This is the one! - How do you know?

I only have one doll and one incoming, but here:
How do YOU know you've found the right doll?
I have no personalities or character already developed.. so I just look for mold. A very special mold. My doll is a Banji. Banji's and Narsha's are the only two dolls to ever make me wonder to the furthest extent, "how do they really look in my hands?"
Narae, Minifee, minisup's, elfdolls, ect. I like to look at and have wondered the above question.. but never incessently for months and weeks.
Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?
No character before getting the doll... but now that I have a starting base, maybe I will be basing all my other dolls off of my banji's "life". Unlikely, since awkward situations and sitcoms are great when combined with beautiful and posable dolls. So most likely, all sizes, all personalities.
exept for resting position.
When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?
N/A
Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?
N/A

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?
N/A


but really, I get just get dolls that are:
posable
beautiful, realistic anesethtic
and one that I never get tired of looking at. Because BJDs don't come with personalities, and so whatever little character I give them is massively overshadowed by their outward appearance.

 

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them.
Almost all of my dolls existed as characters before I purchased them in doll form. With the exception of Momiji and Kisten. Kisten was pure dolly lust. The Lu-wen sculpt is the first doll I ever truly fell in love with. The moment I saw him I knew I had to have him. I held off for a while but eventually I just couldn't stop myself. So I gave in a purchased a head second hand and then bought him a body. I do love him though. In some ways he is more fun than the dolls based on characters because I can do anything with him. He has slowly developed a personality and I take him everywhere because he isn't tied down by other "people". He's just out for a good time. Momiji exists just to be cute. My friend was selling him and he was too cute to pass up. It's fun to have some one around to dress up in cute things and he is a lovable little guy. The rest of the dolls are characters from the stories I write. I find it helpful to have these little 3D muses hanging around and I purposefully search out the molds most fitting the character.

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?
I have an image in my head and try to find the doll that best fits that image. Sometimes it is easy, I just stumble across an image and know it's the one. Other times it takes a bit more searching. The other thing I've been running into trouble with is height in my doll family's. If one character is a good bit taller than another I have to find dolls with the right height comparison as well. That can mean hybrids and the tricky territory of resin matching. I'm as picky about body molds as I am about head molds, some companies bodies are enough to really turn me off of a doll.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy? Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?
Yes, sometimes I get a doll and it just plain doesn't work. Last year I purchased a DOI limited Kalix for my character Dorian. I thought he would be perfect and he was beautiful, but he just didn't suit the character. The biggest problem though was that I wouldn't play with him at all. It turns out I'm just not comfortable with DOI bodies. They are beautiful but they seem fragile to me (yeah I know that sounds silly but...). So eventually I sold him. I am planning to replace him with a dollzone X. I'm more comfortable with dollzone's, and his daughter is a dollzone doll so it seems more fitting for the character. I would never keep a doll I wasn't happy with just because I already had it. I want the perfect dolls for my characters, I'm really picky that way. Plus these dolls are very expensive (some more than others) and I can't afford to have so much sunk into something I don't enjoy.

I'm asking for your feelings and thoughts, not facts o.o; I'm not crazy....really...okay, maybe a little ^^; Nah not too crazy.

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?
Its a gut feeling I think. Because I first found about BJDs a long time ago on a news program and about 3 years after that, I found the Volks site and feel in love with Rengemaru Sweet Dream... And then I saw Enn on the Volks U.S. site... and he came home to me

I spent a long time looking at other dolls because I knew I wanted a tiny, but no one ever really 'called' to me the way that that I wanted one to. Finally, nearly 4 years after my first doll, I brought a Leeke World Pumpkin home. I spent several weeks deciding... It was pretty painful though because I wasn't sure until the day she came that it was the right time to bring her home.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?
I'm drawn to faces. I think that a doll's face is the most expressive part of them and everything else can be worked with. I tend to buy them and then let them tell me about them (as weird as this sounds...). For example: Hikaru was originally named Ranmaru -- He didn't like it at all It wasn't a 'girly' enougn name... And he's kind of a girly-girl (I don't get it, but thats him).

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?
n/a as I don't look for characters.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?
No. I kind of go for style more than character. Character comes later for me after I meet them.

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?
This question is strange to me, probably because I don't look for characters.

This is actually really interesting and I've liked reading everyone's replies

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?


Well, for me there were a few I always had a liking to, and then I saw one that I just couldnt stop desiring. I wanted her to be one of my characters, but wasnt sure if she was right. So I ordered her after a while of looking at different owner pictures and such, and when she came, I fell in LOVE. She was just perfect. And wound up absorbing the character I hoped for her, and even changing her a bit to fit the mold best.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?

At least for now, the two I have, and I'm pretty sure the next two that I would get are all based on characters. But with the first two, they were more dolls that I had been interested in, and felt like I could get the character I planned to work into them. I think it's 50/50 unless you're dead set on a certain physical apperance for the character.

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?

Hehe, that's the hard part for me right now. I have a Supia Rosy and want to eventually get her a brother, but I'm having trouble finding a male mold that I like for this character, Ray. He's her older half brother, so I'd hope for him to have at least a little resemblence to the asian styled face on a Rosy, but he also needs to look more 'american'? Or something of that sort. But then there's the challenge of finding a sculpt in a similar artistic style, because that's important to me. Migidolls work, but I have a Ryu as another character, whose Jacey's (Supia Rosy) best friend/signifigant other. So I dont want those two to look related.

'Luckily', I wont be able to afford another doll for some time. So maybe a mold will come out from a company that fits what I'm looking for.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?

Hm, I've regreted some clothing purchases, but more when I was first time buying. Now that I'm familiar with companies, I have a better judgment on what will and wont fit into the style and realistic tone I'm aiming for.

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?

Uhm, kinda iffy about this question, as to the meaning anyway.

But, the characters my dolls have will be the character's they'll always have. They're from a story I've been working on for a few years. Getting the dolls as solid forms of the characters has drastically improved their development and characterization. Makes the characters feel 'real' if you will. For example, if I'm to add something to the back story of a character and I feel concerned over whether or not it will work, I can just look at the doll and think about it, and I'll get a feeling that tells me 'huh, that'd work out perfectly' or, 'woah...definatly not.'

I really appreciate the creaters of these and the individual molds for this. In the past five or so years, I've finished one short story and it was for school. And wasn't that great. I think I might actually get to really developing this book now

Go dolls!

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?

I have 2 dolls incoming and 2 dolls with me now. Of these 4 dolls, I know for sure Volks Isao Nanjou Ver 1 and Luts SDF Howl belong to me. There is no mistake. They jump out from the database gallery and grab me. No matter how long I look at the Luts and Volks databases, these 2 dolls stand out for me. Howl is still incoming but I already know I'd love him to bits just like Isao. Because I can get along with them, they talk to me. Both said to me they want to come home.

I feel that it's not just about me choosing the dolls, it's also about the dolls choosing me. Not many dolls choose me.

I forgot to mention Soom Sphaler, he's the incoming doll, he also says to me he wants to come home. I was unsure about him at first. He's different from the other 3 but I know he's the right one. I just know.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?

Isao Ver 1 original Salt Valley outfit played a big role. I love his outfit wig and character, his original faceup. Makeup that is there and yet it appears as if he does not have makeup. The pretty nasty "smirk" in the expression of his face. I love him for who he is just the way he is not because he reminds me of somebody.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?
Yes, my Volks FCS F38 is a customized doll, I commissioned him through someone. He is not a pre-designed doll although his faceup is done by Volks artist. When his faceup was done, I did not like him. He looks like a mature lady SD16. Troubles me greatly. My mother loves him. She coaxed me into loving him. All my life, my mother buys me dolls SHE love and then coax me into loving them! So now, I learn to love my F38 Christian.

 

I don't buy dolls with specific characters in mind. Once they get here they let me know who they are quickly enough. I buy based mainly on sculpt & face-up & then on posibility of the body but the face is the main thing for me.

I know I've found the right doll when my heart beats faster & I can't imagine life without the doll. I've bought a few that didn't work out, mainly because they looked nothing like their promo pics & of course, others I changed my mind on after a while. But most of my dolls I really love & have a hard time deciding who has to leave when finances demand it.

 

I never know what my doll will be like until it gets here. Like, for my first and only doll (so far), I expected him to be more... cute and youthful, I suppose. Now that I've gotten him, he's the complete opposite. He just looks so arrogant! xD

Anyway, I knew he was the doll for me before I got him and, even though he is so different from what I expected, he's still perfect for me!

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?
It's really a feeling of wanting that particular doll, and if the want is strong enough that I can't stop thinking about it or looking at its webpage, or obsessively trying to figure out how I'd be able to afford it, and also of whether I can really see myself owning that doll.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?
The first three dolls I decided on, I just wanted them, and from there I started brainstorming on how they're related and thus characters and a story for them are created. For the possibly fourth doll I'm gonna try to save up for, I liked his facemold and when I thought of how he's going to fit in with the others, I remembered this character I created for a story way back when, and that's who he will be when I finally get around to getting that doll. For the fifth and sixth dolls, I like the idea of having twins, and to me these particular dolls have enough similarities in their facemolds that I think they could pass for twins.

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?
I don't really look for a specific character (for now anyway). It's really out of whim; the dolls' faces make me decide whether I'd like to have them, and from there their characters can be created.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?
So far, not yet, since I currently only have one doll, and the second doll was just ordered a few days ago. Although there are some clothing and wigs I wish I didn't purchase.

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?
It still remains to be seen since I've only been into BJDs for a couple of months or so. Maybe somewhere down the line I'd grow tired of that particular character and renew the doll into a different one.

 

For me, I thought I found the doll when I'd been spending ages tralling around the websites looking for one that looked simillar. That seems so entirely pointless now. xD But I realised I wanted it when I kept on thinking about it, and even after a while I still like to look at the pictures. And I had a character in mind, I was fortunate enough to find a doll that fit it perfectly. ^_^ That's how I decided that I wanted the DIM Odelia to be my first, but I'd flicked around what dolls I wanted originally. A lot. Seriously a lot.

 

Same way I decide on what blythe to get next--I look through lots of them, and eventually the one that wants to come home with me will smile off the page and I'll get that "Yes please, that one" feeling. Then I will save. Which takes about a million years.
Also, I have a wishlist. So generally when I'm saving I don't know just who I'm saving for yet, just that I am. And by the time I have enough money I have reached a decision.

 

Lots of comparisons, narrowing down, and time.

I bought my first doll recently, and it was far from an impulse buy. I had to make sure I loved the body sculpt, the face sculpt, that the resin color was acceptable, that the other dolls from the same company I also liked (so when I got her a boyfriend, he'd match styles). I had to look at tons of other companies and make sure that there wasn't anything better out there. And then I had to keep coming back to the pictures of the doll I wanted to stare and make sure she still dazzled me.

After exhausting every possibility, overworrying every indecision, reconfirming dozens of times every actual decision, etc. I bought her. I know I'll love her.

Even if out of the blue something amazing slaps me in the face, I know I won't change my mind so easily. I saw a photo of the DOC 'Twing-key' recently and had my heart melt for her face right there. I know that I like that face more than the face of the doll I'm getting. Does it make me regret my decision, or want to buy that Twing-key doll? NOT AT ALL. Because I can list at least 3 BIG reasons, and lots of smaller reasons, why that would be just an unnacceptable doll for me. So HAH impulse buy, screw you! I know what I'm doing XD !!

ali

 

I buy dolls because I like them. Sometimes because I like their mold, others because their promo pick is gorgeous, which is probably bad. I only have one who character was decided before had, but I have yet to find a model, so I prefer to buy then create.

 

I'm looking for dolls to fit my characters, but when I saw I.O.S Osiris, I fell in LOVE, character or not. I guess for me, there's a rational part of me that consciously decides what dolls to get, but I've recently discovered there's a completely involuntary part that can fall mindlessly, head over heels, and entirely in love with a doll that I never planned on getting.

 

If you're up North you should join the meet up thread and then come attend meet ups and see the pretties up close. My boys are always up to being handled and played with

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?

Magic. Srsly, that's the only answer I can give. I look at them and I know this is someone I want to have come live with me. Nicco and adult Tamas, case in point, I just looked at their pics and it was as if the doll companies had been poking around in my head for character designs.


Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them.


A little of both. Some are pre-existing characters and some aren't.


When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one? Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?



Isn't this a repeat of the first question? So far I've not regretted it but your mileage may vary

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?

Well I plan to swap a body on one of my boys, so I'd say if a doll doesn't work for a certain character I would just move it along til it did work.



Basically it all boils down to what works for YOU! We can give you all the advice in the world but ultimately you have to make the decision and take responsibility for it.

 

Not meaning to be didactic in any fashion but what I did was go to the http://www.gigglegeek.dk/bjd.htm site and went through every company link and looked at every sculpt. Every sculpt I liked I bookmarked into a folder of ones I liked, and then went back to looking at all the other sculpts. Finally when I was finished I went through my folder and narrowed it down from there. That way I was absolutely sure I got *the* doll that was right for me. Admittedlly it wasn't as much work when I did it since there weren't as many companies then but if you're worried about getting *the* doll. That is the best advice I can give. Besides, if you find the right doll, the name, character and all that will fall into place for you. That is how I found my first girl and became aware that I liked the sculpts of my others (except my Puki who hadn't been designed then).

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?

I don't, always. But usually it's a face that keeps pulling me back again and again. I truly enjoy buying pre-loved dolls from the marketplace (sometimes they seem to have more "life" to me) - and if I find myself looking at the thread over and over that's a good indication! There have been some that have said "you. mine. now." to me, like Alexei (my tan ED K) but that's not usually the case.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them.

I've bought some because they were intended as character dolls and I needed a very specific look. Others have had their personalities developed over time. I would never buy a doll just because of its wig or clothes, although I have been known to request the wig in question if it wasn't clearly included in the sale...

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one? Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy? Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?

Ah yes. The regret. This has been the story of my resin life with respect to some of the characters I was trying to make. Mostly girls. A few times I've had dolls that looked perfect on screen be just plain the wrong height, or heft, or look, when they got here. A couple of times I've had the intended resin companion look at them and just look so miserable that it was laughable -- yes, I know that's not literally possible but my gosh what a distinctive look that is. I'm working on body #3 now, I think, on one of my male characters because he had to be a hybrid (only came as a head) but he just needs to be the right scale in comparison with the others... RAWR.

When I have had the plain old "wrong" choice, what I do with the doll depends. There are two other doll collectors in my house who will sometimes ask to adopt the doll -- Lizardbreath has been brilliant with taking my failed attempts and giving them a completely different, and perfect, personality for that sculpt. Sometimes the doll is just too appealing to me and I let it develop differently. And sometimes I've been so distracted by the un-fit that I've just adopted him or her out.

As always with these things there's no right or wrong. It IS always interesting, though, to see what other people think.


ETA: Oh! and having babbled on at great length, I see that Toshirodragon gave the perfect one-word answer. Magic.

 

Your doll fund is about even with my current fund!!

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?
When I get obsessed over it for an extended period. It worked that way for my Bei and Bao pair, and has been building steadily for my layaway AE Mo.

I also have the same feelings over the new Pipos tiny anthros, the Cheshire in particular, since I've been keeping up with the news and eyeballing them since their first preveiw pictures a few weeks ago. If I still want one at the end of the ordering period next month (and have the money), I'll be getting one. Simple as that.

My Shiwoo, however, grew on me. I needed to work with him before I was sure he fit what I wanted. Floating heads are hard for me to bond with.

Do you base your dolls on characters or do you buy them because you like a certain wig or clothing that they're wearing, do you buy them and base characters around them?

I never buy based solely on their appearance in shop shots. I look at owner shots if I can find them, since I have a tendency to fall for the oddball dolls of a company's line-up. I base as much on body sculpt as I do face, so that's another thing.

If I like both, I think about whether or not the doll works as a character in the universe I'm making. If they do, which is rare, that's when they get a slot on my wishlist.

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?

First, I just have to honestly like the doll as, well, a doll!
Second, scale. Too many times have I thought I found the one only to see it's an SD! Third, price. I don't want to spend more than $300 on a blank doll, not when I could find another, equally good possibility for cheaper at another company.
Then it's just right height, build, face, skin tone, the same as everyone else.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?

Hmm, no, but I do have a good amount of stuff for my tinies that I never use, but it's not regreted so much as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them at first.

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?

With my first two dolls, I got them as much to try out the hobby as I did for liking the dolls, then I melded characters into them. They're stuck into their characters now, but only after some work.

 

I don't make up characters until after I get my doll. I know a doll is "the one", because when I see it I just love it, I get tons of ideas for things I'd like to do with it, and I can't get it out of my mind. Like the other day for some odd reason I decided to look at the Feeples on Fairyland (I usually never look at them), and I saw Rona. I immediately saw her as being a Russian princess, and now I have like 10 outfits I want to make for her! So I'm trying to make enough money to order her. Because I haven't been this inspired by a doll in a couple of years. So I have to have her!

 

Something just clicks in my head and I can't get the doll off my mind and then I know that that doll is the perfect one for my demon troop.

 

How do YOU know you've found the right doll?
Never until I open the box and see them in the resin. It sometimes only takes a few seconds, others a few days. But if they work they stay for as long as I am able to hold on to them.

Do you base your dolls on characters?
Not at first as it was all so new to me. But now I do try and give them more background and story so they fit in with rest here.

When you're looking for a specific character, how you do decide if it's the right one?
When I see they do seem to be that personality I wanted for them.

Do you ever regret a specific style that you buy?
Yes I regret many I have bought but quite a few have lead to others from same company so it worked out in time.

Do you just work another character into it's place, or is your character 'stuck' inside of it and doomed to be in that resin prison for life?
I think they become their own I just plant the seed.