How Do Doll Sculpts Get So Popular?

I figured out a long time ago that trying to be popular on the internet will only lead to frustration and disappointment.

My dolls and their stuff are for my own entertainment and not anyone else's. I like it when my gallery posts get responses -- I think everyone likes it when people show a positive interest in something they care about -- but a halfdozen "oh how cute!"s doesn't do much for me. My most rewarding doll-related interactions are with people I've befriended through doll fandom, not on DOA.

 

I'm in the dolls for myself, and no one else. Even my girlfriend has only partial sway over the decisions I make. I own my dolls because I like to play with them and look at them in person. Why get a doll if you only want it so that you can look at people cooing over pictures of it online? Get out of the doll hobby if that's all you want. Enjoy the dolls in person for what they are.

 

I totally can relate to what you said. I am new to BJD's , but not to doll forums and have experienced the addicting experience of having your dolls get lots of attention, kudos, and feedback. Then have experienced the disapointment, and stress of overspending to try and get back in the limelight
again, only to find that it does'nt always happen like you would expect it to.

Eventually, I realized it is way to much money and energy to spend to get validation and what really matters is that I enjoy doing the photoshoots, dressing my dolls creatively, and if I get very little response when I post here or anywhere else...oh well. It is the nature of these forums. Sometimes you have a popular doll or theme that generates lots of interest and feedback, sometimes it does'nt.

I think when you really look closely at it, all the effort, time, and money that we put into this hobby/obsession is never really for the people at the forums, it is all about the attention/acknowlegement/satisfaction that it brings to us personally.

I try to remind myself now of this when I get disappointed about people's reactions or lack of when I try and share my dolls via a forum.

I commend you, NonoNanoon,for being so honest, it is really encouraging that other people here see this behavior for what it is. I am amazed how much this doll hobby is teaching me about myself.

 

I can thoroughly admit that I feel less than adequate when my photos/stories are ignored or don't get many hits/posts. I am young and generally i get blown off or interrupted in real life, so I think this inadequacy stems from it. I do not strive for internet fame like some people here on DOA have, but I don't take well to my efforts being thwarted.
I love my dolls and they make me very very happy, but I couldn't give them the attention they deserve if I didn't actively partake in DOA. I just don't know how.

If anybody has stories of how they interact with their dolls offline, please share, because I just don't know how to do it.

 

I think you explained almost exactly how I feel about the hobby. But as far as interaction offline, two of my dolls are based off of RP characters so I'm used to interacting with them through that. It's nice to have them in a physical form to help spark creativity. I also use them as drawing models. But, I don't have a digital camera of my own right now so I have this feeling of not being able to explore as much about the hobby as I can. Even so, it's fun to make "photostories" without the camera and just have my dolls interact with each other. Then again that might just be me reliving my childhood love of playing with dolls just for the fun of playing.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth XD

 

I never bother with posting photos on here anymore, leave it to the populae molds I neither look at them or comment really, I prefer to post pics on the UK forums where your pics always get looked at and commented on.

It is hard to be known on such a large forum, I don't care if people don't like my dolls, I do. I admit was was a little upset with the volks hatred I noticed when I first joined, a volks was my first and I adore her, but there seemed to be a huge backlash with the 'I hate big eyes' crew.

I mainly 'hang around' in critique, doll size threads and general discussions.

 

I like to make things for the dolls, or even just have them sit nearby or sit on my lap. A heavy doll on your lap feels nice, it's like having your pet sit with you.

And if I occasionally choose to take a picture of my dolls, I'll take it and then post it where a few good online friends of mine can see, or leave it on someone's personal blog or myspace who I know will like and appreciate seeing it. So much nicer than putting it out on a community where it will be ignored for the most part.

 

That's true. I've always wanted to do a short comic series based off their characters. I really have fun imagining their history, life, personality... I just find it difficult to physically interact with the dolls if I'm not taking a photostory, whether I post it or not. They inspire me and they 'speak' to me when I look at them, I just sometimes don't know quite what to do with them.

 

This phenomena isn't exclusive to DoA or even the web. How many times do you go shopping with your friends, not planning on spending money, just going along for the ride and find yourself caught up in the frenzy only to end up with items you don't wear or really want? I remember at 14 spending every cent I got on music because everyone was always so impressed by my musical taste and the obscure bands I knew. It's easy to get caught up with keeping up with the Jones' when it brings you attention or at least the hope of attention.

Luckily, I outgrew that phase. You get older, become more confident and figure out who you are and hopefully, sooner than later, figure out what makes you happy. Not what you think would make you happy because everyone else is doing it. Everyone needs validation from time to time but the majority of the time it should be coming from yourself. And if you need that much validation you are not really doing something for the love of it but the love you hope it will get you.

 

What an interesting thread! I'm partly surprised that I never saw it before... and then not surprised because there's no possible way I could ever see EVERYTHING.

I admit to having been very confused by the posts in here at first. Because... I was interpreting the question as "How do Doll Molds get popular?" And I've noticed that basically anything sold on the Luts site gets lots of airtime. Why? It's high-profile and easy to find. Makes perfect sense to me that people new to the hobby would see any CP/Delf/Luts dolls, DoD dolls, Volks, and a couple other sources so much more than the others, that it would maybe prompt them to buy those first. Some of the others require a little digging because their web sites aren't immediately obvious...

As to the other possible meaning of the question, why do particular people's dolls get "famous"... I suspect there's a healthy dose of groupthink involved, the usual fangirl squeeing (apologies to the guys in the group, no exclusion intended) and so forth.

There's also something to consider in the possibility that groups of people joined together For example: (Points at Aernath). She knew Hobbywhelmed from cel collecting days - well, so did I, just not as well. And it stands to reason that when she met Spamsama and started pointing to HER stories, and Hobby started doing ResinHouse, those would be the places I'd congregate most. And the circle grows as all three of them regularly say to the rest of us "ooo, have you looked at THIS story?" I suspect that sort of group joining happens a lot, and would thus result in little clusters of people who hang together most of the time. Seriously, it's fun to branch out!

You'll notice I didn't mention my dolls. I'm too lazy and untalented to think up a good background for them so, basically, people don't know them. And who cares, really

I'd love to see people not be afraid to post a "wow!" when they see a "wow" or to send pms if a public wow doesn't seem appropriate... because it feels so good to whoever posted the picture and sometimes makes a contact that turns into a nice friendship! And even if it doesn't, just chatting with someone for a few posts or pms can be very broadening. I just love looking at ALL of the dolls... Even the ones that would give me the squicks if he or she were here are worthy of admiration, because they reflect care, intelligence, love, ... warped-ness Whatever. And the people who did them are frequently VERY cool indeed.

Wow, that was a rambling mass. Blame my sinuses.

Just.. don't worry about "popularity." It doesn't take away from the less popular dolls... and for the ones that are popular, they're having fun too Yes?

 

I don;t post mine because they get no comments. When I did, when I first started, I had no clue what I was doing, and later found out I was being made fun of. I had awful pictures and so asked someone else how to take better pictures. And they got better, but then they got ignored. And now I keep them to myself. It's not worth the time and effort if there isn't even one comment.

 

I used to post pictures of my crew pretty often, and it was always fun to see people's reactions to them. Positive or otherwise. But getting commentary was never the reason why I picked the sculpts that I did, or why I dressed or staged my dolls in particular ways.

I assembled this collection, and took those pictures to please myself.
I didn't... and still don't... give a darn what anyone else thinks of them, or of me.

The way I look at it, I wrote the check so I get to make the rules... Anyone who doesn't like the choices I've made with my own possessions should feel free to get stuffed. They weren't the ones footing the bill. If they want to bitch and moan about me being terrible or my dolls all looking alike, that's their choice. They have the right to express their opinion...

... And I have the right to ignore them.

So do you.

Screw what "the Fandom" says. How much fun you get out of your dolls is up to you, not the Peanut Gallery.

 

Personally i think its annoying when, less expensive doll molds get more attention cause more people can afford them or may own one themselves. If you have a pretty doll and u pay alot for it and its limited or not alot of people have it, I think it deserves attention. I tend to not care as much for normal looking very popular molds.

 

I seem to find that I like the most versitile dolls the best...I assume many others feel the same way. ^^ Also it would depend on how much they're discussed, posted, etc etc...It all really depends.

It's kinda iffy on why some are more popular than others, but I think the ones that attract the most attention are the most "appealing" ((however you want to define that))

 

I used to be a prolific poster of doll photos and photostories. I got my fair share of comments and was happy. Then I was very busy in my final year of uni and my photos tapered off. Happily enough, it wasn't a start of lack of interest in my doll. I still think he's great eye candy, will buy him stuff and dress him up with glee. When I have time, I'll throw up a few pictures. Basically, I bought the doll to please myself. It's a heck lot of money to use him as some popularity game contest.

And because I feel compelled to answer some comments...

But...isn't that what you felt like when you first had your dolls as well? It sounded like you were saying that you were trying to get popular on DoA but was devastated when you didn't manage to.

I also just wanted to point out that if a person is popular on the forum, it doesn't mean that they're 'mindlessly trying to be popular on sites like DOA'. It just means that they have the right combination in their photos which are deemed pretty/clever by the general public.

Huh. This statement...the logic escapes me. It almost sounds like price = deserve attention. Which doesn't make sense. How would less expensive doll molds get more attention because more people afford them? I have never seen this to be the case. If the less expensive dolls are dressed up and done up and photographed very well by their owners then it's natural that they get more attention.

How would a more expensive, limited, rare doll deserve more attention? Just because its price tag is higher? When we're looking at a doll, I doubt that there's a sign flashing above the pictures going, "Costs USD5000." What will attract our attention is looks. If the expensive, limited, rare doll is dressed up and photographed well in an interesting setting, then oh boy, I'll be there! If an owner puts effort into the doll and photos, for sure it'll get attention. But if you stuff an expensive, limited, rare doll - even if its also beautifully face-upped - into a tube sock and take blurry pics of it, I don't think it's somehow still more 'deserving' of attention than any other doll regardless of price tag.

 

*shrugs* Who knows why? It's like anything else that requires creativity. Sometimes you (or others) think your thing is great or even possibly better than someones who is more popular, but no one seems to notice. I know the feeling (stares at her dA) but it's hard to pin down WHY them and not you, you know?

I think in terms of individual dolls (not a sculpt) a lot of it has to do with the pictures. BunnyChan said:

and I completely agree. Now, being someone who doesn't have a particularly great camera, I know that getting one is an investment and will take time. You really just have to make do with what you can, and most people understand.

But if you work to make the best out of what you can, then that at least is a step forward in helping your doll appeal a little more to others, especially if photoshoots/gallery posts and peoples reaction to your doll are a big part of your dolling experience. Most people just want to see the dolls at their best, and they comment most on those.

Developing your dolls personality and character to something more believable and independant from yourself helps too, I think. When they have a strong character that can be "seen and heard" by others outside of yourself clearly, that makes them more appealing too.

But these are just my opinion, and since I' not very "popular" anywhere either, I'm not neccessarily the best person to ask. Still, when it comes down to it, I believe it's more important that YOU love your doll more than others do, since you're the one that spends the most time doing things with it.

Hope that helped a little. (^___^ ) ~

 

This comes across as a very shallow point of view. I'm sure you didn't intend it to be that way, but thats the way it sounds. I have a Dollshe Hound and a Bobobie Elena. Totally different ends of the price spectrum, but I love them both dearly and at the end of the day I couldn't care less whether people comment on the pics I post of them. I didn't buy them to be validated by a bunch of strangers on the internet. I bought them because I saw them and thought "I have to have them!". There are dolls that I would never even consider buying, regardless of how much they cost, because they just don't appeal to me.

 

I look for pretty dolls. That's it, that's all. Personally I don't care about personality, story, rarity, or expense.

What makes a doll pretty? That's up to a lot of factors, mainly:

1. Face-up & sculpt (I can't stand a bad faceup and I avoid the sculpts that I absolutely dislike)
2. Good photography
3. Good styling (natural-looking posing, wig on straight and combed smooth, eyes positioned properly, clothing arranged flatteringly, proper lighting, etc)
4. Good clothing (even though this is the last thing on the list, it is really really really important to me - even the most exquisite doll will look tacky dressed badly)

 

popularity in dolls depends on a lot of things. I find namely that as mean...or horrible as it may seem it depends a lot on how much your willing to spend. If your willing to spend a lot of time or money to get a fantastic unique face up or to sew/buy an awsome outfit that helps for popularity. Nextly its photography skill. Be it in a photostory or a regular spam of gallery pictures if your good at photography more people will be attracted to your dolls, even if they aren't the most original/extravagent looking.

Having a limited doll or a rare doll in general helps. I know I always jump when I see a post of a luts If or Dambi, only because they don't get posted much. So when you do happen to post a lot of pictures of a rare to see doll then yep it'll be popular. Of course I don't think that bjds are about trying to get popular. It should be about how you enjoy and bond with your doll o-o of course if you can only enjoy the doll by having it be popular then eh....it'll be hard to enjoy the hobby.