Planning your doll family? Did you have a plan? How did it work out?

I plan endlessly; I think that's part of the fun of collecting. I don't have characters in mind exactly, but types, for example, an Asian gangster, a cruel girl, a group of orphaned children (just some of my ideas for dolls I have bought). The individual personalities and names come when I see a doll that is perfect for me. I put dolls on my wishlist and then take them off again often, especially when I see another I like better. In spite of my elaborate plans, most of my dolls have been bought impulsively because of gut-wrenching instant love for a pretty or unusual face.

 

While my dolls are 'character' dolls, I don't tend to plan for specific characters. I have searched out dolls for specific characters when I have found the lack of the character is limiting my photostories/etc... But I still won't force a doll to be a character that just isn't it. I rather wait for the right doll to come along. Usually dolls join my family because of the 'I want' factor, but they don't tend to get to come home until I have a 'character'/'name' for the new doll (or atleast an idea), for how it would fit into my family. Which at times gives me some very abstract characters, but I don't care, I get to bring a doll I want home.

 

I don't really plan out. I don't use my dolls to shell characters (I am too picky for that) and in my experience even if I have a character planned out, chances are the doll will come to me and I'll end up changing it (already had that happen with my CH Hani). There is one exception to this, but the doll that fits her character is an SD and the size intimidates me. My only real planning is knowing I want about 5-6 dolls at the very -most-, I'd prefer less, and which dolls I want.

 

I haven't really started a BJD falmily, yet! I've got loads of OT dolls though I just simply buy what I like and what looks pretty, and usually what fits with my interests and personal style!

The whole family concept is a new and nice idea for me to plan though!

 

When I started buying dolls, the thought about doll family never came up to mind. So definitely just bought dolls because of their beauty. As of today, I still haven't thought about buying another doll to act as the sister/brother/parent.

Whether there is a best way or not depends on the person. Everyone has their own way of doing things.

 

I am sooo guilty of planning out my doll family, and ironically I think it helps me focus on the sculpts I love more and strive to adopt them ^^;; Right now my dollies are in 3 groups, I have a celestial group of deities who oversee everything basically. These guys are big and dont move much except to intervene when needed, theres the 'human' group whose small/desss-up-able/portable, then theres the group of dollies who are in my world/know they are dolls/my personal companions. I dont know how this happened, I had one and it just kind of occurred XD its mostly from size differences I think but I plan all of my purchases, find them a wold/style etc. So far I have parents, siblings, creators, and lovers. Im also guilty of buying sculpts I love and adding them into a family so I have an excuse to buy them ^^;

 

I'm not really planning. I just want to buy dolls that I ♥. There are so many personalities or whatever to give them that I'm sure that I won't have a problem finding one for them. Hope that was understandable.

 

I dont really plan. I've tried but my wish list of dolls is always changing. Its more of a spur of the moment kind of thing.

 

Well, for my first two dolls it was kinda random. I bought one just thinking "oh, he's nice, let's see what I can make him into", which gave me a lot of trouble when I was trying to bond with him. X.x Then my second just fit in perfectly with the character of my first. After the whole "ugh, who will he be I don't even know do I even want him" fiasco with my first doll, I've decided exactly who my next few dolls will be (like many people, they're characters from an RP/story with a friend of mine) and I'm just waiting to find the right molds to fit those characters. I'm much more content now that I have a goal and plan in place for my purchases. Now I feel like I'm aspiring towards something.

Even though I have a plan, I'm also keeping my mind open for other dolls that I may want. But I've sworn to myself that I won't buy a doll that I don't have a character for again.

 

Most of my dolls are for specific characters, though there are some that developed characters after I got them. I like to keep a little space open for dolls that just really grab me. That said, the order I buy people in isn't very set--it comes down to what's available, who I'm in the mood to work on, and what my cash flow is like. Sometimes I'll cross some characters off the list, and add others. So I have a pretty good idea of who I'm going to get bodies for, but it's not completely rigid.

When I started out I wasn't intending to buy bodies for characters--it hadn't even occurred to me to do that. It wasn't until my third doll that I switched gears. That decision completely changed how I approached doll buying and the hobby.

There is no best way--it's a very individual sort of thing. I really love character creation and writing, so it was a natural way for me to go, but not everyone is like that.

 

How do YOU plan your doll family?
I've only just started, but my plan is to not have a very large family, and to have a wide variety between them. :3
I don't get them for characters, so I don't need a group that goes together.

has that tactic changed?
A little! It changed a bit after I ordered my first doll. I looked at my wishlist and suddenly it looked pretty redundant, so I took off several dolls that were similar to the one I just ordered. I think I was just considering them alongside the one I got, like as competators, but I have realized I really don't want more than one of the same thing, especially after seeing what it felt like to spend what I did on one. XD;

and do you feel there is a "best" way to do it?
I dunno, I guess it depends. It's probably not good to plan TOO far ahead. XD;

 

How do YOU plan your doll family?
I find the sculpts I really like, mull it over in my wish list, write out their stories, personalities, and their relationships, and then organize which I'll save up for first. The more I write about a particular doll/character, the more likely it is that I'll get that doll.

has that tactic changed?
Not really, and I really try to stick to my current plan even though I do wind up paring down or adding to the list. I try not to be led by my impulsiveness, because when that happens I wind up pushing my other plans on hold.

and do you feel there is a "best" way to do it?
Everyone does things differently, so there really is no "best" way that would encompass and work for everyone. Whatever works, eh?

 

after read your guys plan, i think i have to come with my doll family plans too since i have spent too much for them and somehow i don't play that much with them

at first I wanted to buy a doll , i had a plan to have only a couple dolls
but now there are almost 10 at my house

Thanks you guys for sharing your thought - i will go back to think about this too :P

 

I'm planning mine...

I'm going to start my collection with Camellia from Rosette School, I just think she's too cute. And I'm planning to get her a companion (probably will be her brother) who would Rei Cristopher from Lati.

I'm going to have to come up with more background for them. But I know Camellia will have a lover who would be either Fir or Violet from Rosette School.

My tactic is to choose one doll, and find companions for them. Make a story around how they met and interact.

 

My planning is more precise than I ever thought. I first saw the doll I'm in love with years ago and left the hobby cause of people I was around were all, "Oh it's stupid." "It's too expensive." blah blah blah, and I'm in the corner quietly going, "Yeah..." my mind already working overtime. But when I took up my passion again I looked at tons and tons of pictures, different concepts and the promotional pictures, a story started to form based on her features and expressions and picked up my notebook and started writing. Then I saw another doll that just sparked me and wrote another story. And now I've got at least 16 stories that all just twist and turn together like magic! It's actually quite startling and overwhelming when I think about it all at once though. It's all a matter of puzzle pieces but that's just me.

 

I started with a plan.
But my collection built itself, I swear.
There were just too many dolls to discover
to stick to any concrete plan, at least for me.

 

I buy Dollfie Dreams, which are usually based off a particular anime character. So far, I have been more inclined to go after DDs of characters I really love. But I also look at the girl's face sculpt. If it is one I see a lot of potential with, then she is usually on my radar too. But because of the price, so far I have leaned more towards characters I really adore.

 

Hmmm... I wish I had a way of doing it. I knew I wanted Leeke Mihael because I fell in love with the mold. I wanted a Dark Elf character from Oblivion so I've got a second hand souldoll Celina (blue version) on layaway. I like the glorydoll Karin mold and wanted a splicer character so I'm merging those two but it's really difficult for me.

When I get a doll without a character in mind (like Mihael) they end up like he is now, he's been around two months and he's still naked with a wig that isn't his and his default eyes because I have no idea what to do with him. I'm a writer so I think it would be a good idea to try and write about these characters but finding a sensible plot that can fit them all in will be hard haha.

 

i thought i'd planned what sort of dolls and how many I wanted, but as soon as I got my first one I knew this was thrown out of the window I'm not one to have characters in my head which I want to turn into a doll, more that I buy a sculpt I like and let the personality come out through how I dress and clothe him based on what the sculpt looks like. For some reason, Im more into male adult dolls and female kid dolls, so at the beginning my dream doll was a 60-70cm masculine male doll and I had a kind of personality for him in my mind. however, my second doll was a FL Puki which I never thought I'd like. and now it seems like I feel like I want to own a few more tinies, but this wasnt my plan at the beginning. Now I have a msd sized boy, a yo-sd sized girl and a Puki and am currently saving for my dream sd male doll. so in other words, im sort of going with the flow and my family of dolls could grow in any way, Im not sure yet

 

I got into the hobby in december a year ago, and I was planning like a madman. I got my first two girls and of course, they turned out nothing like I had in mind.
In total I've had about 16 dolls, and have 4 now, and all the other ones just weren't suited for me. I planned them, and wanted them too bad, but I couldn't force it.
So since last september or so I got my dolls randomly. And only recently have they fallen into place. They're a family now.
I got my dream SD some months ago, only to realise she was too big, so I got another doll I loved, a Zaoll, and she worked perfectly.
So I guess it's a bit trial and error with me >__>