The (original) character of your doll?

Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I usually get my characters from sculpts I buy. I sometimes have a general idea on who I want to shell, but mostly I find a sculpt I'm interested in and I go from there.

What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
It kinda comes at the same time. At least the general feel of the character. Like of they're cheerful but arrogant and like pink and fancy stuff or something...

Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
See above. The characters just take form...

Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Not so much change as develop. Someone who might have been immature and spoiled maybe grew up a little etc. Appearance wise I like changes, but it's always more of a changed face-up or hair (as a human person would do) and maybe the clothing style evolves a little...

How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I don't think I'd care lol, no one really knows my characters but me, so no one really gets a say. They are mine and I wouldn't see a reason to change them except if I was unhappy with them myself.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?

I've learned from experience that it's better to have the doll and learn what their character is than to try and embody a particular character in a doll you buy. The few times I've tried to fit a character into a doll, the doll has usually refused it (for example: Jane, my little Narae girl, was meant to be a slick, fashion-conscious secret-agent/spy type... but when she arrived, she insisted she was a laid-back hippy-chick).

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?

The doll comes first - their look and character comes as I get to know them.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)

It pretty much comes from the doll. I would not consciously have added a snarky-older-sister to the family, yet I have one because that's what the doll turned out to be.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?

Not really - It may take a while for their personality (and name, in some cases) to become apparent, but once it does, that's who they are. Appearance, likewise, can take a little while to settle, but that's pretty much it, once it does - there may be slight changes in hairstyle, and new clothes but their appearance and style is pretty much set once it's settled on.


♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?

Nope. They're entitled to their opinion, but the dolls are mine and the characters are their own

Teddy

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I found a sculpt for an existing character, though it was a second choice head and I'll change to the first choice as soon as it becomes available.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
A little of both, but I'm leaning towards personality. You get a general feel for the look of the character after knowing their personality.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
I wanted a rough tomboy daddy's girl, a girl who maybe wasn't stunningly beautiful but beautiful in her own right. I gave her physical traits that I myself found charming, but aren't universally ideal. I judged what she'd look like mainly on what her father was like. He would want a daughter he could treat like a son, but still see as a little princess. Her facial structure would come from her parents so I looked for a doll with those features, and then what teenage girl doesn't have her own insecurities about things like her nose or her freckles? The doll had to have those. Her outfits were also picked based on what a protective father would allow for his teenage daughter to wear(So we're going for modesty and grace. Low cut top? You are NOT leaving the house in that!) She is a loud, rude girl who is always getting into brawls, but she respects her father and wouldn't do anything to upset him. Fighting's OK, he taught her that, so the doll had to have a tough appearance. Having her look a certain way(too sexy or glamorous) would be completely OOC. She's a cute girl, not a beautyqueen but still charming and...just cute. The doll's shaping up to be the same.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Yes, as a character grows, so does their appearance. Some things are set in stone like body and facial structure, but hair/clothes change with the character's maturity. One day she won't find Totoro and Pokemon SO cool and she'll wear less embellished things.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Nope, because she is dear to me and my fiance.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
Most of my dolls "appear" & then their character evolves. Emerson is one of the rare exceptions. I had a character in mind from a book & kept an eye out for a sculpt & body type I thought would work for him. And then the next challenge describing to the faceup artist what I was wanting. And finding his wig & eyes, and making his clothes....but it all worked out in the end. Some of the dolls have much more detailed personalities or relationships while others relax & simply enjoy life as a nice doll on my shelf. It all depends on how they affect my imagination.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
The visual concept from looking at the sculpt gets my imagination started. On my most recent doll, I fell in love with a new sculpt & had no idea who she'd be. Then an idea popped into mind & when she arrived I tried her on a body I had to see if my hunch would work. As soon as that head hit those shoulders, I could "see" who she was going to be. And had to hurry & get her her own body. Now her personality seems to be evolving a little more every time I look at her.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
Many of my dolls have come second hand. With faceups I already love. Then, it is just a matter of getting to know them & figuring out what their personality will be. On the heads I have gotten blank, I have to figure out something about their character to decide which artist will do their faceup. As each artist paints in a different style, it makes a big difference to the character I have in mind. Then again, if I realize there is a family relationship between dolls, I will go back to an artist who has done one characters faceup to commission them to do a sibling or childs faceup in a similar style. Personalities & behaviour are an ongoing evolution as I said before.
♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Once I'm comfortable with a doll & their character, they don't often change. SOmetimes I'm tempted to get the same sculpt again, simply so I can try it as another character, once the first one is "set in their ways"... X0

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Well, heck no. Too bad they can't enjoy my imagination as much as I do!

 

Xavier is my only on topic whose sculpt was carefully chosen to match a specific image. I've had the character for a good half my life now but it took meeting his muse for his face, coloring, and many of his mannerisms to become concrete. Where Xavier differs is how he dresses, the muse is plain and casual, Xavier was born on Halloween so he has a taste for gothic and fabrics with bats, skeletons, and other Halloween prints. He's never changed and only grown more stubborn.

Of my other balljoints Shi Shi likes to change his eyes every now and again to ones with spiders for irises, like he's wearing contacts, or change his wig but it's still close to his usual style. The twins change wigs as the mood suits them, one went from blue to brown eyes. Xavier's wife and daughter have pastel versions of their regular wigs.

I don't care what other people think about their characters, they're my dolls.

 

I'm going to answer for my first doll, though I have many, with varying answers.


♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
When I got him, I had no character in mind, I just wanted a BJD. I found the sculpt I fell in love with, and built a character around it. Normally, I have a character first and choose a sculpt, unless I get a trade offer or a gift.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
In Amir's case, the visual concept. Though normally, they go hand-in-hand. However, with Lakin, the one I'm currently planning, I've had his personality planned for a good week, but his visual just came to me yesterday.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
I....often don't. It's just whatever feels right, or comes to me. Most of Amir's personality came to me after having the doll in hand, and over 6 years, it's still developing, though he's pretty solid now. If I try to set the look and personality in stone before buying the doll, it often changes drastically after I bond with the doll.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Sometimes? Though it's not a case of "This still Amir, but I'm changing his full story and personality." It's more like he grows and develops with his plotline (he's an RP charcter). So the Amir I have today is still the Amir I had 6 years ago, but now he's past the shy, insecure, sweet teen phase and well into being a strong, confident adult.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
No. My characters are my own, and if someone doesn't like it, they don't have to role play with my character. I make my dolls for me, not other people.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I always look for sculpts that suit the character; only a very small handful of my dolls were done the other way around, and for the most part they have the weakest characterizations of any of my doll characters. All the others are either shells of OCs I created ages ago, or character dolls for whom I have a lot of existing material to work from. In the case of the OCs, I have plenty of drawings I've done over the years to show me how these characters ought to look, and can find sculpts that in turn match well for them, and for the character dolls, it's fun to try to find a sculpt that, to me, embodies the look and spirit of that character.


♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
With my OCs, they've been around basically forever for me, so I can't really say for sure. I'm fairly sure everything with them was developed roughly around the same time, though some had visual redesigns over time. At the time of creation, I had not only no plans of ever making them into BJDs, I didn't know about them at all, and in fact, they predate Volks' first ever resin doll (as I started creating them in the early- to mid-1990s, and had most of them well in place by 1999). Naturally, with the character dolls, they're more or less complete by the time I take them on to shell them.


♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Not at all! Like I said, my OCs have been around for nearly 20 years, so they're pretty settled and not likely to change around much at this point; early on there were some appearance and personality shifts, but now they're pretty solidly in place. Similarly with the character dolls, there's very little changing around, though two have shifted into sculpts that better suited them over time.


♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I don't actually share all that much about the OCs, so really, what would they know? As for the character dolls, I'd figure they're just hating on the idea of making characters, rather than the doll itself, since some perceive it as a "lack of creativity."

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I was only searching for an English or Irish looking girl, with a vague notion of character behind it.


♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
​The visual concept, as I was adamant on having a girl with decidedly "English" features (ie upturned nose, rounded upper lip, freckles), though I'm not trying to pigeonhole an entire population. I just had a certain type of face in mind.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
Just one look at her face on the website told me enough. She looked smug, impatient, bossy, and perfect. I decided that I wanted her to be a prefect at a boarding school.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Yup, as soon as I saw her in person she was like "lol nope, I'm a fawn girl that lives in the Irish wilderness and cannot speak" (Good thing I didn't invest in that $120 school uniform )

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?


I would respond to that person by swiftly putting my foot where the sun don't shine.
Okay, I merely jest. I would be very hurt, but I wouldn't change it. She is perfect to me, and at the end of the day, I'm the only one with money invested in her so she will be whatever the hell I please.

 

Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought
When I first found out about BJDs, & saw photo stories, I decided to create this whole little cast of characters for a cosplay group. I picked sculpts that fit those characters (oh, & could cosplay Bleach & Gintama ....)

What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Personality, & statistics (age, sex, etc). Behavior & visual concept followed that quite naturally.

Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
Again, I had personalities - that gave me clues as to what they liked, then I'd figure out which cosplays they'd love to do & voila - went looking for sculpts to fit. Sometimes, I thought, ok, what kind of a person would like to cosplay, say, Gin (a rather ambiguous possible villain but maybe not, from Bleach) & that helped form the personality... However I actually know a lot of people in the alternative community in my town (cosplayers, geeks, pagans, street punks, activists etc etc) & THEY (those real people) helped me create my characters much more than the doll sculpts.

Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
No - just expanding them. As for changing clothes, well THAT doesn't change your personality - it exposes it usually. I myself have 2 closets & 3 dressers full of clothes (lots of it cosplay, yes). My dolls all have at least 4 changes of everyday clothing plus at least 2 cosplay outfits - the clothes are ones that character would wear, of course, or an outfit that their significant other insisted on (as in a photo shoot of Renji as a character from Boys over Flowers - can I say NOT his choice LOL but his GFs - which was inspired by a real-life couple I know)

How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Depends on whether they gave insightful criticism & whether I agreed or not. I'm thinking that the phrase 'pretty lame' indicates an insignificant opinion unless a lot of intelligent explanation followed...

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I consider my writing (characters) separate from my doll collecting. Some dolls inspire my writing but not all of them and it's not so serious for me that I have a doll form of a character I've created. I've seen dolls and thought, oh he looks like "xyz" and then buy it if I love it. But I'm also open to seeing how the doll evolves once I have it and often it does.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
When I see a doll - it either inspires me to create a concept or it doesn't. I've only created characters for my core group - my other dolls are more or less just pretty to look at. If a doll inspires me to create a concept then the personality and storyline flow freely.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
The sculpt drove the concept and everything around it continues to evolve organically.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
I change the appearance all the time - just like most people do. But on the same token, the appearance changes only as much as it seems to suit the character. For example, only 2 of my dolls can take a wig and eye colour change and it still suits the character. The others just look off to me.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
No. Although everyone is entitled to their opinion, opinions are subjective. Plus I think it's an immature comment for someone to make. The only case I think something of the sort might be a valid consideration; is if the character concept is being backed by a multi-million dollar production and has sales goals attached.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?

Honestly, I've done both. The thing is, I feel like when you are holding the doll in your hand and looking at the sculpt and the faceup they really give themselves a personality.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?

Both at the same time I guess since I usually develop the personality of the doll after getting it and trying out different styles on them.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)

I try different wigs and clothes from my collection on any new dolls I get and try to decide what they look good in. Sometimes that style can decide their personality- for example my lolita wearing girl is a bit of a 'princess', my girl who dresses more mori girl style is gentle.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?

Not too often!

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?

It's my character, so no, I won't change it. I don't know every doll's backstory on DoA but I'm pretty sure there are some that exist that I wouldn't like for some reason or another. No worries, I don't have to read their posts or look at them if I don't want. I can just pass by.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I have done both. Most of the time, I create characters after seeing a sculpt I find inspiring. But sometimes, while I am fleshing out the character of a doll I already own, I will think up other characters that fit into their story. And then from there, I will sometimes find a sculpt that fits one of those 'extra' characters perfectly.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
This depends on whether the sculpt comes first or the character comes first. If I see a sculpt that inspires me (and I can afford to buy the doll!), I will then start considering what that sculpt makes me feel, and what sort of character 'suits' them. The behaviour and personality of the character end up being inspired by the sculpt in this case. In cases where I come up with the character first and then find the sculpt, I usually have no set plans for the look of the character beyond very broad descriptions (such as 'dreamy eyed girl' or 'sad looking boy'). I find it much easier to find a sculpt to fit an extra character if I don't plan their appearance too much, so I focus on their personality and behaviour instead.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
If I have an appearance first, I work out what sort of personality 'fits'. A girl with a very pouty sculpt (like my Soom Beryl) is not going to strike me as a cheerful, naive girl, and a innocent looking sculpt (like my Soom Nephelin) is not going to get a haughty, cold character.

If I have a personality first, I try not to plan their appearance in advance, and instead wait until I see a sculpt that fits them. For example, when I bought my Soom Chrom to be my rebel leader (because he has a very stubborn, imperious look to his sculpt), I knew he had to have some rebel followers. I decided he had rescued a girl (who had to look sad and a bit anxious, because she has suffered a lot and isn't really in a very safe situation) and a boy (who I decided needed to look sleepy, sad and a bit pained, as he was a genetic experiment gone wrong and suffers pain from his past experiments). I never really pinned down their looks, so when Soom released Alex, I knew immediately she was the right sculpt for my female character (who, once Alex was on layaway, was named Dante and given freckles and a strawberry blonde wig and green eyes). And when Soom held their first male Super Gem Free Choice Event, I made some mock-ups of the boys in Bronze Skin and immediately realised that Heliot is the boy rebel (who, once on layaway, was named Anodyne and given a blonde wig and blue eyes).

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
No, never. All my characters develop very organically with their sculpts, and I'd find it very strange to change their characters at all.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I'd think they were incredibly rude and ignore them. I certainly wouldn't change my characters because someone thought they were 'lame'. Maybe if they could propose a good critique (more than just 'X is overdone' or 'I don't enjoy Y', I mean) I would consider their opinion, but I think ultimately I am happy enough with my characters that I would not change them.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I usually look for sculpt that suit for my original characters. I just want to transfer my OC's from 2D into 3D! But there are some sculpts which I fall in love although I don't have any OCs which suit them. lol


♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Maybe the visual concept. I looked at the sculpts and thought 'May be this can be one of my OCs'. After I decided about that, tehy got personailities based on my OC's.


♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
No... I always stick to my OC's character so I don't change anything about them. I may change their hairstyle but keep their hair color the same as how they are.


♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Depends on how they say. I would be very upset if someone actually say my dolls are lame... but I will never change their personality. Blocking someone who makes me upset are far more easy ^^;

 

I swear this didn't look like a book when I was typing...then it became one.... D:

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I have done it both ways, but for the most part, I have a character in mind and look for a doll to match it.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Well, for me this had nothing to do with dolls. The main group of characters I pull from were something I started creating in 2001 for a school project (years before i knew what bjds were). After I graduated I kept messing with them, developing them and making them into actual characters as opposed to concepts. I'm an artist first, writer....well not really at all, but I dabble, and I have to do both at the same time. So really both appearance/look/style and personality/behavior developed organically together, there really was no first or second. By the time I discovered BJDs and realized how perfect they would be to use as shells for said characters, they were all pretty much finalized.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
Well, as stated in the previous question, I generally do a little of both. As I develop the character both may change to reflect the other.
Example: The main character in the comic I write/draw (or am supposed to be drawing), is Alex. When I first started drawing him back in the day he had the green and purple hair he has now, but it was very short and spiky. a couple years in I was doing some free-drawing in a sketchbook with a pen and accidentally made one side of his hair longer. I like the way it looked so I kept at it and it got more and more exaggerated until it eventually became the style it is now. I also knew he had to have a natural hair color somewhere under the green and purple. I knew he was kind of lazy, and in order to get that saturated, dyed look he'd have to bleach his hair first, which would be way too much work for him. So he had to start out with almost-white/white blond hair. Which is how he became a blond. That was over the course of years, not a couple days or even months. Defining his personality was the same way....He originally started out as the "villain" in my story and after a few rewrites, sorta took over as the protagonist and changed to reflect that.

By 2007 when I started looking for a doll to portray him, I knew exactly what traits I wanted, from specific eye shape, expression, the lines (or lack thereof) on the face - everything. I knew what I wanted and I only need one picture to know I found it. Which is probably why, 7 years later, my opinion on the doll I picked hasn't wavered at all. That and I got really lucky with size XD

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Of the dolls I chose for existing characters who were fully developed - only if I had trouble getting it right first. My first year of the hobby I struggled because I didn't know things I do now. I couldn't find the right wigs, or eyes (I still struggle with eyes), or clothes (those too - but I have wigs down now.), and I just didn't have the skills I need to make them the way I wanted. So they changed as I found what I needed....but for me all they did was look more and more like themselves. It's a lot easier for me now, I know what I'm doing. Of course now most of my characters have been dolled already....

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
First of all, people have never said that to me, and I doubt they ever will. NOT because my character are so EPICALLY FABULOUS THAT EVERYONE EVERYWHERE WILL LOVE THEM ALWAY!!!OMG THEY'RE AWESOME but because I don't typically surround myself with people who would be that much of a dick to say something like that to my face, online and irl. I don't give an eff about the general internet (trolls, you know who you are), those people don't know me, and the ones out there that do, do because we're friends and they wouldn't say things like that either. AND I wouldn't say things like that. Ever. Which does make a difference, you really do reap what you sow. Just sayin.

Second, I think my characters are lame sometimes. I am not delusional. I know they're not the greatest thing ever. I know there's cliche's running amok in my characters (I like them. I embrace them. FEEL THE CLICHE!!! Feeeel it!), and I don't spend a million hours trying to make each and every one the most extra-special thing ever. I do with them what I want and what makes me happy and hopefully, what makes a decent story (or what might when I get back to it). Which means not every character can be the best evah!!!1!, because someone has to suck at something. Or everything. Or be just generally good at stuff, and not perfect. Not all the characters can be the star, because then they're competing, not working as a cohesive unit.

And no, I won't change it. I spent way to much time working on them to worry about the opinion of one or two people. I will change nothing. The only person I need to make happy is me. If someone else likes my doll that makes me super-excited and happy, but they can't make me feel bad about my dolls, because I already like them.

omg autocorrect is killing me. I can't type anymore.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
For me it's also both ways. When it comes to shelling an OC it cannot be any doll. It does have to match the character in some way. Not going for a chunckier body when the character is lean, be sure to have certain facial features things like that. When the doll is created from the sculpt, it's not that much of a problem. You work with the sculpt and the key points.
What also does happen is that you come across a doll and immediately think "omg that's totally (name o.c)"

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
When talking about OC's, well pretty much everything is already there. The appearance, the personality. I made a mistake once with shelling an OC who was not quite finished, and that still bites me in the ass. The official concept does not work for him it seems. For the rest, I usually have a general idea. Like: the doll will have brown hair, long/short hair, will wear this type of clothes, hates/loves this or that... The rest will come along the way. And sometimes you have to work with what you have at that point. Give a face up artist complete freedom and you will have to start from scratch.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
See above.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Not at all. Only one doll changed, he got a complete character overhaul. Usually it's a bit of tweeking here and there until I'm pleased with the result. You know: like having a grey wig and upgrading it to a longer version (still grey, still fur) or somewhat different behaviour or change the color of the eyes. Simple things.
On the other hand I do find the OC's a bit tricky, they cannot always be an exact copy from what I have on paper. Take Van for exaple, he should have a gazillion (custom made) wigs then since he's a passionate hair dyer (in all the brightest colors and styles), have multiple heads due to make up styles and he should have a ginormous wardrobe. I do have to compromise on things , he's not alone you know

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I would not be pleased with it, but I wouldn't change anything on said doll. Hey it's my doll and my character, they don't have to live with it.
But I would probably say something about that persons doll too

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I created a character for my incoming elf Fairyland Chloe based on the sculpt and I have noticed I do that often.
♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
The character concept came first and I am still hammering out how she will look.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?
I went with the appearance of the doll for her character inspiration. She is very sweet and regal looking which helped pin her character down.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Not yet
♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
No she is my character and she was designed to make me happy. Not the rest of the world.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
--- My first doll was the only doll where I created a character around the sculpt, probably because he was my first doll ever and despite already having plenty of original characters. However, there is another doll, that I do not own yet, where I've created a character to fit the sculpt. I have selected the rest of my dolls to fit a character and am very satisfied with their sculpts, they all fit perfectly! As for the future, the dolls I want are all sculpts I've chosen to fit a premade character.
♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
--- I guess I'd have to say half and half. Sometimes the visual concept comes first, and sometimes the personality comes first. I like to work with the overall expression I see for a character to determine personality, but that can be flip-flopped too. Sometimes I absolutely must know the personality in order to get a better idea of what he or she may look like. I'm flexible, so it works either way.
♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
--- I kind of just answered this in the above question haha. If I know the personality first, I mainly go off of the character's overall expression on their face. If I know what the character looks like first, again, I use their facial expression to shape a personality, of course keeping all kinds of expressions (and traits) in mind. I guess it is like...I try to visualize a certain trait or expression for a character, if it doesn't seem to fit them, then I do not include it in their personality or looks. As far as style of clothing...I try not to think about that until later. I don't know if this even makes sense, it is very hard to describe how I make characters and everyone has different methods!
♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
--- No, not really. I have never truly thought about changing the personality or appearance of any character of mine. I think this is mainly because it takes me several days to solidly decide on appearance and personality; I think it over carefully and make sure I'm satisfied. Once I'm done, it just sticks and does not change unless I really feel obligated to change it.
♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
--- Most definitely NOT. Hey, it is MY character, not theirs. If they do not like him/her, fine, because I do. I put all the time and effort into creating the character; so why should I have to change something someone else does not like if it makes me happy just as it is? Respect.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
I didn't have much more than a name for my doll when I got her, I figured that once I got her, I could 'feel' her out, for lack of a better term. It wasn't until I dressed her in a couple different outfits did I start feeling that she was more of a magical creature. I've always loved faeries and stuff like that, so it kind of makes sense that I gravitated towards there.


♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
I'm still figuring things out with Juliet, but the ongoing thing is I noticed that she posed better in the car, so I liked to joke that she liked car rides, and when she "found out" we would be going on car rides, she'd cooperate more. She's a brat sometimes, but aren't most dolls?

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin? (If you had a personality, how did you choose their appearance? If you had an appearance, how did you decide their personality?)
I kinda play around with different things. We went to a doll show and I found a Monique wig that the seller was accepting offers for. I asked her if it was alright if I tried it on Juliet before deciding, because I didn't want to spend money on a wig I wouldn't use. Once I put it on her... something just clicked. It suited her so much. The wifey went to a doll meet in Cleveland, and I tried on Aria's rainbow wig on Juliet, and it suited her as well.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Personality wise, not really, appearance, kind of. But not really. Something I thought interesting was I wanted her to have one green and one blue eye, but I couldn't really find ones I liked together. I bought green eyes at a meet up and they just fit her well.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
No, because Juliet is MY BJD, not theirs. There's no rule that says they have to like mine, and vica versa.