has your taste / style changed since you started this hobby?

It has. I've only been in the hobby for a year and it has changed drastically.


what taste / styles did you start with when you entered the hobby?
I was only into normal skin dolls and planned to have 3 SDs and 6MSD. The majority of which would be female. And seemed to be into dolls that looked realistic but at the same time had a slight cartoony look to them. So my favorite doll was Dollzone Feilian. I also liked the 3 part torso.

how has that changed?
As I got more into the hobby and realized what I liked and I didn't like I ended up picking up a white skinned 27cm doll. And two tan dolls. As well as all my dolls are all more realistic with the exception of one. My Dollzone Feilian who is in normal skin.

what styles taste currently appeals to you now?
I am now more open minded about white skin dolls. And I love tan skinned dolls. Although I am more open minded to white skinned dolls I believe I will always lean more so toward normal and tan skinned dolls. Also I tend to look for dolls that look more realistic. I am no longer fond of the more cartoony looking sculpts (except of my DZ Feilian ) As well as I am more fond of the two part torso more so then the three. And my plans have been revised to have more male dolls and one 27cm doll, 5MSDs, 5SDs, and one 70cm doll. With a mixture of tan and normal skinned dolls and only two white dolls. Yea... My taste changed quite a bit...

 

Mine has changed a ton in two years in the hobby.

I started as one of those people who was aware of BJDs but was weirded out by them, and couldn't ever see myself owning one. (Especially since I'm a guy.) As I was exposed to Dollfie Dreams though the anime community, though, they started to grow on me quite a bit, and I finally took the plunge in early 2011 when they released a doll of a character I really liked. Even then I spent some time being one of those DD owners who doesn't get BJDs and is eager to distance themselves from the resin community.

I started being exposed to more styles of resin dolls as I spent time in the DD community though, and I realized that my distaste for BJDs was largely just a result of only having encountered ones that didn't appeal to me. Eventually I saw another DD owner post pictures of Dream of Doll's E-An in an OT thread on the Dollfie Dreams forums, and in an instant I knew I was going to own her. It's funny, there wasn't even a gradual process, I immediately went from "BJDs are weird and I don't really like them" to "I'm going to be a BJD person now."

Since then my taste in BJDs has developed, too. I started thinking that I'd stick with bigger, more mature dolls, and said many times I wouldn't go under 60cm, until a friend linked my GF a picture of Leeke's Mabel (MSD-sized and styled), and when I saw it I had another one of those "that's my next doll" moments.

I also didn't like Volks's SD sculpts for a long time, but recently I've discovered that I actually like some sculpts quite a bit and just hadn't seen them with faceups that appealed to me. While at Volks USA a few weeks ago, my GF bought the Komame's Custom Lessons 4 book, and when I saw the SD13G Yori with special faceup that was available for preorder through the book, I had a moment again, and just ordered her today after spending the past few weeks agonizing over if and how I was going to get her.

There are still a few things in common with when I started - I'm currently only interested in 1/3 dolls, I stick to dolls with relatively realistic human body proportions, and I prefer fine features and natural makeup. Ask me in another two years and see where I am, though!

 

Yes. I personally have had many phases in this hobby. Haha :

Let's get into the breakdown:

Early into the hobby: I was really into alternative fantasy (?) I don't know if that term is real, I just made that up trying to categorize it into a genre. Not into elves, but more mythological context fantasy i.e Norse myths. In terms of doll aesthetics, I'd go for dark, intense faceups, hybrid/fusion fashion between traditional clothing but with a modern twist (i.e adding leather work into deconstructed kimonos), unusual wig colours like white, grey, lilac, etc. I stuck with CP Delfs cause I really liked their look compared to other companies which I felt lacked aesthetic detail and dramatization of facial features.

After about 2 years in: Fashion-wise, I began moving into more conventional styles like jeans and everyday wear. My character was really all over the place, but I didn't want to give her up so she took on a whole image reform. Combat boots were replaced with modest pumps and cute heels. At this point of time, more realistic sculpts had emerged adding more variety into the bjd mold options, which tempted me into getting one - which I did (a Kyle - I honestly don't remember which company he was from). Needless to say that fizzled out and he didn't stay. :/ It was about this time that I grew heavily infatuated with Unoa Zero and it's amazingly neat joints. I wanted to get one, but it was wayyyyy too far out of my reach - financially. I thought about giving up my Breakaway but it'd always be a lingering thought.

After that: I took a long hiatus. A really really long hiatus (like a couple years). I was studying in Australia and had a lot more going on so I couldn't really focus on dolls. But I'd still buy things for my Breakaway like shoes off eBay et al.

And now: Right now, I've got a more solid idea of what my characters would be and their styles. I think my mistake earlier were implementing ideas that didn't have longivity. And mostly my mistakes before were buying on impulse the things that I thought were 'cute' but not necessarily factoring in their usability in terms of the characters. I buy things more cautiously now, since I understand that character styling can affect a big deal. In terms of doll aesthetics, I'm back to CP Delfs (never left, pretty much) and faceups being more realistic looking. Clothing choices I mostly drift between a mix of vintage and conventional but mostly it depends on the characters. No more 'bottled' up generalizations for me!

I'm quite happy with how things are right now, and I think it's got a lot of potential if I go with it. ^^

[edit] I think most of the changes I've had with the hobby is attributed with what I do, and by trade I'm in the advertising industry with a marketing background, so I guess in a way, I've subconsciously branded my dolls in this same way. Food for thought, maybe who we are and what we do affects the dolls in a big way. *ponders*

 

My taste actually hasn't changed that much since I joined the hobby. When I first started collecting, I loved Soom's fantasy dolls and wanted to dress them in a certain style of clothing... and my collection of Soom dolls still fits that style perfectly!

I have had one slight shift in taste, though. I finally caved and bought some Rosette girls when they were offered in brown tan, and they absolutely refused to be fantasy dolls! So now I have 1/3 and 1/6 Soom dolls that fit a fantasy style, and two 1/4 dolls that fit a Victorian schoolgirl style instead!

 

Yes, my tastes change all the time. I started wanting bjds that looked more immature or more like a Pullip or Blythe dolls. Ive gone to very elaborate dressed dolls with simple faceups to very goth dolls with very extreme faceups. I like them all.

 

I wouldn't say changed so much as broadened I started out wanting very goth-y, punky boys and, while I stll have a couple that fit that bill, a lot more of them seem to be Victorian and frilly these days. I also have a few YoSd's and stylized dolls now while when I started my interest was soley in mature, realistic males.

 

I would say my tastes have also broadened rather than changed. I started out with a mix of semi-realistic and some stylized dolls, and that's pretty much where I still am! Semi-realistic is still my go-to doll of choice but I do own and love some very stylized sculpts as well. What's different is my opinions on different companies. Dollmore is still my favorite but other companies dolls I wouldn't look twice at when I first started collecting (Volks and anything sculpted by CP) I've started to really like and eventually own several of. Oddly it's the same older molds I didn't like in the beginning that changed my mind XD

I went through phases, like fantasy parts or vampire fangs, that I got bored with right away...but for the most part my collection looks like it always has. Just bigger.

I didn't used to care if a body had double or single joints as long as it could sit, stand and slouch (still don't - though a good slouch is still tough to find), I still have trouble bonding with dolls I can't produce a character for no matter how much I like the mold, and will still instantly bond with dolls who are perfect for my old, previously existing OCs, even if the mold isn't my favorite.

As for clothes, I think I've gotten better at finding things to suit my dolls individual styles (and fit them), I still can't find certain things I really want/need, but other than that, my dolls still dress how I wanted them too in the beginning. The only difference is I sometimes buy individual dolls to fit certain styles I want and don't have XDD (Like my PW Goldie).

I would say my biggest style/taste change is in faceups. I like a totally different style than I did at the beginning, and it's showing in my collection's more cohesive look. Even if the molds themselves aren't anywhere near cohesive lol

 

I think I'm a pretty open-minded person. I've been exploring different dolls. While I'm a little fickle when it comes to sculpts and faceups, I have changed my opinion about boy dolls. I thought it would be cute to have a girly-looking doll, but now I'm open to more masculine dolls.

 

I am finding my self in a place where I don`t quite know what I want out of this hobby anymore.

I love BJDs more than anything. But when I look around my room and see all these big eyed and more unrealistic faces, It`s like lately they have become more alien and cold to me..

Just these past few days that have been, my eyes have been glued to Iplehouse and With-Doll`s MSD size. I already have Iplehouse JID Boris and Benny. KID Alice and With-Doll Aiden on my wish list.

I have no idea what is going on. Am I really crossing over to the mature realistic mini size..? What will the future hold for my DOD, Luts and Doll-Love boys and girls.

Lately all I care about is Iplehouse and With-Doll.


Have you ever found your self in a situation in this hobby where you feel a bit lost?


Please tell me your experience. It might help me out a bit

 

I have!

Starting out, I ONLY wanted MSD, ONLY boys and mostly in the middle between realistic and stylized. About 2 years ago, my tastes changed and I wanted only SD. Still prefer boys, but have a couple of girls. I also have started liking realistic better.

My suggestion? Get one of the realistic dolls you crave. Have it in hand and see if you really like it as much as you do from pix. DON'T make any decision on the others yet! I bought my SD Mo 2 years ago, but kept his MSD form, just to be sure. And I did like SD better and upgraded almost all of my dolls. I tried girls....not a fan, and I'm glad I kept my boys, as I've sold off all of my girls except 2. I tried realistic, and I love them, but not enough to let my stylized ones go, so I have a large variety of aesthetics.

So try a realistic one, see if you might want to totally switch over and sell your others, or maybe you'll be ok mixing them. Or keep both, but have them in different storylines/families/sections of the house if the difference bothers you too much to put them together but not enough to part with your older dolls.

 

I definitely second the above advice. Our opinions and tastes change over time, and its okay -- and even invigorating! - to start over and try again. Try different styles of stories or characters, experiment with things you never have before, and I doubt you'll be bored until your tastes change again.

Don't feel disheartened. It really does happen to most of us, after being in hobby so long.

 

Thank you both. It do help to talk about it. You guys have a lot of good points there.

But I definitely got a lot of thinking to do. Right now my big eyed BJD crew is confusing me a bit. Part of me do not want to lose any of them. And part of me do not quite know what to do with them at the moment.

I also have a Honey Delf Brownie on my wish list. So how I feel is all over the place. It`s very confusing

 

Maybe pack them away for a month? Like, clean them and strip them down and pack them away. When you check on them a couple weeks later, you may know if they feel foreign to you, if you missed them, or if you missed them but can't see yourself doing anything with them any longer (which happens a lot). It's what I do when I'm not sure.

Worst comes to worst, try revamping your big eyed dolls with new characters/styles or even face ups, after that point. Then, you would know if the doll no longer works out for you even if you did something completely different with it.

Good luck!

 

^that sounds good, the pack em away for a month idea, like taking a break in a relationship xD (you dont know what ya got till its gone right?)

For my personal experience, i noticed that when i came back to the hobby after neglecting it for almost a year or so i even found my mei less pretty than i thought of her before. But once i started dressing her, taking pics and stuff again, i felt more drawn to her again..so revamping your dolls might not be a bad idea either?

 

Lol I hear you. I started out wanting semi-realistic to realistic dolls, but still managed to keep ending up with a few really really stylized ones. My collection has fluctuated like mad over the years and about a year ago I just gave up. I'll be all over, it's more fun and much less stress XD
The bulk of my group is still semi-realistic, but I think if I was really honest it's more like semi-stylized, with those that lean heavily either way.

Now I can look at my whole collection and think they look good. They look like my dolls. I'm not sure if it's that I faceuped most of them myself so they all have a somewhat cohesive look, or if I just don't care anymore that they're all over the spectrum of styles. They all make me happy for some reason or another...if they didn't I'd sell them off!

Somewhere there's a photo thread with stylized and realistic dolls in it. Maybe bring that back and have a look at some of the doll groups. Looking at pretty doll photos couldn't hurt! XD

 

I actually have put away one of my dollmore kids for a while, while figuring out if I still want to keep her or sell her.

I am pretty happy with my CP Delf SOONY, Lishe and DOC Pitts I guess. But some of my other big eyed ones are kind of on my doubt list.

But it could be that I am actually enjoying to collect both realistic and semi-realistic to really anime styled dolls. But I just don`t like to mix them up.
And it could also be that I just currently am not quite satisfied with the nonrealistic bjd group that I have put together.

I am that kind of person that like to have my dolls fit in together. Maybe there is someone in that group that just don`t belong.

 

i havent get into bjd hobby for a long time, just one year maybe, i never changed my style of interesting. i love boy dolls and tiny dolls, and i still quite into them. maybe it will change with times goes by, we'll see~

 

My first two boys I got in a pale normal skin but since getting a tan boy and seeing how well he photographs I'm a bit hooked on tan resin. As I've learned more and looked at more dolls I also find I'm attracted to several companies whose dolls I would have considered to expensive when I started out. I'm totally hooked on Ringdoll and Iplehouse now. I have bought two msds which I thought might be to small but I really like them. I still like 60cm or larger best though and only collect boys.

 

I think my tastes have changed but I guess that's a pretty normal thing for people to do.
when I first developed an interest in bjd's or dolls in general I was soooo in love with dollfie dreams.
I wanted every.last.one of them but looking at them nowadays I'd really see no need spending money on one.
I was also completely into every male sculpt I had seen on pictures but somehow my preference shifted entirely to girls now Oo

 

My tastes have definitely changed, particularly when it comes to Doll Chateau dolls. When I first started in this hobby I thought they looked so strange, but as time went on I saw how beautiful and artistic their sculpts really are! Now I even have a DC girl of my own! ^^