Story Making?

Being new to BJD's myself, I've wondered the same thing, i.e., if everyone makes up these complicated back stories for their dolls. So far I only have one doll, IH Chase, and have IH Akando and Jessica on order. These dolls had really long, intricate back stories long before I ordered them because they are characters in my novels. My problem was finding faces that fit "people" who already existed.
But hey, your dolls are what you make them, so make them what you want!

 

It's certainly not something everyone does; the only real reason any of my dolls have backstories to them is because they're shells for characters who exist with or without the dolls, most of which existed before I ever joined the hobby (and some of which actually predate the hobby in general). It's not like there's a rule saying you have to have backstories, or even have to have a name for your doll; you can call it by the sculpt name, give it no story at all, and never take a photo, and you aren't doing anything wrong. This hobby is what you personally make of it, and what you want it to be, and if you don't want to write a backstory, no one's going to force one on you; if you do create one, no one will force you to tell the story, either.

 

Well, most of my dolls just got a name, something like a "basic personality" (like "Santi's a really sweet boy" or "Tristan's the 'little prince'" or "Nat's got attitude with a capital A") and that's it. Those that have more background story are actually dolls I bought because I wanted something like "3D pictures" of some characters from my original stories that I'm trying to get written. Kind of an attempt to connect better with those characters, too. So far, that hasn't worked but I really love those dolls just the same. See, I'm really not good at drawing so I thought getting those dolls would be the easier way for me to imagine what the characters look like.

 

I thought I might start story's for my girls...but it all became a bit too complicated, creating characters ect..I have enough trouble sometimes remembering my dolls names, lol! I think it's great when collectors do this though and some of the stories are so creative

 

You can do what works for you. I'm not a story teller myself. I usually just end up really loving a sculpt and I never have a character in mind when I'm getting a doll. I'm currently waiting for 2 dolls to arrive and they don't have any names (I'm really bad at coming up with names). The 1 doll I do have does have a name but I wouldn't say she has a defined personality. Only a certain style of dress. Each doll with have their own aesthetic that determines what kind of clothes they'll wear but I doubt I'll ever develop characters for my dolls.

 

Eh, you don't have to, if you don't want to. To some it's fun and defines what the face-up and hair of a character looks like, what kind of colors he or she is wearing...
If you just want a companion / dress up doll and it makes you happy, that should be what she is

 

You can do whatever you want with your doll. I have a little boy on the way that was unexpected, I didn't have any character or personality planned for him, so I'm just going to go with the flow, dress him up however I like, and his story will start when he arrives home.

 

It´s your doll, your life. Your little friend. Her personality can begin to develop during your life together. Why not?

 

All my dolls are bought to fit characters I already have ~ so I think yes, all of my guys must have a backstory and personality but I also think that is completly okay not to do this and just leave the doll without a backstory

 

A huge part of the hobby for me involves coming up with elaborate backstories for my dolls. I don't do much in the way of physical appearance, so I make up for it in backstories. They each have a defined character and a plot, and then I have a plot where all of my dolls are featured.

I personally would have a lot of trouble having a doll with no story, because my brain just comes up with them. It's a cool idea if you ask me, but I couldn't do it. ^^

 

I tend not to make developed stories for my dolls, because I tend to lose interest in the stories I create over time ( I create many but I don't write them down!). I don't want my dolls to be based off of stories that become outdated in my mind.
My dolls do have personalities and such, though.

 

In general it seems like BJDs attract a lot of very creative people, especially because they are so customizable, and it doesn't really surprise me that a lot of people make up stories around their dolls. When I first bought my dolls, I made up stories for them because it seemed to be the expected thing to do. Over time that has changed - although they have retained a sense of personality, their stories don't matter to me so much any more. Or they aren't as fixed, I should say.

There is a term known as anthropomorphism, which is (according to the online dictionary, thanks Auntie Google): 'attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena'. Lots of people see human characteristics in animals and dolls, so I noticed that even though you're not keen on making a story for your doll, you definitely think it will have a personality. Some people just take a creative leap further and let their imaginations run wild - both of which is fine, of course! Your doll, your ideas I just find the concept very interesting.

 

I think that many people got into this hobby because the dolls looked SO lifelike!!! People wanted to have 3D representations of their fav anime/fictional characters, & those who are story-tellers saw the opportunity to have their own characters brought to life. I know I'm a writer/story teller & anime freak, & my initial attraction to these dolls was exactly the same as collecting anime/action figures (only better because I could make the cosplays). I then saw the added attractions of turning my own stories into photo-stories (I've always wanted to do a graphic novel but can't draw). But there are artists who have BJDs as models, sculptors who carve their dolls into amazing works, those who use their dolls as mannequins for costume creation (I do that somewhat) & others who just want a beautiful art object.
Just whatever you want - that's fine :d

 

Well, like everyone has already mentioned, it's up to the owner. Personally only two dolls I have were specifically bought to be the representation of my characters. Although only one story has survived my brain since 2006 (or '05), the other petered out but the character is still here. Most of my dolls I got because they looked nice or were limiteds that looked nice, I have a small horde of soom tiny gem limiteds. Most of the dolls i have don't have characters or personalities really... Some do, some don't. I've been thinking about downsizing starting with the ones I never really bonded with though. That's the nature of the hobby.

 

None of my dolls were bought to shell existing characters.

(My characters always look different than anything I actually see... I don't even use photos of celebs as inspiration... for some reason, getting so concrete with images for my characters doesn't work for me! --I'm an artist and I don't even like drawing my characters!)

I buy dolls because I really like them as dolls and enjoy dressing them up and taking photos and just having them around.

I do give them names and some have some character development and story that I create just for that doll, but others are just dolls.

It seems like most people are shelling characters--which makes sense, because the dolls are so customizable that bjds almost BEG to be able to be turned into something specific for the owner! BUT-- there are all kinds of owners and all kinds of ways to enjoy dolls, and they are all fine and all represented by the owners here.

I think it's pretty much impossible to find any large group of people doing everything the same way!

 

Count me in the group that doesn't do elaborate backstories. My dolls tend to develop personalities in my imagination largely based on what I see in their facial features, but that's not a process that I set out to do. The ones I have so far each reminded me of a pre-existing fictional character that I did not make up, so although they are not exactly meant to be those characters, that does influence the personality I imagine in them and the general style I choose to dress each one in. But their stories? To give an example of how I approach that, my first doll is simply an Elfdoll Rita named Delphine who I bought myself for my birthday. I imagine her to be a gentle, bookish kind of personality, who dresses in a girly, vintage-inspired style, and if she has any "story" at all I guess it would be the story of living in my studio room as a doll, probably wishing I'd have more time to play with her and finish her mods, and observing the human nonsense around her. She's a companion and an art project. I love working on her, making things for her and sewing for her, and I like looking at her because she's a gorgeous sculpture. I even have come to feel a certain amount of affection for the personality I imagine her to have. Not everyone is interested in making "OC's" with a huge story behind them, nor do they need to be. It's certainly not a rule or a requirement, just something that some people enjoy and others don't.

 

I am also new to this--I am doing backstories but that is because I have no imagination otherwise and would be so overwhelmed by all the pretty options that I would be unable to decide. Giving a doll a story gives me a foundation so that I can pick a focus. If only the focus I had picked hadn't been "characters in space opera." At some point I swear I'm going to just buy a pretty girl doll for dressing up in nice clothes and not worry about the background stuff!