Knowledge from Other Hobbies?

I always like drawing anime figures...I thought it could help me customize my dolls, but i was totally wrong lol...Drawing on plain objects is much easier.

 

All my life I have been drawing and painting. For many, many years I have been making dollshouses and miniatures. And I love sewing and crochet. This creative side is what I like most in the BJD hobby

 

I do have an art background and know how to sew a bit. I really like to experiment with new materials and techniques. My first attempt at making a wig was very interesting (as it was human sized) and messy. It did come together in the end but boy does it shed.

 

I come from an art background (I am a graphic designer and fiber artist). I have been sewing for longer than I remember and I spin, weave, dye and felt. I also took shop class and am a member of the SCA and have made everything from Anglo-Saxon to full Elizabethan. And yet, Isa, my Mirodoll, is so picky and rejects half of what I make her.

 

I was also a cosplayer, I've built my own costumes and props. Made it easier to make small/scaled down props for my doll. I also tried out GUNPLA building where I learned how to do some basic weathering, which is almost the same process as BJD blushing. Even the mediums (such as MSC and chalk pastels) are the same.

 

I did art so I have prior knowledge with painting and stuff and I've got a room full of art supplies. I'm able to do my own faceups to some degree of satisfaction so I don't bother with ordering faceups anymore. But for tinies I still do becoz of bad eye sight. It's a good thing that I prefer bigger dolls.

 

Well, how about hobbies/work. I am a costume design grad, but I also work for area operas and dance collectives as a stitcher, assistant designer, and other sewing related jobs. I use my sewing abilities to make doll clothing when I find the free time and motivation. I also have a strong fine arts background I utilize while doing face-ups.

 

Crochet sure has been useful, it means I can make my own doll wigs! I also have a background in jewelery making (great for ad hoc set construction), writing (doll design and backstory) and photography (set construction + concept development). The bjd hobby makes me bring my skills together in new and interesting ways. On top of that, I'm learning a bunch of things like painting (I do my own faceups, it's fun) and sewing.

 

I build gunpla, so I'm kinda comfy with the modding and maintenance aspects that come with the hobby. The materials used are almost always the same, and I especially like how you discover that the techniques you use in one hobby can very well be applied in the other and voila, you find a new way of doing things that you don't normally see in just one or the other hobby.

I dang wish I could sew though. It's like the one thing I feel 84% of people in this hobby just kinda have with them. This isn't to say I'm averse to learning, heck no. I'm the sort of owner who wants to make everything for their doll aside from the actual doll and wigs, so I'll definitely be seeing myself doing a lot of different things. I enjoy building in general. Dunno if I'm particularly good at it since I haven't had time to do much but yeah...

(I've rambled what the hell...)

 

Currently I'm all about math and science, so I dunno how much that helps with dolls... I guess it can be good to know your chemicals when dealing with stuff like resin and faceup supplies, and maybe if someone needs some numbers crunched or converted or something I can be useful, haha.

But like most others here, I've been an amateur artist, crafter, and cosplayer my whole life... Well not so much a cosplayer my whole life, but I've always sewn things and crafted things... It all comes together to help with sewing and propmaking and styling. I'd really like to try faceups because painting portraits using traditional supplies has always been a strong point in my little amateur artistic career so I sometimes wonder if I could translate that into doing a decent faceup...

 

I am a 3D animator and the knowledge I have of expressing emotion trough body language has helped me get more natural poses when photographing my dolls