No "character" doll owners

I don't have characters or stories for any of my dolls. For me, they are pieces of artwork and I am creative with them as far as their looks and clothing go but that's where it ends. I also give all of them names.

 

I dont have characters for my dolls either. I only have one girl at home with me at the moment, but she has a name but no back story or anything. I do eventually want to tie my growing collection together somehow, but I have terrible memory and doubt I'll remember anything too complicated.

 

I got into the hobby about 5 years ago. I tried to get into the name/back story/personality thing because it seemed fun and everyone of DoA seemed to be doing it, too. It was and is fun to play pretend, a childhood nostalgia.

Fast forward to today and I've changed my tune a bit. Most of my dolls are unpainted and nekked. I refer to them by their sculpt names because I can't seem to remember the adoption names I concocted for them. Generally those names "fit" as far as I'm concerned. My memory is bears a strong resemblence to Swiss cheese these days, so the simpler I keep things, the better off I feel. Do I like my dolls? Most certainly. Do I wish I had more time to play with them? Absolutely! However, I have a living doll who needs my attention more, so the resin darlings will have to wair their turn.

 

This sounds just like me. When I first decided to start collecting dolls, I had no intention of giving any of them a character. They were just going to be pretty things I could dress up and change around as I saw fit; easily customized decorative objects and nothing more. I guess naming them was the start of the slide into characterization - once I started giving them names, it was only a few weeks before they developing characters, personalities and back stories. Without really planning it, my imagination went off on its own. I still don't buy BJDs for the purpose of fitting pre-existing characters, but even dolls for whom I had no real plans end up taking a place in the story and setting that exists in my head.

On the other hand, I'm actually a little glad for the shackle. When I first started buying things for my first (off-topic) dolls, I was buying up positively everything - even things I later realized I didn't like as much as I'd thought - for the sake of having variety and choices. Now that I have characters in mind, each with their own distinct style and preferences, it keeps me from buying so many things I don't "need," even if it means I pass up some lovely clothing or accessories.

 

I've been into BJDs for a while (2005-2006) and none of my dolls have ever had characters or backstories. ^^; I name them, but that's about as far as it goes!

 

None of mine have characters, and less than half of them have permanent names. I often name them, but then get rid of the name because it either doesn't fit their style of dress anymore, or because it just doesn't feel right calling them by the name I gave them. The majority don't have nice sculpt names that I can use either. (For instance, my favorite sculpt is Crobidoll Lance, but I hate the name Lance.) If I refer to my dolls to someone in person, I might say "that doll wearing the Dollheart Temperance outfit and long blonde wig" rather than using an original name or the sculpt name.

I've never tried to create a character. I can see why people have fun with creating original characters for their doll, but if I did that, I think it would just feel forced. Plus if I had a specific character for a doll, changing its wig/eyes/clothes wouldn't be as flexible. Especially if my character didn't like dying his/her hair or wearing colored contact lenses...

 

I am very glad someone made this thread, it's nice to see that not evyone just guys dolls for characters, and some people just let the doll be it's own personality. That's what I do with my dolls. I never name them or anything, buy a few options of wigs and clothing and when they come, just figure out what I think looks best then. They may have a look already planned even, but I still don't name them or give them a personality until iget a feel for what I think that individual doll may want. It allows great freedom, and my mind really gets to run away with itself and feel out each step in the process which I feel brings me closed to the doll in the end.

 

When I got my first dolly, I didn't think that any of them would based off the book I was writing. So, for a while, non of my dolls had a backstory or character or anything. But then I noticed that all of them actually looked identical to the characters in my book-- I was subconscious making my own characters into doll form. LOL So, I named them all after my characters.
I do have one boy on the way though-- I bought him those 'Hipster' glasses and I want him to dress really modern, so it will be impossible for him to be a character in my book-- whether I like it or not. hehe. So, I suppose he counts for having no background story or anything. Knowing me though... I'll make one up for him much sooner than later.

 

First of all, Hi there and welcome! I started collecting my dolls and giving them names and little stories behind each one but now it seems that I just love them and name them. It got kinda hard to remember story lines and characters for me, so now I just have my dolls with names and just a little background history of each - NO STORY!
As my interest grew I wanted to get into other aspects of BJD collecting too. I really got excited about collecting celebrity MInimees. Now I solely concentrate on finishing them. I have around 12 heads that need bodies. Some of my celebrities already have their chosen outfits and faceups. I just concentrate on those for now and work on them very SLOWLY!

 

It's hard to give a doll a story when you don't know the character, and it's hard to give a character to a doll when you don't know their backstory.

When I got my first doll, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted her to be, character-wise. I just kind of went with the flow, and I ended up getting really confused about her character. I'm still pretty up in the air about what her personality will be like. Character, she's my other doll's younger sister, and the storyline isn't going to really change, but her personality has undergone a number of rewrites.

 

I have two character and named dolls. One is actually based on a character of a friend who moved away. Another doll is basically a Mary Sue doll named Kerri. All my other dolls have no characters or names. But are sometimes referred to by their mold.

 

Mine have names, but don't really have characters. I dress them however I feel like, so its hard to imagine passing up an awesome outfit or accessory (or even new doll) because it wouldn't fit the character or doll family :P Mine change eyes and wigs to match their outfits, and get new faces when I'm tired of the old ones. I just like having them and dressing them and making clothes for them :P When I first started in the hobby I thought there must be something wrong with me, as everyone had elaborate characters and personalities for their dolls :P

Nothing wrong with having detailed characters for your dolls, or sticking to that character's style of dress. Different strokes and all that I've always been kind of in awe of people who can create characters and keep track of all of the stories and interactions between them. I imagine it takes imagination and lots of discipline to keep it all straight.

 

I don't have a "character" for mine. She's just Kloey. She came, I dressed her, I play with her and take her picture. That's it. Nothing more. No story, no background, nothing. Just her

 

Good to know there are a lot of people who've never really meshed with having characters tied to dolls. I do feel a lot of pressure within the hobby over this kind of thing, and when pressed I'll come up with random pithy backstories but to be honest I'm happy to just stick with the visual aspect. All my dolls have names and I've attributed bits and pieces of personality traits to them, their relationships with my other dolls etc. but yeah I mostly just enjoy having them around, changing their looks and thinking up/designing new ones. I suppose Mel has the strongest "character" of all my dolls, though not intentionally. I imagine a good percentage of doll owners are in this middle ground actually...

 

Yes, I noticed that, too. It seems to be taken for granted that you do have a character and backstory and everything for every single one of your dolls. It's kinda expected, isn't it? Well - though I CAN tell you all kinds of stuff about my Luken or Morgan or Tharesion, I don't really feel as if it's all THEIR story. They're just dolls that happen to look like the guys from my stories - nothing less, nothing more. They help me feel closer to the characters but they don't really influence the stories. The CHARACTERS are in their stories and can't get out of those stories. The DOLLS - well, I guess they're kinda like roommates. As if the characters they represent took a day off and decided to hang out with each other. Sheesh, this IS hard to explain ... I don't even know if I'm making any sense here! *lol*

I guess, with my dolls, it's all less about character and more about a certain attitude they incorporate. Luken, e.g., is the Heavy Metal type with red and black leather clothes, going along nicely with the kinda mean look on his face. Morgan's the chameleon - he can wear all kinds of clothes, wigs, eyes and still look like himself. Tharesion's the arrogant prince type - kinda "I'm better than you anyways".

 

Mine get names and maybe a little story but not much. I have a few that are original characters but I don't make photo stories or anything. And at least 2 of my dolls still go by their mold names!

 

I give my doll names mostly because it's easier to refer to them that way instead of listing off what sculpt they are when I'm talking to people about them at meet-ups, but I do not give them back stories or characters. I tired that with two of my dolls, but it just did not work for me.

 

Joshua is that sort of doll - he doesn't really have a personality, and when he does it's always changing or shifting. He seems to match my mood more than anything ^^ He is different since I bought him because I loved the sculpt, instead of buying him because he resembled a character. It's kinda fun though, since I can change him day to day and play around He does have a name though.

I do intend to shell my characters into dolls (at least two of them, anyways) but I am content with Joshua (and my incoming spontaneous Beyla and Dune) and their non-personalities.
I have too much fun naming things, so my Beyla and Dune will get names at least, but like Joshua, they were not obtained with a character in mind. But who knows what will happen - these dolls seem to have a mind of their own! Haha.

 

Gosh sometimes I even have troube nameing my dolls! They always get called by their sculpt (?) name - Miyu, Bisou and Bonnie! lol! Same with one's I have had in the past and other dolls I have owned. I have been better with other types of dolls adopting them and keeping the name their previous owner gave them. BUT none of my dolls have a character.
I wish I was imaginative and patient enough to give my dolls characters and do photo stories but I am no good.
I love seeing peoples simple pictures and seeing full characters and photo stories!

 

Well... if this was the case for me, I'd have a much easier time collecting. Sadly, it isn't. I give my dolls names, personalities, and backstories. When I started collecting BJDs, I was basing them off my pre-existing RP characters which didn't work... then I tried a fantasy story that didn't work... so now I've started to just buy dolls I KNOW will fit into the story I want to tell.

I don't do photostories with them, and I probably won't share this story as it's actually a novel I'm working on [cliche, isn't it?] but they are important to me... and so is my story. I have to have things fit- the only doll who does "fit" is my tiny doll, but I made him fit in a very minor role. ^^; He's probably the only doll who I will keep constantly because he is special to me. He doesn't have a back story, actually, just a name and personality... so I guess I can do it, just not often.

The great thing about this hobby is so many different people can become involved in it! I admit, I feel awkward talking about my dolls to people who use them for art only because I'm worried they'll think I'm weird for investing so much into their stories, but if I respect their use for the dolls, I can only hope they'll respect mine too.