So you got a doll... now what?

Store it in a box until I get everything else associated with him/her But usually when I waiting for a new doll, I started to buy wigs/clothes/eyes. I like to have many BJD items before I get the doll.

 

I just got my first doll last Monday. So far she still doesn't have a name because I am terrible at thinking of them D:. I've made her a bed on my dresser out of a pillow and a t-shirt though since I feel bad about putting her back in the box right now, though I will need to once I go away for a bit . I've mostly been taking her out and playing with her, trying different poses and taking pictures though, learning her personality and character, and trying to come up with a name that suits her.

 

I dress her up, first of all. Normally the wigs I have bought or stored need to be de-tangled and flyaways more controlled, so that takes time. The first few days, I bring her around the house with me as I go about my day :P Every now and then, I stop what I'm doing to change her pose and admire her. Once I get an idea as to what angles seem prettiest, I take photos to share, hoping someone else out there can share in my excitement. Haha

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I give her a name.

 

First I make the doll a wig, then I do her face-up (and the days followong, if I have enough sealant and motivation, I bodyblush her). I always try to have a few clothes, and always a pair of eyes ready when the doll arrives, so that she looks at least a little "complete".
Then I pose her with my other dolls

 

Before getting the doll I bought needed props, hair to make wig, leather to make shoes and axcesories, suplies to paint faceup. But before I finished everything she was stored in the box. It is the safest place to not get the doll dirty or broken. Everything else is bought little by little when the doll is already at home.

 

After I get a doll I start working on him/her.

Work includes getting a face up, ideas for personality, fashion style, customization, take pictures, write about them or draw them...the possibilities are infinite. I always have something to do with them, even with my oldest one who's going to be 11 years soon, every time I play with him I discover something new.

Right now all of them are 100% complete as far as looks/personality go but I always change their clothes and write more stories about them. I'm starting to get interested in Dioramas but my room is small and there are dolls everywhere, I love miniature stuff so they have a lot of props too. When I move to my new place I plan on making a Diorama for each of them so I still have a lot to do : ) when I'm working or not playing with them, they simply stay in my room looking beautiful waiting for me to give them attention. All of them are out in the open, I never store them or put them in a box.

 

If I buy a doll, I know what I want to with him. As from now on, it will always be the same body, I start making outfits, accessories etc. When he arrives, he will simply become part of the gang and never see his box again (no worth for me spending a fortune on dolls to have them living in a box).

 

I buy dolls to shell my OCs, so they already have a name and personality and story long before I even choose a sculpt. I try to buy the wig, eyes and some clothes while I'm waiting, so when the doll arrives, I can do the faceup and blushing immediately and have them dressed and ready for photos quickly. Then they join the others in the doll room, sitting on doll furniture, until I'm ready to handle them again.

 

I'm not very well organizated so it's depend
When I ordered for a doll, sometimes I have a clear idea about her name and her look so I buy also wig/eyes etc..
The wait can be so long for a doll : so I have enough to find what I want
Sometimes I have no idea at all
but I don't let my doll in the box even she is nude : she is with the other ones
I try all the wig I have on her even is this is not the good size : just to have an idea about the color on her
same for the eyes
Sometimes in stock eyes are great
I try also to find a name just looking at her face and looking at her with the other ones
After I try to find shoes / outfit
furniture etc. came after all

 

I got my doll in February. She stays on the box on a shelf in the bedroom now. Later I will take her with me upstairs to the sewing room, when has only undies now, needs pretty things to wear. Once I have sewn something, I will take her to other rooms, but keep her in the box, at night for safekeeping. She watches TV sometimes with us now.

The first thing I did was play with her that first evening while we watched TV, posing her, trying on different wigs, brushing them. I am planning clothes, jewelry and accessories that I can make, and perhaps a little furniture that my husband can make. He turns wood, has quite a number of tools, pretty good working with wood. I think all my dolls need pets, maybe I can make them. The making and planning is some of the fun part.

 

When I first get a doll, I tend to keep them out. Clothes are usually ordered separately and tend to come much faster than the doll itself so I get them dressed so they can stay out of their box and not flash the world. When my first girl arrived, she had no clothes so she ended up standing naked for a day simply because I was horribly busy. After that, she borrowed a dress from one of my other dolls until she got her own clothes. I make stories for them, characters, and names. The names are generally chosen before the doll arrives.

 

I have only the one doll but I did really dislike it when he wasn't dressed or at least had a nice wig so I made sure to get him some clothes and extras quickly but I didn't pack him away. It was still nice to have him around but now that he's all made up the way I want him it really is the best time :> But still I feel like you're never 'finished' with something in this hobby, the dolls can always use more clothes, more accessories, little furniture it just does on and on lol.

 

When I get a new doll, I usually have a name and personality for them since they're OCs. Most of the time, I have to finish their outfits, whether it be my own work or ordering it. I just put them in clothes I already have so they can sit next to the others. Then when I have some free time, I can either work or look online for clothes that look like their style.

 

When I get a new doll, I usually immediately style them and give them clothes, wigs and etc to make the doll more appealing to me and bond with the doll.

 

I put clothes on them, mostly because well.. I can't stand to see all those bits sitting there... all uncovered hahaha. Also the doll looks "cold" to me. It doesn't take me long to get faceupping because that's my favourite bit. Finding the ideal wig might take a while but I usually will put a placeholder wig on just so the doll looks half way finished. I can't stand having unfinished nude, bald, faceless dolls hanging about. It irritates me heh.
End costume isn't urgant, but something to cover them up is. One of my dolls spent months in a toga made of scrap fabric because I was too busy to sew up anything ahahaha. Oops?
He looked ridiculous but at least it meant no tiny plastic genitals staring me in the face every time I sat at my desk.

But usually while i'm waiting for a doll to arrive i'll order the wig, eyes etc. Sometimes it doesn't work out, it's not the right wig or the right eyes or the fit is wrong or whatever, but usually i'll try to have stuff ready so the doll can at least be partially "done" when they arrive. I feel bad if they sit for too long unfinished. I have a non bjd on my desk atm waiting to be dyed and my brain itches because she's blank, faceless and it's just arghh. but I can't dye her till the rest of her body parts arrive. She's a bit of a frankendoll and is waiting on a back plate.

 

Once you get a doll, what do you do?
Do you means when it arrives or when you order it...?

When I've ordered it I check what wigs and eyes I have in the right size so I'll have a selection to try on when the doll arrives. Same with clothes

Store it in a box until you get everything else associated with him/her?

Nope - I generally have wigs,eyes and clothes in the right size they can wear until their own stuff arrives (if none of the stuff I have already works for them)

First buy a display case?

My gang live on open shelves or wherever they will fit.

First buy wigs and/or clothes?

Try on existing wigs/eyes/clothes in their size to see if they work. Then buy new stuff if needed - usually clothes at the very least as my dolls while they dress similarly seem to develop their own colour-preferences.

Make a name? Or do you already have a name in mind?

I occasionally have a name in mind but often the doll rejects it so I have to be prepared to try and find another one - not always easy. One doll was referred to as "my Elfie Girl" for so long that her name became Elfie because no other name ever became apparent for her

Do you imagine up an idea on customization? Or many ideas?

Not really - I try to go for dolls that don't need customising although I often buy unpainted dolls so they need to go away for face-ups (sometimes I have them sent direct to the faceup artist) or I paint them myself.

Do you buy more dolls so that yours has a family/friend?

Not any more - I have fairly large "family groups" of different sizes - it's more a case of what the new doll's personality/character is and how they fit into the existing family. I have one stand-alone doll, but she can interact with others of her size so isn't short of companionship.

EDITED TO ADD: Thinking about it, I sort-of have another stand-alone BJD, but she sort-of fits with two of the others in terms of the time period they're all from, although she doesn't fit in with their back story...

Do you make or section off an area?

The dolls have taken over a corner of our living room (known as the Dolly Drift), but it isn't exclusively BJD's as I've been amassing all sorts of dolls since childhood. These days, any new doll arriving in the house has to go wherever they'll fit.

Buy furniture? Accessories? Pets?

I have more doll furniture than I have space to use - spares are stored until pulled out for temporary use (for photo-shoots and meets) or future rearrangements of the Dolly Drift.

Accessories tend to be communal so shared by the particular size-group of dolls - I only need to shop for /make them if there's a pressing need for a particular item I don't already have squirreled away somewhere.

Only one of my gang has a pet, which I hadn't planned or looked for but found quite by chance at a car-boot sale.

Teddy

 

I just received my first brand new doll (ordered a used one off of ebay first to get a feel for everything). She is currently sitting in her box because I don't know what to do with her yet! I took a few pictures of her so far, but otherwise I haven't done much other than play around with her standing up and stuff.

I want to make various things for her, the first probably being a cloth bag to store her in so she doesn't just have to sit in her box to protect her from light and everything. She'll probably sit in her bag most of the time instead of being displayed, since I'll probably only have her out when I want to make clothes for her or take pictures. Just interacting in general.

I also want to make her something simple to wear so she isn't just naked lol. I was thinking either a robe or a simple dress just to get her covered up. I'll also probably buy some clothes for her too c:

I wasn't planning on naming her because I didn't think I'd really think of dolls as characters, but then I saw her in person and I might change my ways! Maybe not so far as to make a character out of her, but I think I will give her a name. Something Irish/Celtic or Nordic I think.

 

Once you get a doll, what do you do?
Stare at them for a few hours and think on their character.

Store it in a box until you get everything else associated with him/her?
Nah I store the wrapping paper away and then place them in a hutch and wait for the resin to gas out in there. open the door daily and let it air out. Then close it again.

First buy a display case?
No but I'm thinking on how to display them in the future.

First buy wigs and/or clothes?
I make some temporary cloths till I can get a better feel for what they wear.

Make a name? Or do you already have a name in mind?
Takes a while to name. Took about two days for me?

Do you imagine up an idea on customization? Or many ideas?
I usually do this while waiting for the doll. Use photoshop to think of blushing and so forth. One of them I have a lot of plans for his face up. It will be a nightmare.

Do you buy more dolls so that yours has a family/friend?
I want to but you know. Funds.

Do you make or section off an area?
Just the normal cupboard.

Buy furniture? Accessories? Pets?
Working on the furniture. I made a rug for one of them but I need to age it. One has some jewelry and something he carries around.

 

Once you get a doll, what do you do?
I dress them in the items I bought while waiting for them to come. I also spend a lot of time posing and balancing them. It's kind of the best part.

First buy wigs and/or clothes?
If I'm not looking to buy new dolls, then I'm looking at new clothes, wigs and eyes.

Make a name? Or do you already have a name in mind?
Ah... my dolls names have changed several times. It's whatever I think suits them at the time.

First buy a display case?
Mine mostly live in a pretty wooden chest together. I do want to get a display case one day.

Do you buy more dolls so that yours has a family/friend?
I usually don't plan that way.

Buy furniture? Accessories? Pets?
I'd love some furniture. I need to think about that.