How do you doll plan?

I think the document idea is good! For the images, I like to use Pinterest to make a board for each doll. Kinda sucks that it's not all in one place, but it's so helpful that I don't mind having inspo in two different places.

 

I use a combination of Airtable for text and Pinterest for pictures. I would like to replace Pinterest with something else eventually but I like having a different board for each doll.

 

Mostly collages in Paint.net...

Here's an example of one I'm doing to find a suitable sculpt to be the sister of my Luts Iris:


I currently also have one in the works for a brother to my Maskcat Bruna, as well as some exploring different character designs with wigs/eyes/inspiration photos.

Basically this:

 

Google docs for text based planning, and lots of Pinterest boards for visuals.

I've gathered so many lists and tables for organizing it feels a bit on the obsessive side, but I enjoy planning things out, so it's not too bad.
Collages help with the visuals too, like mood boards.

Found myself editing heads onto bodies after finding the right measurements, doing mock faceups to fit characters... but when dolls arrive they tend to have minds of their own.

 

I tend to save a lot of images to my computer and sort into folders. I also use Discord and use my own server to hold links to outfits/eyes/wigs. I also used Word to save large lists of links. But honestly that's just for all the accessories. When it comes to the dolls themselves, I tend to know who they will be - just not what they will wear.

I might not be the most organized doll planner haha. I think I am one of those "I planned this doll then went to a store and came home with 3 more" people.

 

I use Pinterest for inspiration and then keep my general data/wishlists/profiles on Notion.so. I try to plan out my dolls ahead of time but like Mr-Sock said above, they tend to have a mind of their own.

Another thing I like to do is use the makers on picrew.me to come up with combinations and designs/faceups I like.

 

I also use a Notion page!! I have a block for each doll and under that I have sub-pages for photos of the sculpt, color palettes I want to try to stick to, faceup/outfit inspiration or ideas, other info, and a checklist of what I own/need to make/need to buy. I'm a huge planner in general (and I only have two dolls at the moment) but I like that on Notion I can see a preview of the first image in each category while I'm on my main BJD page, so I can see the sculpt and planned faceup, outfit, and color palette all at the same time and visualize a lot more easily! (plus I can add notes/text and it doesn't get bulky)

I also have a pinterest board but I get really frustrated seeing beautiful dolls on pinterest and then not being able to source the images/find the sculpts or original posters so I tend to avoid it for looking at doll stuff...

 

Like a lot of others, I use pinterest boards to sort buyable things like eyes, wigs, clothes, etc. I separate by size also since I'm interested in multiple sizes. I used to bookmark things with my browser but switched to pinterest to get visuals instead of only text links. The next step is to code myself a tool to periodically check for price reductions or out of stock and move them to an archive.

I don't use pinterest to collage or group items around a certain doll concept. Instead I doodle it or type out my ideas. The doodles don't always turn out how I want though due to limitations with my drawing ability. If I feel like making a collage, I use MS Paint.

I keep an Excel spreadsheet of my existing dolls with data of where I got them/date/price/best eye size/wig size/etc. There's a second tab in the worksheet to play with cost of new dolls and plan budget.

This doodle is oooold (like 7 years) but it's the only one I was able to find. It's the pic I gave sparrows shop when I commissioned a horn and ears for Chantilly, my Soom Ai.
https://i.etsystatic.com/icm/5902a1...l.98513923_trj3jw88ny8w8kgckosw.jpg?version=0

 

In almost all parts of life, I am a very organized person, everything must be neat and uncluttered. Yet somehow when it comes to doll planning, everything is just kind of all over the place. I have online shopping carts full of stuff on my wish list or that I might buy at some point. I have dolls, wigs, eyes and more bookmarked in my browser. I have character sheets on Google Docs and also printed in a binder. I have inspiration photos saved in a folder on my laptop, or sometimes my phone. I have my doll wish list posted on my profile here. I have an actual notebook where I write some ideas and lists of general things I need and have ordered and am waiting to be delivered. Everything is everywhere.

 

Honestly I just use a reminders list on my phone for what types of things I need to buy for sure, as well as saving sculpts I'm interested in and listings for accessories or clothes to my computer! Etsy's a good place to find creative things, and then it recommends me more along the same lines, so that's nice.. As for specific plans, I only really make them in advance rather than in-reaction to something if it's a pre-existing design (whether mine or to recreate a character).

 

Someone who does the same thing as me! I totally get it. I do all the same things.

 

Everyone is so organized!
I'm very impulsive, I actually wish I had taken more time before ordering my first doll so I could have looked up more and maybe done some more customization.
That said, I'm working backwards from a kit of people, in that I already know what the characters look like, and I'm getting doll(s?) To match.
When I make stuff, I gather inspiration etc on Pinterest, and tutorials etc beforehand, but really I just plunge in on instinct when the time comes. (For better or worse!)

Which has lead to some regret ahead learning for my first draft of eyes, but honestly figuring things out as I go is part of the fun!

 

{LAUGHS LIKE A DRAIN!}

If that's your idea of planning, then I don't plan anything.

I see dolls I like, get them, figure out their character as I get to know them, dress, and play with them. The minimal planning is pretty much in my head and subject to whim and change. It's mostly restricted to (this doll needs a Sunday dress, that doll needs a better wig, I have an idea for 10 gingham dresses for my "Victorian" SD girls, each in a different colour with it's own minor stylistic diffrences... that latter example possibly involving some doodles on scrap paper to figure out how each dres will differ). There's no master plan writtn out and ticked off as each part is achieved.

The closest think I've had to a plan, recently, has been, "If I get these four floating heads painted, I can put them on these four headless bodies and have four new dolls instead of boxes of parts in storage." So I sent the heads off to be painted (and modded, in one case). Truth be told, a little more planning might have been useful in that situation as I neglected to try all the heads on the bodies and, it turns out , one of them has a very small neck socket so won't fit on any of the available bodies.... but, three new dolls in the family, three floating heads out of storage, three headless bodies married up with heads. Not too bad an outcome. One head to find a body for, one body needing a head or listing for sale... at some point.

Teddy

 

I use the wish list on this site for dolls. As for planning...I only have vague plans before buying. A concept or outline basically. I start more detailed plans once I order the doll. If I have enough money for the doll I also have enough for supplies, so there's never a reason to keep detailed plans over a longer timespan. I also make sketches, but I don't stick to them meticulously.

 

I’m not quite as loose in my ideas as @Teddy, but I’m not all that organized either. The difference between us, I think, is that all my dolls were chosen with a specific preconceived character in mind. So by the time they arrive, I already have definite notions of their style. It all simply gets made up in my head, and then I will hunt for inspirational photographic examples on the internet. If I see something that suits my vision, I will save it to photos on my Ipad and just scroll through them as needed. I keep track of my dolls in the doll profiles section here on DoA, with an identical back-up copy on a digital journal (Penzu) for safety sake. But that’s about it. I keep it loose because I enjoy relegating everything else to my imagination (much like how a child plays.)

 

I use a wishlist of dolls, clothes, customizations, props, etc. I want. Things come and go, but some stuff sticks around for longer, so they tend to be moved up the list.

Each month, I got some allotted hobby money and I tackle the list, though there have been some unplanned stuff too.

 

I do everything digitally. I use google sheet for all my wishlists and I'll keep a concise version on my phone's memo.

 

I use pinterest for pictures and clothing inspiration and will have a board for each doll I plan with clothes, makeup etc.
When it comes to actual shops where I want to buy the clothes then I prefer to make docs. I will ususally write a bit about the style I want and add links to the shops. Then I add some collages from pinterest and change font size or add cute stickers to it. I keep em all on my PC So I do everything digitally. Sometimes I will also just scan some drawings and upload them.

 

I have a doll notebook where I write and sketch my plans! I have at least 1 page for every doll, and I usually just quickly sketch their face from memory and then build a character around that. Any plans I make are vague and loose, more of a general look I want to go for than anything. I usually do this at work (don't worry, I'm allowed to! ) and then when I get home I just sorta browse around for items that fit my vision.

I also use procreate for faceup mockups, but ONLY for anime style dolls. I find that standard dolls are difficult to accurately mock up digitally for some reason.

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