Keeping a personal database of dolls you don't own

Yes yes yes!!! That is exactly what I do!
I have personal Lazule database and personal Sephiroth database (not only minimees here).
I also hope to have i-Doll Byul database someday but there are so few of them at the moment so I would wait.
The reasons I have my own databases are simple: there are some dolls that do not present on DoA. So I search on other sources and pick every doll of the mentioned mold to my own DB.

I do not think that is weird in any way - quite the contrary, it's a great source for the people who are interested in a certain mold. They can easily compare different personalities that can be built on the same base.
Of course I have my personal dolly offline photobase with pretty classification inside. As you may see I'm a kind of the person who likes the information to be well-ordered, hehe But this is for my personal use only; Lazule and Sephiroth databases are for everybody.

 

my photobucket account is full to the brim with pictures I found on the internet. I'd never dream of using them for any personal gain, but I like to go back and look at all the pretty images I've found and get inspiration (be it fashion, art or doll inspiration)! you're obviously not the first and you certianly won't be the last person to think of this!

 

I do pretty much the same. I don't exactly have a database though, just one big dolly folder ^^ And I started it when I got into BJDs in the first place because I had no clue what they were. So I started saving a few pictures to admire them 'xD And now that I have a little more knowledge I mostly save dolly pictures because of the pictures, not so much because of the dolls. Many people here are great photographers and put a lot of emotion into their doll pics. I love that. But it also helps to see what general face up style or wig color etc looks good on a specific sculpt and what doesn't.

 

I have to admit that I do save pictures of other people's dolls on my computer. I do it because I want to compare different faceups and molds. I do mockups on other people's dolls if the company photos are bad but I don't copy other people's work. Sometimes I also save some photos of a certain mold's worst angles so that I can remind myself that I do NOT want that doll for myself no matter how good it looks when photographed in a certain way :'D I always delete all the photos I save after I've gotten the doll and figured out the faceup I want for it.

 

I totally do this. First by company, then size, then individual sculpts if there are enough pictures to warrant it.

 

Eh? I have multiple folders on my computer from other people's dolls O_o They do work as some kind of personal database because I have a folder for AR Ciens, my favourite sculpt, and one for clothes I like, faceups that inspire me etc.
I don't always keep track of whom the dolls belong to, but as they're not posted anywhere nor shared with friends I don't think it's that important. I wouldn't ever think of posting other peoples pictures on the Interwebs without them knowing!

 

I already saved... 340 pictures of doll photos I found particularly inspiring or beautiful I regurlarly look at them to remind myself how great BJDs are, haha!
Then I have another folder in which I save pictures of blank/rare sculpts in different angles or with different wigs. It's not that I have bad memory, I just like to have everything in one place.
Also, I have this constant worry that pictures might not be there anymore when I need them. You know, when people remove pictures or they exceed bandwith or something

 

I have a save folder of doll pictures I like...usually of dolls Im thinking of getting myself. I save photos of doll clothes I plan to get, face ups Im part inspired by or of things related to dolls that inspire me. I love finding beautiful pictures of dolls, sometimes I have them as desktop pictures to help me with the waiting or saving process! Sometimes I save them because I just love the look or style of the dolls and I like to sketch them (only as a personal hobby for my own enjoyment). Same with the photos of face ups or clothes, I sketch parts of them that inspire my characters or modify them. I think its really great as a creative exercise to look at different dolls etc. Find what it is exactly that grabs you.
Im a bit of a nerd about it, I have different save folders for clothes, face ups, dolls and sort them out by month Nerd!
Id like to think the owners would be flattered by people doing this sort of thing; I know I would personally love it if someone said they had used my pictures to sketch from or use as a desktop. I have had people message me saying my dolls have inspired them with their doll or that my dolls look has opened up their mind to get one of their own. As long as youre doing it for your own personal enjoyment of dolls theres nothing wrong with it.
edit - I usually rename the pictures with the sculpt name, owner and or their dolls name so I can keep track of that doll too if Im a fan

 

I have over nine thousand pictures saved to my hard drive, so of course I'm going to have some pictures of dolls in there, haha.

Usually I save "databases" of pictures of dolls that I am particularly interested in, especially if there is one that I plan to buy, or am heavily considering doing so. However, sometimes I save other pictures just because I like them, be it the face-up, the outfit, or whatever else.

Sometimes I save certain pictures as references for face-ups. I don't necessarily try to copy the face-up, but if there is a particular way that someone had done something on a doll, I may try to mimic that to learn better.

 

ira_scargeear Thats a great idea with the Lazule database because not all Lazules will be on DOA! Nice to see mine in there I loved looking at all the Lazules. Its so great to see all the potential in all the different face ups, mods, wigs, eyes, clothes for the same sculpt.

 

I used to have a huge, well organized collection of things that I found interesting or useful for one reason or another. As has already been said, looking at other people's work can be helpful for learning new techniques and getting inspiration.

 

i do actually keep something like this of dolls i like, plan to have or am interested with. having different photos of various customizations helps me have a more "total" covering of the doll's looks to see if i like it enough to start saving for it.
the photos are for my personal use, and i'd never share them without the photo owner's permission. because of this, i save the doll owner in the file name, so that i can track them back in case of need. it saves lots of time and sometimes, prevents from bad choices

 

I save pics for future reference... dolls I like from companies or belonging to fellow collectors, details of faceups I might be inspired by later, joint systems, comparitors of bodies.... almost never clothing or accessories or anything like that though. I just like leafing through it all... don't need a better reason to keep it really! Things are hard to find online after a month or more... what if I need it later? Heehee. Hoarder mentality.

 

If I see a doll and think it will fit a certain character I look for all kinds of photos of it. I will usually save a company photo (several if they released special editions with different looks) and various owner pictures. I know I won't make mine look like any specific doll in the photos but it helps me see what it looks like with different styles- it still amazes me how different a doll can look with different faceups. I usually delete all or most of the photos once I get my doll or when I decide I do, in fact, want to buy it and I know exactly what his style will be.

 

I do exactly the same thing. I have a folder in my computer for each of my favorite sculpts.

It really helped me when I was initially learning about BJD. At first I just saved all of the ones that I found really striking...the ones that really caught my eye. And then, as I learned how to differentiate sculpts and what their names were, I started sorting them into individual folders by manufacturer and then mold. It really helped me to narrow down the ones that I really really loved.

Sometimes (well...a lot of times, actually) the owner customizations are much nicer than the company default. I have fallen in love with many sculpts, this way, which I would not have picked from the company page. And looking through them again helps me to remember which ones I have fallen in love with and why.

And its just plain fun to have all of my favorite sculpts in one place...its like "happy" overload.

 

I've been keeping personal databases since before I even found DoA. It was all I could think of to do before I found the site, which has databases. But I still do it now too; there are a lot of people on dA, Flickr, etc who aren't members of DoA or don't have database entries here where I can find their dolls, so I add them to my own to make a more complete database.

 

So far I've used Tumblr and Flickr to favorite images of dolls I don't want to lose track of and I also have a running Google Drive document with threads of interest and buy links to interesting dolls. I like to keep organized!

 

I have a folder on my computer dedicated to dolls. There are sub folders for clothes, face ups, and different sculpts that I like inside for inspiration and such

 

I have a huge database of dolls I want to buy with prices from different websites with shipping information and even people who are selling on DOA. Its how I budget and keep my priorities in order. I have them sorted by favorites, brand and gender. :P

 

I don't think it's creepy or weird at all, it's not all that different than having "favourites" on Flickr really, except that you're organising them more (which is something I'd love to do with my favourites, if I could!) and not keeping them privately just for yourself to look at instead of listing them online.