Increased art skill?

I've certainly learned to do a lot more things since acquiring my dolls. ^_^; I used to take photos, but now I'm much better at it. I'm learning how to paint better in order to do my own faceups, and I've learned how to pattern clothes in order to make outfits for my dolls. I've also found that I can draw the characters that I have dolls of much better now.

 

x: I think my art skills have increased a little.
Sewing and drawing department, for the most part. I have a better grasp of how to make clothing (even though I am not the best at it XD ) and when I want to draw concept pictures for future dolls, I make the drawings more (realistic?) like the sculpt, instead of how I regularly draw. And I think that improves my anatomy skills and how I view the sculpt in my mind, so when/if they come home I get an idea of what to expect X3

 

I actually don't think any of my artistic skills have increased! XD There isn't anything I can do better now that I have a doll, nor have I learned any new artistic abilities. I don't draw more satisfactorily, still cannot sew beyond repairs, and my photography is consistently mediocre.

 

Well yes...but I don't think it's because of them. I think it's just the natural learning curve (except for faceups, which I wouldn't do at all if it weren't for dolls )

 

There are so many creative activities associated with the dolls (painting, sculpture, design of all flavors, sewing and embellishment, photography). It's inspiring and that stimulus can lead to growth, given time and effort.

 

A little.

Mostly because I've been into BJDs since 2004 and I'm pretty sure that no matter what, I've at least gotten a little better... and I make money from my art, so I have to keep at it, BJDs or not. So practice always helps.

BJD-wise... well, I've tried a few faceups over the years and they do improve with more experience. I've taken more photos than I used to because of my dolls, and am a little more aware of trying to make a better photo.

BJDs tend to help most people express their creative side, so I'd think it would help everyone a bit--if only to think about what eyes and wigs look better on their doll, and what clothes work or not. But given the amount of faceups and sewing and character-designing and modding that goes on, I'm sure a number of people have improved their abilities quite a lot!

 

It would be embarassing if I thought yes as I basically have used my art skills to earn a living for the last 25 years! The one thing that has improved is my sculpting though, I also make art dolls and started using paper clays last year. I've made plenty of life sized busts in the past but sculpting small is really difficult for me. I've found having these dolls and painting and maintaining them has made me more aware 3-dimensionally and my own sculpting is beginning to improve. I don't think I would have learnt as much about jointing either if I didn't have the dolls in front of me, there's only so much you can learn from books or the internet.

Maybe one day I will be competent enough to tackle making my own BJD!

 

Reading the postings on this forum thread help relight my creative fires. Den of Angels is an antidote to "artist's block." And everytime I get the bjd's out and clothe them, pose them, I am inspired all over again. The dolls have kept me from feeling too lonely. They seem to inspire the imagination. A new experience everytime.

 

Well everything has a learning curve, and new information is where the most growth comes from, so you can't really write off what you learn in the natural process of exploring a new medium, because that's most of what you learn.;;

Sooo yeah, I think I've learned a little from owning a doll, and I'll learn more when I start sewing some clothes, (and if I ever get around to making/styling wigs, that might be the biggest challenge with the most to learn for me..) but it hasn't been a huge leap since I haven't had to apply many new techniques that I hadn't already used for other stuff in the past.

I'm also making my own doll though, and yes, from that I have learned a ton about joint construction, as well as molding, casting and finishing. @A@ I feel like it doesn't even show because her joints and everything are still so simple, but it still took me so long to soak it all up.;;;;

 

I definitely think so! ^^ I was never any good at using paint before i bought my BJD's, but now i'm improving so much, because the dolls gave me incentive to give them pretty faces and make them look good ^^ It actually increased my confidence, knowing that i am getting more skills under my belt too ^^ It means i can mod my dolls more!

 

Yes! I may have a bachelors in illustration, but doing faceups is very different. I have also learned so much more about photography.

 

i feel like i have been more productive and inspired to be more creative then actually improving but I guess that is kind of an improvement.

 

i would say absolutuly yes. i often use them as models for human poses. they help me with proportion too & natural placement of limbs so they dont look broken O.o
plus looking at them is great inspiration if im in an art block. all that is not even mentioning how my my phpotography has improved since they give me an excuse to go out & take pictures when i never would have before. so short answer, yes. my art has improved a great deal thanks to these dolls

 

I went from sculpting stuff like this to sculpting stuff like this(warning, naked dolls). If I hadn't gotten into the dolls, I wouldn't have been inspired to try so hard. It's not just the dolls either, it's the community and the people i've met who're eager to help with new techniques and information.

Also not only did I learn to sew, i actually got good at it. I've even learned how to use power tools and I've learned how to critique my work and force myself to take things to the next level... make each project that much neater and that much cleaner. It's probably made a bigger difference than most of my classes in college simply because the dolls are that much more inspiring.

 

Nope; I didn't go into doll ownership any kind of artist, except for photography (which I am sort of getting better at). I didn't buy these dolls to draw or anything else. Mainly I sew for them, so if that counts, then I'd say it has made me better at that. I never even thought to sew before I got my doll, and only thought to since so many people were doing that.

 

Before I owned dolls, I only knew the basics of sewing and nothing about photography. All the photos around DoA really made me want to get up and learn how to use a camera so I could take photos like that too. They've helped me learn to sew too because I've never had a lot of money to buy them clothes with and they saved me money on buying fabric (sewing for a human can be crazy expensive sometimes). I think they've definitely opened up several new artistic mediums to me and they have helped me with a couple drawings. Can't say they've really influenced my art too much though.

 

Blah, my creativity seems to be in a steady decline after a while in this hobby. :/

It may be because I sometimes feel like it's acutally cheaper to buy stuff ready-made then to make things myself. Which is bad, bad, bad because that means that the whole point of this hobby becomes null for me.

The one plus is that I enjoy customizing and doing faceups. It's my only excuse to keep the dolls around so far.

 

I think for the most part it helps my creativity and craft skills increase, but I cant draw and I still cant draw LOL

 

BJDs have helped me get better are sewing.

I'm not sure if they've improved my drawing, but I shade faces more like face-ups on dolls than I used to. xD

 

I can't really say that my sewing or photography have improved since I got into bjds, but I'm trying now and that's more than I was doing before.
I do think my drawing has improved, not the actual technical skill, but I've gotten much better at seeing different face shapes, eye shapes, noses etc. that was something I really struggled with before.