got bound with him.. So know, I sent him to a BJD contact foe "BJD hollidays" ... To not have him in my sight.. terrible han ?..

 

I'll be honest - I have quite a hard time bonding (in a way). There's always that awkward: "Well, here's my new doll. So this is what he looks like in real life. Hmm. What should we do now?" sort of thing. However, there is only one doll that I actually didn't bond with and that was my first. I got her for the wrong reasons. The MSD size wasn't for me. She didn't have the type of face that easily allowed a personality and story to go with it. She was a gorgeous doll and I loved her but I just couldn't bond and I sold her a few months later.

My SD Leekeworld Mihael came after her and I was head over heels for him, I still am, he'll always be my favourite no matter how many dolls I get. It's just a case of find the right doll for you and trial-and-error. It's hard to know what to do with a doll when it first arrives, but persevere. When (if) you get a second doll, chances are it'll be a lot less pressured since it isn't your first and I'm guessing it'll either help you bond with your first doll or make you realise what your doll preferences really are.

People find lots of ways to bond with their doll: restringing, sewing, face-ups etc. Some people find they bond better with second-hand dolls from the marketplace. For a lot of people it just takes time. Don't give up hope, I'm sure it will come soon

 

I was absolutely head over heels for my Sabik when he got here, but I honestly had a hard time getting him to really 'come to life' for me. Especially when I started going to meet ups, and really got such a sense of personality from other dolls that I wasn't getting from Carousel. And honestly, what did it for me was just the sheer amount of work I've put into him. He's been blushed, whiped, blushed, restrung, re-faced more times than I can count. Handling him and posing him helped to, just... time, I guess. He's really starting to become what I originally had in mind, though with several chanes along the way XD.

 

Sometimes it happens right away and sometimes it takes awhile. Often it's a matter of getting the little details right -- the 'right' pair of eyes, wig etc. Figuring out style and so on. It's been easier for me since I've decided to only bring home bodies for preexisting characters, but even then there have been times where it's taken a bit to get used to having a person in doll form.

When I first got Lorry, it took a bit for me to get used to him as a doll. It got a lot better when he got a different pair of eyes that were more flattering and made him seem more like his character. Now he's one of the dolls I'm the most bonded to, go figure. I also find that dolls I tinker with a lot are dolls I bond to particularly strongly. Cait is another one of my favorites and is put together with parts from three different companies, and has been partially wired and sueded. The constant working on her did wonders for the whole bonding process.

 

First of all, congratulations on your first doll!

For me, writing stories about my doll, Kadin, has helped me bond with him greatly. Like, I feel that writing about him helped me get to know him better, not just as a doll, but as a person (lolcreepy) with his own likes and dislikes. He didn't fit the personality I thought he'd have at all! In fact, it took many months after the first time I saw him to work something out, or at least until he started showing me sides of his personality I didn't know he had through my writing and photography.

Also, finding the right wig and eyes for him also helped the bonding process. It took me 4 or 5 wigs to find the right style and color for him. His eyes luckily were easier to find, since there are so few choices for olive green eyes! o.O

Photography helps many people bond with their dolls as well. For me, it's not the actual act of photography that helps me bond, but it's the actual posing and fumbling around with him to get a perfect pose which helps me bond. ^^ So even if I'm not taking pictures of him, I still like posing and playing with him.

Don't worry about Analeigh just being an acquaintance for now, you've just met her after all. Kadin and I met as strangers, became acquaintances, and through lots of time together, we got to know each other. I mean, you wouldn't expect to be best friends with the new kid at school on day one, so I don't think you should expect that from your doll either. :3 But the more you spend time with them and stuff, the closer you get. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it happens quickly. Sometimes people drift away, then others don't.

And as for your last question, it's different for everyone. For me, being bonded with Kadin means that I have emotional ties with him. It means that he can make me smile no matter how bad of a day I'm having, just like my dog can.

 

With my first doll it was pretty instant, actually. He was perfect for me in every way. Second doll took a while. It was a combination of not knowing what I wanted from the character, and suffering through several horrible faceups on my part. Not having him look pleasing was a big hit on our "bonding", but over time I started getting really attached to him, making him clothes and having him interact with my other doll. My third doll was just a head...and I still don't feel "bonded" to him. I mean, I love him, but it's hard really getting to do stuff with him without his own body. My newest boy I'm still figuring out, but I just gave him a new faceup, and I feel the more pictures I take with him, the more we'll "bond" and stuff.

So for me I guess I bond with my dolls based on how much I can do with them, and how satisfied I am with their overall look.

 

My first doll was based on a character I'd made eight years ago, so naturally the resin had a lot to live up to. I was lucky enough to find a tan elf, but once he came home he just wouldn't do what I wanted him to. The mohair wig I'd planned for him to have just looked goofy around his ears, no clothes I could find anywhere seemed to fit his character, and though he was strung WAY too tightly I didn't have the courage to unstring him. I tried really hard to bond with him through faceups and body blushing, but nothing worked so I sat him aside and got my second doll.

She didn't have a pre-planned character and was actually a bit of an impulse buy, but she's just so darned cute. Tinies are evil little things, I tell you! But anyway, she just clung to my heart immediately out of the box. She helped me sort of bond with my first boy because his character loves children, but he still wasn't quite right, and I couldn't even bring myself to want to play with him for several months because it was just so frustrating an experience.

I bought two MSDs then, both as resin forms of old characters (one of them even older than my elf boy), and they were immediately themselves and perfect at once. Our bond was immediate and I spent more and more time with them and the tiny instead of my elf boy still angered me. Then I decided to work up some courage and take him apart for a good cleaning, a new faceup, and a restringing. He was even closer then, slightly floppy, he seemed to just melt into my arms in a loving way. Then came a new fiber wig and some clothes-shopping. He's now at the point that I am closest with him, like all that time of difficulty helped us strengthen our bond. So yes, it'll probably take some time, but I'm sure you'll be close to your girl soon. :3

 

"Bonding" to me simply means that I like how the doll looks and that I have an idea what I can do with him/her. The moment I take a doll out of the box I know if it is a keeper or not. It might take a while before he is finished (sometimes it takes years), but if there's a 'click', I will keep him, no matter how long it takes before he has a face-up, or a body, or a wig, eyes etc.

For instance: the moment I took my Peroth's head out of the box, I knew he was going to stay. Despite that, it has been three years since then and he still doesn't have a face-up or his own body. (he does have his wig, eyes, outfit and shoes though) Doesn't mean I love him any less than my other dolls, but I'm still looking for the right artist and the right body. Until I know for sure what I want to do with him, he'll have to wait.

 

I fell in love with my doll as soon as I had him out of the box. As soon as I saw him I knew he was exactly what I'd been hoping for. He was gotten to represent a character of mine, and I was a little worried that he wouldn't take to that personality, though I figured that if he didn't he would just be different.

As it was, he fit that character's personality perfectly. His mouth is just a bit crooked, so he's smirking, and when he came his stringing was super tight, so his arms were crossed all the time. It was just perfect.

Since he came I've made him two outfits, custom eyes, and have restrung him twice. I already know exactly when he's getting his faceup fixed and his body blushed. While I knew he was a keeper right away, I think working with him has helped a lot, since now I know exactly how to work with him.

 

Bonding... it's such a weird word. I mean I don't 'bond' with my shoes when I go shoe shopping, I simply pick the ones who are attractive and comfortable for me. I do the same with dolls. If I like the looks and when I get them I enjoy posing them, then I keep them.
The most important aspect when I get the doll is do they inspire me, or do I have something I can do with them? (Much like Silk said) I love taking them apart, restringing, blushing, painting, it makes me feel as if I have more 'ownership' with my doll, they're not something just sent to me from a company. It's like having a car and tinkering with it to make it just right and it's 'yours'. (WOAH so many analogies in one post!) That's just my take on it Everyone has different definitions though.

 

I bond with my dolls through, making stories, making them to portray the characters I want to him/her
through clothing, wigs, face-up and a little bit of imagination
We spent the time by doing several photoshoots, sleeping together
hugging, cuddling and touching hairs when I feel bored or just plain idle
I introduce them to forums and hobby groups
generally, I love them more and more everyday ^^

 

I bond with new dolls by keeping them close to me, either by photoshooting or just sitting with them. With Shinta and Anje, I had plenty of time photoshooting. With Saito I had to wait a day because we were expecting company for our birthday (our birthdays are close together so we celebrate the same day). I just got him out of the box, changed his eyes and dressed him up so he could sit with the other two while the guests were here.

But it took a while till the first guest showed up so I lied down in a comfy chair with him listening to Nightwish together which was really nice.

Even though the character is not the cuddling type, it was nice to hold him close to me and get a feel of how muscular he is

 

I know what you mean. When I entered the hobby I thought "bonding" meant that you had to have a relationship of some kind with your doll. Now, I wouldn't say that a doll to me is the same as a pair of shoes or a pretty chair, 'cause he is something special, but at the end of the day, a doll is an object. I can have a relationship with a living, breathing creature or person, but a doll can't love me back.

That doesn't mean I won't be sad if something happened to one of mine though; I am really fond of them. But it's different from when I loose a friend or a pet.

I think that bonding means getting used to your doll, getting to know her. Vaex was right when she said that taking a doll apart and restringing him is a very good way to loosen up. It's one of the first thing that I do when I get a new one, because otherwise I'm afraid to even touch them .

 

I also had problems with my MSD, I am more of small sizes, tiny dolls or yosd

 

I actually had a character in my head for awhile so bonding with my doll was very easy because I already knew her before she arrived.

 

I picked a doll (In case you wondered she's a "Wagashi": Ringdoll FTW!) I liked and then made a character. I've always been the imaginary friend type so I've totally bonded with her character just by hearing her dialogue in my head. We'll see how the doll does. However, since I picture her and then think of the voice, they're going together nicely.