Maintaining Passion for the Hobby

It seems to me that you are describing what is known as procrastination. It's said to be caused by the fear of failure. E.g. you can't get down to sewing because you fear it'll turn out crappy. I've personally had that. I guess (provided that that's the case with your getting stalled too) what you could do is abandon the fear. Explain to yourself that if you just sew something crappy, you'll throw it out and make another. And if you paint a crappy faceup, you'll just wipe it.

My record has been 6 wipings at once before the faceup began to look bearable. It was to be temporary and yet it's been on my Sophie (volks nana) for
6 years now lol xD As for sewing... I'd been making gorgeous clothes for my barbies long before I even heard about the BJDs. I'd expected then that making bjds clothes would be a piece of cake. Well, turns out my early pieces were a piece, but a piece of crap... So I sewed, sewed and sewed. I had times when I binge-sewed and times when my machine was collecting dust for various reasons. Sometimes cos of school, sometimes just procrastination. Now I'd just had a period of binge sewing which ended a week ago. So now I can rest and read a book or watch a movie. Or clean my room lol xD

So, in sum, don't put any unnecessary pressure on yourself. Same with using up some supplies, for instance. I also had purchased plenty of fabrics and ornaments that I eventually didn't use up, and later gave to my sewing or dolly acquaintances for free. They had fun with it too.

 

I've been in and out of the hobby since 2007 (not really out "out", but I had my quiet months). I always took it slowly and willing to create a learning curve with anything involving BJD, photography, faceups, clothes, research etc.

A good way to get involved with all the creative parts is to join communities and forums. The fear of failing decreases if you share your work and it becomes more enjoyable.
Moneywise can be scary, as dolls are a big investment. They're gorgeous and when I hold mines I just want to keep making stuff for them.
Don't put pressure on yourself, we all have different lifestyles and we might not have as much time as we'd like to play with our dolls. But this doesn't mean that they'll be collecting dust on your shelf.

After all, it's a hobby, something to enjoy and learn! Just focus on having fun

 

Maybe my opinion and experience won't be helpful to you, because I was always a doll collector. From the moment I was able to hold my first doll, up to my fourty-one-thousand years of life on this earth, i still continue to love dolls of all sorts. I didn't get into these types of dolls out of trying to find an investment. I don't sell my items, regardless of how many toys I've accumulated over the years of not selling anything. I still continue to hoard OT toys and dolls (mostly mass-produced fashion dolls and Japanese-videogames/anime non/scale figures). I always knew that if I ever got "bored" of my BJD, I would just be adding them to my ever-growing collection of dolls I never do anything with/to, and that would be fine. I collect a lot as I mentioned, and most of what I collect I keep MISB, because I am a weirdo and find I enjoy certain things a lot more when I can stare at them from their sealed boxes (once I open some, the magic is gone! So, I only open them if I get multiples, but only if I really want to customize one of them, otherwise I just get the one to be MISB forever!!! Lol! Yes, I am weird!).

I got these dolls originally to customize, but with the full intention to always keep in my closet while I wasn't working on them -- some of them have been there without me touching them for longer than a decade now. Mostly due to my cats, they are allowed everywhere, and I live in an earthquake prone area. I don't want my cats suffering any injuries due to my heavy resin dolls falling on top of them. I also like to think I am helping them in some way, to yellow/mellow a bit slower (the tricks the mind plays on us!). In the first few years of owning my first dolls of this kind, I used to do a lot of customization work on them, I repainted a few of them multiple times. So, you don't really need to fear ruining them due to multiple attempts at face ups. They won't get damaged or stained, if you use the proper materials. I don't know how to sew, but I still like trying. When I feel like I am not doing well, I'll put that project away and work on something else. I have many other OT figues I am slowly working on right now., as well as my newest BJD I got less than a year ago now. However, I don't feel like I have to rush on any of those projects. Yes, you can die at any time and then you won't get to finish the work. However, I prefer to work on things as I feel like working on them. I don't like feeling like I have a duty or owe my dolls working on them. I just work on the hobby projects I want to work on, when I want to actually do it. Even if I do procrastinate, and sometimes takes me years to get back on track on any given hobby related project. I don't have to rush. I am not competing against anyone, I don't owe anything to anyone, etc. (one of the many reasons why I keep my work and my hobbies separate).

I also have been a traditionally trained artists for most of my life now, so I didn't have to worry about adding new art supplies when I got into these dolls. All I got where MSC, and Rembrandt pastels, after many years. I owned a small inexpensive set of General's neutral tones pastels from when I was in college, and that worked for me just fine for many years. The MSC was the only thing I really need, but that also comes in handy for all my other hobby-related customizations on OT toys, so I can't say I mind (other than the cost, the toxic aspect and the shortage, whenever that happens!). Probably not helpful, but I have lost interest in owning any more resin dolls of this kind, for a long time now (more than a decade, and I won't be getting more in the future). I just never intended to sell any of the dolls (or OT toys) I own. I know they'll be there when I am ready to work on them again, I don't have to sell them just because I don't feel like "playing" with them today. I still own Barbies from when I was a literal baby, so yes, I never get rid of my toys, even if I lose interest in owning more of them (or don't even want to work on them anymore). (:

damnididn'tnoticethetwowallsoftext!

 

The enthusiasm ebbs and flows, sometimes it's all the dolls, all the time, sometimes they're sat on the shelf being picked up only occasionally. Usually it's somewhere inbetween, but it's OK. Real Life takes time and energy, and I have other hobbies with calls on my time too. I cycle back to having more time for the dolls and, in the meantime, they're all therr where I can see them every day, even when I don't pick them up to play with. I don't see the point in having them if they're hidden away in boxes when I'm not actively playign with them. They get more time overall if they're already out as I don't have to specifically go dig them out of boxes (which would dig into the time I spend on them) and instead can just pick them up on the spur of the moment at any time.

Also factors within the hobby contribute to my level of interest at any particular time.

I sew for them, but do a lot of other sewing too so doll projects take some time to complete and there are almost as many unfinished doll projects hanging aroudn as there are other unfin ishd sewing projects. Shoes are an issue at the moment - having invested a considerable amount in boots and shoes of the right style, some years back, only to find that now the faux-lether surface of most of them is crumbling away is offputting - These items are not getting any actual wear, they're on the dolls but not walked on and scuffed like actual shoes, and they're basically a waste of money because a few years down the line, even the ones that have never been on a doll are ruined, so I'm not incluned to waste more money buying more shoes and boots, inless I can find the styles I want in real leather (which, of course, is more expensive)... the everyday upshot of this is a lowering of interest in the hobby - What's the point of making this outfit or that outfit for my doll if I cant fin the right shoes for it without wasting money buying shoes that will fall apart after a few years...?

Teddy

 

Well... I began it pretty poorly. Part of it was due to IRL issues: when I started the hobby I was going through several life crises, and my mental health wasn't good. In retrospect (a) I had too unrealistic expectations of myself and what I could achieve, (b) I was comparing myself to other doll owners, and my dolls to other people's doll photos, and (c) I was trying to exploit BJDs as the One True Hobby that would fulfill my hopes and dreams.

So I fell right into the comparison trap. And since there's no such thing as a One True Hobby, I ended up getting frustrated with the hobby 2 years after I started, sold majority of my dolls, and went on a bit of a hiatus to clear my head. (I came back shortly afterwards, and was starting to get more settled in the hobby when I went on a second, very long hiatus afterwards... that's a different story though. I am also in a much better headspace and life situation now.)

So my advice is... don't do what I did! This is what I'd say to my 2009 newbie self...

(1) You won't be able to "git gud" at everything, and certainly not immediately. And if you try to get good at everything all at once, you'll succeed at none of them because you're not focused. So be patient with yourself! Learning new skills will take time. Focus on starting and finishing one project at a time, and make peace with making progress slower than you expect. (No one, not even the fastest learner, will progress as fast as they expect. )


(2) You can't compare yourself to other hobbyists, and you definitely can't compare your dolls to other people's dolls. Other dolls are dressed and styled magnificently? Their owners have either had years of tailoring experience, or have the financial wherewithal or saved up long enough to commission/buy those clothes and props. Other owners have large doll crews, or their crews are all so harmonious and beautiful together? They've probably been collecting for years and years and/or have the wherewithal to buy many dolls, and refined their tastes over time so they know exactly which dolls they want to get.

Comparison is deadly. I fell right into the trap, and when I compared my newbie self and my current doll crew to other people's established crews or crafting/faceup skills, I ended up intimidated and demoralized, and it paradoxically made me procrastinate on my projects/learning goals. If you find yourself fixating constantly on other people's dolls instead of your own, you might have to step away from the community for a bit to re-centre yourself and focus on your own dolls and what the hobby means to you. I had to do this - go on a small hiatus and figure out what I wanted from the hobby. But YMMV.


(3) It's totally okay to buy the things you can't/don't want/currently not experienced enough to make. The hobby exists for your pleasure and enjoyment: if you find yourself stressing out over your naked and faceless doll, or not enjoying painting your own faceups/sewing your own clothes... it's totally OK to buy or commission. You haven't failed: you've just found out what you do/don't enjoy in the hobby.


(4) It's not important to maintain the passion. It really isn't. Dolls exist for your pleasure and enjoyment; if you stop enjoying them, there's no need to continue. If you force yourself to "maintain the passion" even though you don't have passion... there are alternative names for it, and it may be either "keeping up with the Joneses", or sunk cost fallacy: "I spent so much on BJDs so I MUST enjoy what I paid for and extract my money's worth out of this". In my experience, neither will sustain you for the long run.

Your dolls aren't going to be disappointed or in pain if you leave them naked, without faces, or half-finished. They won't suffer if you don't play with them or put them away in their boxes for a week (or a month, or a year). We humans have diverse interests and changing life situations, and it's totally okay to pick up and put down hobbies as you feel like it. You can totally step away from BJDs if you're tired or bored with them, or are just interested in other stuff, or if your RL situation says that you can't spend money or time on dolls.

And if you're afraid that the passion will never come back? Well, never say never. I went on my second hiatus because I was losing interest in dolls, while getting very interested in other creative pursuits, so I put my crew in storage. And there they stayed for almost 10 years. But the interest sparked again a few months ago, so I got my dolls out, fell in love with them all over again, and dove headlong back into the hobby with gusto. I'm really enjoying my return back to the hobby!

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I wish you all the best with figuring out the hobby. It sometimes takes time to figure out how what you want from the BJD hobby so that it becomes a source of enjoyment instead of a burden. (Tbh it doesn't help that BJDs are expensive - that can sometimes draw out this process.) Regardless of how you land - there's no right or wrong way to enjoy BJDs. And it has potential to be a lifelong hobby, so it's okay to take time to learn all the crafts and stuff!

 

Well, I think the first thing I can think is reiterating what others have said: dolls are quite patient hunks of plastic, if you put them down for a time they'll wait as long as you need!

I'll try to break things down question by question.

Are there ways you maintain the passion?

Mostly by going with the ebb and flow. Sometimes I really want to work with this or that particular doll, especially if I just got a new one. Sometimes I want to do more stuff with other dolls like my two American Girls. Sometimes I want to write, or knit in human scale, or try sewing a quilt block instead of a doll dress.

Sometimes, I'll just pick a doll or two and sit with them. This might mean bringing them to work in the storage bag I got with my Resinsoul doll, this might mean sitting on my bed or on the couch with a doll at my side while I twiddle around. It's nice to just hold them, I find. They're not soft like a teddy bear but they've got a pleasant weight (depending on the scale) and just feeling their sculpting is nice.

On occasions I'll also plan bigger projects. I've hopped into the monthly sewing challenge a few times, to varying degrees of success, but it got me thinking about what I want to make for my dolls even if I don't succeed in the actual making! I'm also planning to do a weekly photo challenge starting next year.

Could you offer any advice on how you began your journey with BJDs?

Well, the very beginning was when I was in like, early high school and playing around on DeviantArt, and accidentally stumbled on BJDs while looking for stuff for other dolls and plushies!

But as for starting to make, I had to accept that I wasn't going to knock it out of the park immediately. I've (re)learned to sew like, three times now? When I started, I had Standards about not putting my Fancy Dolls in (gasp, horror) sock dresses or anything like that. Now, I haven't happened to make a sock dress, but almost all the fabric I have for them came from the thrift store, both because it's cheap to screw around (and mess up!) with and because I don't really need a whole ton of fabric to make stuff for the 1/4 scale dolls I collect.

And, quite frankly, what I sewed? Kinda crap. Didn't fit right, incredibly janky seams, that kind of stuff. Sometimes it felt like I'd forgotten stuff I had previously done without trouble (sewing elastic into casings...) and well, my seams continue to be lopsided and janky. And the dress I most recently made one of my dolls is short like, a quarter inch of fabric on the back. But I kept picking up fabric, so I had to use it up somehow, and so even if the sewing isn't great, it had to be done!

It's hard to start on things, and to be new. But that's how you improve to the point you finish something and go "huh, I'm actually pretty proud of this." Plus, it's easier to hide jank if you manage to keep it in the back on a doll!

As for faceups, I've only done a couple, but I didn't have as hard of a time as I feared I would. Having good supplies really goes far - I did previous ones with cheap acrylics and brush-on sealant. Not as good as the ones I've done with spray sealant, pastels, the works. Even those aren't perfect by far, but they're miles better than I thought they would be.

Which, you could always do as I did and grab some thrift store Barbies and the like to practice on and get a feel for your tools! There's also really handy tutorials here on DoA to help with color placement. And, of course, commissioning is a great way to support artists and not have to worry about messing up. (Which, if you mess up, you can always wipe it.)

And bonus question, how did you embrace the hobby?

As I said, playing around on DeviantArt. It was the good old days of faux fur wigs and alt fashion for everyone. I loved how posable and big BJDs were, but funnily enough, nowadays I'm not into the look that dolls had back then! I still appreciate those more "old school" dolls for introducing me to the hobby, even if it took a decade-ish for me to get started in it myself.

Funny thing? I have a ball of yarn that I got in high school, when I was learning to knit. It's this pretty blue/purple yarn with a touch of sparkle. I forget what I used it for, but I remember promising myself that I would use it for a ball-jointed doll some day.

...It's still sitting in my stash.

 

It's pretty normal for me to have my dolls sitting on the shelf collecting dust, mostly because the crafting I do is mainly faceups, and those aren't something you need to do every month or year. I also buy instead of sew. I think even if you are a huge crafter, it's normal to have months where you don't touch your dolls, unless you're the type of person who takes your dolls places and likes to hold them so they can do stuff with you. (I am not, so on the shelves they stay usually, though I want to get into photographing them more.)

As for maintaining passion, when I got back into the hobby after almost leaving entirely, I gave my dolls birthdays so there'd be special days dedicated to those dolls, where I could spend money on them or do faceups or restringing, etc. I luckily have enough that there's a day virtually every month dedicated to doll stuff. In addition I've started moving them around the house, and changing their clothes seasonally as well.

How I embraced the hobby was by getting started with faceups. I wasn't fully invested until I got into them. I like faceups because my first faceup attempt was relatively decent and completely changed the face of the doll, so I was motivated to continue. Now I see real concrete evidence of improvement when I do faceups, which has motivated to keep going and challenge myself.

As for intimidation, I've experienced that, too. The good thing about crafting is you can make your own pace and set your own rules, so if something is too big for you to handle, you can set it aside or break it apart into smaller chunks and tackle each step when you have the time/energy to do it. I make a list and write everything down so I can watch myself cross off each step when I'm starting something for the first time ever. I don't know if this will help you specifically, but often times when we get intimidated it's because it gets too overwhelming and our brains decide to just not do it. So it's good to remember that we don't have to make a full day or event out of something (especially when we're just starting out). As long as you keep going, you can go as slow as you need. I've sealed a doll's head and then gone back the next day to start painting it. I remove faceups the night before so I can just wash it off and get started the next day. Finding ways to make the task smaller helps a LOT.

 

I got my first resin BJD in 2008, Obitsu in 2006. I have never left the hobby.

I keep myself interested in many ways: faceups, sewing, shopping, character building, changing clothes, taking pictures. But the thing that keeps me most entertained and connected is role play! I play my characters with my sister and friend almost every night for a little bit. This is my downtime, my escape from the negativity in real life. Just take a little break, disappear into a fantasy world for awhile, and bond with my dolls in the process!

Another thing I do is change up the collection frequently. I'm the type to get bored with things staying the same for too long. I need change in my life. So once a doll or their character loses my interest, I sell them and start fresh. This obviously doesn't work some people, but it keeps it interesting for me!

 

The best way for me has been to have or make friends. The times I was least interested in my dolls, I had no one to talk to about them other than my poor mother who really doesn't care. The times I've been most invested, I've had at least one friend to gush over them with.

 

I sew clothes for my doll, make furniture and have attempted to make eyeballs too. Nothing I have made has ever come out good but I have fun doing it! I say focus on having fun and doing what makes you happy and not being afraid of failing. If you did want to get good at something, it takes a lot of practicing and failing but most importantly you have to enjoy what you're doing. Some people like to just display their dolls and that's fine too! If you're worried about your doll collecting dust then you can always bring them out and have them sit with you when you're doing something else like watching TV or drawing or playing video games, whatever hobby you like really!

 

I'm more of a ebb-and-flow hobbyist, and I think that is okay! I have months where I think about doll things almost every day, and all I want to do is make doll things, take doll photos, etc. And I have years where my motivation for the hobby starts and ends with occasionally looking over on my doll throughout the day and go "Yupp, you are still very pretty".

For me though, it helps to place the doll in a place where I would naturally look at anyway. Mine have always been displayed on the shelf beside my desktop, where I spend a very big chunk of my day, so its very easy to just turn my head and stare at said doll while waiting for a loading screen or when I'm bored. My little pet doll sits under one screen, staring judgementally at me all day.. So even when I'm in a off-time for the hobby, my dolls are still around me and in easy reach for fiddling with the poses of.

Oh, last minute thought: I've always been a bit of a revolving door owner as well, having a hard time connecting with my dolls even though I found them extremely pretty. That is also okay, you should enjoy the hobby in whichever way brings you the most enjoyment. There really is no one-size-fits-all answer to this!

 

I started in this hobby after seeing a lecture on them way back in 2006, and when the speaker passed one around for us to experience first hand, feeling the weight and the joints, I was instantly hooked! I’ve never left. The first thing I did was join Den of Angels, and I’ve been here every day since, enjoying it with my morning coffee (way more uplifting than focusing on the news first thing in the morning.) Just a few peaceful, quiet moments to start each day helps to set a positive tone and keeps me apprised of the growth and development of the hobby in a very natural and uncomplicated way.

From there, I moved onto collecting BJDs of my own…slowly, at a rate of about 3 per year, with my purchases spaced out so I had plenty of time to focus on each doll individually before the next one came along. I built displays, decorated shelves, and sought out any vacant space I could find so they could be always be on view in a pretty setting. By constantly seeing them, I was “living” with them, so they were never forgotten regardless of whether I had time to focus on them or not.

And I created for them…faceups, wardrobes, rooms, wigs, stories…anything I felt inspired to create. And if I didn’t feel inspired, I just looked at them and smiled as I walked by. I never pressured myself. I never compared myself or my collection to others. I just accepted that my hobby should bring me joy. And after all these years, I’m still here.