What does it mean for you to "bond" with your dolls?

Since I just got my first doll before I even got her I was thinking of what her character was like, coming up with a name, buying clothes, etc. When she came I was a little disappointed because the DOD resin was more pinkish than whitish and the face-up was more subtle than I thought it would be. However, once I started looking into her eyes it was love. Someone earlier mentioned animism and that's not far off. We anthropomorphize inanimate objects all the time. Our imagination is larger than the literal character of the world (which makes things interesting) so yes, I bonded with my doll immediately. I bring her around the house with me and think of new clothes she might like, sometimes when I dress her I imagine that she might want something different etc. Of course I know that she's a doll and when I'm busy she gets stuck in her coffin all day while I'm out or sits away in the other room while I'm blabbing on the internet etc. But I do find comfort in having her around me and since I'm a photographer there's much for us to do together....

 

Haha, definitely not the only freak.

I've got one floating head, and getting a body for him is a very low priority. He's borrowed Vince's body before, but honestly... I bonded with him by using him to practice a bolder faceup than I gave Vince, and making him a little mask (even though it didn't work out like I wanted it to), and even without a body of his own, I love that little head... It's a different bonding process, but it's there. You just stroke ears instead of hands or feet, and cup the curve of the skull instead of holding a little butt in your hand.

 

What does it mean to me to bond with my dolls? It's very important to me. If I don't bond with my dolls then I wasted my money I feel like... My dolls are my companions and keep me company when I'm alone. They make me smile with the personas I have made, the sculpts are a main factor for me because without a sculpt with personality the doll itself can not bring life as a companion... it's hard to explain as a doll owner new to the hobby but very passionate about it.

 

For me, it's when I have a warm affectionate feeling when I look at them...and I know I'd miss them terribly if they were gone for even a short amount of time. If I'm not bonded with them, then when I look at them I just feel cold. Because of this, I know very quickly whether or not they need to move onto someone else (which fortunately has not happened very often...and when it did, it was unmistakable and almost immediate.) Only once did I stubbornly hold onto a doll I didn't bond with for a lengthy period (2 years I believe) because she was so unique and lovely from an artistic viewpoint. But many character and looks changes later, I finally gave up. Fortunately, she sold almost immediately to someone who formed an instant bond with her. Once she was gone I realized I should have done it much sooner because all I felt was relief. So for me, bonding is a warm and fuzzy feeling of their "belonging" in my world...there's a connection between us and I just simply love them! When that happens it's a wonderful and magical thing...characters and stories just seem to pour out of them, the faceups and costuming flow freely and easily, and they comfortably fit in around here like part of the family.

 

I'd say it's the same as getting emotionally invested in your favorite furniture, clothes, pets, friends, or anything else. Ultimately the subject is something you like a lot, would like to take care of, and would be sad if it went away.

 

I'm not quite sure what bonding means to me yet...but I'll know soon! And I hope I'm not disappointed! ^-^

 

The meaning has changed a little over time for me. But it's still essentially feeling like I can truly see my original characters in my dolls. When that happens, I know I made the right decision with my purchase and I automatically have trouble letting them go to other homes again. That's why I rarely ever sell dolls I've bonded with.

 

if you look at a doll, and don't feel that giddy excitement! or you just don't generally enjoy the doll around.

 

I really didn't understand what it meant at first. I think I'll love my doll when I get it. Looking at pictures of it, waiting so long to get it. I don't usually have buyers remorse, so I don't think it would be a problem.

 

For me, bonding with the doll is the combination of a lot of factors. So far I've bonded with my dolls the instant they come out of their boxes. I think it's because I've found that they fit my character very well, so I love the sculpt, style and everything else about that doll. I don't think I'd bond so much with a doll if I didn't have a character for it, but who knows?

 

I agree with Holo's Apple Tree that bonding itself is the same as becoming "emotionally invested" in a new car or some other expensive purchase. Someone else (can't remember who...sorry!) mentioned anthropomorphism; I think that's an excellent explanation of it as well. It's especially easy to project personalities and emotions on dolls - be they BJDs or Barbies - because dolls are made to resemble people. Dolls are designed to evoke an emotional response.

As for my own experiences of bonding with my BJDs specifically, I can say that it's usually a process. I am always interested in a doll when I first get it; I call it the "new doll euphoria." Once I get used to the newcomer and the feeling wears off, then comes the real business of eyes, clothes, wig, character, etc. I always buy a doll with a character in mind for it, and I also always try to get its look sorted out beforehand. To that end, I'll buy it the aforementioned clothes, eyes, and wig before it arrives. Unfortunately, all that careful planning usually crumbles once the doll actually arrives.

Once the doll arrives, it doesn't always match the character I've had in mind. In fact, only one of my dolls is still the character I planned for it; all the others seem to have had their own ideas. (And there's the anthropomorphism creeping up...) So far, I've always ended up having to buy different wigs, clothes, eyes, etc. for a doll after it arrives, because the ones I get before its arrival never seem to work out.

It's a process. Quite an expensive one, too! But the results have been worth it so far.

(Wow...that was a long post.)

 

I bonded with my doll after I moved from my home of 11 years. I have had a hard time making friends because I work so much and it brings me a lot of comfort knowing that I have someone to be with. Even though I know she isn't real I just enjoy seeing her and knowing that she is always there for me!

 

This finally happened to me. I've been a collector for 5 years; and I've had um, maybe....around 20 dolls? About that. Mostly, I had one "set" of characters for about 4 years, and one set for 1 year; but I've sold them now (mostly because my wife and I got into a bad landlord issue.)

I have 1 doll now whom I can honestly say is my REAL doll! Like, she's everything I wanted in a doll. She makes me feel happy! When I wake up in the morning, until I go to bed at night, I feel like I wanna make art. Not just "Oh, lemme go take random photos." But I want to make such amazing & DETAILED photos of her! Heck, I even dream about photos I want to make with my new girl. Last night, I had 3 dreams based on Judas; and 1 dream was a photostory ^___^

I thought my first doll I got 5 years ago was "magical", but it's kinda like I've started anew, I feel like a total newbie and everything is so much FUN now! Can I explain it? No, I just think this is the first doll I've bonded with ^^ I don't feel the need to buy her things ALL the time -- I just get her things here and there. She's perfect; she doesn't have or NEED a lot of clothes, her wig is just fine, she's just so much HERSELF.

I think that's doll bonding. It's funny that after 5 years (almost 6!), I've never had this happen to me before. ^_^

 

As I haven't bought my first yet I won't know what bonding is for me for a while, but I don't think it will be as instant "out of the box" as for some people as I'm getting myself an blank Soom Uyoo Christmas kit. It would be hard to feel a connect to a set of resin body parts! But I already have a character in mind and expect her to be very demanding... For the OT dolls I have its partly about character development, and there's also world building and story telling. I also have to make a character who isn't normal, because normal is boring.

 

I've necer really thught about it. I guess what it means to bond with a doll for me is: love having the doll around, being able to admire/appreciate it, and being able to think of the doll as a complete character/being.

 

you know, i got my doll only a few days ago, but already i feel like i've bonded with it in some capacity, her "bed" (box really) is right next to mine on my dresser and i constantly want to have her there so i can see what else looks cute with her, take out fabric scraps and dream up new outfits. helps that my four year old adores her too and constantly wants to play teaparty with hoshimi and mommy and one of her dolls

 

In my case it just means that I am pleased with it.
I am happy to have it, it makes me happy to see its beautiful face and "play" with it and I don't want to sell it.

 

I think many people here have already articulated my definition of bonding. It's a kind of emotional investment and affection for the doll's character and appearance. I start to see an inner life in them that I admire. I feel protective of them too, and want to be careful with them.

 

Pretty much. uvu

 

For me, it's looking at my boy and squealing afterwards because his face is just so cute. I hug him.