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?
My dolls get personalities as I get to know them. I don't plan in advance.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behavior and personality of the character?
I picked the wardrobe theme and color palette first. Her story and personality developed over time.

♥ 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 didn't really decide. It just sorta came in little pieces while I got to know the doll better, her attitudes in photoshoots, how she looked in her clothes, things like that. A face stuck in one pose can still be very expressive!

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
No no, I stick to what she's developed. One of my dolls personality changed when she got a companion, but that's normal for people as much as it is for dollies.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Screw them. My dollies are perfect for me.

Sorry for the painfully short answers. I'm pretty simple.

 

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 have my characters and backstories decided before researching a suitable sculpt to 'shell' them into. As I did with my Custom House Hani, Luca. I had his personality and history more or less decided before the sculpt came along that I thought was perfect for him. That said, though, I would anticipate tweaking the character once they arrive, in order to suit their sculpt. Or even, though this is rare, end up assigning the doll a completely new character. Just as characters grow into their doll bodies, it's not difficult for me to imagine that new character could be born out of a sculpt and time spent with it.

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

It depends. Sometimes it's one way first and then the other, and vice versa. However I've found that, since BJD as a hobby is personally very visual, I usually have at least something which has a visual element that forms my initial concept of the character. It's not limited to a visual design or concept, though. It could be a brief sequence of events, something said by the character (that reflects their personality), or an image of the type of clothing they wear, or it could be a kind of feeling I have about them that I endeavour to express visually.

For Luca's case, I had the image of a boy-child running through a garden, collecting odd objects and peeking into bushes, and I drew many of his personality traits and inclinations from there.

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?)

'How' would be a difficult question to answer because again, it depends - on the character and how they are amenable to my handling (i.e. if they are the secretive sort, then I would think it takes longer to draw them out in full vivid detail), on what kind of details I already have. In general though, I usually go by deduction. If I have the visual concept in place, I'm likely to ask myself: 'so what sort of person would favour this kind of aesthetic'? Is there a certain person I would like to have as a character that could work well here? If it's the personality which seems clearer to me (and this is the fun part), I decide on their wardrobe, and appearance based upon their motivations and interests.

For example, the character for my next doll is a tailor and fashion designer who owns his own bespoke shop, so I would imagine a neat, professional aesthetic for him (on work days at least), realised in the form of suits and ties. On his off-days when he gets to express himself more freely, I'm curiously and cautiously toying with the idea of punk fashion-influenced attire (leather and metal, etc).

Again, nothing is too rigidly set in stone until the doll itself arrives. An idea might pop up as I am adding to a shopping list for him and things might change. I might see a wig I like that's different from what I have in mind but may suit him, or eyes of a different colour. I'm okay with that.


Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?

I try to refrain from doing so, because a major change (and especially in their personality) to me would involve trying to get used to the doll all over again (which is often an uncertain, anxious period of the hobby). I try to let things take their own time to develop and mature so as to avoid not liking facets of them.

I'm more laid-back with appearances, and I like the idea of giving doll subtle changes in look. It keeps the experience from getting stale. However I'm quite cautious with major changes as well, for obvious budgeting reasons.


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

I would be curious to know the reason behind such a judgment, and might think it over. Changes are very unlikely. They are my dolls, after all.


These are very interesting questions!

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
House Rule: No doll is bought unless it is an already existing, fully developed character from my novels. I've only broken that rule once and I had a devil of a time pinning the character down. It took me roughly a year before I had him down and in that time, I seriously thought that I might've made my first mistaken doll purchase. It worked out in the end but I didn't like the feeling of being anxious and frustrated in trying to get him to fit into my doll family, thus the House Rule is now considered written in stone and completely non-negotiable.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
All my dolls are characters in the novels I write. The novel characters come first always so their personalty and behaviour is set before I even begin thinking about shelling them in resin. Not all my characters demand a resin shell (thank god!) and the ones that do, I usually stumble over the right sculpt. As far as visuals go, that's a bit of a unique problem for me as I'm face-blind and can't actually see faces as whole objects. Typically, I'll see a sculpt and I'll either know immediately that it's character X or the sculpt will stick with me in the back of my head and I'll have no idea who it is for months (or even years in the case of some).

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Nope, they don't change either. They're fully formed by the time I click the buy button.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Nope. I'm pleased with my characters and that's all that matters to me.

 

♥ 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 like to find a sculpt that I like before I start creating their character. When I find a sculpt that I really like, I tend to do some more research about them as far as posing and hybridization goes. Then, if the doll is one that I really really like, I'll start creating it's back story and figuring out how to incorporate that doll into my current story line, or if I should make an entirely new story for them.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
The visual concept usually comes first because once I know what the doll will look like it's easier for me to figure out what their personality is like.

♥ 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?)
For figuring out a doll's personality, I like to start working on them using a character sheet I made years ago. I figure out every single aspect of the doll's life and personality, from their ethnicity to their hair colour to their birthmarks. I like to think of the dolls as living things, and making these character sheets really solidifies the doll's personality, which is a very important aspect of this hobby for me. I try to make them as 3D as possible, by giving them fears and weaknesses on top of their physical appearance and personality traits. As a writer, I love creating new characters and new worlds for them to live in. If fuels my creative juices, and really helps me work on writing unrelated to my dolls.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Most of my dolls/characters have had pretty much the same personality since their conception, although a few of them have changed their appearance as their development becomes more in-depth, and as I begin to get a better grasp of their personality. There are some dolls that I want to get just based on their sculpt aesthetics, so they don't have as solid of a personality or style. Those characters are fun, but I'm never as attached to them as I am to my in-depth characters.
♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
No, if someone said that my doll's character was lame then I would probably tell them to go fuck themselves... or demand a trial by combat But seriously, I am very confident in my dolls and their personalities, so I would be more disappointed in the person than anything because they wouldn't understand how much work I've put into making these dolls come alive.

Those are my opinions on the matter, and I'm sticking with them. I liked answering these questions, this was fun!

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
With the first three dolls, it was a matter of building a new character around the doll I happened to desire. (Which makes it weird to think that these guys rolling around in my head all the time wouldn't even exist if it weren't for BJDs!) The next two (and a half?) in the works are older, much beloved fantasy characters from my youth who I wished to see incarnated in the modern, 'real' world, so I revamped them entirely and injected them into the boys' story. Finding sculpts for those two has been... crazy.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
The two are closely tied, in my mind... they usually hit all at once for me, both areas starting out like a sketch and then filling in with detail.

♥ 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, they really become woven together at the same time. I like to have personality clues readily available when you first glimpse any character. I might be pandering to stereotypes by giving the bookish, serious guy glasses and more traditional clothing, giving the moody rocker tattoos and a stoned expression, but that works for me; people understand it. Everyone judges the book by its cover. I like for things to be complete and cohesive even at the risk of being a little cliche. Because, well, (though people may not like it) we're all categorizing each other by the clues we gather about them visually.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
I am constantly refining things about my dolls' appearances - prettier eyes, more realistic wig, fresh faceup - but no, the design doesn't really change.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
These two summed it up pretty well:

 

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

Usually i find a sculpt for i character i already have in mind since i don't really like to have a doll without any background

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

Visual and personality come at the same time to me.One of my characters is developing her personality yet(she's a pre-teen when the story begins and by now she's already an adult),and as she grows,her visual also change.As i like her very much i have some versions of the same character with different styles and ages.

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 i said they come together to me,but i try to be the more accurate as possible (ex: a simple,sweet girl with a more casual look and a more complex or agressive character with a more dramatic look)

Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?

Yes,when i find necessary i do change it.My characters grow old and in their stories they pass through experiences that requires them to change

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

I wouldn't change it based on someone else's opnion because i create my dolls for my own entertainment.

 

♥ Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
The latter. I usually find that sculpts speak for themselves. If no character comes to mind for a sculpt, no matter how pretty, I most likely wouldn't get it.


♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
I usually have a vague idea of the personality I want, looks follow after. I find that majority of the dolls I'm eyeing have a similar feel to them. To avoid this, I try to come up with a character I know would look different first.


♥ 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?)
As aforementioned, the sculpt itself speaks to me x'D


♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
There is one doll I bought without a solid personality in mind. I change his look a lot and interestingly, his personality seems to change with how I customize him. Though the rest of my dolls stick to a certain style.


♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I doubt I'd even go into detail about their characters but... definitely no.

 

♥ 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 the character for the sculpt I bought.

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Visual definately. Trying to buy her all her stuff before she came. XD

♥ 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 tried to come up with her story. I knew i wanted her to have colorful eyes and cool hair. So i tried to make sure her look would match the story.
And I think it was easier to base her kinda on my personality. And now its changing. Lol.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Personality yes. But not anything extreme. Just slight things.
I've tried and see what she would look like with a different appearence. But I always go back to her original look. Hah.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Meh. Everyone has their own opinion. I'm not going to change my doll because someone else didnt like them.
Id only change them if i didnt like 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 have done both. I would say the doll inspires the character about half the time, and other times I go looking for a doll to fit a character, or I find I like a doll AND it happens to fit an idea I have for a character. I had an "off screen" character I never meant to embody as a doll, but one day I got a girl who decided she wanted to be that character! She would have been happy enough playing anyone I came up with for her, but she WANTED to be Marjorie!

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Behaviour and personality usually come first, as I am not always good at visualizing what I want the character to actually look like. I bought a School A, unsure if he would work as my little sociopath, Gavreau... but once he had his faceup, all doubts were gone.

♥ Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin?
If I know my character first, I can usually tell just by looking if the appearance fits it. For the opposite, the doll's expression gives me a good idea what their character would be like, and I go with it. It goes hand in hand, I don't think I have any BJDs who don't look like what they are in character.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Never. Once I have settled on a personality, it doesn't change. I may make minor changes in appearance once a doll has its character, but for the most part their eyes, hair color and clothing style don't really change. And once I have introduced a character in a photostory, I would be very reluctant to change anything I have brought out about them.

♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I would say, "Excuse me??!" No way would I change them! Their characters are developed to suit me, the doll, and the other dolls they will interact with, NOT to suit someone else.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

♥ 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 kind or created the character for the sculpt I bought. For my first one it was a mixture of both. I knew I wanted a little girl so I looked at different sculpts and picked the one that seemed to tell me a story and it went from there.

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

Visual concept always. I look at the bjd and then base their personality by what they look like i.e. is it more a gentle or energetic character. Is she/he sweet or snobby, social or a loner all that is running in my mind when looking at the rough plan I have for the doll. This can take a lot longer if I am putting together the doll myself rather then just going with the company version of a limited doll.

♥ 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?)

When looking at a bid to decide it's personality the first thing I look at is it's expression and eyes. That usually already tells me a lot about their nature. Then I would take into account their style (i.e. hair and clothes). So for example for my first bjd (tiny self dorothy) I picked some eyes for her and then looked for a wig and dress I liked. There were some lovely blond french curls, and a minty green afternoon tea dress which I loved so she kind of became this slightly spoiled but still sweet upper class girl from england with an aristocratic background.

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

No because in my mind they are full personalities of their own. I feel I have no right to change them just like nobody has the right to change anybody. I know they are only dolls at the end of the day but their eyes seem to have a life of their own. Only thing I would consider is getting each of them some mako eyes for Christmas as a little treat.

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

I would try to be cool or at least not let it show but I think I would be pretty hurt as their characters are a dear to me as my friends so it would be like someone saying my friend had a lame personality. I think I would try to defend it if I could. There is no way on earth I would change any of my characters just to please some other person, if they don't like that character that is their problem not mine.

 

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 received my first bjd I wasn't sure if I would just name him or make him a character. I'd been aware of bjds for a long time but finally owning one I just wasn't sure. I love character creation creativity so within a few days of owning him I was already thinking about making him an OC. Now that I am fully into the hobby I have already thought about characters that I want dolls for.

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

After I really gave thought to making him a character I then started thinking about his background and personality. So I guess the visual concept came first.

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?)

Thinking of his name spawned a whole thought process of what I wanted him to be (a princeling) and who he would be, etc.

Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?

The desire to want to accessorize him and change wigs, etc just comes from me personally enjoying the customization of the bjd hobby. I usually revert him back to his base or default look as I call it. It's the look that his character is really based on.

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

That seems a little rude for someone to say to someone else. But to each their own. I wouldn't change it unless I personally thought my own concept was weak and wanted something stronger. If I were happy with it, I wouldn't change it for someone else.

 

Hello! I have a couple questions because I'm truly curious and also want to hear about other people's methods.
First, when you buy dolls do you buy them based off of a character you've already designed?
Next, if you already have a character in mind before you buy a doll, how do you go about finding one that matches it? What things do you look for? Do you look at basic sculpts or simply accessories so that you can make them look similar?

 

I'd be interested in what other people do as well.

My very first doll arrived with a backstory and character I already adored, so I kept her as she was. I was, however, quite smitten with all things FairyLand by then As far as my first FairyLand doll, I had a specific look in mind. I knew I wanted very pale skin and black hair. I wanted a character with a little bit of edge - think the New York Dolls or the Ramones - and I wanted a size that would fit well with my OT doll with the blog, who's about seven inches tall. That narrowed it down to Littlefees or Pukifees. I decided to go for Pukifees, thinking they could share clothes (not really - same size, different proportions) and when I saw Shiwoo - I knew I'd found Scaramouche. My PKF Luna, who I bought in-stock from DDE, was intended to be my only other PKF - a storm deva. Except she had other ideas. Dony was like Scaramouche - I saw her and knew she was perfect for Tempest.

 

I've done both, buying a doll with a preconceived character in mind, and also building the character around a doll.

Usually I have a pretty good idea of the looks for the character, what sort of expression they generally have, are they serious or easy-going, are they very strong-featured or a bit more dainty? With these things in mind, I then start looking at sites that have sculpts I like. Example: I prefer an esthetic between very realistic and very stylized, so I don't look at very realistic or very stylized sculpts. I look at company photos, I look at owner photos, I looks at different face-up styles all on the sculpt I'm considering. This process can take a while for me, but sometimes I see one photo of a sculpt and *know* it's the right one.

Eyes and wigs are what become frustrating, especially if a character has an unusual or tricky hairstyle. Accessories can also be frustrating, for example if you want a particular character to wear a certain style of eyeglasses, or a very particular style that can be harder to find.

I think a lot of it becomes "Is this good enough for this character, or do they need to be a perfect copy?" It does make it refreshing to get the odd doll who doesn't have a preconceived character, because then you really get to play around with eyes and wigs!

 

I find a doll I like and then base a character around that doll ^^ it makes it really easy. Except when I think of a character and then the doll arrives and proves me differently. Although now that I have a story for my incoming doll. I want to shell 3 other characters in her story so I will be doing the opposite for the first time

 

The majority of my dolls are based on existing characters, both ones I've created myself, and ones from published media ("character dolls"). As I've done a number of drawings of the main group of existing characters, I can use those as a reference to find dolls that are similar in appearance and will work to represent the characters in my collection. For those who don't have a great deal of artwork or a polished final design, I simply stay within the appropriate aesthetic, as well as some general guidelines of what that character should look like (long elf ears or short? fantasy legs or human?).

And for the character dolls, I'll find something, again, that has an appropriate enough look to the existing visualizations of the character and aesthetically matches the others in the set (as well as fitting my additional requirement in those that dolls from different backgrounds come from different companies). Again, with additional characters who aren't directly represented in the various media, I choose dolls that fit the aesthetic, as well as fitting anything known about where they'd fit into the story.

Aesthetically, I tend toward stylized--not too realistic, not fully "anime." There's a good range of sculpts that fit those aesthetics, giving me a wide pool from which to choose.

 

I try not to buy dolls that don't have a character, or a general idea of character, I need that to bond with them ; and bonding is essential to me.
Most of the time, I have a character in my mind and I look for the right mold. For each character, I have a general idea of what I want their features to be, and so I just "hunt" for sculpts that matches what I want. But it already happened that two characters came to my mind as the same time, with already their doll sculpt, which is absolutely amazing xD And there is also the "I love this doll and have to find a character for her" case. It happened once, for an amazing doll I absolutely love, and I found one of my character to match her, I'm really glad of that ! Now I just need the money for her^^

 

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 doll after she arrived.

What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behavior and personality of the character?
I guess that the visual concept came to me first, I knew that I wanted her to be a lolita but that's the only thing I had 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?)
She just started showing me her personality the longer I had her, she's still showing me parts of it (as crazy as that sounds).

Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Not at all.

How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I wouldn't care, that's they're opinion and they're free to think that, doesn't mean I have to agree or even care. No, I wouldn't change anything about her because of someone's comment/opinion, as long as I like her that's all that matters.

 

Did you find a suitable sculpt for the character you had in mind or did you create a character for the sculpt you bought?
All the character for my dolls have been created long before having the doll. Then I only search for a suitable sculpt.
What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behavior and personality of the character?
Usually is the behavior and personality of the character the first time I spend time considering in. I even create their story without having in mind exactly what are they going to look like.
Once you had the visual concept or the personality of the character, how did you decide on the other side of the coin?
That comes to me when I try to visualize little scenes about the character. I start imaging a room, maybe some stuff here and there, and an action that the character is doing. When I have the whole scene the appearance of the character goes with it.
Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Nope, as they are solid character I do not change them. The only exception was my Vito boy, as he didn't wanted the character I had creating for him and ended up developing a new one by himself xD
How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
Of course not. My characters are mine. I do not care about what other people say about my dolls. I would kindly appreciate any constructive comments, but I wouldn't stand negative comments.

 

♥ 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 my third doll I already had a character design and everything drawn out, sent it to the company and got the faceup etc done how I liked it for my character! The other two just came naturally when they arrived

♥ What came first to you? The visual concept of the character or the behaviour and personality of the character?
Personality for sure, the moment I see them they would express something different than what I'd expect.
♥ 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?)
Choosing appearance I'd say I found based on their body structure and their facial features.

♥ Have you found yourself changing their personality or appearance often?
Appearance goes either fantasy-ish to casual quite often alternating depending on season and mood
♥ How would you respond if someone said your BJD's character is pretty lame? Would you change it?
I'd be offended, as if someone were to say my personality is lame. I wouldn't change a thing, like if I had a kid I wouldn't change a thing about them if they were bullied, they must be who they are