What do you do when you are uninspired by a doll?

Well when I got my guy I was very much into a more Gothic style so he has more black and red clothes, but years later I'm now a super pastel and pink person lol
So his look is definitely not much my style anymore and I don't think it truly ever fit his personality too. So I just recently ordered him a new pastel wardrobe and I'm really excited to make him pastel accessories! So now I'm newly excited and inspired!

 

I also usually just kind of focus on other dolls and I don't try to force it, I feel like an idea will just strike me whenever its time

 

One of the things that helped me was actually making a wig for him. By making the wig I could see his personality a bit better. I had no idea how to make a wig when I started so it was adventure and a new skill set.
Eyes also help. I think was all the time I spent with him that made him my new favorite.
If all else fails face up or sell it.

 

If I'm uninspired by a doll I often know it fairly quickly & out it goes. Other dolls that I lose interest in will sometimes get a new face-up but generally when a doll doesn't make my heart beat fast anymore I simply sell it. I don't have the money or space to hold onto something that doesn't thrill me so I'm fairly heartless when it comes to parting with dolls. There's always another doll down the road that will make me happier.

 

I was recently in the middle of a phase when I was not really comfortable with my collection and I felt like I had lost interest in most of my dolls except one that has always been the favourite one since she came home.
Some of them, the last ones to come home, I'm thinking about selling because they ares simply not my thing at all. But the others, which I love more and have been with me for years, are getting a revision of character, style, make-up, wig and all that and I hope that way I will be as in love with them as I was before.

 

If I don't feel excited with the doll, I will sell it. What I learnt from my experience is that once you got the idea to sell the doll, he/she would ultimately be sold. How much time it takes just depends on how I liked it before. If it's a new coming doll, and coming with a unsatisfied makeup, I will sell it on that day.

 

Isn't that just a giant waste of money? You might change your mind, especially with a change of eyes/wig/outfit, and faceups can be redone too.

 

That's not a giant waste of money, but a giant waste of time actually.

I do agree with you that changing faceups and other stuff can change a lot, but if I have waited for months or even years and coming up with a disappointed head, I will sell that head with the faceup. You know sometimes you can tell it's not what you want just by one sight, and the artist faceups are usually expensive and cost a long time. I will feel pity if I just erase that and change a new one, so finding a new owner who likes that faceup may be a better choice. Perhaps I will buy a new head oneday if I still like that head sculpt. Like what I said, it's just time consuming.

 

When I'm really uninspired by a doll, I usually sell it. When I have no idea even for the face-up, it's not a good thing! Sometime I need a little of time to find what I want to do with a doll, but when I have no idea at all I don't see the interest of keeping it.

 

I know I have got many dolls second hand. I was so excited. Once the doll got here I would be in aww of them, get them dress and pose them on my desk. The problem comes when I don't touch them or play with them. I know if I am not inspired to make them anything they will not stay. I am the type of person if I am not going to get enjoyment or use out of something I want it out.

 

I don't have that many dolls right now, so I just keep them out for display so I can think about their concept as I glance at them from time to time. It took me a whole year to figure out what to do with one guy. I knew the idea was perfect when I thought of it and I'm thinking he's going to be really great once I give him a face-up! Even my male grail stumped me for several months after none of my wigs fit him. He has a clear image now and I am looking forward to completing him.
However, there are two floating heads that I have zero inspiration for right now. I am conflicted when it comes to keeping them and waiting for an idea or selling them to focus on current/new dolls. It's a tough decision. I do realize the lack of interest in these sculpts and would like to avoid this happening in the future. It's a thorn in my side, but it has helped me learn to dwell on a sculpt as much as possible before adding it to my collection.

 

Definitely try switching up some of the things you do for your doll. Try different clothing styles or a different wig. You can also try posing her in different way and things.

 

Change the doll completly to a different look

 

I had a couple of dolls sitting in their boxes for almost 2 years because I couldn't find a character for them. The OCs I bought them to shell didn't work out and I thought about selling them. So I put them aside for a while and focused on the other dolls,and eventually found characters and looks for them.

 

For me, this usually only happens when a particular sculpt no longer suits the character they're shelled as. At that point I debate whether they will continue to work with that sculpt, or if it's time to go searching for another one that suits them better. With a couple of the reshelled heads, I couldn't bear to part with them, but with others...ti was time to let them go. It kind of depends on if I can set them up with another OC or not.

I generally have periods where I pay more attention to certain members of my crew, and then shift it around. It keeps me from becoming perpetually uninspired with them.

 

For me my dolls aren't a way to shell a character that I have in my head. I always buy dolls because I love the sculpt and think of things I can do with that face. I collect dolls and create the story around the doll, rather than buying a doll to fit a story...

Sometimes a doll will look different when it arrives, and I will second-guess myself as to what to do with it, but generally if it sits on my desk long enough I will get an idea of where I want to go with it. But I'm 'undecided' most of the time, rather than 'uninspired'.

 

I usually sell them immediately. Sometimes I regret it, but mostly I don't!

 

They get sold. In this hobby you don't really get to see and feel out a doll in-person before you buy, so you can end up with a doll that has a very different aura when they're in your hands.
For most people I would recommend changing up the style of your doll, maybe it can be something different and you end up with a doll you love. If I have to try doing something drastically different I end up spending more money to sell anyway. I haven't regretted selling any dolls, at least I have that. I just wish I could have realized that sooner on some of them.

 

Oh I forgot that sometimes I restyle them a bit and start to love them again One of them became from a male character to a female, got a body which was meant for an other character but didn't fit her, but this head and body rules as a character now

 

If I didn't feel inspired by a doll, and it wasn't a particularly costly investment (those, I'd immediately try to resell to get my money back, unless waiting a while would increase the value), I'd use it for experimental painting. Maybe try that really elaborate faceup I was afraid to try on a doll I felt more attached to.

If nothing else, I could feel proud of myself if I improved my skills in the end, and then just sell the doll anyway.