Inspiration for a Character?

A few of my dolls had pre-made characters when they arrived, but most of my dolls' characters were developed on the go. If a colour doesn't look right with a doll, I say he doesn't like that colour. One of my dolls pulled his arms away every time I would put him down next to a girl doll at meetings (elastic tension, that's all) and I'd say he doesn't like girls he doesn't know.

I let those things develop while I play and then I "discover" new things about my dolls. That's why sometimes I find it hard to make database entries when I have a new doll. I will have a picture of the doll, but hardly any character information.
Some dolls will develop in detailed characters and others just remain dolls with a few character traits. I don't love them any less.

 

actually, i was thinking abt something similar, except that i want to know if dolls can "survive" without a personality / background story...

i wonder if i am too weird: i didnt buy my dolls, really, and the only doll i chose is the lati byurl (named Miki). all the other dolls were ordered for my mom on her behalf (since she collects dolls, porcelain or not...), but when the two pocket fairies got here, she didnt want them coz they were too small, so she passed them on to me. then she wanted the limited edition idoll, but for soem reason, she didnt want her as well once she arrived, so she came to live with me too.

so at the beginning, i wasnt ready for dolls, as i never intended to buy one for myself anyway. i liked them, but i just didnt feel the urge to own one. i liked admiring others' more. when the dolls got here, they either stayed inside their original box untouched, or in my rement dollhouse (for the two tinies anyway). they were just part of the many things i have on display in my room, and nothing else. they didnt even have names. but now that i gave them names + personalities, i feel like i have stronger emotional attachment towards them, and they are not display objects anymore. and i tend to spend a lot more time with them, buy them things like outfits and all, and do so according to their personalities.

 

I think we don't need to figure our or come up his/her personality. He will show it to you eventurally...I guess so? I have my vampire boy since months ago. He was supposed to be a toxic boold drinker and with this cool heart within but he laughs all the time with big smile...It changes his personality totally and it was not what I expected, but just makes him cuter than ever to me.

 

I have that problem! I bought a Limwa Manu tanned last year and i havent been able to bond with him! He just sits in his box. I feel pretty bad because i did pay alot for him but he just wasnt the boy i had in mind!

 

Taffy is 2 and still hasn't jelled. To his credit he's the only one I didn't pick out and he's very big compared to the others. I did give him a make over with new eyes and it helped a bit. Lucifer took a while and he still sleeps most of the time.

Maybe spending more one on one time together, go shopping for or make something that's special for just that doll that they don't have to share. Have conversations with them why you live with each other. Listen for that doll voice to pop up in your daily life to say it likes or doesn't like something. Have you done an activity together? Lucifer popped when I got him jelly rings for bracelets, Jibriel liked the attention at the Friends 2 Be Made store, Xavier gets grumpy when someone calls him cute, and Shi Shi keeps fighting not to be called a girl.

 

I find EVERYTHING has a personality. Everything that I have some sort of connection to becomes alive for me. It's the strangest thing, as certain things, be them dolls, toys or my car all seem to speak to me in some way (and I don't mean litterly).

But it really feels as if they could convey what they would be like if they were able to be alive in that sense.

 

I guess I haven't really had that problem. I mean, Mark (my DZ Megi) was loving and very kind hearted when I had Ang (puki pongpong) because he was like a father to him but Ang has since gone to his aunt's and now Mark just seems disinterested like he did before Ang arrived. And he sits out all the time since my room has no windows and the light is almost always off unless I'm in there.
So I guess he kind of has/had one, but I'm thinking maybe being a father figure was his niche and I just took it away?
I dunno

 

I suspect that for most of us... even the ones who don't start out with the intention of playing the "character game" with their dolls... these guys do end up developing something like a personality of their own. It's just difficult not to anthropomorphise something that looks so human.

That said, in my own experience some dolls definitely take longer than others, and there are absolutely different degrees of development, "character" and familiarity.

I had Sunna, my Eden, for close to two months before I found a name that suited him. Figuring out even the most basic, sketchy details of who he was beyond that took even longer. He didn't even really start to gel as a distinct individual until after I got Yomi (My School A, who, by contrast, was very quick to figure out-). Even now, after having him for close to six months, Sunna's still easily the least solid, least detailed character of my entire cast. The little Soom Glati who isn't even here yet has more of a settled role than that poor Eden does!

But... that may change eventually. Some afternoon I may look over at him and everything'll just click. Or it may not. He may *always* be "that interesting-looking guy over there that I don't know very well"... and there's nothing wrong with that when you get down to it. It's sort-of the nature of the creative beast.

 

I didn't have a set character in mind when I got my girl. I just knew I wanted to do a steampunk theme and thought her general look suited that idea. Her character has been evolving since her arrival. One thing I like to do is look at some of the memes that are constantly circling the Internet (Have you ever gone skinny dipping? What was your most embarrassing moment? etc.) and answer from her viewpoint. It helps me to have ideas about the type of person she would be without writing her entire past history.

 

I had a character in mind for Fauna when I bought her, but when she got here, she wasn't that person. She was a shy character at first when I did her first face-up. Having done her second, I find that she is far more opinionated and forceful this time around. The face-up still isn't quite right though (I'm going to let it ride until it gets worn, however-MSC costs too much to just wipe it because I've got an issue or two.). I'm curious to see what direction her personality will take when I finally get her looking the way I want. I've also got a Resinsoul Song on the way right now as a friend for her. I have no preconceived ideas about his personality and will just let him tell me when he gets here.

My wish list dolls are for specific characters from a novel I'm writing. I will be curious to see how that changes the character creation process.

 

My doll's character just kind of developed on its own. Part of it started forming as soon as I saw the promotional images, a little bit more fell into place during the wait, and after she arrived other things became more clear. I think it will continue to develop the longer I own her~ ♥

 

I tend to have recurring character types, but I don't tell stories with my dolls nor do they have extensive personal profiles. It's primarily a visual thing for me, I guess. I wish I could tell stories with dolls, I think it'd be a marvelous creative pursuit, but sadly I don't have the talent for narrative!

Raven

 

It's a little weird for me. I got my BF Sarang to be a specific character, but when she got here I knew that that just wasn't who she was. She looked more gentle, more passive. I made a new character to put in the same plotline, which ultimately spawned enough material to start the sequel of the original character's story! O__O

Bottom line, the personality of the doll comes from my interpretation of the mold's expression, really. I still need to find a mold that fits that original character...

 

So my question is: How did you develop your doll's character...did you try different wigs/eyes, did you role play or write about them, did you simply wake up and notice "oh, this doll would be perfect as ___"

Very interesting question too. I either see a doll I like first or i have the basics of a person and then I think who would I like, what type of person? That's when I start to plan the character. Then I spend weeks photoshopping the look I want them to have. I then spend more weeks on end finding the style of clothing they would wear. During that time I'm also honing the dolls personailty, what do they like and not like, what type of job or studies would they have?
I spend so much time thinking about them I end up getting a complete person. I use things around me also to help with what they would be like, tv and things like that. For example I knew Kit played drums but I didn't know what she did for her studies as she's only 17, then I saw a cookery program on tv and I was like 'Bingo!' She's studying to be a chef! I just uses the things around that come to me to fill in the details.

 

I work at Fright Fest Great America in Gurnee in IL. I got the idea for my doll troop to be all demons and thus they were born.

 

The creation of character and decision of doll was a simultaneous effort. I had no specific characters in mind beforehand. I wanted to design characters tailored to the dolls I'd get. But in order to choose the dolls I wanted, I needed to know what type of character I was looking for. So I took a little from both sides. That might not make much sense ^^; . But, how to explain it better...

The reason I want dolls in the first place is because I'd like to dress them up and have them look pretty instead of dressing myself up. I was into lolita and cosplay for a bit, but because of the prices and hassle it wasn't convenient for me. I'm not a dress-up type myself, but I love beauty. So having a doll to dress up for me is perfect! So, I want them to wear the types of cute outfits I don't. The characters should suit that, and be versatile enough to wear all sorts of different costumes and outfits!

I want characters with simple personalities and a background that isn't too convoluted and narrow, since I don't think my dolls should be too complicated like that. But I also love versatility and fantasy. So I decided they're actually spirits of some kind that constantly reincarnate. That way, they have tons of 'past lives', which makes dressing them up in all sorts of period clothes make sense, but their 'current life' background can be a clean blank slate.

I love matching pairs and things, so two of the doll characters are a couple. Both their personalities and their choice of dress contrast but complement each other. A simple theme of 'warm colors, chaos, sweet' against 'cool colors, order, strict'.

I wanted one doll that was super-versatile, so I could change not only the outfits, but the hair, the eyes, the colors, etc. without it being 'out of character'. So I made a hermaphrodite character with multiple personality disorder. The 'past lives' things also helped with the identity crisis =P .

Lastly, going back to the goth and loli thing, the three other doll characters I designed are actually quite colorful, for the most part. But I love black and white color schemes too. And the other three dolls were a 'set of three', the same age and therefore the same mini-size. I kind of want tiny-sized dolls. And I looove twins. So I made twins based off 'yin and yang'. They also fulfill my wish for a SUPER-MATCHING pair! Face sculpt, color scheme, outfit styles, shoes, etc.. X3

So yeah, joint effort of character concept and doll design.

ali

 

I find that the basics come from getting the right wig and eyes in, and the right faceup if I'm doing it myself. Even if I have no idea who the doll is, or am not sure the doll will be who I expected, I can tell much better once the faceup is finished and especially once it is dressed. After that, taking photos helps; doing stories helps more, but even more than that is answering other people's questions about the doll - either direct questions or going over to the "memes" area. The stories and personalities seem to develop as people ask questions I might not have thought of myself. Why does he do this? What does he like? What's his favorite color? Why?

 

I look at sculpts and the expressions on them .

If you've seen the company pics of Dollzone Fei (1), you'll notice that he just looks.... incredibly sad. So I looked at him for a while, and 'poof!' Blanc the dull, souless, wall-loving character was born!

"...did you try different wigs/eyes"

I see people doing this to their dolls and just shudder For me, all my dolls have One wig, and One set of eyes that I pick out before I even buy the doll!!

 

same here! For me I had a character in mind for Spooky....but the mold and I didn't click...and ironicly enough now that I'm ordering my "new" boy I've found the perfect wig and clothes for him so this one just seemed to fall into place...except for a name but that'll come soon. He's a werewolf, very very flirty and permiscious, out going, likes to play coy, and likes to play around. He likes his meat very very rare (he likes the blood), his style varies between cyber/steam punk, Kandi/frUits/raver slut too put it lightly

 

Hmm, well, my character have always at least started off from just looking at the doll and seeing a history for them. Kind of like how some may say they "speak" their story to you. They all have stories that somehow connect to my life the majority of the time. I guess it makes them feel more real and bonding for me that way. My imagination can roll out tons of stuff easily enough, so creating characters on impulse is not uncommon to me, and it build from there to more.